Clemson is very lucky.....

Jan 1, 2008, 6:46 PM

to have OP as our coach. He is the real deal and I hope we will really work hard to keep him going forward. I am impressed with him in a bunch of areas.

His kids always come to play and they don't back down from anybody. We sure don't win them all but you can always expect big effort win or lose. I think a lot of that is directly tied to his leadership and mental toughness/calm demeanor that he displays at all times.

Recruiting - The talent seems to get better every year and he has transitioned from just taking "athletes" to getting guys like Rivers/Oglesby/Stitt/Booker that are basketball players. The three guys this he signed this year TO/Stitt/Grant are all contributors and will be going forward and those in the know say next years class is just as strong or better. This is the first year since he has been here that we have a number of viable offensive threats when we need to score. We are no longer a "shut down one guy and Clemson is toast" type team. He also seems to bring in solid character type kids that fit the program and represent the university well.

Player development - OP has taken guys like Sykes and Potter who I wondered if they would be consistent performers when they came in and really developed them into solid depth off the bench that are integral/productive parts of our team. Potter to me has improved light years since he joined. He has become a weapon for us off the bench.

Bench coaching - He does a nice job of scheming to put us in a good place to win by swapping defenses or personnel groupings. I love his defense first mentality and I think that is the real key to our success. I also like the way he will mix a little zone every once in a while to throw other teams off their game. He also seems to make adjustments at the half that are helpful.

Well thought of nationally - He is a great face for our program and really has us on the move. I guess the detractors would say what about the 17-0 season last year and the collapse. My thought would be that the 17-0 start was actually a result of us playing over our head. At the start of last year I would not have guessed we were a lock for the tournament. The fast start got my hopes up but we were a year too early. The addition of Grant/Stitt/TO this season makes me think that we will be consistent NCAA participants for years to come.

Just a few thought I had about the program. I would love to hear from others.

Thanks OP for all you are doing for the Bball program!

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One other thing I should have pointed out that he is not building a great team but a great program. Some schools get an A list type player an build around him while he is in school. When that guy leaves, the program slips significantly. OP has taken a lot of talented components and built a solid team without having any true franchiuse type guys. That is not a knock on our guys but a compliment. The beauty here is that no one player is pivotal to our success. Losing James Mayes early this year was a perfect example. In years past if we lost a guy like James, we could easily go in the tank. We are better with James in the lineup, but in his absence folks like Sykes and Booker stepped up to pick up the slack. That bodes well for the future of the program.

Clemson is very lucky.....

Very well put.***

Having good assistant coaching is key also. These are the

As fans, we need to show him more support....

amen******

My father in law gushed about OP the other night

The only thing I'm disappointed about is.....

Re: Clemson is very lucky.....

Re: Clemson is very lucky.....Agree with everything you said

Re: Clemson is very lucky.....

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