Unique challenges face Tigers following historic season

Last season Clemson basketball reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1996-97 and just the fourth time in school history.

After a historic season, expectations are the highest they have been in a long time with the Tigers ranked 22ndin the AP preseason poll and picked to finish sixth in the ACC by the media. This year they have an opportunity to show that the Sweet Sixteen was not an anomaly and that Clemson can be a consistent program in the ACC.

The Tigers return nine lettermen off of the 2017-18 squad and only lose starters in Gabe DeVoe (14.2 ppg) and Donte Grantham (14.2 ppg) who missed the majority of the year due to injury, with four starters back (Shelton Mitchell,…