​When it comes to bulky big men at NBA summer league, the refrain typically is how such a player resembles a tight end.Miami Heat prospect Ian Schieffelin does, because he was.So from the football field at Clemson, it has been the summer hardwood in San Francisco and Las Vegas for what has become somewhat of a replay for the Heat.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn 2002 the Heat’s summer roster featured future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez, with a tryout alongside current Heat assistant coach Caron Butler, who was a rookie that year.Gonzalez would return to the NFL, in a career between the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons that would run through 2013.But included in Gonzalez’s just-for-kicks tryout was an 11-rebound performance in a victory over the Indiana Pacers summer roster, leading Heat President Pat Riley to note, “If he ever would have pursued it, I think he would have been a 10-year pro.”Unlike Gonzalez, the football pedigree is decidedly less for Schieffelin. But the desire — and need to make this work — is significantly higher.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlready there have been moments that indicate there might yet be a basketball landing spot, with Schieffelin closing with 11 points and six rebounds in a game against the Golden State Warriors’ summer roster at the California Classic and then last Friday scoring 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 2 of 3 on 3-pointers in a victory at the Las Vegas NBA Summer League over the Milwaukee Bucks.“He’s a physical player. He plays the right way,” said Wayne Ellington, the Erik Spoelstra assistant who is guiding the Heat summer roster. “He’s always trying to make the right play. He can shoot it. He can shoot it from distance. He’s very physical. He’s one of those connectors out there on the floor that glues the units together.”To appreciate Schieffelin landing on the Heat’s summer roster, is to appreciate the closeness between Spoelstra and Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney.It was Swinney, who had lost his starting tight end heading into the 2026 season, who convinced Schieffelin — listed by the Heat at 6-8, 240 pounds — to give football a shot.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn the end, Schieffelin appeared in eight games for the Tigers, with two receptions, for 10 yards.Still, the experience made him the only Clemson player to ever win both football and basketball games in Chapel Hill against North Carolina.And then, even with his basketball collegiate eligibility expired, back all-in for basketball, including bypassing Clemon’s bowl game against Penn State to create this runway to summer league.The relentless rebonding at Clemson established a reputation. The Swinner-Spoelstra connection likely sealed this summer invitation.“It’s a huge blessing. I mean, not many people can really say that they’ve done kind of what I’ve done over the past year,” said Schieffelin, with the Heat resuming their summer schedu