TigerNet -- Blogs -- Mickey Plyler's Blog

Mickey Plyler's Blog

Sections

InterActive

Features

« Previous day (Jan 7, 2010) | Main | Next day (Jan 9, 2010) »

Friday January 08, 2010

Friday E-Mail Bag

Friday E-Mail Bag
Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.

I received this e-mail from Jake Nicolopulos’ mom earlier this morning:

Hello!

We have come such a long way in the past 2 1/2 weeks since our arrival at Shepherd. It is so hard to believe that a month ago we were still in the acute critical medical stage and it was still a day to day prognosis. Now we are in rehab and it is still day to day but not for the medical reason as before. It is day to day as to the see the next exciting step toward Jake's full and complete recovery.

We basically entered rehab 2 1/2 weeks ago with no right arm or leg movement and no speech. Today Jake can move his right leg and has some right shoulder, arm, and hand movement. Jake can now make some vowel and consonant sounds. The therapists say that there is increase spontaneity word production - I think that means that words that just come automatically (that he does not have to search for ) such as "hey, okay, alright, no, yeah" are increasing. Bottom line is that there is progress in all areas and they said he is progressing faster than they originally predicted 1 1/2 weeks ago.

The big event occurred yesterday as Jake walked with out a walker belted with a 2 person assist and with NO RIGHT LEG ASSIST. Interpretation: They had two therapists behind him (due to his size - one of Jake is equivalent to the 2 therapists) with a belt around his waist that they were holding on to. Otherwise, he was walking completely on his own lifting his right leg up and he did this for 50 yards. It was a direct answer to our prayers. That was the talk among the rehab room - the therapists were so excited to see him make that progress.

As you can tell many prayers have been answered. One of the greatest is that Jake is so at peace with his situation. He is not able to talk but he does not have to for us to know that there does not seem to be any sadness or bitterness. Again, we asked God to take care of his heart and his mind and He has.

Chance Veazey came by to see Jake. Chance is the baseball player form the University of Georgia who was paralyzed from the waist down in a scooter accident in November. He is two floors above Jake on the spinal cord unit. What an incredible young man who told Jake to work hard and not to give up - he knows what Jake is going through - and the power of seeing a 19 year old young man looking directly into the eyes of an 18 year old and encouraging him and saying how he is excited about life and how they are going to both have great lives....AMAZING!

I would have called them crazy if people had told me that after experiencing this event with my 18 y/o son and that only a month after the stroke, I would say 'God is so good and there have been more blessings in the past month than I have experienced in my entire life.' That is a God thing - no other explanation. Many issues that I was struggling with seem to level out when I finally "Let go and Let God." I only wish that I had done this pre stroke when my life was just the normal life with normal struggles and concerns that the majority of people go thru. Unfortunately I learned this thru a major event. Now when anything that comes up in my life , I go directly to God and pray and put it in His hands - it is total submission.

Pray that as the swelling continues to go down in Jake's brain that new functions & abilities will be revealed and that all of the brain tissue will be healthy tissue. Pray that Jake will continue to get more movement in his right arm and right leg and that more speech will come back. In other words, pray for a full and complete recovery.

God bless you and thank you for praying for Jake and our family!

Ann Louise Nicolopulos

Editors Note: You can follow Jake’s progress at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jakenicolopulos. The site is down today and tomorrow for maintenance but will be back up on Sunday.

Mickey,
Thanks for your time. Much like you, I was saddened to hear of Mac's passing last week. Mac truly was and is a Clemson Legend. I just completed my 26 season attending Clemson football games. I was introduced to Mac's Drive-In at a young age, but it wasn't until my internship at Iptay in 1996 that I was introduced to Mac personally by Bob Mahony.

Through countless double cheeseburger plates, sweet teas, and milkshakes I had the opportunity to share in many conversations with Mac. Like everyone else, I was always charmed by his wit and sense of humor as well as his ability to recall who I was and where I was from on each and every visit.

I had the pleasure of being in Columbia in 1997 the night Mac received the Order of the Palmetto. I lived in Columbia from 2000-2004 and it was not uncommon for me to drive up to get a cheeseburger at Mac's on Friday or Saturday night for the heck of it. Mac always wanted to know, "what all the chickens were crowing about down in Columbia". A couple more stories that jump out were the time I went in Mac's after attending football practice early in the Tommy Bowden era and Mac asked as I sat down at the bar, "so, you come up here to watch Sunday School?" That of course in reference to Bowden's soft practice style and lack of profanity when speaking.

I think my two favorite Mac stories took place in the last 15 months. I had the opportunity to bring my girlfriend of 4+ years and her son to the Duke game in 2008 with me and we ate dinner at Mac's on that Friday night. Just seeing someone else enjoy something that meant so much to me was a feeling I'll never forget. Mac came down and personally welcomed them and took a few minutes to speak with them and take our orders on what was a busy Friday night. They still talk about the cheeseburger plates and milkshakes. Then I remember when Dabo was hired in December 2008. I drove up from Florence on that Monday to attend the press conference. I had lunch at Mac's upon my arrival that day and dinner following the press conference. Mac was showing the 2008 USC game on the big screen while we ate and fellowshipped. You were there. I remember asking Mac what he thought about it and he said it was like Christmas. "We gotta coach now," I can still hear him saying.

I began a new job in Anderson on Monday, January 4. It has been a lifelong dream to be able to call this area home. In moving to the area from Florence, I looked forward to being closer to Clemson and Mac's Drive-In. The cheeseburgers, teas, and shakes will still be there and the memory and legend of Mac will live on with each glass of tea poured and cheeseburger served.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Neil

Neil,
Thanks for sharing. The food is just as good as ever there but the place will never be the same. I guess it is up to us old timers to continue to share stories about this legend. See you guys soon.

Mickey,
Your articles are always on point and good, but the article "More Than One Way to Skin a Cat" really did make you think when looking at different programs and talents. Great prospective.

Tiger Stripes

Tiger Stripes,
Thanks for the kind words. I would love to go and sign great ones every year like Alabama and Texas but I am also realistic enough to know that Clemson might have to win another way. Thank goodness there is another way to do it. Maybe we should look more at what Oliver Purnell has done in building his program.

Mickey,
Just read your blog “More than one way to skin a cat,” and found it refreshing and encouraging. One person responded saying something like, “Yeah, but Iowa plays in weak conference.” Good grief. If the ACC isn’t a relatively “weak to average” conference I’m not sure what is. It’s not like those 10 wins wouldn’t equal 10 wins in the ACC… they probably amount to more. Way to go Coach Ferentz. His strategy has paid some handsome dividends at Iowa and having Dabo employ his own unique approach can do the same or better for us, especially since we will never consistently recruit alongside the likes of ‘Bama, Texas, and Florida. 10+ wins per season. I think I could enjoy that.

Bobby

Bobby,
I don’t care if Clemson does it with five star players or if the staff has to coach up a bunch of two stars. I just want to win. In golf they say that there are no pictures on a scorecard. I don’t care if the Tigers do it with a terrific offense or a shut down defense. Just get it done. I do think one way Clemson can differentiate is in Dabo’s player-coach relationship skills. I think they could build upon his people skills and this unique style of leadership.

Mickey,
Your thoughts regarding new men's soccer coach and our program??

Gerald

Gerald,
I don’t know a lot about Coach Noonan but he did have success at Brown. I do think he has a very difficult job waiting on him here. The soccer program has a great tradition but the job has changed recently. First is the tuition issue. The NCAA allows men’s soccer programs to give 9.9 scholarships but big programs have 20-25 players. This means the average scholarship player has about half of a scholarship. The difficult part of the Clemson job is the fact that the state of South Carolina is not strong in high school soccer compared to other states. Rarely does the state produce a large number of soccer players who can contribute at this level. Therefore Clemson has to go out of state for most of its players. The problem here is the out of state students pay over $30,000 per year to go to school here. Soccer players on a half scholarship still have to come up with over $15,000 per year or about $60,000 over their four-year careers. The state of North Carolina produces more soccer players and their in-state tuition is lower. Also private schools like Wake Forest can provide exemptions. Many times over the past Clemson has been beaten on players that go to UNC or Wake Forest for free or close to nothing instead of paying huge tuition to come to Clemson. This is a big factor in sports that do not have a bunch of scholarships. Baseball is another one. Men’s golf at Clemson does well because of the great in-state talent but many of the Olympic sports at Clemson that are struggling are struggling because of the out of state tuition issue. Noonan may turn things around but he has a difficult job.

Mickey,

I haven't gotten to watch a lot of Clemson basketball yet this year thanks to it not being on where I'm at and Wake Forest going to double OT, but what I have seen has been pretty disappointing. It seems like the Tigers are working backwards a lot of the time. By that I mean we have one of the best inside players in the ACC if not country and we are shooting from the outside first. I would expect us to throw it to Booker early and often and he will either get his points or the other team will send extra defenders which allows for the kick out to an open player from long. It seems like we go completely backwards coming down and jacking up threes expecting Booker to get the rebound and giving him the ball high on the floor where he has to face up and he isn't as skilled. When we went on the run to start the second half against Duke there were 3 or 4 straight possessions where we threw it low to Booker, as soon as we stopped that we went back to shooting average looks under pressure. Am I totally off base because of the small sample size of basketball I've gotten or do you see that too?

Thanks,
Richard

Richard,
Clemson will have to do two things to improve the half court offense. First, they need to make sure many more possessions go through the inside game and Trevor Booker. He definitely needs to touch the ball more. Teams do understand that Booker is the best option and will do everything they can to shut him down but one way to make sure he is shut down is for Clemson to not even try to get the ball inside to him. The point guards have to enter the basketball on the post better.

The second aspect of the half court offense is more balance. Clemson needs to find other contributors we can become more consistent. I think that can come from Noel Johnson. I think it can come from Demontez Stitt’s penetration. I think it can come from David Potter at times. It may have to come from Grant’s rebounding, Smith’s toughness or Devin Booker’s development. We all would like to see Milton Jennings gain more confidence as well. But someone will have to step up and add balance to the half court sets.

I will warn you that the season is young and this team is still trying to develop an identity. Hopefully that starts against Boston College.

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 list 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:
Finn Brookover, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Bob Pollock, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Mike Kingsmore,Perrin Seigler, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, Steve Cato, the Nicolopulos family, Cason Palmer, Candace Fallaw, Scott Jackson, "the Jacksonville, FL guys".

Posted by Mickey Plyler @ 11:10 AM EST [ Comments [2] ]