Wednesday May 16, 2007

The Billy Napier of Basketball

The Billy Napier of Basketball
As most of you know, I am not a huge basketball fan. I like it but I am not as passionate about Clemson basketball as I am football. I like Coach Purnell and the direction the program is going and I don’t miss home games. However, I don’t travel to the road games with the same enthusiasm.

Perhaps my college roommate said it best, “When Clemson football loses it hurts for six days when Clemson basketball loses it hurts for six hours.” Maybe that is because basketball plays so much more often than football. Maybe it is the tradition. I like Littlejohn but I love Death Valley.

But earlier this week I received a couple of phone calls that really increased my interest and outlook for the future of Clemson basketball. Last week, I wrote a blog on the future of Clemson athletics. In it I mentioned Shaka Smart as one of the bright young coaches in basketball. Until a few weeks ago I did not know how involved Smart was in the offense and just how detailed he was as a recruiter.

I will tell you that I have a limited number of sources in basketball. I only talk to a hand full of college and high school coaches in the sport. I just don’t have the number of contacts in basketball. I talk to five coaches at the college level, all of them assistants. I talk to even less high school basketball coaches. In all, I would say I have less than 10 basketball people I can call and get good info.

However, one of the phone calls from a trusted basketball source got my attention. He had read the blog last week about Smart and wanted to add to the subject matter. “Let me put Shaka in terms you would understand,” he said. ‘Shaka is the Billy Napier of basketball.” He knew how much I respected Napier and his hard work, enthusiasm, knowledge and energy and said Smart is Napier’s counterpart.

Needless to say I got excited about the future of Clemson basketball and began calling around trying to get some recruiting information. What I heard was even better news.

“Clemson will have its best class since the days of Skip Wise and Tree Rollins days,” said an out of conference assistant. “Their 2008 class might be the best in school history and 2009 might be just as good.”

One coach told me that the Tigers are in great shape with more players in the top 100 than any time in school history. “They got the point guard/combo guard they wanted. He is top 100. I think they get the top 100 big man they targeted. And I think they get one of the three or four top 100-types among wings they are looking at. Clemson is going head to head with the big boys and it would not shock me if they had a top 20 class in 08.”

Several factors have the Tigers in good shape with these type of players. One of the hard work of the staff that targeted players early. In many cases they were among the first to offer some of these players and the Dukes and North Carolinas have come on recently. Also the program received a bunch of positive publicity this past season with the great start.

So here are a few of the names to watch in the Class of 2008:

Cashmere Wright (6-0, 170) from Urban Christian in Savannah, GA committed to the Tigers in February after receiving offers from Georgia Tech, Georgia, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Florida State and several other programs. He is a point guard that can score the basketball. Rivals gives him a four star rating and calls Wright the nation’s 21st best shooting guard and 91st overall player in the Class of 2008. Scout calls him a three star and says he is the 22nd best shooting guard in the country.

Catalin Baciu (7-1, 230) from Veritas Christian Academy in Fletcher, NC will announce his commitment to either Clemson or South Carolina this Thursday at 2:00 pm at his school. The native of Romania is ranked as the nation’s seventh best center and 87th overall player by Rivals who says he is a four star prospect. Scout has him a four star as well and says he is the nation’s 12th best center prospect. One out of state college assistant coach told me Tuesday, ‘He is underrated as it is. I am telling you Bo Bo is a program changer.” The big man had offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wake Forest, NC State and Memphis among others.

Iman Shumpert (6-4, 185) of Oak Park, IL is a top 100 player that is considering all of the major powers but Clemson is right in the thick of things with this Chicago star. He is not close to making a decision but Clemson should get an unofficial visit and are among the favorites for an official visit. Rivals ranks Shumpert as a four star prospect, the number 11 shooting guard in the country and the number 41 overall prospect in his class. Scout ranks him as a five star and the number four shooting guard in America. Illinois, Georgia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, Tennessee, Miami, Northwestern, Iowa, Marquette and Wisconsin are among the other favorites for Shumpert’s signature.

Scott Suggs (6-6, 180) of Augusta, MO is another top 100 player that Smart is recruiting. The St. Louis product is rated as a four star by Rivals who ranks him as the 17th rated shooting guard and number 72 overall player in the country. Scout agrees on the four-star status and has Suggs as the nation’s 11th best shooting guard. He has offers from Clemson, Illinois, Florida, Missouri, Georgia Tech and many others. He told Rivals that Florida, Clemson, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and Washington were his top seven.

Elliott Williams (6-4, 180) of Memphis, TN is rated by Rivals as the number four shooting guard and the number 20 overall prospect in the country. Both Rivals and Scout agree Williams is a five-star player and Scout has him as the nation’s number five shooting guard. Tennessee, Virginia, Vanderbilt, Clemson and Memphis are in the top five for Williams heading into the summer but he is another player that national powers will start to recruit more intensely.

Clemson would like to sign four players in the class of 2008. The staff has the point guard the targeted in Wright. If they get Baciu tomorrow they will have their big man. They would like to sign a top 100-type player on the wing and they are in it with the likes of Shumpert, Williams and Suggs. Then the fourth would be the best available wing or post player and don’t forget about players like Murphy Holloway at Dutch Fork in Columbia.

Imagine the Class of 2008 with three or four of the top 100 players in the country coming to Clemson. It may sound like a long shot but from what I found out earlier in the week I would not bet against Coach Purnell and Coach Smart.

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