Friday Email Bag
Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions please email me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.
Mickey,
Another beat down in Chapel Hill and raise your hand if you were surprised? This may wind up being one of the worst North Carolina teams in recent memory and Clemson had zero chance to win the game. Why, because Clemson does not have the talent that is needed to win and the question of whether that will change becomes bigger each year. Is
Brad Brownell
Brad Brownell
Head Coach
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a good coach, absolutely. Is Brad Brownell a coach that can recruit enough talent for Clemson to be relevant in the ACC, very doubtful. Will the new Clemson administration make a move to show that basketball can and should be important and fork out the money to hire a big time coach and see if that will make a difference? Should two straight disasters force a move or should the reality that trying to win in a league with the teams the ACC has and then add Louisville to the mix be the factor? I know what my vote would be.
Andy
Andy,
I would be very surprised if the administration is even thinking about a change. I agree that Sunday was a disappointment but I think Brownell and his staff have improved off of last year and am encouraged for next season with no seniors plus the addition of Rooks, DeVoe and Grantham. The Clemson basketball job is one of the toughest in the country but it is not impossible. There are several ways to get it done and Brownell's plan is to continue to upgrade the talent and excel in player development. They understand how difficult it is to recruit against the UNC's, Syracuse's and Duke's of the world. They plan to do it through player development. I am still encouraged at this stage.
Mickey,
Clemson should look at UTC's basketball coach when we are ready to hire a new coach. Instead of the boring, mediocre and embarrassing style now used by Clemson, the game will be fun and exciting again. I hope that our athletic director has his name written down on a short list when the time comes for a change.-David
P.S. The UTC coach is a Clemson graduate!
David,
Clemson is not close to making a move at this point. I would be shocked if Brownell is on the hot seat. The coach you spoke of is Will Wade the new coach at UTC. He is in his first year and has had great success. In fact, I went to see his team beat Furman a few weeks ago in Greenville. I like Coach Wade and his staff and think he has a very bright future but there is not an opening at Clemson and doubt there will be in the short term.
Mickey,
I read your excellent blog all the time but have never sent an e-mail before now. Let me start by saying I'm as hard core of a Clemson fan as you will find, and have been for a long time. I watched Buddy Gore and Ray Yauger in the Valley to give you some sense of my tenure following Clemson football. I do have a concern that I wanted to share with you and your readers. I attended the first and last games of the 2012 season in Atlanta against Auburn and LSU respectively, and most recently the Orange Bowl against Ohio State. At all three of these games, I felt very, very outnumbered by the fans from the other team. The Orange Bowl this year was the worst. This was not a scientific assessment, but simply what I observed during pre-game tail-gating, Fan Zone, and at the games themselves. No complaints about the outcomes of these games! However, I remember when I attended the 1977 Gator Bowl that we outnumbered the Pittsburgh fans probably ten to one - it was hard to find anybody in that stadium that wasn't sporting a tiger paw. So it concerns me that our turnout at these recent big games has been so poor compared to the opposition. I realize that these schools have larger alumni bases than we do, especially Ohio State. But at the Chik-fil-A bowl last year LSU fans had every right not to show up. They had been in the NC game the year before, and had to travel much further than we did to attend. But they really turned out! I will add that the Clemson fans in all cases were more vocal and enthusiastic, but were always in the great minority. So what do we need to do to get the Tiger Nation to really return to the days when we traveled in droves to bowl games, and show up in the numbers that a big time football program should?
John
John,
I think there is one simple answer to your question and that is beat South Carolina. I get the feeling that a lot of Clemson fans are still tripping over their bottom lips after losing to South Carolina. I was at the Chick-fil-a Bowl in 2003 after the Tigers beat South Carolina 63-17 and the building was 70% Clemson. My guess is that Clemson fans will respond with a better bowl attendance when you see the Tigers beat South Carolina.
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