Friday March 12, 2010
Friday E-Mail Bag
Friday E-Mail Bag
Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.
Mickey,
You are right about our "talent". My question is-where are all the players OP was supposed to bring here. We have reached our peak in basketball and it is sad.
Don
Don,
I am not sure about the peak but it is certainly a possibility. I will say that we are in much better shape now than when he took over and at some point it is difficult to continue to improve. This is still a team that will play in the NCAA tournament for the third straight year and that has happened only once in school history. This is not an extremely talented basketball team. Besides Booker, I am not sure who other schools in the conference would trade us for. The freshman class showed some promise but I am concerned about the number of players they missed on in the upcoming recruiting class.
Mickey,
I'm a OP fan, and he has made huge strides in improving the BBall program. BUT I can't help feeling he's the cause of bad tournament play. You say we belong, but I wonder if his confidence is there when tournament time arises? This team looked awfully tight tonight, and I'd give it up to nerves if I haven't seen past teams under OP do the same. I just wonder if not winning a NCAA tournament game isn't lingering in the back of his mind.
There is something there where coaching is involved you don't keep losing in tournaments like this especially when you are the better team without something causing it. We've only played well in one ACC tournament, and horrible in the NCAA something has to give!
Curt
Curt,
They have not played well in the ACC tournament but I am giving Purnell a pass on this one. I don’t think his confidence is an issue, I thought the Tigers looked tired and heavy legged last night. I thought NC State outhustled us. I know they out rebounded us. It is hard to swallow watching a team play harder than your team. For the first time in a while, I thought NC State outworked Clemson last night. Free throw shooting was another issue. I don’t blame fans for being frustrated last night so hopefully a better result will follow next Thursday or Friday.
Mickey,
I thought you're blog yesterday was spot on. One of the things our football and basketball coaches have in common is they have given us a reason to believe again. This is the first step in getting Clemson Athletics back where they belong. They have restored the pride that makes Clemson a special place. I think the best years are in front of us, and for that we owe these coaches a debt of gratitude.
Thanks,
BP
BP,
I have seen hopeless and these two guys make us anything but hopeless. Sometimes we forget our history. It was not that long ago when we had little hope and that is an awful feeling. Losing games is never fun but at least with these two coaches, you don’t feel hopeless.
Mr. Plyler,
Do you think Clemson has got a legit shot at Crowell? What about Townsend (I saw he’s been receiving attention from Florida), Peake (I saw he’s been getting more offers), and Clowney (He went to USuC’s Junior day instead of Clemson’s)
Thanks
Alex
Alex,
First, you have asked about four of the top 50-100 players in America so the competition will be tough. All four will have offers from anyone that recruits their areas. Crowell is getting a hard push from Alabama and they have a great story to tell him. As usual Georgia will be tough to beat in their own state but Clemson is in the game with Crowell. He really likes CJ Spiller and how Clemson used him. I don’t think the Tigers sign Crowell but they are in the game.
The three in-state players should be a little better chance because of location. Clemson has not done well in Rock Hill but Clowney will give Clemson a shot. They are not the favorite but the Tigers are at least in the game with Clowney.
Clemson is the leader for both Townsend and Peake. Townsend grew up a Clemson fan. It will be hard to turn down programs like Florida but it is easier if you grew up a fan of an in-state school.
Peake is a Clemson lean and I think Billy Napier did a great job of identifying him early. Peake will have to turn down a ton of big-time programs but I think he and Townsend end up at Clemson.
Mickey,
Could we get Jim Davis back?
JC
JC,
I think we could but I think we all know the administration would never admit their mistake. They would never admit that their action destroyed anything he built. My guess is they will try to hire someone who looks a little different than Jim Davis.
Mickey,
I'm sure you'll do a blog which mentions the opening for the WBB coaching position. If you're like me, you just want the program to get back to the top of the conference.
One candidate you may want to mention in your blog is Carey Green.
He was the top asst with Jim Davis from 1987-99, which was Clemson's most successful periods for WBB.
He took the head coaching job at Big South conference school, Liberty and has won 9 out of 10 conference championships. He has had 9 NCAA appearances and one sweet 16 appearance.
He seems like the obvious choice: Recruiting ties to the area, success at Clemson, and success as a head coach.
If the administration is looking for the right "PERSON" for the job, they may need to hire this proven head coach who helped to build the program.
John
John,
I knew Coach Green well when he was here and have followed him a little since he left. He has done an incredible job and would be a terrific fit here at Clemson. I just have my doubts that the administration would hire him. I think they will go with a completely different direction. I hope I am wrong.
Mickey,
In your blog on Monday, you said:
"I personally don’t think Hess is a bad official but I did have a caller on my radio show this morning point out that over the last two seasons including the ACC tournament, Hess has worked 10 Clemson games and the Tigers are 1-9 in those games. In the 23 ACC games he has not worked Clemson is 17-6. We win 10% with him and 74% without him.
I am an irrational fan but I don’t think he has anything against Clemson. Maybe it is just pure coincidence. But that is a decent sample size and 74% and 10% over 33 games is a big margin."
That said, any chance you can break down for us how many of those 10 games were at home/away/neutral... And contrast that with the other 23 games at home/away/neutral? I say this because we lose most games on the road and win most games at home and that stat doesn't mean TOO much to me if the majority of those games that Hess officiated is on the road. But the stat is significant nonetheless. The call against us at the end of the Wake game was pivotal, and it LOOKED more like a jump-ball than a foul. THAT foul pretty much put the game away from that point on...unless, of course, we pulled a Vernon Hamilton-esque 3-point miracle a la Duke from a couple years back. I don't think the officiating was that big of a deal from the overall standpoint of the game. All we had to do was play a LITTLE better and we win that game.
Also, was Hess the official back in '08 when we SHOULD have beat UNC in Chapel Hill and in '07 when 3 seconds were put on the clock at the end of the Duke game? If so, then yeah, he hates us... ;)
Thanks and I hope Ryan is doing well,
Ian
Ian,
I think your request is very valid. This sounds like a summertime project for a blog. I will try to spend some time in the off-season doing the research. In the end, I don’t think officiating is the main reason for losses but it is a factor in some games. I will try to spend some time in a few weeks looking into your request.
Mickey,
Thanks for your input on the practice. I don't think I could get enough. In your opinion, do you think Brandon Ford would be better suited at tight end. I know he's tall but I can't remember if has the weight. Seems like he has more of a tight end skill set than a wide out.
Luke
Luke,
I don’t see Ford moving to tight end. He does not have that kind of body right now. Ford does not run well for a wide receiver but I am not ready to give up on him playing receiver yet. I think he catches the ball well and has good ball skills. There are a ton of possession receivers out there who run like Ford that are productive receivers. I think he can still develop into a threat in the offense.
Mickey,
I am not a big follower of women's basketball at all, let alone Clemson's women's team, but given the very poor performance and seemingly hopeless program they have year after year, what is the actual benefit of retaining the women's program?
Now I'm not trying to be cold, mean, or anything of that nature, but the lady Tiger's have been abysmal for years, and I can't imagine the program being very profitable.
What's your thoughts on them either turning it around, or doing away with it all together?
Thanks,
Billy
Billy,
I do like your idea of either play to win championships or give up and pack it in. However, I don’t think the women’s basketball program at Clemson has to be hopeless. I have seen the Lady Tigers win two ACC championships and it felt good to see it. You are correct about the profitability of the program but that is the case with every program except football and basketball. Character development and leadership development are important in non-revenue sports and this program still has value. The key is hiring the right coach and getting the program back on track.
The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency
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Plain and simple OP = Tommy Bowden. Both took over bad teams. Both returned Clemson to some national relevance so that even top level recruits will listen now. Both couldnt finish the job. Both have teams that suck on the road. Both lose to teams they shouldnt lose to. How many more years till the AD realizes its time to move on? OP has been great for Clemson but he's already peaked and has stagnated. Need new blood to rejuvinate the team
Posted by DV_1981 on March 12, 2010 at 09:29 AM EST #
"I am not a big follower of women's basketball at all, let alone Clemson's women's team, but given the very poor performance and seemingly hopeless program they have year after year, what is the actual benefit of retaining the women's program?
Now I'm not trying to be cold, mean, or anything of that nature, but the lady Tiger's have been abysmal for years, and I can't imagine the program being very profitable.
What's your thoughts on them either turning it around, or doing away with it all together? "
Doesn't their have to be a balance between men's and women's sports? In other words, if we dropped Women's Basketball, wouldn't we have to drop a Men's Varsity sport as well to keep a balance?
Posted by Tiger Rag+Fishing+Team on March 12, 2010 at 09:36 AM EST #
Mickey-
When will we (Clemson fans) get over the super hype we exhibit when we win games--usually at home-- prior to bombing out in a major performance. We lost the last ACC game to WFU-not a very good team, based on their poor play against Miami. then we go to Greensboro and show our fanny in ACC Tournament. NCSU not only waxed us last night; they out recruited us for the incoming class. OP and staff have to get some players and soon. So, I ask when will they get that done?
Posted by bbrown cren on March 12, 2010 at 09:37 AM EST #
Title IX (renamed the "Patsy T Mink Equal Opportunity in Eductation Act" after the liberal Democratic congresswoman who proposed it) dictates that cutting the women's basketball program would require cutting a men's sports program of similar participation. The idea behind the act was to eliminate sex discrimination. But the result was that many men's teams were eliminated.
Posted by Razzmatazz on March 12, 2010 at 11:13 AM EST #
Wait...I'm confused...how can OP be building a program in one sentence and we be "not that talented" the next? How can OP be such a great asset if he can't recruit or X and O(an we KNOW he can't X and O)? Barnes success was always attributed to the Boogie/O/Wideman class. Why does nobody say the same for OP's Hammonds/Mayes/Perry class? We seemed to have slipped a little more every year since they graduated. The FOUNDATION you crowed about after we blew the Nova lead seems non-exsistant now...Care to explain
Posted by CM Shack on March 12, 2010 at 01:48 PM EST #
OP = Tommy Bowden?
Posted by Fort Mill+TIGER on March 12, 2010 at 04:22 PM EST #
Mickey,
Getting rid of Jim Davis as women's basketball coach was not a mistake. I have been to just about every home game for the Lady Tigers for 18 years now.
Jim just let the program slide during his last few years here. His refusal to shake hands with the visiting UNC coach was really the low point. His very negative behavior to his own team during games and his negative public comments about his own team were deplorable.
Few parents would have let their daughters play there if they were to see the way he acted while coaching a game.
I went to Greensboro the 2 years the girls won the ACC--he was a very good coach then.
Glad McKinney is gone but I'm afraid Davis is not the answer.
Posted by Fardog on March 13, 2010 at 02:06 AM EST #
Mickey wants to give Oliver a pass for last night's NC State game, and the ACC tourney one and dones for 4 of 5 years including the last two to double digit seeds. What about the last two one and dones to double digit seeds in the NCAAs? If they don't win this weekend, it will now be five straight post-season tournament losses. It is no longer good enough just to get to the tournament. Oliver is the best regular season coach in Clemson history, but until he wins in March, you can NOT say he is the best coach overall. It is clear his system (recruiting and coaching) does not fit into tournament style formats where half court offense and controlling and dictating pace in the last 5 mins of the game is key to winning.
Posted by Bowden's 12th+man on March 13, 2010 at 11:57 AM EST #