Clemson Adds 4-Star Lynn Kidd to 2020 Basketball Class

Some of Clemson’s front court depth concerns were addressed with a surprising late reclassification of 6’10” center Lynn Kidd from IMG in Florida. This is something that likely was pushed by the issues related to COVID-19, which threatens high school basketball seasons across the country for 2020-2021. Kidd was rated in the top 100 and a 4 star for his original class of 2021. Now Clemson gets a player with four years to play instead of looking for a one year grad transfer fix to help with the front court. While Kidd may not be as physically ready as a grad transfer would be, you like the youth and the growth potential. Clemson really needed another big body inside with Jemison’s transfer and the additional loss of Moore. Recent statements from Coach Brownell on this year’s team hasn’t had much on Jonathan Baehre, which is probably a sign they are taking it slow with him and not counting on much on the front in at the moment. Kidd should be able to give you five to nine minutes, similar to what Jemison averaged his first two seasons, and not force Clemson to go super small with Hall or Simms off the floor.

Kidd is not quite as big as Jemison was coming in but is a better athlete and should be a better rim protector. Rim protection is a serious area of need for the Tigers after ranking just 223rd in block percentage, and it was the primary factor Baehre was supposed to bring. Now Baehre’s return should not feel as urgent, and hopefully the team can get him back to the player they thought they had before the initial knee injury.

Overall, this has to be viewed as a major positive for the Tigers. Clemson gets a player that likely was going to be a tougher pull had he continued into the 2021 season. It took the possibility of blue bloods coming in late after NBA draft declarations out of the picture. Hopefully this will work out the way it did when Clemson football got Barry Richardson on a late reclassification and found the type of OT they weren’t able to get usually in those days. Now you just pray the Tigers have better luck with health than the last two seasons and that the season actually happens. The Tigers now sport 4-star talents across the front court with Simms, Hall, Prosper, and Kidd.