thanks mick... I was actually not aware that those two games

Plyler's Blog: Different Endings

TigerNet News® · 2016-03-10T15:30:11.129Z

Different Endings Different Endings Hindsight is a wonderful tool that we often use in analyzing sports. If we had the benefit of hindsight in life, we all would make better decisions. But after going to the Clemson baseball game and watching the Tiger basketball game last night, in hindsight maybe we shou Full Story »

I believe it's more on the coaching. If the basketball team didn't have the talent then how do you explain the 18 point lead. The talent is there, maybe not a top 25 talent but easily better than GT. Look how the football team reacts to Coach Sweeney. They have bought into what he's selling them. We are starting to see the same thing with Coach Lee. Both teams believe that when they take the field they can beat anyone. The young energetic coaches are connecting with the players and they will do whatever it takes to win. It shows in the recruiting as well. What we need in basketball is a Dabo or Monte that connects to the player before he comes to Clemson and buys into what ever he is selling. The players don't have to be the best player in their position. Look what a former walk-on did to a former 5* player during the NC game. Other than Clemson fans that saw what Renfro could do all year long, who would have guessed that he would have done that. If Coach Brownell is to stay around he needs to have either Dabo or Monte as a mentor and learn how to connect with his players better. It doesn't matter how much talent you have if they haven't bought into what you are selling them. Go Tigers.

sbrooks®

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I don't buy all of what you're saying

Mar 10, 2016, 4:30 PM

I have been (and continue to be) a BB supporter but I will admit that was a poorly coached game in the last 5 minutes. Probably the worst coaching job he has done since coming to Clemson.

Your Renfro analogy is not accurate in my view as football gets 20 (+/-) players every year so the odds of one or two players "beating" the star rating is much higher than basketball, which is normally 2-3 players per recruiting class. Football has whiffed on many evaluations but has more opportunities to "hide" under-performing players than a sport like basketball.

BB needs to improve his recruiting, that is a fact. I am hopeful the long need renovations to LJ will provide him the format to up the overall talent at Clemson. Keep in mind that Dabo has received the lion's share of the upgrades in facilities over Bowden in recruiting (this is not to say Bowden would be on par with Dabo but hopefully you get my drift) as facilities do matter in that phase of the program. BB will not recruit via the typical AAU route; he has blatantly stated directly to me he will not cheat. Therefore, his opportunities are narrowed but I personally don't fault a man for standing up to his principles, especially those I agree with. SC is not a good HS basketball state, add to our (lack of) tradition, limited support from fans/administration, playing in the best league in the country, etc, all contribute to the challenges that are very real at Clemson in basketball.

I was furious last night at the absolute choke of biblical proportions and do feel BB deserves much of the blame for the poor play at the end. However, he has played above 50-50 ball in ACC play, which is impressive for the Tiger's program. What is mostly never mentioned is that we could have won every conference game this year as we were in a dogfight against every team we played until the bitter end. Sure, I would have loved to win them all or at least a few more but I frankly don't remember when a Clemson team didn't get drilled a time (or five) every year in the ACC. I think that shows his team IS BUYING into his program. In fact, if our Guard play was 10-15% better, I think we would have won 3-4 more games.

So, let's not lose sight of the big picture and give the man a fair shot with new, quality facilities a year or two before cutting ties just because, well, we're mad at losing the big lead last night.