Without his partner PJ Hall, there was some question entering the season as to whether Ian Schieffelin could be as good as he was last year.
A trip to Florida might have put those questions to rest.
Because Schieffelin was not just as good as last year in impressive victories over Penn State and San Francisco.
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He was better.
Even masterful.
Schieffelin was the best player on the floor in Tuesday's 75-67 victory over Penn State that secured the Sunshine Slam championship in Daytona Beach.
He filled up the stat sheet over 37 minutes with 18 points, 13 rebounds (five offensive), eight assists, four steals and two blocks as the Tigers handed the Nittany Lions their first loss of the season and kept them from their first 7-0 start in three decades.
Clemson improved to 6-1 and is probably quite a lot better at this early stage than most folks anticipated after Brad Brownell lost not just Hall from last year's Elite Eight team but also Joe Girard, Jack Clark and RJ Godfrey.
The difference in this game was probably the 3-point line, as Penn State missed 14 of 18 shots from long range and Clemson went 9-for-19.
Schieffelin's presence was felt in both of those areas, as a number of his assists came on skip passes for 3-pointers. And he led the charge as Clemson put forth another withering defensive effort after shutting down San Francisco in the second half of Monday night's victory.
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Chauncey Wiggins had 14 points and freshman Del Jones had 10. Chase Hunter was 3-of-6 on 3-pointers, Wiggins 2-for-4. Jaeden Zackery hit two big ones from deep, and Jones was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Nine days ago the Tigers couldn't close out defensive possessions in a loss at Boise State. They dominated San Francisco on the boards and followed that by grabbing 10 offensive rebounds in the second half Tuesday.
Clemson outscored Penn State 38-30 in the paint and 15-2 in fast-break points.
The Tigers held San Francisco 25 points below its scoring average, the Nittany Lions 29 points below theirs.
Clemson plays host to Florida A&M on Friday night at 7 PM.
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