Friday March 09, 2007

Friday E-mail Bag

Friday's E-Mail Bag
On Fridays we publish your comments and questions. To submit an e-mail, I can be reached at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com. Also, if I have not answered your e-mail yet please stay with me. I am behind because of the high volume but I am trying to get back to everyone of them. Thanks.

Dear Mickey,
Mickey, I just listened to the show headed up by Phil Kornblut and they all basically make a mockery of anyone who would suggest that refs had any bearing on our problem in basketball today or anytime earlier. Maybe they were right, but their obvious joyous attitude made me vow to never listen to their show ever again. They tried to make a fool of a caller who I thought was dead on. Is it me or are key games handicapped against Clemson when Mike Wood is a ref ? I would love to get bios on refs much like we get about coaches and players to at least let us know a little about their loyalties even though thy are so obvious to me or my imagination. Are there any stats in key games (not ones that don't matter) to point to any oddities that may back up my thoughts that some refs may have it in for us? Can you figure out how to get some stats on this? I know that everyone says that good teams find a way to be good enough to play through the refs but we play good enough a lot of times and still get the hose.
Mark

Mark,
Larry Shyatt had the records of Clemson games with each ref broken down. Granted the ACC record was not very good but the one ref that might have been the worse record was Mike Wood. He lives in the upstate and does a ton of Clemson games. I know the previous staff was disturbed when they found out Wood had their game.

Hello Mickey:
The story of Clemson's season can be summarized in the following statement from the Clemson website describing the closing moments of the game against FSU,".....then drove the baseline on the other end for a dunk that tied the game for the last time."

Smart players hit free throws and play defense. Smart coaches do not fall into the same bad habits that plagued their predecessors. There is no eason Clemson should be such a poor free-throw shooting team other than the fact we do not have players that know how to shoot consistently from more than a few feet away from the basket. Give me a smart player, rather than an "athlete" any day...... Okay, I have vented!
Go Tigers!
Best Regards,
Kirk

Kirk,
I feel for you brother. It was painstaking to watch it happen again and again. I cringed when the point guard would pass the ball as soon as he got it past half court the entire last three years. I hate it when the point guard hits the trailing post player at the top of the key 35 feet from the basket. I don't know of another point guard in the league that handles the ball less than Clemson's. Painstaking I tell ya! I agree on the playing smart deal. The Duke game was a great example of the team that played smarter won.

Mr. Plyler,
I was wondering if you could give me an update on a few situations.
#1
Is CJ Spiller 100% committed to the Clemson Tigers after all that went down with his mom and ideas of transferring?
#2
Does Markish Jones really want to be a Tiger or is he coming here because his LOI is binding. A student athlete coming out of high school should be able to change his mind and besides, I only want players who are committed to helping Clemson win.
#3
Has Rob Spence and Tommy Bowden found a way to keep both Spiller and Davis happy? i.e. # of carries, game time
#4
Who is the most accurate passer of our 4 QBs? Harper, Reese, Wade or Korn?
Any info would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance, Chris
Chris

Chris,
Spiller appears to be committed. Now we will not know until August if he is completely committed but I expect him to be here this fall. I don't think Markish Jones has ever known what he wants to do. I think Spence and Bowden will get the ball to Davis and Spiller more often this season. Both guys are unselfish but both need to be part of the game plan more. In my estimation I would say Korn is the most accurate passer Clemson has signed in years.

Mick,
Is it over? Can I come out of my cave yet? Is Spring football here yet? Is there any hope for Clemson athletics?
Curious George

George,
It is not over yet. Unfortunately we still have the NIT to deal with. You come out of your cave because this weekend marks the start of spring practice and it is junior day in recruiting. I think this weekend we will hear from a bunch of prospects that are coming to Tigertown for the junior day. Spring ball should be interesting because of the quarterback battle. Plus Clemson baseball and golf are national powers. Glad to have you back. How was the nap?

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