Tuesday February 19, 2008

Purnell's Incredible Rebuilding Project

Purnell’s Incredible Rebuilding Project
If you have a weak stomach, you might not want to read this blog today. It ain’t pretty.

As a disclaimer, let me say that the purpose of the blog is to give credit to Oliver Purnell and his staff for building this basketball program. Unfortunately, one way to look at it is to compare history so please understand that this may hurt a little of you are a Tiger fan.

However, I my opinion, what should emerge from this is a renewed emphasis on just what an incredible job Purnell and crew have done at a place where it has seldom been done.

I know Roy Williams, Coach K and Gary Williams get a lot of credit for building their programs but let’s be honest and admit that they had a much better base from a historical standpoint. I wonder if anyone could have done what Purnell has done here when you consider some cold, hard facts about Clemson basketball history.

This year’s Clemson basketball team is 19-6 and 7-4 in the league. Tonight in Tallahassee Clemson will attempt to win its 20th game of the year. Clemson is in its 97th basketball season and only eight teams in the past have won 20 or more games.
1976-77 22-6
1979-80 23-9
1980-81 20-11
1986-87 25-6
1989-90 24-8
1996-97 23-10
1998-99 20-15
2006-07 25-11

This is Clemson’s 55th year in the ACC. So far Clemson has nine winning seasons in the ACC play. The Tigers are looking for their 8th ACC win of the season tonight and only nine teams have won eight or more league games in a season. Clemson went 8-4 in the league twice, 8-6 three times, 9-5 once, 9-7 once and 10-4 twice. The Tigers are 7-4 in the league with five games to go so they have a chance to win more ACC games than any other team in school history.

Clemson has had 21 head coaches but only five have ever had a winning season in the ACC. Bobby Roberts had three winning ACC seasons (63-64, 65-66, 66-67), Tates Locke did it in 74-75, Bill Foster did it in both 76-77 and 79-80, Cliff Ellis did it in 86-87 and 89-90 and Rick Barnes’ 96-97 team was the last Clemson team to have a winning record in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

This year’s team is already one of only 14 teams that have won seven or more ACC games in one season.

Remember half of those games were in Clemson. The carnage is worse on the road. Clemson is currently 2-3 on the road this season with a chance to even its road record tonight against the Seminoles. Only six Clemson teams have won three or more ACC road games in a season. The 1963-64 squad was 3-3, the 1976-77 team went 4-2 on the road, the 1986-87 set the school record with a 5-2 mark in ACC road games, the 1989-90 team went 3-4, the 1996-97 Tigers went 4-4 and last year’s 2006-07 team was 3-5 on the road in the conference.

This year’s team still has a chance at a winning record on the road in the ACC. Only two other Clemson teams have had winning records on the road in conference (1976-77 and 1986-87).

Clemson is now 66-304 on the road in the Atlantic Coast Conference games. The Tigers are 4-56 in Durham, 9-50 in College Park, 0-53 in Chapel Hill, 12-46 in Raleigh, 17-37 in Charlottesville and 12-51 in Winston-Salem.

From 1998-99 season to 2003-04 season, Clemson was 3-45 on the road in the ACC. They won three road games in six years. Purnell has won three games on the road this season. I would say things have changed for Clemson basketball.

If Clemson can only hold serve and win the remaining home games this season the Tigers will have nine ACC wins. Only four times have the Tigers won nine ACC games in one year. That is four times in 54 years.

You can blame a lot of Clemson’s trouble in the ACC on the hardwood to the struggles in the 1950s and 1960s but the recent history is worse. Coming into this season Clemson has had one winning season in the ACC in the last 17 years.

Purnell’s group faces an even bigger uphill battle versus history once his team gets into the ACC tournament. Clemson is just 14-54 in the ACC tournament.

The Tigers have won two games in the ACC tournament just once 1961-62. That was the only finals appearance.

Clemson has had a seven year losing streak in the ACC tournament, a separate eight year losing streak in the tournament and even a nine year losing streak in the ACC tournament.

Purnell is the ninth Clemson coach since the Tigers joined the ACC but only three won more ACC games. Cliff Ellis won 56 ACC games in his 10 years at Clemson. Bill Foster won 44 ACC games in his nine years and Bobby Roberts won 41 league games in his eight years in Tigertown. Purnell passed Rick Barnes on Saturday when he won his 29th ACC contest.

OK. It’s over. I will spare you anymore gory details. I think you get the picture. I hated to do it but it is only fair to look at history and see where we are now compared to the past. What Oliver Purnell has accomplished in a short time in Clemson is nothing less than amazing.

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