Friday March 06, 2009
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.
Hi Mickey,
Thanks for your depressing assessment of our situation at defensive tackle. I would have preferred one of your inspiring, upbeat blog discussions. As if that is not enough, I am already concerned about our losses at WR and our third new starting QB in four seasons. Any good news to share? We have depth at water boy, the grass is growing well in the valley, or something useful like that [sarcasm intended]?
Kirk
Kirk,
Running backs will be a strength. With Spiller, Harper, Ellington and McDowell I think the Tigers are as good as anyone in the conference at the position. Tight ends should be as good if not better. Palmer is solid, Barry has improved and Allen is a very talented kid. The offensive line will be much better.
The defensive end position is loaded. Clemson’s corners are deep and talented. I think Zimmerman will do well at punter. I like this staff and their more aggressive philosophies. There are a lot of positives out there. But like every team, Clemson has a few issues.
Mickey,
The Tigers played very little full-court diamond press last night and instead changed its primary defense to a full-court man press. The result was better half-court defense where the Tigers forced Virginia to score in their half-court sets.
Thank goodness!
David
David,
I agree. Virginia is not a very good offensive team so to force them to score in the half court was the right adjustment. They still pressured the Cavs full court but they did it in man-to-man and gave up fewer easy baskets.
Mickey,
I have to agree with both of you in that the approach does seem to be different at CU and it is too early to judge a team with 50 more games to play. However, I have always stood by my argument that the number 1 reason a team succeeds is the coach and the staff he puts together. I have never been a big Leggett fan, I loved coach Wilhelm but I do think the loss of coaches like Sully, Corbin and Pawlowski has hurt the program. I am also of the opinion that it is important to lock down your homegrown talent. Over the past 10 years or so some of the best baseball has been played in SC, NC and GA. FL will always be at the top when it comes to producing players. I have listed the roster breakdown below for both teams just for arguments sake.
CU - 34 Players
11 SC
3 GA
5 FL
5 NC
2 TX
2 VA
5 Combo (NY/VT/MA/MD)
USC - 40 Players
26 SC
3 GA
3 FL
4 NC
1 TX
1 VA
1 NY
1 CA
You can’t tell me Jack couldn’t have gotten 5 kids from places other than the Northeast. One of those, Dwyer, is a 21 year old freshman for goodness sakes. If he has a good year he’s gone. If Kyle Parker takes over at QB, guess what? Good bye baseball. Hands down CU will keep falling behind USC if Jack doesn’t find a way to keep the local talent at home. In my opinion CU took a turn downward when Chalk and Harbin left, ah once again, local kids. I’ll leave you with this and this is a true story. It came straight from a family member. I will not mention the kid’s name but if you follow baseball well enough you’ll figure out who he is.
One of, if not the top player in the Pee Dee carried his team to the state finals last year only to lose to an upstate team. The kid went on to win two World Wooden Bat titles this summer for the Diamond Devils. He is a lifelong CU fan and he was ready to commit on the spot on his visit. He planned to visit CU and USC the same weekend. He and his parents only spoke with Coach Leggett for about 30 minutes. He expressed his financial woes to Jack and that scholarship money was the top priority and he was going to visit USC. He said all Jack would say was, “Son do you want to play baseball for Clemson?” Several times he said this and acted as if he were wasting his time. The kid was devastated. He told his parents he spent his whole life as a fan of CU and it took one coach less than an hour to ruin it. The kid left Clemson, stopped in at USC, took a tour, talked scholarship money and most of all spent a good 2 - 3 hours with coach Tanner. He committed on the spot. Strike that for another homegrown kid CU missed out on. Sorry to ramble - Have a great day guys. GO TIGERS!!!
Kevin
Kevin,
South Carolina definitely takes more in-state kids than Clemson and many of them like Bouknight, Havens and Smoak have been phenomenal. However, they take a ton of players in the state that can’t play and give them minimum scholarship money. A lot of those guys don’t pan out and end up transferring out of the program. South Carolina also uses more JUCO players but it seems to work. Their lineup this year features only about South Carolina native starters but Clemson really doesn’t have any full-time starters in the lineup from the state. I will agree with you that whatever method the Gamecocks seem to have used, it is working better than Clemson in recent memory.
Mickey,
I have often wondered how Horace Grant has not been honored somehow by our athletic department? In my opinion, he is one of the better players in the history of our school. I would like to see something along the lines of what was done for Dale Davis, Barbara Kennedy, etc. Give me your thoughts please.
Thanks,
Todd
Todd,
I could be wrong but for years the reason Horace’s jersey was not retired was the fact that he did not come back to school and get his degree. The university has guidelines and graduation is a requirement for retired jerseys. In any event, Horace was one of the best in school history and deserves it. He is in the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame.
Mickey,
How could you forget about senior night in basketball against Virginia Tech in 2005? Senior night for Sharrod Ford and Olu Babalola, where they combined to score the last 10 points of the game. Babalola hit the three with 9.8 seconds left to tie the game, we got a steal on the next possession and Sharrod Ford hit the game winning slam dunk with 0.2 seconds left. That’s one of the most exciting finishes in Clemson's history, how could you not mention that in a blog about
senior night?
Other than that glaring omission, I love reading your blog and always find it insightful. Thanks for all the hard work!
Kevin
Kevin,
I was there and remember the night very well. It was not an oversight because I considered it but it was not one of my top four moments. I remember being jacked up that night about the game though and could not sleep for hours. It was a typical Clemson-Virginia Tech ending but with as dramatic of an ending as I have ever seen. On my radio show this year we recalled that night because South Carolina did something similar to Florida earlier this season.
Mickey,
I am writing with a request for your prayer list. I am a member of the Baha'i Faith (for reference, that is also Khalil Greene's religion, so Clemson fans should be at least a little bit familiar with it). Right now the leadership of the Baha'is in Iran (where the religion was born) sit in prison awaiting a kangaroo-court trial and possible execution, courtesy of trumped-up charges invented by the Islamic theocracy governing Iran. The crisis has garnered national and international attention, and continues to get worse--late last week Iran announced the Baha'is had "confessed" to charges, clearly a false claim. There is more detailed information about this situation at http://iran.bahai.us .
I know that these Baha'is are not individuals whom TigerNet would typically include in a prayer list and their names may sound foreign, but this is less about which religion they follow and more about saving their lives, which are literally at stake simply because of their faith, and about ending violent religion-based persecution. To that extent, prayers from anyone of any religion are most welcome.
The seven leaders of the Faith whose lives are in danger are:
Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi
Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani
Mr. Afif Naemi
Mr. Saeid Rezaie
Mrs. Mahvash Sabet
Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli
Mr. Vahid Tizfahm
You are welcome to state the reason for their inclusion on your blog. I would also be grateful if you could keep them on the prayer list until at least March 21, which is the Baha'i New Year.
Thank you very much for this service. Please let me know if you have any questions or if there's any further information I can provide.
Sincerely,
Ryan
Ryan,
Thanks for the e-mail. I added the names to the prayer list. Since your e-mail I went back and read more on your faith and the current situation and am sickened by the events. It was also surprised to learn how many have been executed in Iran since the late 1970s. Horrific. I think I speak for many readers of the blog when I say that we will certainly have them in our prayers. Hopefully a peaceful ending is near. Thanks again.
Mickey,
After reading the Friday e-mail bag and watching the FSU beat down (feeble comeback aside), I think its time for the blog and hopefully Purnell to re-evaluate the press. I read your points for the press on Friday and I think while correct, they don't defend the press. Since the Carolina game, I have been evaluating the press. i.e. their turnovers, our points off, vs. their easy baskets, easy transition threes, and our fouls. Duke game aside, the press has been the downfall of this squad. Did it ever occur to anyone that we play good half court D? Our holes that we dig ourselves into are generally because of a run against the press, and sure maybe the press might get us back close, but it caused the deficit. Moreover, at this point in the season, quality ACC coaches have an easy time scheming against the same press we've used since Olly got here. I think the best part of the press is the increased tempo because our half court O is pathetic. Big teams just overload Booker, KC isn't aggressive enough, and our inside passing is atrocious. Not to mention Sykes and Grant are offensively worthless unless its a dunk (and teams are realizing it). In the aftermath of losing 4 of our last 7... Can you blog your thoughts? Or ask Olly nicely to at least just go man up full court?
Phillip
Phillip,
It seems like you might have reached Purnell by phone before the Virginia game. The man press was more effective. However, I don’t think stats tell the entire story. There is a cumulative effect of wearing a team down physically and mentally. The half court offense is better when Clemson doesn’t turn the ball over and when they have an inside to outside approach. You still have to hit shots but turnovers killed this offense for a few games.
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, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Sandy Wright, 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, Ronnie Queen, Edward Putman, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Anna Rawl, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naemi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm.
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