Clemson football recruit shows Tiger coaches what he can do on basketball court

Amare Adams had some special guests when he took the court Monday with his South Florence teammates.

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney and assistants Nick Eason and Chris Rumph were watching from the baseline for the Bruins’ game against Cardinal Newman at the MLK Bash held at Eau Claire High School.

The 6-foot-3, 290-pound Clemson football commit had an average game by his standard, scoring six points with two rebounds in South Florence’s 76-48 win over Cardinal Newman. Adams sat out the majority of the fourth quarter with the game in hand and South Florence having another game on Tuesday.

“It was pretty special,” Adams told The State after the game. “The other coaches have seen me play but It was the first time coach Swinney has seen me play. I think it went pretty well.”

Adams didn’t get to speak with the Clemson coaches but said Swinney has a simple message for him through the recruiting process.

“Coach Swinney’s message is to me keep working and keep grinding,” Adams said. “He said he has seen a lot of four-five stars go down to two stars because they don’t have work ethic. I got to give 100 percent everyday and be dedicated to the game.”

Adams committed to Clemson on Dec. 3, a day after the Bruins’ state football championship game against Westside. South Carolina coach Shane Beamer and nine assistants were at Adams’ title game as well as Clemson defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin and Eason. He also considered Tennessee before picking the Tigers.

Adams plans to enroll early next January for Clemson.

“What stands out to me about them program-wise is how everyone there treats you like family,” Adams told 247Sports after his commitment. “What stands out to me about them college-wise is almost every year they fight for national titles and they put guys in the league.”

”What I like about the scheme is how they let true freshmen play and how they rotate d-linemen almost every play.”

Adams is one of eight Tigers’ commits for the Class of 2025 and one of two from in-state, joining Belton-Honea Path’s Marquise Henderson. The four-star prospect is the top-ranked player in SC, according to most recruiting services and second-highest ranked commit so far in the class.

“We got some dogs in this class,” Adams said. “We will just have to keep going.”

Adams finished the football season with 61 tackles and three sacks. He said one of his goals for next season is getting 10 or more sacks and help the Bruins to their third straight championship appearance.

On the court, Adams came into the game averaging 9.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He has four double-doubles this season and has hit 15 points twice this year.

“It is fast paced and that’s how I get my running in. It helps me with my energy and my work,” Adams said. “I love playing.”