Men’s Basketball Holds Awards Banquet

CLEMSON, S.C. — The men’s basketball program announced its 2014-15 award winners at the annual year-end banquet Tuesday in Littlejohn Coliseum. Senior guard Rod Hall took home the top honor of the night, the Paul Bowie Most Valuable Player Award, while Jaron Blossomgame was the recipient of two honors — Most Improved Player and the Tiger Strength Award.

The full list of award winners is below.

Paul Bowie Most Valuable Player

Rod Hall

• Led the Tigers in assists a third straight season

• Second on the squad in points per game and tied for team lead in steals

• Finished career ninth in Clemson history in starts, minutes and assists

Tom Lynch Most Improved Player

Jaron Blossomgame

• Improved scoring average from 4.9 to 13.1 points per game as a sophomore

• Improved rebounding average from 5.0 to 8.2 per game

• Increased field goal percentage, free throw percentage and three-point percentage over his freshman season

Tiger Pride Award

Josh Smith

• Appeared in all 31 games and shot career-best 52 percent from the field

• Scored game-winning putback against Wake Forest with 0.5 seconds left on January 24

Tiger Strength Award

Jaron Blossomgame

• Responsible for eight of Clemson’s nine double-doubles

• Posted 12 of Clemson’s 14 double-figure rebounding games

Academic Excellence Award

Riley McGillan

• Joined team as a walk-on this season after two years as a student manager

• Marketing major has over a 3.4 cumulative GPA

Andy Balliet “Spirit of Clemson” Award

Walt Ayers

• Avid program supporter who has spearheaded alumni functions for several years

• Three-year letterman who appeared in 66 career games

• Member of the Tigers’ 1966-67 team that went 17-8 overall, 9-5 in the ACC