Wednesday March 28, 2007

Start Spreading the News

Start Spreading the News
Clemson started playing basketball in 1911 and no team in school history has won more games than this year’s squad.

I think that statement says a lot about Oliver Purnell and the direction of this program. Clemson won at least 20 games only eight times in school history with the 25 wins in 1986-87 and now in 2006-07 being the school record for victories.

Let’s not forget that Purnell took over a team that had won only 50 games in the previous four years combined before his arrival.

Last night’s game was a microcosm of the entire season. The Tigers started out fast out of the gates only to start letting the opponent back into the game due to some pathetic free-throw shooting. They even turned it over and gave up a three-pointer with less than two seconds remaining to cut the lead to one. But in the end it was an overall impressive performance against Air Force. The season that started 17-0 gave way to a 2-9 stretch before ending the season by winning 6 of 7.

I have been impressed with Purnell’s X and Os several times this season. I thought the South Carolina game was a great coaching job where he decided to back out of the press because he knew the Gamecocks could not score in the half-court sets. The Tigers went on to win by 21.

He did the same thing against Mississippi State and Georgia and produced two more impressive wins with good strategy.

But last night was his best game plan in my opinion. I thought Air Force would have been a bad match up for the Tigers. Their offense is difficult to defend but Clemson was very well prepared for the spread offense. The Tigers were very prepared for everything the Air Force threw at them offensively and the back door cuts were not effective for most of the night.

I also thought the press was effective for different reasons. Air Force is tough to defend because they usually make you defend them in the half-court for 25-35 seconds each trip down court but the Tigers full-court press took about eight seconds off of the shot clock each time down court. Former women’s basketball coach, Jim Davis, taught me how full court pressure does not have to steal the ball in order to be affective at the women’s level because they have a shorter shot clock. In the men’s game many school do not run the clock down as far as Air Force so this is usually not a factor but the Falcons are a different story.

Clemson also did an outstanding job on the defensive boards and limited Air Force to one shot on almost every occasion.

I also thought the ESPN announcers made a great point when they gave Clemson’s scout team a lot of credit for the preparation. I watched Air Force destroy Georgia because the Dawgs looked lost on defense. Clemson looked like it knew what was coming before it happened and the staff and scout team deserve a ton of credit for it.

The players deserve credit for executing on both ends of the court also. KC Rivers had 19 including an impressive night from behind the arch. The junior was 5-10 from three and also added six important rebounds.

Cliff Hammonds carried the Tigers in the first half when Rivers was off his mark and finished with three three-pointers. Trevor Booker got going in the second half and added 13 points and some tough inside play.

But perhaps the story was the impressive 11 minutes provided by David Potter. The freshman came into the game shooting just 15% from three point land but was two for two from the field including a huge three in the closing minutes. Potter’s confidence appears to be back to where it was I the first month of the season and he now looks like he has a much brighter future.

I also thought AJ Tyler’s 11 minutes were a key. When James Mays and Trevor Booker got in foul trouble, Tyler provided solid minutes. I think this freshman understands his role and like Potter he has a bright future in the program.

Clemson brings back all but Vernon Hamilton next season and the development of role players like Raymond Sykes, Tyler and Potter will be a key to the continued progression of the program. Rivers and Hammonds should the leadership from the back court and Mays and Booker will give teams fits inside on both ends next season. The three freshmen all bring impressive credentials and the programs seems like it continues to bring in better players with each class.

One of the off-season questions will be the contract of Oliver Purnell. I think Terry Don Phillips would be wise to lock up the head coach for a longer term. The future looks even brighter if future signees LeRon Dendy, Cashmere Wright and Devon Booker are as good as advertised.

But before then Purnell and his staff will have their hands full in preparation for the finals against West Virginia. The Mountaineers are extremely well-coached. They present problems in preparation on both ends because their offense is difficult to prepare for like Air Force and NC State under Herb Sendek. Also defensively WVU plays a lot of the 1-3-1 zone which many teams do not see often.

I am not sure if the tradition was born yet in 1939 so I am not sure if the Tigers cut down the nets after winning the Southern Conference tournament in Raleigh after defeating Maryland. I did see the Tigers cut down the nets on February 28, 1990 when they beat Duke and won the regular season ACC title for the first time. I don’t think there has ever been another opportunity to cut down the nets in Clemson basketball history so Thursday night could be another landmark victory for Coach Purnell and his squad.

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