Clemson basketball: Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell skip NBA, will return to Tigers
Clemson guards Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell have both decided to forego the NBA Draft and return to school.
Clemson basketball: Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell skip NBA, will return to Tigers Clemson guards Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell have both decided to forego the NBA Draft and return to school. Check out this story on independentmail.com: https://www.independentmail.com/story/sports/college/clemson/basketball/2018/05/30/marcquise-reed-and-shelton-mitchell-returning-clemson-next-season/656621002/
Marcel Louis-Jacques, Orange and White Published 2:40 p.m. ET May 30, 2018 | Updated 4:32 p.m. ET May 30, 2018
Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell, guard Marcquise Reed and forward Mark Donnal discuss the impact the Tigers' transfers have had on the team. Marcel Louis-Jacques/Orange and White
From left, Clemson guards Shelton Mitchell (4), Marcquise Reed (2), and Gabe DeVoe (10) during the closing seconds of the Tigers win over North Carolina on Tuesday, January 30, 2018, at Clemson's Littlejohn Coliseum.(Photo: BART BOATWRIGHT/Staff)
Clemson's starting five for next season got a little clearer Wednesday.
After going through the pre-draft process, guards Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell have both decided to return to Clemson for their final seasons, the team announced. Both had previously declared themselves eligible for the 2018 NBA Draft, but did not hire an agent.
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Reed led the team in scoring with 15.8 points per game, while Mitchell, the Tigers' starting point guard, was third in scoring with 12.2 points per game and led the team in assists with 3.6 per game.
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— Clemson Men's Basketball (@ClemsonMBB) May 30, 2018
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Neither Mitchell nor Reed were named the top-100 prospect by Sports Illustrated or CBS Sports.
Their decision likely comes with a sigh of relief from head coach Brad Brownell, who previously made his opinion known on the process from a coach's standpoint, lamenting the uncertainty it brings.
"It's a scary feeling when you don't know your team," Brownell said during a press conference in March. "It's hard to prepare when you don't know your team – we might lose them, we might not."
Clemson now returns three members of its starting five, including Mitchell, Reed and center Elijah Thomas, from a team that went 25-10 and reached the Sweet Sixteen in the 2017-18 season.
The duo's return bolsters what would've been a thin guard corps for the Tigers, who have actively pursued transfer players this offseason, securing a pair of forwards in Oral Roberts transfer Javan White and UNC-Asheville transfer Jonathan Baehre.