Monday January 25, 2010

Give The Devils Their Due; Stitt Out; Recruiting

Give The Devils Their Due
One of the hardest things to do in sports is to give the opponent credit. It is especially difficult if you really don’t like the opponent.

I am not a fan of Mike Krzyzewski. In fact, it would suit me if he never won another basketball game the rest of his coaching career. It would not bother me if he had to use a bad back as an excuse again.

I am not a fan of Kyle Singler or Jon Scheyer. In fact, I would not lose two seconds of sleep if they never scored another basket in their college careers.

The next win by Duke will be too soon for me.

However, you have to give Duke credit for its 60-47 win over Clemson in Littlejohn Saturday night. The Blue Devils came into a hostile environment and took a big road win in the ACC.

How did Duke do it? I think you can point to the following:
*The Blue Devils played with tremendous effort. They had a sense of urgency. Every trip down court mattered, especially on defense.

*Duke protected the ball better than Clemson. Both teams forced a lot of turnovers in the first half but the turnovers in the second half was a major difference.

*The Blue Devils did not wear down. Singler and Scheyer played 40 minutes. Nolan Smith played 36 minutes and Lance Thomas played 35 minutes, yet Duke never allowed fatigue to become a factor.

*Nolan Smith was fantastic. He bailed Duke out on several possessions. His 22 points were a key to the Devils win.

*Thomas played perhaps his best game of the season. Clemson did a nice job in holding Singler to 12 points and Scheyer to 11 points but Thomas had 13 and that killed the Tigers.

*Duke was more physical than the Tigers. They beat Clemson on the boards (32-30) and they out hustled the Tigers. Duke played with more intensity on the defensive end. Almost every pass was contested.

*The Blue Devils played tremendous perimeter defense. Clemson is not a great three-point shooting team but Duke played well on the perimeter. The Tigers were just 2-13 from behind the three-point line.

*4>2. In essence, Duke had four scoring options with four players in double figures Saturday night. Clemson had Trevor Booker and Demontez Stitt and that was it.

Stitt Out For BC
It has been obvious that Stitt’s foot has been a factor since he injured it against NC State. Clemson is 0-2 since the injury but perhaps more alarming is the half court offense.

The Tigers had a big lead in the win in Raleigh but after Stitt went out, State cut into the lead and almost pulled out a big win. Stitt has played 34 and 35 minutes in the two games since the injury but he has not been affective.

Clemson needs him to get healthy to make a run at a good seed in the ACC tournament. Without Stitt’s ability to penetrate, Clemson’s offense looks stale at times. Stitt’s ability to drive the basketball takes pressure off of an offense that struggles without easy baskets.

One of the reasons Clemson played so well in its three ACC wins this season is the advantage the Tigers have enjoyed at point guard. Clemson dominated Boston College, NC State and North Carolina at the position but that has not been the case with the last two losses.

So Clemson will enter tomorrow night’s contest in Chestnut Hill without their starting point guard. It may be a tough task if Clemson cannot exploit their biggest advantage over the Eagles.

The Final Week
Some of the prospects in the class of 2010 have been committed for over a year and some are still undecided. Sure recruiting has changed but the last week still provides coaches with sleepless nights.

Signing day is a week from Wednesday and coaches are on the road for the final week this week. Clemson coaches are focused on three types of recruiting heading down the final stretch.

First is to secure the current commitments. Even though prospects commit early, many still take official visits to other places. The Tigers seemed to have dodged bullets so far with their current commitments. Offensive lineman David Beasley and defensive end Corey Crawford of Columbus, GA seemed to have done the rare deed when they turned away late charges from the University of Georgia. Athlete Victor Beasley appears to have turned away Auburn at this point as well. Former Florida State commitment and now current Clemson commitment Tavaris Barnes looks like has withstood all of the pressure to go to FSU including a late run by Jimbo Fisher. The latest scare is from Auburn’s pursuit of Darius Robinson, a four-star cornerback who has been committed to Clemson for months. You never know until the ink hits the paper but it appears Clemson has withstood a ton of pressure for their group of commitments so far.

The second kind of recruiting the staff is engaged with now is the securing of the final few spots. The staff will visit linebacker Justin Parker, running back D.J. Howard, athlete Keenan Allen and his half-brother Zachery Maynard and linebacker Darius Lipford this week.

Parker is still at LSU this morning and those Tigers along with South Carolina and Georgia Tech are trying to overcome Clemson’s lead with the state’s top linebacker prospect.

Lipford has been committed to Duke and North Carolina this year and the North Carolina linebacker is expected to stick with the Tar Heels in signing day.

Howard has been committed to Auburn but Clemson may be able to steal this one away late in the process just like they are trying to do with Allen, who has been committed to Alabama since November.

I think most of the remaining guys will close ranks and information will be hard to get in the final few days. I always thought if a prospect made it this far then why not go all of the way to signing day?

The final kind of recruiting the staff is participating in this week is junior recruiting. As I have mentioned several times on this blog, Clemson is poised to have an unbelievable year in recruiting next year and the staff has been working extremely hard on putting together that class which will sign in 375 days.

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, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), 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, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Bob Pollock, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Mike Kingsmore,Perrin Seigler, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, Steve Cato, the Nicolopulos family, Cason Palmer, Candace Fallaw, Scott Jackson, "the Jacksonville, FL guys".