The Clemson Tigers men’s and women’s basketball teams will play on a court with a slightly different look that Littlejohn Coliseum this season.
Clemson athletics’ social media accounts posted a time-lapse video of the re-imagined court and a couple of things stood out.
First, the painted area by both baskets has changed color this year. Last year the painted areas were regalia, while this year they’re orange to match the school’s primary color.
The other significant change is at midcourt, where the Tiger’s paw looks a bit smaller this year, roughly 25 percent smaller.
Our new court has arrived! 🐅🏀@ClemsonMBB || @ClemsonWBB pic.twitter.com/P3gszt9Brp
— Clemson Athletics (@ClemsonTigers) September 5, 2024
On the far sideline of the court it says Littlejohn Coliseum in white lettering on orange paint, as it did a year ago. On either side of that is the IPTAY logo in regalia, which is a newer touch this year. Also, on either side of the court is a logo for a court sponsor, something that wasn’t there at the start of the time-lapse video.
It’s not unusual for basketball courts to undergo work like this every one or two years, depending upon wear and tear or changes in school colors or sponsorship logos.
The Clemson men will play their first regular-season game on the new court on Nov. 4 when they host Charleston Southern. Before that, Clemson will play Augusta in an exhibition game on Oct. 30.
Clemson also has non-conference home games scheduled with Saint Francis (Nov. 8), Eastern Kentucky (No. 12), Radford (Nov. 21), Florida A&M (Nov. 29), Kentucky (Dec. 3) and Memphis (Dec. 14). ACC games at home will include Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Cal, Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Stanford, Syracuse and Wake Forest.
The men are coming off their biggest season since 1980, the last time it reached the Elite Eight. This past March in the NCAA Tournament, Clemson was a No. 6 seed and defeated No. 11 New Mexico, No. 3 Baylor and No. 2 Arizona before falling to No. 4 Alabama.
The women have not released their non-conference schedule. They will host California, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech in ACC play.
Clemson has a new coach in Shawn Poppie, who replaced Amanda Butler.
Poppie coached two seasons at Chattanooga, where he led the Mocs to two Southern Conference Tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances in his first first head-coaching job.
Before Chattanooga he spent six seasons working for Kenny Brooks at Virginia Tech (Brooks is now at Kentucky). Poppie spent four seasons as an assistant coach and the final two seasons as the associate head coach.
