Clemson's Brownell notes 'shark-infested waters.' Now, Godfrey enters transfer portal (2024)

CLEMSON— One of Clemson's standouts from an Elite Eight run, sophom*ore forward RJ Godfrey, has reportedly entered the transfer portal.

Reserve guard Josh Beadle and wing Jack Clark had already entered the portal from Clemson, per reports, but neither of those departures were shocking.

Beadle played about 10 minutes per game off the bench this season but logged just four minutes total in the NCAA tournament. Clark was a grad transfer who fit nicely into this year's team but was honored on Senior Day and wasn't necessarily expected to return to play a seventh college season.

Godfrey is different. The 6-foot-8 forward from Atlanta was a key contributor off the bench and presumed to be inline for a larger role next season. The son of former NFL linebacker and Georgia alum Randall Godfrey averaged 8.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in four NCAA tournament games, steadying the frontcourt when senior PJ Halldealt with foul trouble.

"I really do believe this is not our last time here,” Godfrey told the fan site TigerNet after an Elite Eight loss to Alabama. "We’re gonna be back here — at least when I’m here — every single year. So I’m just so thankful to these guys, and I can’t wait to get back on the court next year."

Godfrey had reason to feel confident.

In a first-round win over New Mexico, Godfrey blocked three shots. He helped Clemson clinch a Sweet 16 berth with four clutch free throws down the stretch to seal a victory over No. 3-seeded Baylor. Just a 63-percent free throw shooter on the season, the sophom*ore hit 8-of-8 in the tournament.

The tournament run was expected to pay dividends for a young player like Godfrey and Clemson moving forward. But it's a "different world," coach Brad Brownell recently said in a radio interview, given the transfer portal and promises of name, image, and likeness (NIL) dollars to head elsewhere.

"It's shark-infested waters right now, I'm not going to lie to you,"Brownell said April 4 on Road Rage with Walt Deptula. "We already know there are coaches and AAU guys that are working on our guys behind the scenes, their families, and trying to take them away from us."

Brownell didn't mention any players by name. But managing the Tigers' roster, even after a successful NCAA tournament, hasn't been easy.

"This is what's driving coaches out of the business," Brownell said. "You get done with your season, and this is the part of the job you don't like the most. Who still wants to be with you, how do you build your roster, how do you plan— let alone recruit guys out of the portal. You're just trying to convince some of your guys to stay and that's hard because there's money involved.

"It's a lot of stuff you can't control, and it's a challenging world. Coaches are frustrated with it, because there's no guardrails."

If Clemson does lose Godfrey to another school, it will further complicate the process of rebuilding for next season.

Grad transfer guard Joe Girard III has run out of eligibility, and it's likely PJ Hall and Chase Hunter will explore a jump to the NBA ranks. Alex Hemenway redshirted this past season with an injury and also has another year of eligibility but it's not yet confirmed he will play an extra season at Clemson.

Without Godfrey, Brownell has five players currently slated to return next season: Rising senior forward Ian Schieffelin, rising junior forward Chauncey Wiggins, rising redshirt junior guard Jake Heidbreder, rising junior guard Dillon Hunter, and rising redshirt freshman wing Asa Thomas.

There are also three freshmen— forward Dallas Thomas and guards Ace Buckner and Del Jones— joining the roster.

But that's just eight players toward the 13-scholarship maximum, which assures Brownell will have to be especially active in adding players via transfer.

"We always say, if we can just keep seven guys— seven, eight, and finish the rest — we'll be OK," Brownell told Deptula. "But we need some stability to try and keep things going. I think we have tremendous momentum in our program. I'm optimistic that we're going to finish with a lot of these guys coming back and have a chance to put together a really good team."