Monday January 12, 2009

State Review; ACC; Spiller; Recruiting

NC State Review
Clemson is now 1-0 in the ACC and 1-0 in the Big East. In case you missed Saturday’s win against N.C. State then you missed what appeared to be a Big East contest. The jersey’s looked like Clemson and N.C. State but the teams and games looked like Georgetown and Syracuse.

Saturday’s game was a bruising defensive affair. I have never been a big Sidney Lowe fan but you have to give him credit because he got his team to play extremely hard especially on the defensive end Saturday. In fact both teams contested every shot and every pass it seemed for 40 minutes.

I have said it many times now of the blog but Saturday was another example of winning a game in a different way. Good teams can win different kinds of games. Good teams can win 52-49 blood bathes where defense and rebounding is a key. Good teams can also win 95-92 games where the tempo is at a fast pace and shooting becomes more important.

Perhaps the best thing I saw Saturday was the post defense. Clemson held Brandon Costner to nine points and three rebounds and Ben McCauley to four points. The duo really was not a factor at any point in the contest.

Clemson held State to 31% from the field and just 17 first half points.

Saturday was one of those games where each possession became important and the Tigers protected the basketball well by turning it over only nine times. Clemson forced twice as many turnovers from the Wolfpack.

I thought one of the big keys to the game was Tanner Smith who had seven points, four steals, three assists and two rebounds. It was Smith’s defense and energy that provided spark for the Tigers.

This was another terrific effort from Trevor Booker who had 23 points, six rebounds and six blocks. Booker blocks gave more energy and he was 5-6 from the line. I liked many of his post moves but I wish Booker would shoot less fade aways and finish stronger.

The Tigers won despite making only two three-pointers. Terrence Oglesby had his streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer broken but State’s defense limited the sophomore to just one attempt. K.C. Rivers hit both of Clemson’s three-pointers but he was held to just nine points. However, I thought Rivers’ toughness came through with his 11 rebounds.

Jerai Grant continued his string play on the offensive end with a 2-3 effort but his defense was bigger as he was part of the effort to hold down Costner and McCauley.

It was nice to see David Potter get back on the floor. After he took an elbow in the Alabama game, there was concern about how he would come back but he looked fresh on both ends of the floor.

In my opinion another key was the way the Tigers’ backcourt handled the ball. Both point guards, Demontez Stitt and Andre Young, combined for 40 minutes without a turnover.

One last point, the crowd was once again fantastic. It is such a pleasure to see Clemson people get behind this program.

The League
After watching this weekend’s action, I came away with two observations. First, the top three teams are worthy of their rankings. Duke plays extremely hard and will be a factor all year. North Carolina is experienced and very talented. And speaking of talent, I am not sure Wake Forest is not the most talented team in the league. Clemson has two games with Wake Forest, a game at North Carolina and a home game with Duke. I would love to spilt those four contests.

The other thing I noticed is the bottom of the league is not very good but each team has enough good players to beat the top four when they have the home court advantage. We have already seen Boston College do it and they won in Chapel Hill. FSU, Miami, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Boston College and N.C. State are not as talented as the top four but I think the league may be decided by road games at these lower teams.

Spiller
I have a hunch we will hear from C.J. Spiller today. Over the weekend I heard both sides out of his camp. On Friday, a source told me he was leaving school early and entering the NFL draft. Later in the weekend the feeling was that he was staying in school. As of early this morning I am not sure he has his mind made up but I think he has a good idea of what he wants to do. The announcement may be later this week but I just have a hunch we will hear something today. I could be wrong.

Recruiting Weekend
On Friday I wrote, “If the staff could secure two or three commitments from this weekend this would be another positive step.”

They already have one and it appears the staff is poised to grab a couple of more players from the weekend. They only had 13 players on campus for official visits and six (McDowell, Shatley, Thomas, Hawkins, Christian and Goodman) were already committed. Of the seven uncommitted players I think they staff might end up with three or four. Spencer Shuey already jumped in the boat. I hear good things about the visits of Jonathan Scott, Jerquari Schofield, Justin Green and Tim Simon. I have always felt Quinton Washington was a Gamecock. Also the staff has not offered Roderic Blunt yet.

The Littlejohn Zoo-Part II
I was there in January of 1997 when Littlejohn hosted two top ten teams in the loudest sporting even I have ever been to when the Tigers hosted Wake Forest. Saturday afternoon should be the biggest basketball game on campus in over ten years.

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 lost 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:
Corey, Bob and Finn Brookover-Corey is pregnant with Finn and her water broke in mid November even though her due date was not until March. She is doing well but has been on bed rest at Greenville Memorial since November. She is now at 30 weeks and baby Finn is doing well.

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

Jack Huffman

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