Brad Brownell details where PJ Hall stands in recovery

Clemson forward PJ Hall battled a foot injury last season, followed by offseason knee surgery after suffering a subluxed patella during the Tiger’s summer program. He missed the team’s opening game of the season against the Citadel, but made his season debut in their following matchup against South Carolina. From that game forward, Hall has slowly but surely started to look like his old self, and Tiger’s head coach Brad Brownell spoke about his conditioning and where he’s at now following his recovery.

“Yeah it’s better, I mean it’s still not where he needs to be because he’s got to rebound the ball better,” Brownell said. “But yes, this is somewhat the first week that I’ve felt comfortable with the trainer telling me that hey, he pretty much can go now.”

Hall’s minutes have gradually increased throughout the season, playing a season-high 28 minutes in the Tigers’ last game, a 80-75 victory over Towson where Hall ended as the leading scorer with 22 points.

“We’ve got to keep an eye on it, but he can go 28, 30 minutes if you need him, we’re not on a 20-minute restriction and that kind of stuff,” Brownell said.

Hall has really come alive as of late and looked like the peak version of himself that Tiger fans are used to seeing. In his last three games, he’s scored over 20 points in each, also recording a block in each. He’s been key in Clemson’s four-game winning streak, but Brownell still wants to see improvement in other areas of his game.

“He’s obviously worked his way into it, he was terrific in terms of finishing some plays. He’s got to keep getting better on the defensive end of the floor and rebounding the basketball to help us consistently, but made some big time shots as usual,” Brownell said.

Hall led the Tigers in points and blocks per game last season, averaging 15.5 points and 1.3 blocks in every contest. He was selected as a second-team preseason All-ACC selection heading into the season, which he has more than lived up two in Clemson’s last three games. He’s not only looked healthy, but possibly improved, as he’s put together the first three-game stretch with 20 or more points in his career.

Hall and the two-loss Tigers will be looking to extend their four-game winning streak in Atlanta on Saturday as they take on Loyola Chicago as a part of Holiday Hoopsgiving.