The ‘wake up call’ that helped Clemson’s top recruit take his game to another level
P.J. Hall arrived at Clemson as the top-ranked prospect from the state of South Carolina for the class of 2020, a top-60 recruit nationally and the third-highest ranked player to ever sign with Clemson.
Fans weren’t the only ones with high expectations for Hall entering his freshman season. He also had high expectations for himself.
“I think with my skill set, with my physicality, I’m able to stretch the defense and shoot from beyond the arc and then get down low and do some dirty work. That’ll really translate to the ACC,” Hall told The State this summer. “I really can’t wait. It’s going to be fun.”
Shortly after arriving at Clemson, however, Hall wasn’t having a ton of fun going up against Aamir Simms every day at practice. Hall received what he describes as a “wake-up call” from the All-ACC senior forward.
Simms and Hall were matched up against each other in scrimmages and practices throughout the preseason, and it didn’t take Hall long to realize that he wasn’t in high school anymore.
Simms is 6-foot-8, 245 pounds and versatile. He can take you outside and knock down a jumper with his silky smooth stroke, drive to the hole and finish at the rim using his length and athleticism or bang in the post and get a bucket with his soft touch around the basket.
In short, Simms is a nightmare to defend, especially for a freshman.
“He’s getting a lesson in the difference between high school basketball and high-level college basketball dealing every day with Aamir Simms,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said this preseason. “His first scrimmage was not very good, to be frank. He played about 25 minutes and didn’t get much of anything done. ... Aamir didn’t allow him to get much done.”
Fast forward a few weeks to Clemson’s season opener against Mississippi State in the Space Coast Challenge and you’d have no idea Hall was a player who struggled initially adjusting to the college game.
With Simms in foul trouble, Hall came off the bench to score 10 points, pull down seven rebounds and lead Clemson to a 53-42 win over MSU. Clemson went on to win the Space Coast Challenge, knocking off Purdue the following day.
After battling Simms all preseason and putting in a lot of extra time in the gym on his own, Hall was ready when his number was called.
“Our team needs him to be really good sooner rather than later. That’s the message I gave P.J. and have been giving P.J. for months now,” Brownell said. “Ironically, the first game of the season, we really needed him to be good. If he doesn’t play well, we’re not going to win. He played well and we won.”
‘Gym rat’
Hall describes himself as a “gym rat,” so it’s no surprise that when he wasn’t initially having the results that he wanted at Clemson, he put in the work to get better.
Hall was so addicted to improving during his time at Dorman High that his dad was given a key to the gym so that coaches wouldn’t always have to drive to the school and unlock it. Hall says he would sometimes be there until 1 a.m. when he didn’t have school the following day.
“There’s something about being in the gym alone,” he said. “I walk out onto the court and start dribbling. You can feel the vibration in your feet.”
This summer, with no gym to go to with everything shut down due to COVID-19, Hall put in work on his outdoor goal in his driveway. He would move the cars from blocking the basket and spend hours a day on the concrete working on his shooting and ball handling.
The two issues Hall had with those driveway sessions:
1. If he missed, he might have to climb the fence and chase the ball into the backyard.
2. His feet became sore from spending so much time on the concrete surface.
Still, he enjoyed the work and it made him a better player.
“It was weird getting back to my roots, because I grew up always playing out here. Me and my brother always played out here, and my sister,” Hall said. “You lose track of time. You do your workout and then you just keep shooting and shooting.”
It wasn’t ideal, but it helped him.
Arriving at Clemson
Hall regularly worked on his game on his outdoor goal throughout the spring and into the summer, before arriving at Clemson in June.
After a week of isolation, he was able to participate in workouts and see where he stacked up with Clemson’s other players.
From early on, he was usually matched up with Simms, a matchup he describes as “very frustrating and mentally challenging.”
“I’ve not only never played against someone who’s as skilled as Aamir, I’ve never played against someone who’s as smart as that guy,” Hall said. “Knowing that he knew exactly what to do and where to be every play was rough. But I knew it was making me better.”
Hall’s early battles with Simms were “a wake-up call that you’re not the best player anymore,” Hall said.
How did he handle the mental and physical challenge?
“It was more just a reassurance that I needed to stay the course and make sure every day I was getting in extra work,” he said. “And knowing if I stayed the course me and Aamir would make each other better, not just him making me better. Every day I was just trying to get a little better than I was the day before.”
The last couple of weeks leading up to Clemson’s opener, Hall turned a corner and gained confidence going up against Simms.
He started having some success against the senior and knew that if he could make plays against Simms, he would be just fine during games. Hall averaged 7.5 points and four rebounds in the Space Coast Challenge while playing about 15 minutes per game. He had eight points and five rebounds in the first half of Clemson’s opener against Mississippi State, knocking down mid-range jumpers and battling on the boards.
“After going up against Aamir for four months, I knew that not a whole lot of people were going to be as good as him,” Hall said. “I had a lot of confidence that I could go out there and showcase what I’ve been working on.”
‘The sky’s the limit’
Hall still has plenty of areas where he needs to improve, but he’s off to a good start. Just in the first four months of his college career, he’s made big strides.
“For a freshman to do what he did in his first couple of games, that’s pretty impressive,” Brownell said. “P.J.’s got tremendous upside. He’s going to be a great player at Clemson.”
Hall is likely to play a bench role during his freshman season, giving Simms a breather and stepping up when he’s in foul trouble. It’s also possible Hall and Simms will play at the same as the year goes along.
“Having P.J. there, who can come in and play smart and just fill the void when I’m not on the court and do his thing is very major,” Simms said. “I think he’ll be very key for our team, especially when I’m out of the game. The offense can still flow through P.J. and he’ll be just fine.”
With Simms leaving after this season, the offense will likely flow through Hall. It’s a role Hall should be ready for after getting his feet wet this year.
Clemson guard Nick Honor, who is Clemson’s second-leading scorer at 12.5 points per game, believes “the sky is the limit” for Hall.
“Man, P.J. Hall’s going to be good,” Honor said. “He brings a lot of versatility to the team. He has a willingness to learn. By the middle of the season, you’ll see the real P.J. Hall.”
Honor has already seen big improvement from Hall in his first few months on campus and said it’s fun to watch him battle with Simms at practice.
“They’ve been going at it,” Honor said. “P.J.’s been going at him as well. So definitely good to see, because it only makes both of them better.”
Clemson is 3-0 after knocking off South Carolina State in its home opener on Wednesday, and there is excitement around the program, not only for this season but for the future. Hall is a big reason why.
“I’ve probably coached P.J. as hard as anybody on our team so far this year, because I think he can be really good,” Brownell said. “Aamir’s done a great job of mentoring him. ... If you wanna be a great player, you just watch that guy every day.”
And practice against him.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 11:27 AM with the headline "The ‘wake up call’ that helped Clemson’s top recruit take his game to another level."
