PJ Hall, Clemson basketball's star player, enters NBA Draft after four years with Tigers

CLEMSON — Clemson basketball's PJ Hall announced Friday that he is entering the NBA Draft after helping the Tigers reach the Elite Eight for the first time in 44 years.

"For four years, I poured absolutely everything I had into Clemson," Hall said on Instagram. "I wouldn't change one thing about my career. With that being said, I will be chasing my dream and entering my name in the NBA Draft."

Hall averaged a career-high 18.3 points on 48.8% shooting, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks over 36 games in his final season. He earned All-ACC first-team honors and finished third in ACC Player of the Year voting. He also made the NCAA Tournament All-West Region team, averaging 14 points on 44.9% shooting and 4.5 rebounds over four games.

The Spartanburg native led the Tigers in scoring and blocked shots and reached double-digit scoring in every game except one this past season. He recorded seven double doubles and was the unquestioned leader of Clemson.

"One of the reasons why our team is in the Elite Eight is because our best player allows the head coach to be demanding of him," coach Brad Brownell said after the Elite Eight. "And so then the tone is set for everybody in our program."

Unlike Chase Hunter, who entered the draft while maintaining his eligibility, Hall did not mention whether he kept his. If Hall did, he has until 11:59 p.m. on May 29 to withdraw from the draft.

It would be the same decision Hall made last year when he attended the NBA G League Elite Camp and performed well enough to earn an invitation to the NBA Draft combine, but ultimately withdrew to return to Clemson.

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Brownell expected Hall to pursue his pro basketball dreams, landing former Cincinnati transfer forward Viktor Lakhin last month. The 15-year coach will continue to use the portal to retool his roster that has been decimated by offseason moves.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00