Monday January 26, 2009

Georgia Tech Review

Georgia Tech Review
I thought last night was a tale of two halves but the second half was one of the most important stretches of this season. The Tigers came out flat and look awful in the first half. Offensively, the team stood around and was not aggressive. The offense did not run inside out and they struggled as a result.

Purnell made a key switch at the half when he inserted Jerai Grant into the lineup to begin the second half. Grant grabbed the first rebound and had a dunk in the first few minutes of the half to help start a Clemson rally. The first 11 minutes of the second half saw Clemson outscore Tech 22-6.

Grant’s play was one key. The other was the emphasis on pounding the ball inside. The Tigers got the ball inside to Booker and Grant more often but also improved because Stitt penetrated more. The first ten minutes of the second half was an impressive performance and was needed. Clemson is not the kind of team that can just sit outside of the three point line and make a living out there. The offense needs to see the ball enter the post to create more opportunities for everyone.

Grant was one of the stars once again last night. He was 4-4 from the field and 2-2 from the line. Grant had ten points, four rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

Another star of the contest was Terrence Oglesby who hit five three pointers. His 18 points were big but I also loved his four assists and his dribble penetration.

I thought Stitt played with a little more confidence last night and turned the ball over less. Some of that had to do with Georgia Tech though because let’s face it, Tech is terrible especially at point guard.

Part of Clemson’s struggles on offense stems from K.C. Rivers recent games. He is going through what every player will at one time or another. Rivers is simply in a slump. He was not as active and his shot is not fallen at this time. He has been held to single digits on three of his last four games. In that stretch, Rivers is 13-40 from the field. His free throw shooting has also struggled. Rivers has made only seven of his 15 from the free throw line.

We saw some positives and negatives from Booker last night. His free throw shooting looked better with a 7-11 performance but Booker was just 2-7 from the field. Perhaps the best news was the fact that Booker was dominant on the boards with 11 rebounds in leading the Tigers to win the rebounding battle. Booker had more defensive rebounds than Tech had offensive rebounds.

Clemson’s press was not effective again last night in that it did not create many turnovers and easy baskets. However, Tech did not get many easy baskets off of Clemson’s press either.

The Tigers did not shoot the ball well again last night. Clemson was only 37.5% from the field but it did do damage from behind the arch (35%) and the free throw line (74%). In fact, the Tigers’ 22 free throws were the second most this season.

The Tigers’ transition defense was better but Tech is not of a threat in the transition game.

All things considered, this was a solid performance and a key win. Clemson could not afford to lose to a team that was winless in the league this season. The Tigers could not have afforded to take a three-game losing streak into a road game at Virginia Tech and a home game with Duke. Had the Tigers lost last night, there would have been a real possibility of a five-game losing streak.

Changes
I am no basketball expert by any stretch of the imagination but there are a couple of things I would like to see in the next few games from the Tigers.

First, Clemson struggles getting the ball inbounds when it takes the ball out on the baseline. I think a major reason for this is personnel. The Tigers have their point guards inbounds the ball. Demontez Stitt and definitely Andre Young struggle to get the ball inbounds against a post player who is defending them. I think the shorter player has a hard time seeing the floor and getting the ball in over a larger player. I feel Clemson must make changes here. Tanner Smith is a good passer. Rivers is a good passer. The Tigers need to change the strategy here.

Second, Grant needs to continue to see his minutes grow. Last night Grant played 21 minutes and Stitt played 14. It is clear that Grant does more things well. He has better instincts, is a better rebounder and has better hands. It appears to me that Grant has a better feel for the game and a higher basketball IQ. Grant seems to make the right decisions and appears to always be in the right place at the right time.

Third, the offense has to become more post oriented. Booker needs to understand that he is a power player and not a finesse player. He needs to finish stronger but it all starts on where he gets the ball. Too often Booker receives the ball too far from the blocks. Once the ball enters the post then Clemson is more dangerous. Booker will draw more double teams and should be able to find more open spot shooters on the perimeter.

Culture Change
I am going to go into more detail tomorrow but a lot of things are changing about Clemson basketball. But others still need to change. The student sections last night was pathetic. There are no excuses. We had a big blow up segment on the radio show this morning about it and I heard them all but I will not accept the excuses. I don’t care about frat and sorority functions. Change the days of the events so they don’t conflict with home basketball games. I heard intramurals was another issue. Change the schedule so we don’t have intramural events at the same time as home basketball games. The student attendance last night was a joke and an embarrassment. This team is 17-2 and the student section had hundreds of empty seats last night. I have already started tomorrow’s blog on the subject and it won’t be pretty. Sorry but that was awful. The university and the student organizations need to get together and make basketball a bigger priority.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover-was born Wednesday, January 14 several weeks pre-mature and was 2 lbs. 15 ounces. She is doing well but like all pre-mature babies she will have to get through several issues over the next few weeks.

Mrs. Kathleen Bowers

Larry in Naples, FL. Larry is currently being kept sedated in ICU and has acute pancreatitis. Larry is going to be transferred this week to Shands in Gainesville, FL for surgery on his pancreas. The doctors are saying that there is a 40% mortality rate with this surgery and if successful, there will still be a very long recovery. Larry is a great guy and a wonderful husband/father. Larry is 32 years old.

RTG-Pawsitive Tiger

Kaitlyn L-4 year old girl in TN who has seizures and a brain lesion that may be a slow-growing tumor. She will likely have a biopsy in February.

Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter)

Sandy Wright

Jo Ann Bachman

Frank Taylor

Kenneth Bryant

Pruitt Martin

Got igers and his family

David Rowland

Leonard Gillespie and his family

Jim S

Christine Hepfer

Daniel Rosborough-4-year old Inman, SC who will have a kidney transplant 1/14/09 in Charleston

Special Prayer Request from Peggy Lesley at Brookwood Church .

I am starting a signing for my son's best friend who has cancer (Hodgkin's Lymphoma). He is 11 years old and is not doing well at all. He was diagnosed with this cancer 2 weeks ago and the tumor is next to his jugular vein and entwined in it...has moved his wind pipe over a inch making it hard for him to breathe. The tumor is the size of a large eggplant and is sitting right above his heart. This little boy needs all the prayer he can get. I would like you to sign this and pass it on to as many people as you can. Once we get to a thousand people can you please send this back to me at: 1volsgirl@bellsouth.net When I get the 1000 people that have signed it...I am going to print this up for my sons best friend and show him how many people care and how many people are praying for him to get better. If you have a heart at all, you will all do this for me. I love this child as though he is my own and we really need all the prayers!

Thank you,
Peggy

Amy Murphey - diagnosed with ALS, pray for healing

Jack Huffman

Nancy Winkler

Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan

Ronnie Queen

Creighton McCallum