Wednesday December 03, 2008

Basketball Notes; Staff and Bowl

PIP
I have never claimed to be a basketball expert but I choose to take a very simple approach to the sport much like I do football and baseball. On the hardwood, it seems to me that pounding the ball inside and attacking the rim is the best offensive philosophy.

Points in the paint is a stat I watch every time Clemson takes the court and last night’s 76-74 win over Illinois was one of the best examples of pounding it inside that I can remember. The Tigers outscored Illinois in the paint 56-26.

Trevor Booker needs to finish stronger by attacking the rim physically as opposed to some of his finesse moves but he still had a terrific night in Champaign to the tune of 16 points and eight rebounds. Raymond Sykes was 6-6 from the field and finished with 14 points.

I was impressed with Demontez Stitt and the way he was able to penetrate and score from the paint. When your point guard goes 8-10 inside the arch, that is a good sign.

Branding
Last night was perhaps the best example we have seen of what Clemson basketball is all about under Oliver Purnell. The Tigers harassed Illinois all night with full court pressure. Purnell adjusted that pressure and showed the Big Ten foe a bunch of different looks but it was still 40 minutes of full court pressure.

Clemson’s pressure gives both teams a chance at some easy scores but it also has a cumulative effect on the opponent. The Tigers wore Illinois down last night and I don’t think Clemson would have won the game without its constant pressure. The Tigers outscored the Illini in points off of turnovers 26-12.

Stitt Takes Over
I thought a big key last night was Stitt’s ability to beat his man off of the dribble. The Matthews, NC native was able to take his man to the hole and finish his drives. Stitt was 8-11 from the field for his 18 points. It was obvious to me that the Tigers had the advantage in quickness at the point last night.

Stitt also excelled in the high screen game and the pick and roll game last night.

Because of Stitt’s quickness and the Tigers’ relentless pounding of the ball inside, Clemson’s half court offense looked as efficient as I have seen it in years. The Tigers shot 58% from the field last night.

Huge Win
Last night we saw validation of Purnell’s building of this program. How many Clemson teams would have come from behind that late in the game on the road against a Big Ten team? How many former Tiger teams would have held on to win after they got the late lead?

Purnell’s program now expects to win on the road.

His players believe.

Last night gave us another example of why this is now a program. Last night Clemson won despite not getting the best game from Terrence Oglesby, Tanner Smith, Andre Young or K.C. Rivers.

Oglesby was bad in the first half because if his poor shot selection and bad decisions. However, he did rebound to play well in the second half. Smith looked like a freshman, especially in the first half. Young, who had been playing over 20 minutes a night, played only five last night against the Illini. Rivers was cold, especially behind the arch.

We have seen Clemson win games so far with a good night from behind the arch and we have seen the Tigers win this season with terrific free throw shooting. Last night Clemson won with pressure defense and an excellent half court offense that featured 56 points in the paint. Last night was another example of how good teams can beat you in more than one way.

Staff
I would encourage fans to be patient during the next few weeks with the staff stuff. I know everyone wants to know what the new staff will look like but this will take some time for a few reasons.

Dabo wants to be fair to the seniors and he wants the entire staff to stay in place for the bowl game. He did say in his press conference that he would not address staff issues at the press conference and would not until after the bowl game. That meant he would not comment on the new staff but some took it as he would even begin to address it internally.

The reason the Koenning stuff came out yesterday was that Koenning resigned. He was told he would not be the defensive coordinator after the bowl but he could stay on for the bowl and collect his bowl bonus. Since he has other offers, Koenning decided to leave immediately to begin his new job. I think this was the right thing to do. I understand there were no hard feelings between the two parties.

The reason the Danny Pearman thing got out was because a Maryland reporter got the story. Pearman took the job Monday and Ralph Friedgen was gracious and wanted to tell the team. Dabo has not released the hiring but would be justified in doing so because Clemson has an opening at tight ends because Billy Napier moved to quarterbacks coach.

I talked to Pearman briefly early this morning. He is extremely excited to return to his alma mater and to be working with Coach Swinney.

I have not been able to confirm the Charlie Harbison deal. I think you have to be careful in these deals as the South Carolina media found out with the Woody McCorvey to USC story.

The new staff is taking shape. Dabo is interviewing more candidates this week. But how the information is released may take more time.

I have always been pretty conservative about these types of issues because my industry is still about relationships and I cannot afford to hurt them by jumping the gun trying to be the first to report.

Stay patient on this front.

Gator Bowl
Clemson’s Gator Bowl press conference is set for this afternoon. It’s hard to believe that the Tigers had to win on Saturday to even qualify for a bowl and four days later they are hosting a press conference announcing a New Year’s Day Bowl trip to Jacksonville, FL.

Momentum and fan support mean an awful lot to the bowls now but I am ecstatic to see the match-up. Is it ironic that Danny Ford’s first bowl trip as the head coach was in Jacksonville? How about the irony of Nebraska playing a big part in a young Clemson coach’s story?

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