Monday February 04, 2008

Great Effort; Recruiting; Just Do It

Great Effort
There were some things I saw Saturday night that really re-energized my belief in Clemson basketball and the 2007-08 Tigers.

The first thing I noticed was the fans and atmosphere. Outside of Littlejohn tickets were scarce and students had to be turned down. It was refreshing to see ticket demand exceed supply for a game that did not involved Duke or North Carolina. One student told me he got to the game an hour before the game and he barely made it in.

The dominating performance was the best Clemson had played since the Alabama game and probably the best ACC performance of the season. The Tigers played well in the second half against NC State but the complete effort Saturday night was more impressive.

In my opinion, the key to the win over Boston College was a terrific defensive game. The Tigers did a fantastic job of shutting down Rice. Perhaps Cliff Hammonds had his best defensive performance of the season in the surprising effort against the BC point guard.

It was awesome to see Sam Perry have such a big impact on the game. Perry was forced into the starting lineup because of Stitt’s injury and the senior played his best game of the season. The upstate native provided energy and played outstanding defense to set the tone early.

You can’t stop David Potter, you can only hope to contain him. On a serious note, it was nice to see Potter regain his outside shooting touch. His three three-pointers continued the momentum of the offensive explosion in the second half.

Is it just me or does Jerai Grant continue to make positive contributions almost every time down court? The freshman boxes out extremely well. He is a shot blocker and he seems to play very well on the defensive end. We have even seen times where he has been a finisher on the offensive end.

When I saw Trevor Booker go down in Miami bad things went through my mind. The game was in doubt and even the season was in doubt as Booker laid on the floor in South Florida. I am not sure even the most optimistic Tiger believer could have imagined Booker playing against Boston College. Instead, Booker played extremely well against the Eagles and I think his presence against the physical bunch from BC made a huge impact in the game.

With the win, the Tigers move to 4-3 in the league and are actually in good shape in the ACC but that would not have been the case had Clemson lost Saturday night.

A look at the standings reveals three levels of teams in the conference to date. First are the two elite teams-Duke and North Carolina. The lower tier this year includes Miami, Florida State and Virginia because each has at least five conference losses. The middle tier includes the six teams (Virginia Tech, Clemson, Maryland, NC State, Wake Forest and Boston College) all teams with three or four losses in the conference.

Now the Tigers have another must win when they travel to Charlottesville on Thursday. The Cavs are 1-6 in the league and Clemson should be a rare road favorite in an ACC game.

Recruiting
The Tigers received bad news this afternoon when Dwayne Allen announced for Georgia. This is less than 24 hours after Allen had told some he was going to commit to Clemson.

Some criticized me when A.J. Harmon committed to Clemson but I pointed out on the radio that my Georgia people said it was not over and don’t be surprised if he goes to Georgia. I received a negative e-mail when I pointed out on this morning’s radio show when I said I would not be surprised with anything that happened from here on out with Allen or any prospect.

We should probably all learn a lot from the Allen situation. Despite him telling Clemson he was coming, maybe we should be very cautious when it gets this late in the process.

My point is this: If a player has waited this long to commit or is wavering at this point in his commitment, like Allen was, then who knows where he will sign on Wednesday?

Clemson is waiting on Jamie Harper and when he strolls to the podium on Wednesday he should not surprise us with anything he says. He has been to Illinois, Clemson, Florida State and Miami. Some have said that he will not go to Illinois but I would point out that never count out Ron Zook. Also when Rashard Mendenhall decided to go pro I think Illinois became a big factor. I have heard that Harper was not excited on his FSU visit but I would point out that he was not that excited on any visit and he grew up a Seminole fan. Some have downplayed Miami’s chances but the Canes had the last visit so I think they have a chance. In the end, I would say don’t be surprised by anything from Harper on Wednesday.

Clemson is waiting on Antoine McClain who took official visits to Clemson, Tennessee and Auburn. Would you be surprised by anything he says when he makes his decision on signing day?

No one in the state of Alabama has any clue what Jerrell Harris will do when he will pick from Alabama, Southern Cal, Tennessee, Clemson and Auburn.

Wednesday should be interesting and exciting and I hope the Tigers sign all of the ones they are waiting on. However, nothing that happens Wednesday would be a shocker. We all have been through this before. I was shocked in 1987 when John Johnson signed with Clemson over Georgia but when it happens year after year you tend to get used to the unexpected.

Lessons From Super Bowl XLII
The 1980s Nike slogan said “Just Do It.” Maybe the 2007 Patriots should try a new slogan, “Just Do It First Then Talk About It.” I claimed Clemson was an NCAA tournament team last season and it looked good when they started 17-0. Maybe we should do it first then claim it after the fact.

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