A night to remember for The Chef

CLEMSON — As a sports fan, I’m always going to have favorite players.

I’ve got to say my favorite basketball player right now is Clemson University’s Ian “The Chef” Schieffelin. He’s not the tallest or fastest. He doesn’t leap out of the gym. He just gets after it and makes plays.

Last Wednesday night, I went to see The Chef and Clemson play in person at Littlejohn Coliseum – as just a sports fan with no camera or clipboard – in an 83-68 victory over the University of Notre Dame.

It was a night to remember, too.

The Chef turned in a career-high 24 points against the Fighting Irish, along with 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 assists. There was one stretch of the game that The Chef went on an 11-0 run by himself to help break the game open.

But for me, the coolest part of the game – that I did not expect at all – was when Scheiffelin went over the 1,000-point mark in his career at Clemson and the big jumbo screen lit up with his picture and his accomplishment.

Schieffelin is listed at 6-foot-8 on the Tigers roster (and that might be exaggerated a bit like all rosters), but he always finds a way to get his shot off in the post and be productive against taller and more athletic players.

My take on Lakhin: To me, Clemson can play with any team WHEN 6-foot-11 and 245-pound center Viktor Lakhin stays out of foul trouble. They need him on the court! Lakhin looks unstoppable at times on offense when he gets that jump-hook going in the blocks. Notre Dame quickly rallied (and even took the lead) last week when Lakhin was on the bench.

Easley’s Crews in North-South All-Star Game: Easley senior sharpshooter Ethan Crews has been selected to play in the North-South All-Star game that will be played on Saturday, March 29 at Brookland Cayce High School. His teammates on the North team will include: RJ Hill (South Point, 4A), Keenan Arcega-Whiteside (Dorman, 5A), Bryson Taylor (Dutch Fork, 5A), Dontez Walker (JL Mann, 5A), Bryce Peterson (Andrew Jackson, 2A), Jaleel McGee (Powdersville, 3A), Jamari Cullen (Byrnes, 5A), Brock Cherry (Wren, 4A), Tyrek Wright (McBee, 1A), Jacarey Ballard (Lancaster, 4A) and Nas Berry (Fort Mill, 5A).

Palmetto Games: The dates have been set for the Palmetto Games at Clemson University on April 18-19. Volunteers are needed and no experience necessary. You can register at: bit.ly/palmettogames2025.