Thursday November 30, 2006

8-0, Recruiting, 1/10: Gaines

8-0
The Tigers played their best game of the year last night and perhaps one of the most complete performances under Oliver Purnell with a 22-point victory at Minnesota. No one will confuse the Gophers for an NCAA tournament team but some of the numbers from last night were impressive.

*Clemson out rebounded Minnesota last night 43-22 and were even more dominant on the offensive boards with their 24-5 advantage.

*I loved seeing the pressure defense that created 24 Minnesota turnovers which lead to 27 points.

*As I have stated before the depth is a key to this squad and two numbers stick out here. First, K.C. Rivers lead the team in scoring by coming off of the bench for 22 points. Also, the Tigers bench outscored Minnesota’s bench 40-5.

*We have seen Clemson play that kind of pressure defense and we have seen the depth this season but we have not seen the shooting percentages like last night. The Tigers hit 12 three-pointers and shot 38.5% behind the arch. A 12-31 night from three is like shoot 58% from inside the arch. Clemson out scored the Gophers from three 36-12.

*Clemson also hit 67% of their free throws last night. If they shoot 67% from the line this season they will be an NCAA tournament team in my opinion. Also, Clemson shot 47% from the field which a number I would think would get them in the NCAA field if they shot that way every night.

*Minnesota shot an amazing 73% in the first half and 56% for the entire game and still got beat by 22.

*Balance is another key to this season as Clemson had five guys in double figures.

In summary, last night’s game was not against a national power but it was an impressive win against a Big 10 team on the road. The Tigers are 8-0 with good wins over Old Dominion, Mississippi State and Minnesota. Clemson has six more non-conference games and could emerge with an 13-1 or better record. The key will be to get at least a spilt with USC and Georgia. I believe an 13-1 out of conference mark combined with an 8-8 ACC mark would get the Tigers in the Big Dance.

Recruiting Update
The Tiger football staff is on the road in full force this week, the first week they can be on the road. The staff has met with all of their high school commitments so far this week and almost all of the guys they are high on that are uncommitted.

Burton Burns was in Louisiana Wednesday checking on one of the nation’s top ten players who has also scheduled an official visit to Tigertown. Joe McKnight is an All-American from River Ridge, LA who says he will visit Clemson, LSU and Southern Cal. It is believed that LSU is the favorite but McKnight has not been involved too much in recruiting because his team does not allow for official visits until after his season is complete. This Friday his team will play in the state semi-finals.

Clemson has also already been in to see tight end Rob Gronkowski who is still looking at Clemson, Ohio State, Arizona and Maryland. One note here is Arizona offensive coordinator Mike Canales resigned this week.

Next week I will put the entire Clemson recruiting board on the blog but here is a list of the top 20 uncommitted prospects the Tigers are still recruiting:

Joe McKnight	RB	River Ridge, LA	LSU,SOCAL,CL

Eric Baker	RB	Jacksonville, FL	SC,WV,GA,CL

Ryan Houston	RB	Matthews, NC	NC COMMITMENT

Dwight Jones	WR	Burlington, NC	NC COMMITMENT

Bruce Gronkowski	TE	Pittsburgh, PA	OSU,CL,MD,ARIZ

George Bryan	TE	Wilmington, NC	NCSU COMMITMENT

Billy Chavis	TE	Beaumont, TX	IOWA,BAY,CL,ARI,MIZ

Chris Little	OL	Jeffersonville, GA	CL,FL,FSU,ND,GA,LSU

Miquel Chavis	DE	Hargrave Military, VA	TN,GA,CL,NC,MD

Carlos Dunlap	DE	N. Charleston, SC	FL,SC,CL,TN,AUB

Tony Tucker	DE	Washington, DC	VT,CL,MD,PITT,GT

Kourtnei Brown	DE	Charlotte, NC	AL COMMITMENT

Byron Clear	DE	Hoover, AL	AL,CL,AUB,NCSU

Wesley Saunders	DT	Durham, NC	NC,SC,CL,NCSU

Ian Williams	DT	Longwood, FL	FL,CL,AUB,OM,SC

Chris Walker	LB	Memphis, TN	TN,LSU,FSU,AL,CL

Brandon Hicks	LB	Jacksonville, FL	MIA,FL,LSU,CL,NEB

Lorenzo Edwards	LB	Orlando, FL	ND,MCH,FL,CL,GT

Larry Asante	LB 	Coffeyville CC, KS	ARK,NEB,CL,ISU,KSU

Chris Culliver	DB	Garner, NC	CL,FL,FSU,SC

January 10
Six Clemson commitments should enroll in January and be ready for spring practice. Willy Korn, Xavier Dye, Brian Linthicum, Landon Walker, Julius Wilkerson and DeAndre McDaniel have indicated they will enroll on January 10. This is a huge advantage for each player for different reasons. Korn will join the race to be the starting quarterback the first day he steps on campus. Like Korn, I believe McDaniel has a chance to make his mark in the spring and improve his chances at cracking the two-deep. Depth at tight end might also dictate that Linthicum could improve his chances. Walker may get a look playing time at offensive tackle for next season but if not he will get yet another semester to get stronger. Dye has grown two inches in the last year and his tall frame will be beneficial but I think he will have a chance to improve his strength and his chances of competing as well. I think Wilkerson is a prospect that could grow into a bandit, therefore a red-shirt could be needed.

Congrats to Gaines
When Gaines Adams decided to come back for his senior season I thought he would have the chance to win major awards, set Clemson records and improve his draft status. I believe he has accomplished all three. Yesterday, he was named the ACC Defensive player of the year and he is a finalist for several national awards. He is also graduating in December and should impress pro scouts in individual workouts. Congrats to Adams, a true role model for how it is supposed to be done.

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