Wednesday November 07, 2007

Hoops

Hoops
We are just a few days away from the start of what could be some of the most exciting football games at Clemson in many years. The next four weeks could be incredible. I have already written Thursday’s blog which is totally about football, the importance of Saturday’s game, the direction of the program, recruiting, Wake Forest and more. I am jacked about Saturday and am looking forward to one of the biggest games in recent Clemson football history. But today I wanted to write about the basketball team and what I saw from the exhibition in Littlejohn last night.

First, it was an exhibition game and there was some sloppiness and some issues did arise. However, remember you don’t game plan for an exhibition game and you don’t have any set rotations in personnel. I though they accomplished a lot last night and did it by playing a bunch of new faces early in the contest.

The returning players are what have come to expect. Cliff Hammonds is still the emotional leader of this team. He is bright and makes very good decisions. James Mays is still the playmaker in the post and Trevor Booker is still a physical force on the blocks. Sam Perry did not play a lot last night but he still gives you energy and more on the defensive end than on the offensive end of the court. Julius Powell did not have a lot of minutes and still may have issues just coming off of surgery. David Potter looked more like the player we saw against Syracuse than most of his freshman year. K.C. Rivers is still a bright basketball mind and a scoring threat from the perimeter. Rivers is also an excellent rebounder for his size.

The biggest improvement I saw from last year’s squad was in the newcomers and the overall improvement of Raymond Sykes.

Sykes has added muscle and he will become a bigger part of the plan this season. He is a very quick leaper who will add to the block shots on the defensive end and rebounding on both ends of the floor. He did not finish well last night but that will improve as the year goes on.

The thing I wanted to see more than anything else was the three freshmen and I was very pleased with the newest group of Tigers. Stitt is already an upgrade at point guard. It was refreshing to see a point guard penetrate against the zone. He is a bright player with a high basketball IQ. Stitt is very quick and displays good fundamentals and footwork. He is a much better free throw shooter and just and overall upgrade with his jump shots. Last year I was worried about the post when I went to the exhibition game but found out that night that Booker would be fine. My same worries coming into this season about the point guard were answered last night. In most areas Clemson is better this season at the position.

Oglesby is exactly what I thought he would be with the exception that he is a little more athletic than I believed. He is not just a spot shooter. Last night he showed the ability to create some space off of the dribble. I thought he might have been a liability defensively but he is better than I would have thought. His shot and range are as good as advertised.

Perhaps my biggest surprise last night was Grant. My misconception was that he was a project and he was a legacy. Not true. Grant might not play a lot of minutes this season because of depth and he still has a lot of work to do but he is not a project. He will need to become more of an offensive threat but Grant can become a terrific shot blocker and rebounder. Grant works hard underneath and is another bright player. He boxes out extremely well and just plays hard.

This freshman class does not have a future NBA lottery pick in it like UNC or Georgia Tech has had but this is another very talented class that continues in Oliver Purnell’s building of this program. It seems that each year this staff has improved the talent level through recruiting. Stitt is better than Hamilton. Oglesby is a better shooter than Hammonds was a freshman. Grant is farther along than Raymond Sykes at this stage.

The opponent was not an ACC team but I was encouraged by what I saw. Sure there were issues but I liked the overall quickness on the defensive end.

This basketball team still has issues but they have less than any team in recent memory. Purnell has built this program and this team is another step in the positive direction. They may not have the incredible start like last year and might not win a many games because of the NIT run but they will be a better team than a year ago. This team will be more competitive in the ACC and on the road.

This team should have an inside presence with Booker, Mays and Sykes. Those post players are quick and great leapers and their rebounding should cause a lot of problems. This inside presence should help the perimeter game. Rivers, Hammonds, Oglesby and Stitt are formidable threats from three-point land. The Tigers should be improved at the free throw line. Purnell said they shot 8,000 free throws so far in the pre-season practices. Rebounding should not be a big issue for this squad either. But the aspect that I saw that impressed me the most was the quickness. If this teams buys into the defensive philosophy they can be very good because the tools are there. I trust Purnell and his staff and I think we are going to continue to be very proud of this program.

The start of a special season starts Monday and I hope to see you there because this program deserves your support.

864-834-6060

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency