Brad Brownell updates Shelton Mitchell's status: "He's just not ready."
As they hit the road to avoid a three-game skid, the Tigers are going to be without their starting point guard for the second straight game.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell announced on Tuesday afternoon Shelton Mitchell will not play against Virginia Tech on Wednesday night. The point guard suffered a concussion in the closing seconds of Clemson's overtime loss at Florida State. He will not travel with the team.
"He's just not ready," Brownell said. "We're hopeful that he will be fine by the weekend, but he needs to do some more things. We're going to leave him back here I think and give him a couple more days, which I think is a good decision."
Mitchell leads the Tigers in assists with 96 on the season and is one of the best passers on the team. His ability to be the triggerman on inbounds plays and to make things happen while controlling the offense was missed in Clemson's 66-57 loss to Duke on Sunday afternoon.
Brownell said Mitchell and Donte Grantham are Clemson's best two passers so playing without them has left some of his players a little wide-eyed. The team has been focusing more on the fundamentals of passing the past couple of days before they go up against a Virginia Tech team Brownell said is one of the best passing teams in the league.
It was a tough week for Clemson to suffer back-to-back losses for the first time this season. Brownell said he told his players last week was a prime example of working hard in life, but not getting the results you want. He's been impressed with how his team has kept their heads down.
"I thought our guys had great preparations in our practices and meetings all last week," Brownell said. "I thought we competed extremely hard in both games. But we had a lot of basketball errors, and that cost us two wins. I'm really proud of the way our guys have stayed focused and compete The Duke game was a very physical and emotional game in terms of guys dealing with different things because of being put into some different positions. "
Clemson is fourth in the ACC standings and is holding on to its position for a double bye in the ACC tournament, but Virginia Tech (19-6, 8-6) is right behind at fifth in the conference. Brownell noted that Buzz Williams' team has put a lot of emphasis on their own defense lately and that is has shown.
Look for the Hokies to bring familiar intense pressure to a Clemson team which has had an exhausting past seven days.
"Virginia Tech is playing very well, and it's a difficult place to play," Brownell added. "I'm a big fan of their point guard, Justin Robinson, I think he is an outstanding player and one of the best point guards in our league. They do a great job of shooting the three, spreading you out, and play a little small ball.
"We got our hands full, but another big ACC game on the road."
Clemson tips off at Virginia Tech Wednesday night at 7:00 PM.
