Brad Brownell and the Clemson basketball program have landed a big-time transfer commitment.
Viktor Lakhin, a veteran big man from Cincinnati, announced his commitment to the Tigers via his Instagram Wednesday morning.
The 6-foot-11, 240-pound grad transfer is coming off an official visit to Clemson, which concluded Tuesday.
A native of Anapa, Russia, Lakhin started 24 games with 29 total appearances as a redshirt junior for the Bearcats during the 2023-24 season, averaging 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while averaging 21.7 minutes per contest. He shot 49.8 percent from the field and totaled 23 blocked shots and 16 steals on defense.
Lakhin posted 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench at No. 1 Houston in late February, and scored a season-high 26 points (with 11 rebounds) against Eastern Washington last November — the first of six straight double-figure scoring games early in the season. He followed the EWU game with a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double against Northern Kentucky, and he had 13 double-figure scoring games for the year and three with double-digit rebounds.
Lakhin did not see action due to injury as a freshman, then again battled injury throughout his redshirt freshman season in 2021-22, when he appeared in 29 games (all in reserve duty) and averaged 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game on 53.8 percent shooting.
Lakhin’s redshirt sophomore season in 2022-23 saw him become one of the American Athletic Conference’s most-improved players, as he averaged 11.6 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds while starting 32 of the 33 games in which he appeared. He was No. 15 nationally (and tops in the AAC) with a 61.7 percent shooting clip, fourth in the league for blocks (1.4 per game) and seventh for rebounding.
Prior to Cincinnati, Lakhin averaged 9.8 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 47.2 percent from the field at the 2019 FIBA Under 18 European Championship, where he helped guide the Russians to a sixth-place finish. He played four seasons as a member of the CSKA-2 Moscow club team.
–Photo courtesy Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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