After a win Friday night at East Tennessee, Eastern Kentucky coach A.W. Hamilton joked that he didn’t want to discuss the Colonels’ next opponent, Clemson.
“Let’s just talk about ETSU right now,” Hamilton said.
Reality comes Tuesday when Eastern Kentucky (2-0) plays at Clemson (2-0), which is coming off an appearance in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight last spring.
In its strong start, with wins over two mid-majors, Clemson has yet to trail.
In the Tigers’ 88-62 win on Friday over Saint Francis (Pa.), Ian Schieffelin had 16 points and 13 rebounds while Jaeden Zackery delivered 16 points, six assists and four steals.
Zackery, who averaged double-figure scoring for each of the past three years at Boston College, has excelled at both ends of the floor.
On Friday, when Clemson coach Brad Brownell said he thought his team “had some guys that just didn’t play quite as hard,” he also singled out Zackery for his effort.
“Jaeden Zackery was terrific all night,” Brownell said. “I thought his on-ball defense was really good.”
Zackery’s presence at the point has allowed backcourt mate Chase Hunter to focus on scoring.
Hunter leads the Tigers with an average of 15 points per game, hitting 57.9 percent from the floor and 5 of 9 from beyond the arc (55.6 percent).
Eastern Kentucky counters with its top scorer, George Kimble III, a transfer from Division II Eckerd College, who is averaging 18 points and 4.5 assists per game.
Jordan Crawford, a transfer from College of Charleston, is averaging 14.5 points per game.
Devontae Blanton, who entered the year 12th on the school’s all-time scoring list, is putting up 14 points, 5.5 rebounds and five assists per game.
As Eastern Kentucky awaits the renovation of its home arena, the Colonels are playing a heavy road schedule. Of their first 15 games, only four are at their alternate home gym, 13 miles south at Berea College.
“We gotta go on the road,” Hamilton said. “We gotta be tough. We gotta be together. We gotta play in front of big crowds like this and find a way to win games.”
