Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell added his first transfer of the off-season this past Tuesday when 6-4 David Collins of South Florida announced he will play his graduate-transfer season with the Tigers. The Youngstown, Ohio native told SportsTalkSC that Clemson gives him a fresh start.
“Just new beginnings, you know,” Collins said. “I did four years at USF and had a good time there. I just wanted to try another team and make an impact somewhere else”.
Last year’s postseason appearance by the Tigers caught Collins eye, but he says assistant coach Antonio Reynolds-Dean deserves a lot of credit for his decision to move to the Upstate.
“Coach Dean started recruiting me and they seized the moment,” Collins said. “I liked what they had to offer. You know they made the (NCAA) tournament last year and I’m hoping to enhance the team that they already have”.
Collins was a career 42% shooter for the Bulls; connecting on 46% of his two-point attempts and 32% of his threes. He tallied 1540 points over his career and leaves USF as the seventh leading scorer in school history, and the tenth all-time leading scorer in American Athletic Conference history. He’d like to bring that scoring prowess to the ACC and the Tigers.
“I’m good at ball screens, you know they have some screens in that offense,” he said. “Being an experienced guard, I can play multiple positions, and I hope to help in all areas”.
However, he also believes he’ll be able to help out on the other end of the floor as well.
“They’re (Clemson) a good defensive team and I’m a good defender, all that meshes well. It’s a good fit for me,” Collins said.
The salutatorian of his high school class is working on finishing his degree at South Florida. He says he plans to come to Clemson this summer.
