Hoops
Like some of you, I have been disappointed in the inconsistency of the basketball team this season. I came into this season with high hopes that this team could build on the momentum the program built with the NIT run last season. Instead the opposite has happened.
The hope was this team could keep the fan base engaged. Last season it was encouraging to see Littlejohn Coliseum fill up for the NIT games. The fans fell in love with that team because they saw how hard the guys played. They grew to love the high intensity on the defensive end. The appreciated guys giving everything they had. There was a bond between the players and the fans.
Instead this team has not shown the guts and the grit. The fans have watched less talented teams like Gardner Webb, Winthrop and Rutgers beat Clemson and do it with more effort.
Brad Brownell
Brad Brownell
Head Coach
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built his reputation as a defensive minded coach that also excelled in player development. We have seen very little of that this season. Turnovers have been an issue and many of the turnovers have come from upperclassmen. The defense has been a huge disappointment at times and Brownell has admitted such.
The frustrating part of this team is they have shown signs of being very good. The win over LSU gives us hope. This past weekend the Tigers beat a very good Arkansas squad. But inconsistency and effort is the major concern.
As a Clemson basketball fan I have grown to live with losses. I don't mind losing in basketball. I understand who we are and the uphill battle we have in the sport. I understand our history and our lack of tradition, facilities and support. I know we play in the nation's best basketball conference. I know Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and NC State offer more than we do in the sport. I can live with that.
What I can't live with is the lack of being who we are supposed to be. Brownell talked last year about the identity of the program. He compared his program to the old football teams of
Danny Ford
Danny Ford
Former Head Coach
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where we grinded out three yards and a cloud of dust. This is the program the fans embraced at the end of last season. They fell in love with the intensity on the defensive end of the floor. They didn't mind grinding it out on the offensive end. The just loved watching our guys play hard. This season some of that has been missing.
It is not too late for this team. Often times I have to remind myself that November and December basketball is about finding your way. It is often times about defining roles. But if this team is to get back on the right side of the ledger they have to get back to who we are. This is not a terrific shooting team. It is one that has to win on the defensive end of the floor first.
Wins will get more difficult in January, especially if the intensity is not there on a consistent basis.
In summary, I don't measure Clemson basketball on wins and losses like I do in football and baseball. I want to be proud of our guys for playing hard. Anything less than your best effort is a disappointment. I am ready to like this team again.
The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency
Prayer List
The prayer list is a medium for our community to recognize those that are in need. If you would like to add someone to the list, please email me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com. Please let me know when it is appropriate to remove a person off the list.
Those who need our prayers include: Jo Ann Bachman, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got Igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S., Daniel Rosborough, the Huffman family, Nancy Winkler, John Reeve, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L., Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Perrin Seigler, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, the Nicolopulos family, "the Jacksonville, FL guys," Kim Sims, the Coyle family, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee, Kelly Trakas, Jimmy Moore, the Thomas V. family, Emary Claire Young, Kitty Bowers, Julie Locke, the Scheider family, Lauren Kittles' family, Frank Gentry, Stacey McKeown, Dale Childs, Larry Lentz, Jr., Carl Sharperson, Scott Hannon, William Perry, Tyler Swaney, Lillian, Mark Feit, David Frame, the family of Matthew M. Watson, the Dowis family, Alan Putnam, the Olivers, Lee Tate, Ronnie Abrams, Eddie Greene, the Jackson family, Bill Vader, Jim Taylor, Tina DeWitt, Rock Horne, Bobby Wayne Thomas, Emma and Danielle Carothers, Robert Ditty, Mr. and Mrs. Murray Smith, Millie Heatley, Lynn Martin and family, Michael Pinson, Jake David family, Angie Crowley, Ira, Mike Tolson, Poly Wells, Dr. Muriel Bishop, Jack Cunningham, Emily Jefford Meister, Zachary Stoller, Aaron Clackum, Pat James, Cortney Moore, William Moore, Angelia and Savannah Anderson, William Ross, Scott Johns, Frank Carroll, Brandon Thompson, Alvin Sammons, Georgine McAlhaney, Glen Davis, Mike Price, Clay Childers, Aaron Knight, Danielle Johnston and family, Nicholas Abrams, Lana Kuykendall, Gary, Gary G., William Huggins, Jim Bennett, Chantz Fowler, Ethel McElveen, Michele Gurganus, William Gentry, Lewis Usher and Tanya Sanders, Shon Cooper, Nick Collins, Amanda Peake, Danny Hammond, Chip Turner, Nick Collins, Allen Steen, the Sturkey family, the Lance family, Nick Chrisley's family, Allison Williams, Lt. Kyle Walker, Summer and Joel Johnson, Nicole O'Donnell, James O. Johnson, Joy Pruett and family, Bill Schmidt, Jack Bailey, Gardner Family, Charles Turner, Kathy Bartholomew, Ray Sanders, David and Robin Blocker, J.R. Ray, Kenneth Kowe, Lauren Sielicki, Jenna Phipps, Mark Lawrence, Jonathan and Jacki Sullins, Peter Laboy, Kat and Carlisle Jones, Elizabeth Galloway and family, Anita McDonald, Willard Harryman, Liz Surratt, Molly Senn, Jackie Shearer, Richard Sellers, Tim Drisdelle, Edward Easterling, Dawson Bourne, Susan and Mike Brown, Julie Goodman Marshall, Willard and Dorothy Harryman, Justin Jernigan, Jack Cunningham, Mia Daughtery, Tee Senn, Bob Garrett, Skylar, Joseph Thomas, Mrs. Nelis, Jeanne Thompson, Sean Rowell, George Parker, Levon Kirkland and family, Catherine Sewell, Randy Davenport, David Vaughn, Keith Dalton, B.T., Bill Hilbig, Rita Elrod Hammond and family, Jim McKeller, Tony Alewine, Sharon Storck, Dick Baird, Richard Bagnal, Dustin and Brittany Peurifoy, Jan Allan, Josh Cox, Gregg and Sylvia Lewis, Travis Hamrick, Kaki Harmon, Brandy Stephens, Jammie McKellar and babies, Karen Edwards, Jackson Lindsey, Cathy Hutson Gregg, Kristin Heckman, Jennifer Johnson, Jay Johnson, Lyndsie Johnson, Emily Davis, Hayes Davis, Judy Towe, Johnny Towe, Ken Brown, Elaine Brown, Rhonda Thompson, Tim Davis, Jacob Greinke, Jack Finley, Richard and Clara Crawford, Zach and Griffin Johnson, Israel, Frankie Allen, Bobby Allen, the Wessinger family, the Parsons family, Todd Price and family, Rosemary A Flynn, Dr. Mickey Shealy family, Sarah McManus, Mr. Gillespie, Al Evans, Craig Rush, Bobbi Nicholson, and our great country and the men and women in uniform that protect and serve it every day, plus their families.
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