Clemson Freshman Has Big Designs on Future

Feb. 3, 2005

By Ashley Washington Clemson Sports information

“What would happen if I tried to design an earthquake resistant building in San Francisco and an earthquake occurred and the building collapsed? I don’t want to be involved with any of that!”

Although such a fear withholds Clemson freshman guard Cliff Hammonds from pursuing a career in industrial architecture, he feels that architecture is a very fascinating subject.

“I want to focus on residential houses and apartment complexes.”

Hammonds’s grandfather, who worked with the design and construction of the Walt Disney World Resort, inspired him to learn more about structure design.

“I was always eager to know how he [grandfather] was able to be one of the designers.”

While actual courses at Clemson will help the freshman guard to fulfill his career goals as an architect, as a child he relied on hundreds of Lego’s and building blocks to develop his creativity.

Being a student-athlete studying architecture is a rigorous task, but the work ethic that Hammonds possesses will help him each step of the way. “I get my work ethic from my parents,” said Hammonds, who has started all but one game for Clemson so far this year. “They work hard at everything that they do. “

Hammonds’ parents have left an impact on him and although he is away from them in Clemson, he knows that he is obligated to put forth his best effort both on and off the court. “I just want to please them and become the best ACC player possible.”

The guard from Cairo (pronounced KAY-row), GA, is certainly on the right track. Through the first 12 weeks of the season he had been named ACC Rookie of the Week three times, tying the Clemson record for that category. The only other Clemson freshman to be named ACC Rookie of the Week three times are Tree Rollins, Skip Wise, Grayson Marshall and Greg Buckner.

Hammonds is currently third on the team in scoring with a 10.0 average. He leads the team in playing time with 29.7 minutes per game, something no Clemson freshman has ever done for the course of the season. He recently helped the Tigers to a 88-73 victory over Maryland when he had 10 points and had a team best seven assists.

Reaching the top as an individual player is one of the main goals that Hammonds has set for himself because he knows if he plays as well as he can play, it will only make the team better.

“Maybe in a couple of years, I can become an All-ACC player and maybe an All-American.” Hammonds not only looks to set such high personal goals, but he hopes to see his team achieve great accomplishments. “Before I leave [Clemson] I want to be on a top 25 team, win an ACC tournament and make it to the NCAA tournament. “To do all of this, I have to work hard. If I continue to work hard and we fail in the end, I can’t say much. But if we fail and I know that I didn’t work as hard as I could, I will regret that for the rest of my life.”

Coach Oliver Purnell is pleased with the effort he has seen from Hammonds throughout the year. “Cliff is a leader as a freshman. He has set a standard from a work ethic standpoint since he got here and the effort is paying off. He has to be regarded as one of the best freshmen in the ACC this year.”

Hammonds wants to become an effective leader on the team, but not by motivating his teammates with words. He would prefer his actions to speak for him. “I want to be a leader by example”, said Hammonds.

As Hammonds’ skills improve on the court, many opponents will need to work hard to stop him. “I want to become their main focus. I want to be double-teamed so that I can dish the ball to my teammates and help them to become better also. Hopefully the entire team will be better just because of my work ethic.”

The double-teaming ACC opponents may bring Hammonds’ way will not come as a surprise. As a child Hammonds teamed up with the younger of his two older brothers to take on their father and eldest brother in basketball. Hammonds’ father did not believe in having sympathy for the youngest brothers, but this helped Hammonds to become a stronger player.

“My best memory while playing my eldest brother and father was when I was in the sixth grade. One day, we were playing a seven-games series; we swept them four games to none! The younger guys had beaten the older guys, it was fun!”

While the three Hammonds brothers had grown up playing together, they had not gotten the opportunity to play together on a real team until Cliff was a freshman at Cairo High School. “It was real nice to play with both of them at that time. On the court, we clicked. Being in the same house all of our lives helped because we knew each other’s moves.”

During that first season at Cairo, Hammonds found a way to put his own name on the map along with his brothers. ” It was only our fourth game and we were playing our school rival. We were down by two with 25 seconds to go. I got the ball on the wing, pulled up a three-pointer and knocked it down! The crowd went wild; it was crazy! After that game, everyone knew I had a chance to be a pretty good player.”

The youngest of Hammonds’ older brothers is a sophomore basketball player at Mercer University. Hammonds had the opportunity to join his brother but instead chose what would be best for him.

“I had many offers for both football (at Stanford) and basketball, and a lot of people got impatient with me”, said Hammonds. “The coaching staff made the difference in my decision to come to Clemson. Coach Purnell, (Frank) Smith and (Kevin) Nickelberry are all great people. Coach Purnell and Coach Smith are father figures to me. If I ever have a problem, I can go to them. I felt that the very first time that I met them. Twenty years from now, I know that they won’t turn their backs on me.”

The accolades that Coach Oliver Purnell has acquired in his career also played a major factor in Hammonds’ decision. “Many people rank Coach Purnell as one of the top ‘up and coming’ coaches in college basketball. The thing that he Purnell is trying to build here at Clemson is something that I want to be a part of.”