Wednesday November 19, 2008

The Program

The Program
When Clemson beat Duke last March in the semi-finals of the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball tournament I told those close to me that I will be there to yell even louder the next home game (which is tonight).

I was not able to make it to Sunday’s ACC title game when the Tigers fell to North Carolina and could not get down to Tampa for the first round game of the NCAA tournament. So this will be my first time to let the Tigers’ players and coaches know how much I appreciate their accomplishments.

Sure Clemson is in the middle of a coaching search in football. I have thoughts on the university’s plans with the economy in ruins. And this football team still has two very important football games left but I have come up with ten reasons to be excited about Clemson basketball and why I chose to write about Tiger basketball today, the day of the 2008-09 home opener against Wofford.

1. Thanks for the memories-Tonight is a celebration for me. As mentioned earlier, I will cheer louder tonight to let the program know how much I have enjoyed watching the progress. For only the second time in school history, Clemson will open a basketball season coming off of an appearance in the ACC tournament championship game.

2. The Future-Oliver Purnell is building something at Clemson and I want to make sure I am there to see every step. Milton Jennings, Devin Booker and Donte Hill might be the highest rated class in school history. Jennings is rated as high as the number 12 player in the country according to rivals.com. He is an NBA-type of talent that could take this program to another level. Booker has some of his older brother in him and Hill is a terrific athlete.

3. The 2008-09 Tigers-As excited as I was about the past and as much as I am looking forward to the future, I am just as pumped about this team. This team will be fun to watch. Offensively this team should be able to score in its half-court sets more than any team Purnell has had at Clemson. This team has more offensive skill sets than others he has had here. Look for some nice shooting numbers and high offensive outputs to come from this group.

4. The Freshman Class-Every year this staff finds a way to continue to inject new talent that fits into the program. Tanner Smith is my kind of player. He makes everyone around him better because he plays the game like it is supposed to be played. Watch how bright he is and his good decisions. Andre Young is a dynamic point guard with quick feet and good offensive skills. Catalin Baciu still has to sit out two more games but he has a big upside.

5. Free Throw Shooting-After watching Clemson struggle from the free throw line for most of my 40 years, I am looking forward to Clemson developing into a good free throw shooting squad. The personnel is there. Andre Young has a great stroke. Tanner Smith is a terrific free throw shooter as well. Last year we say Terrence Oglesby and Demontez Stitt add ability from the line. I think K.C. Rivers will shoot it from the line better this season. Raymond Sykes and Trevor Booker are better free throw shooters than James Mays was last season too. I think David Potter’s stroke looks good right now. So far this season the Tigers are shooting 68% but shot over 70% in the final two games down in Charleston. I think this group has the potential to shoot over 70% from the line this season.

6. K.C. Rivers-This is one of two seniors and I love his all-around game. Rivers is a bright player who adds a lot on both ends of the floor. He can light it up from three-point land at times and provides toughness with his rebounding. Rivers will take Cliff Hammonds’ place as my new key player for this team.

7. Big Book-When motivated Trevor Booker can play with anybody in the country. I think Tyler Hansbrough will attest to that. I look forward to the contests this season where Booker decides that he is ready to take the game over.

8. T.O.’s Bombs-Nothing gets fans out of their seats quite like Terrence Oglesby dropping in a 25-foot bomb. His range is legendary but I also think you will see him be able to create his shot a little more this season. He is a relentless worker in the gym and I can see him continuing to develop his all-around game in 2008-09.

9. Basketball IQ-The Tigers will obviously miss Cliff Hammonds but this team is full of guys that understand the game and have a high basketball I.Q. It used to frustrate me to no end when a player from my early years of watching Clemson basketball would make a bone-headed play. I think we will see less of this in 2008-09. Tanner Smith, Andre Young, Demontez Stitt, Terrence Oglesby and K.C. Rivers all seem to have a very good understanding of the game and what Purnell wants to accomplish.

10. The Brand-Maybe the most exciting thing about Clemson basketball is the way Oliver Purnell has branded the program. Purnell has developed a program here. His players play hard and they have bought into m what he is trying to accomplish. As the talent level continues to grow then I think we will see this branding continue to ascend and his message continue to taken into more homes across the country. It is a difficult task but I think Purnell is on to something here and I think this program might be ready to explode.

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