Game 27 Notes: Clemson vs. Maryland |
Game 27: Clemson vs. Maryland Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2002 9:00 PM (EST) Littlejohn Coliseum (11,020) Clemson, SC TV: Raycom/Jefferson Pilot-Split Play By Play: Mike Hogewood * Color Analyst: Gil McGregor Radio: Clemson Tiger Sports Properties Play By Play: Jim Phillips * Color Analyst: Tim Bourret Clemson vs. Maryland Series * Maryland holds a 79-42 lead in the series with Clemson. The Terps have dominated the series in College Park, winning 47 of the 55 games. The Tigers did win there over a top-12 Maryland team five years ago (1996-97), and also won on Maryland's Senior Day in 1992-93. * Maryland has won eight straight against the Tigers, including both meetings the last three years. The Terps have beaten Clemson by double digits five of the last six games, but never by more than 17. Maryland won at College Park earlier this year, 99-90. * Clemson came close to victory over Maryland in Larry Shyatt's first year, an 81-79 Terp win in overtime at Littlejohn Coliseum. Andrius Jurkunas hit a jumper at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, but he Terps came away with the win in overtime. * Larry Shyatt has not defeated Maryland as the head coach at Clemson in seven tries. Duke and Maryland are the only two teams Shyatt has failed to defeat. Wake Forest was also in that category until Clemson's 118-115 upset of the #17 ranked Demon Deacons last Wednesday. * Shyatt was on the sidelines when the Tigers swept Maryland in the regular season of 1996-97 as Clemson's associate head coach. Clemson defeated ranked Maryland teams both times that year. * Clemson has a 31-22 lead in games played at Clemson, including an 18-15 lead in games played at Littlejohn Coliseum. Maryland leads 10-3 on neutral sites. * The last time the two teams met at Clemson it was a high scoring affair. Maryland held a 59-56 lead at halftime before winning, 104-92. Clemson made 13 three-point goals in that game, led by Will Solomon who made seven threes and scored 32 points. Chris Hobbs had a double-double off the bench in just 22 minutes. First Meeting this Year Maryland 99, Clemson 90 Jan. 20, 2002 at College Park, MD Clemson placed all five starters in double figures and made a school record tying 15 three-point goals, yet lost to third-ranked Maryland in College Park, 99-90 on Jan. 20. Clemson also had a +10 rebound margin and blocked six shots defensively. Tony Stockman led the Tigers with 22 points, including 6-13 on three-point goals. Edward Scott contributed 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in playing all 40 minutes. The scoring total was his top effort in an ACC game as a Clemson player. Jamar McKnight scored 10 points in the game's first five minutes and finished the game with 19. He also had six rebounds, added a career-high four assists and was 3-4 on three-point shooting. Ray Henderson added his eighth double-double of the season as he collected 11 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. Chris Hobbs had 12 points and nine rebounds to round out Clemson's double-digit scorers. Maryland was led by Juan Dixon with 23 points, while Lonny Baxter added 21. Chris Wilcox was the top Terp overall with 17 points and a game high 14 rebounds. Drew Nicholas added 14 points and six assists off the bench. Steve Blake scored just three points, but had 13 assists in running the Maryland offense. Byron Mouton scored 14 points, including 4-6 on three-point goals. Mouton had made just seven three-point goals all year entering the game. The contest was close throughout as there were 19 lead changes and 13 ties in the game, including 15 lead changes in the first half. Clemson made 7 of its first 8 shots from the field and led 24-23 at the 12:32 mark of the first half. McKnight, Scott and Stockman connected on long-range jumpers, while Maryland scored from the inside. Tiger turnovers were a key in the first half as Maryland had a 19-1 lead in points off turnovers at intermission. It was a 52-48 lead for Maryland at intermission. Clemson made 11-16 three-point attempts in the first half, a school record for made three-point goals in a half. Maryland pushed the lead to 11 points at 62-51 at the 16:07 mark of the second half and it appeared the Tigers were wilting. But, Clemson struck back and tied the score at 67 on a layup by Dwon Clifton. The score remained close the rest of the game. The contest was tied at 72, 74, and 80. Clemson took an 83-82 lead with 4:41 left on a layup by Chris Hobbs. But, Maryland made some clutch three-point baskets down the stretch, one by Nicholas and one by Dixon and held a 93-86 lead with 1:49 left. Clemson cut the lead to six in the final minute, but could not get a stop and the Terps had a nine-point win. Maryland's ability to control the ball had a lot to do with its victory. The Terps had a 27-6 assist/turnover ratio for the night, fourth best ratio ever against the Tigers. Clemson Starting Backcourt Had 20 Apiece at Maryland Clemson got 20 points apiece from its starting backcourt of Tony Stockman (22) and Edward Scott (20) in the first Maryland contest. It was the first time both scored at least 20 in the same game. It was the first time Clemson's starting backcourt has each scored 20 in the same game since last year's Georgia Tech contest when Stockman had 20 and Will Solomon scored 41 in a 111-108 loss to the Yellow Jackets in Littlejohn Coliseum. Both scored 20 in the loss to Duke on Feb. 2 at Littlejohn Coliseum and both had 30 in the 118-115 win in double overtime against Wake Forest on Feb. 13. Four times this year Clemson has had a pair of 20-point scorers, plus a fifth game Clemson has had three 20-point scorers. In the win over Georgia Tech on Jan. 5, Chris Hobbs tallied 25 and Jamar McKnight added 22, the only time this year the Clemson starting forwards scored at least 20 in the same game. The other occurrence came at Duke when Hobbs had 25 and Chey Christie scored 21 off the bench. Clemson had three players with at least 24 points against Wake Forest on Feb. 13. Tony Stockman and Edward Scott both had 30 points and Chris Hobbs added 24 for the Tigers. It was the first time since the 1993 ACC Tournament that Clemson had three players with at least 20 points in the same game. Sharone Wright, Devin Gray and Chris Whitney, all future NBA players, all had at least 20 in an ACC Tournament win over Florida State at Charlotte in 1993. Tigers Net 15 Three-point Goals at Maryland Three-point shooting has been a problem for Clemson much of the season, but that was not the case when Clemson played its final game ever in Cole Fieldhouse on Jan. 20. The Tigers tied a school record with 15 three-point goals in the 99-90 loss to Maryland. Clemson converted 15-28 from long range, a .565 mark. Clemson entered the game having made just 5.3 three-point goals per game and had connected at a .303 clip, worst in the ACC. Clemson had made just 29 percent on the opponent's home court. Clemson made 11 of 16 in the first half, a school record for made three-point goals in a half. The Tigers missed their last four three-point attempts when they were forcing threes in the final minute, so they were 15-24 in the normal flow of the game over the first 35 minutes. Tony Stockman made 6-13 threes in the game, Edward Scott hit 5-8 and Jamar McKnight made 3-4 in the contest. Even Tomas Nagys made his first three-point goal of the year. Clemson's 15 three-point goals were the most by the Tigers since Larry Shyatt became head coach. It was the highest figure since Clemson made15 against Evansville in the 1993 Rainbow Classic. The Tigers also made 15 at Virginia in 1982-83, the year the ACC used a 17-9 three-point goal line. Clemson has now made 15 three-point goals in a game three times and lost all three. Clemson Has Played Well vs. Duke and Maryland Clemson has played three games this year against Maryland and Duke, teams ranked in the top three in the nation by both polls. Clemson has a -35 scoring margin in the three games combined, an average defeat of 11.7 points per game. That scoring margin is the second best among the seven teams below Maryland and Duke in the ACC standings. Virginia has been outscored by 17 points in two games, a -8.5 points per game margin. N.C. State and Georgia Tech are finished with the Big Two. State has been outscored by 79 points, while Georgia Tech has been outscored by 82 in the four games. Clemson's final game with Duke and Maryland is Wednesday night. Wake Forest and Virginia both have two games left with the Big Two. ACC Teams Average Scoring Margin vs. Duke and Maryland in 2001-02
Team GP Margin PPG
Clemson Faces Second-Ranked Terps
Clemson will face a second-ranked Maryland team at Littlejohn
Coliseum on Wednesday. Clemson will be looking for its second
top-five win of the season, as Clemson earlier defeated a
fifth-ranked (USA Today) Virginia team at Clemson on Jan. 8. Clemson has had a history of upsetting top five teams over the years,
there have been 16 overall. That includes the win over #1 North
Carolina last year and the victory over a fifth-ranked Virginia team
this year.
Clemson's first win over a top five team in Littlejohn Coliseum took
place in 1974-75 when a Clemson team led by Skip Wise defeated
Maryland, 83-82. Maryland was ranked third in AP and fourth by UPI
entering that contest. Clemson also defeated a fifth-ranked Maryland
team in 1979-80 by a 90-81 score. Three Tigers, Larry Nance, Horace
Wyatt and Billy Williams, all had over 20 points in that Tiger
victory. Clemson has three top five wins on the opponent's home court
in history, one of those was at Maryland, a 82-77 over the #2 Terps
in 1975-76.
Clemson's Top-Five Wins In History
Chronologically
Opp Rk
Year Opponent Score Mar AP-Coach
1966-67 N. Carolina (N) 92-88 +4 4-3
1974-75 Maryland 83-82 +1 3-4
1974-75 N.C. State 92-70 +22 4-4
1975-76 at Wake Forest 86-81 +5 5-5
1975-76 at Maryland 82-77 +5 2-3
1976-77 at Wake Forest 70-66 +4 4-6
1978-79 North Carolina 66-61 +5 2-2
1979-80 North Carolina 93-76 +17 6-4
1979-80 Duke 87-82 +5 1-1
1979-80 Maryland 90-81 +9 7-5
1980-81 Wake Forest 81-71 +10 5-5
1989-90 Duke 97-93 +4 5-4
1993-94 North Carolina 77-69 +8 2-4
1996-97 Kentucky (N) 79-71 +8 3-4
2000-01 North Carolina 75-65 +10 1-1
2001-02 Virginia 68-52 +16 7-5
By Rank, AP first, then Coaches
Opp Rk
Year Opponent Score Mar AP-Coach
2000-01 North Carolina 75-65 +10 1-1
1979-80 Duke 87-82 +5 1-1
1978-79 North Carolina 66-61 +5 2-2
1975-76 at Maryland 82-77 +5 2-3
1993-94 North Carolina 77-69 +8 2-4
1996-97 Kentucky (N) 79-71 +8 3-4
1974-75 Maryland 83-82 +1 3-4
1966-67 N. Carolina (N) 92-88 +4 4-3
1974-75 N.C. State 92-70 +22 4-4
1976-77 at Wake Forest 70-66 +4 4-6
1975-76 at Wake Forest 86-81 +5 5-5
1980-81 Wake Forest 81-71 +10 5-5
1989-90 Duke 97-93 +4 5-4
1979-80 North Carolina 93-76 +17 6-4
1979-80 Maryland 90-81 +9 7-5
2001-02 Virginia 68-52 +16 7-5
Hobbs Coming on Strong
Clemson forward Chris Hobbs has been coming on strong of late. Over
the last three games the 6-7 sophomore has scored 52 points and
pulled in 25 rebounds. He has shot 18-27 from the field over that
time. He has scored at least 13 points in three straight games and
has made at last 50 percent of his field goals in five straight games. Hobbs had his top all-around game as a Tiger in Clemson's 118-115
double overtime victory He scored 24 points and pulled in a career
high 17 rebounds. Hobbs made 8-11 field goals and his two free throws
with 12 seconds left gave Clemson a three-point lead.
Hobbs has 16 double figure scoring games this year, including four
games with at least 20 points. He has three double-doubles this year
and nine for his career. He is shooting 55.6 percent from the field
this year and 56 percent for his career. He is just nine made field
goals short of qualifying for Clemson's career field goal percentage
list. His 56 percent accuracy would be sixth best in school history
if he had nine more made field goals.
Clemson Faces Another Ranked Opponent
Clemson faces another ranked opponent on Wednesday when second-ranked
Maryland comes to Littlejohn Coliseum. This will be Clemson's fourth
straight game against a top-25 team, just the fifth time in school
history that has happened. The last time Clemson faced four straight
ranked opponents was the 1992-93 season when Clemson played a record
five in a row between Feb. 8, 1993 and Feb. 24, 1993. Clemson had a
1-4 record in those five games with the only win a victory over a
second-ranked North Carolina team.
Clemson is 2-6 against top-25 teams this year. The victories have
come over a #5 Virginia team and a #17 Wake Forest team. It marks the
first time since the 1997-98 season that Clemson has beaten at least
two top-25 teams in one year. The 1997-98 Tigers defeated three
top-25 teams that year. The single season record is six, set in
1979-80 when Bill Foster's Tigers went to the Elite Eight of the NCAA
Tournament.
Clemson has a win over a top five Virginia team and would love to get
another top five win by beating #2 Maryland. Clemson has not defeated
two top-five teams in the same year since 1976-77, Tree Rollins
senior year. Clemson actually had two top-five wins in Rollins
sophomore, junior and senior seasons, the only years Clemson has
beaten a top-five team twice.
Larry Shyatt has two wins over top-five teams since he has been at
Clemson. He beat a #1 ranked North Carolina team last year and the
win over #5 Virginia earlier this year. He is already ahead of his
predecessor Rick Barnes in that department. Barnes had just one win
over a top-five team in his four years at Clemson, a victory over #3
Kentucky in 1996-97. Cliff Ellis, Clemson's coach prior to Barnes,
had just two top five wins in his 10 seasons. Bill Foster holds the
Clemson coaching record for career wins over top five teams with six.
Clemson Streaks
* Chey Christie has made 10 of his last 21 shots from the field after
making just seven of his previous 32 in the previous 10 games.
* Chris Hobbs has made 18 of his last 27 shots from the field and is
averaging 17.3 points a game in his last three contests.
* Jamar McKnight has scored in double figures in 12 of his last 13
games and has averaged 16.4 points a game over his last 12 outings.
He has made at least one three-point goal in 12 straight games.
* Sharrod Ford has made 12 of his last 19 shots from the field and
has 16 rebounds over his last three games.
* Edward Scott has had at least eight assists in eight of his last
nine games. He has averaged 9.2 assists over his last nine contests.
Scott has had more assists that turnovers in 13 straight games.
* Tony Stockman has averaged 14.3 points a game over his last eight
games. However, over his last eight games he has four games with at
least 20 points and four games in which he has failed to score in
double figures.
* The opposition has made more three-point goals than the Tigers in
each of the last six games. Over the last four games the opposition
has made 51 three-point goals to just 20 by the Tigers.
Last Outing
N.C. State 83, Clemson 54
Feb. 16, 2002 at Raleigh, NC
Anthony Grundy scored 23 points, while Ilian Evtimov added 18 points
and five assists in a reserve role, leading N.C. State to an 83-54
win over Clemson in Raleigh on Feb. 16. N.C. State was coming off a
37-point loss to Duke, while the Tigers were coming off an emotional
118-115 double overtime win over #17 Wake Forest. The victory
improved N.C. State's record to 19-7 and enhanced the Pack's chances
of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991. Clemson was led by Chris Hobbs, who scored 13 points on 5-9 shooting.
But, he was the only Tiger in double figures. Jamar McKnight scored
seven, and saw his consecutive double figure scoring streak end at
12. Edward Scott had eight points, five assists and three steals, but
made just 3-11 from the field. Tony Stockman had seven points and a
career high seven rebounds, but made just 2-10 from the field, 0-6 on
three-point shots.
Clemson shot 38.5 percent from the field, while State made 44
percent. The Pack made 14-31 three-point shots and made 29-62 in two
games against the Tigers this year. State also won the battle of the
boards 40-30, the biggest rebound differential for a Clemson opponent
this year. Turnovers were 14 apiece, but N.C. State outscored Clemson
17-8 in terms of points off turnovers.
Both teams struggled early. Clemson made just 4 of its first 17 shots
from the field, while N.C. State made just seven of its first 27.
Still, N.C. State had a 23-10 lead with 5:53 to go in the half after
two free throws by Josh Powell. Clemson scored eight points over the
last 2:53 of the half to reach the 20-point mark. The Pack led 35-20
at intermission behind nine points from Grundy.
N.C. State hit four more three-point goals early in the second half
and built the lead to 18 points at 51-33 with 10 minutes left.
Clemson never cut the lead below 17 the remainder of the game. The
victory gave N.C. State a sweep of Clemson in the regular season for
the first time since the 1991-92 season.
Ford and Christie Contributing
Clemson guard Chey Christie had his best game in two months in the
game at Virginia. The freshman from Hartford, CT scored 14 points on
6-12 shooting in 26 minutes. He also added three steals, an assist
and made 2-4 three-point goals. He was a leader in Clemson's comeback
from a 10-point deficit early in the game.
That was Christie's first double figure scoring game since he had 21
against #1 Duke in Durham on Dec. 2. It was his fourth double figure
scoring game of the year. Christie has gotten additional minutes of
late, as an injured ankle is finally healthy. For the year Christie
is averaging 5.3 points a game, first among the Tiger freshmen.
Christie's stats are better on the road than at home this year. He
has scored 7.5 points a game on the road compared to just 4.3 a game
at home. He has made just 2-21 three-point shots at home and is 6-16
on the road.
Freshman forward Sharrod Ford has been among Clemson's most
productive players this season. He had five points and five rebounds
in 24 minutes at Virginia. In the victory over Wake Forest, Ford had
a career-high 10 rebounds, including four offensive, helping Clemson
to a 62-48 rebound advantage. Ford has played 13 minutes per game,
but still ranks in the top 15 in the ACC in blocked shots. Ford had
one of his best games of the year against #1 Duke on Feb. 2 when he
had 10 points on 4-6 shooting and added three rebounds in 18 minutes. Ford has shot over 58 percent from the field and has pulled in 3.3
rebounds and scored 4.2 points per outing. He had 11 points at Wake
Forest on Jan. 12 for his third double-figure scoring game of the
season, his first in ACC play. Earlier this year he made 4-4 from the
field and had 10 points and four rebounds in a win at Penn State. He
also had 10 points in the win at Hartford.
Like Christie, Ford plays better on the road than at home. As noted
above, three of his four double-figure scoring games have taken place
on the road. He averages 6.0 points a game on the road and just 4.2
at home this year.
Ford attended Gwynn Park High School in Maryland where he played for
Steve Matthews. He averaged 15.8 points, 12 rebounds and 6.6 blocked
shots per game. That blocked shot figure seemed high, but based on
what he has done on a per minute basis this year, it is certainly
realistic. Ford came to Clemson from Hargrave Military in Virginia
where he helped that team to a 26-1 record last year by averaging a
double-double.
McKnight Stats Much Improved
Jamar McKnight, Clemson's only senior, is following a tradition of
second-year improvement by Tiger junior college players. This season,
McKnight has scored13.2 points a game and averaged 4.3 rebounds per
contest. He is shooting 48 percent from the field and a team best 41
percent from three-point range. He has led Clemson in scoring in six
of the last 11 games and has scored in double figures 12 of the last
13 games. He has made at least one three-point goal in 12 straight
games. He is trying to become the first Clemson player to shoot over
40 percent from three-point range for the course of a season (given
50 made three-point goals) since Terrell McIntyre in 1998-99 Last year, McKnight scored just 68 points and had 25 rebounds all
year in 20 games. This year he has 317 points and 103 rebounds in 24
games. He missed two games due to injury earlier this year and played
just two minutes in a third. He averaged 3.4 points and 1.3 rebounds
per contest year ago. Thus, McKnight has tripled his scoring average
and rebound average between his junior and senior seasons. He has
scored in double figures in every ACC game except the Duke game in
Durham when he played just one minute due to injury.
McKnight might have played his best game as a Tiger when Clemson
defeated Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Jan. 5. The native of Zachery, LA
who was playing in front of family and friends who had made the trip
from Louisiana, had 22 points and eight rebounds in 32 minutes of
play. He made his last five shots from the field and shot 9-12
overall.
He added to his growing fan base with a 25-point performance against
fifth-ranked Virginia. McKnight made 9-20 shots from the field, 3-7
on three-pointers and scored 18 points in the second half. He scored
six of Clemson's final 10 points down the stretch. He did not have a
turnover in his 33 minutes of work and added seven rebounds, one off
his career high.
Most junior college transfers make improvement from year one to year
two. But, McKnight is doing it at a record pace. Billy Williams holds
the Clemson standard for scoring average improvement for a junior
college transfer from his first year to his second. Williams average
went from 5.6 a game in 1977-78 to 13.4 in 1978-79, a 7.6 points per
game improvement. He went on to average 17.6 points a game and earn
first-team All-ACC honors in 1979-80. McKnight stands at a +9.8
points per game improvement this year over last season, so he is
ahead of Williams improvement rate. The improvement would be the
fifth best in Clemson history if the season ended today.
The overall Clemson record for improvement in scoring from one season
to another is held by Will Solomon, who improved by 14.6 points a
game from his freshman year to his sophomore year. That is an ACC
record.
Jamar McKnight Improvement Chart
Category 2000-01 2001-02 Points/Game 3.4 13.2 Rebounds/Game 1.3 4.3 Field goal % .429 .482 3Pt FGs/Game 0.45 1.83 3pt Goal % .391 .410 Minutes/Game 9.4 25.4 Clemson's Top Scoring Improvements in Consecutive Seasons Player First Year Second Year Imp Will Solomon 99-98 (6.3) 99-00 (20.9) +14.6 Bill Yarborough 53-54 (15.7) 54-55 (28.3) +12.6 Earle Maxwell 58-59 (3.2) 59-60 (13.8) +10.6 Michael Tait 85-86 (2.5) 86-87 (12.9) +10.4 Elden Campbell 86-87 (8.8) 87-88 (18.8) +10.0 Glenn Corbit 83-84 (1.8) 84-85 (11.7) +9.9 Jamar McKnight 00-01 (3.4) 01-02 (13.2) +9.8 Trip Jones 66-67 (0.8) 67-68 (10.0) +9.2 David Brown 74-75 (2.9) 75-76 (11.6) +8.7 Larry Nance 77-78 (3.1) 78-79 (11.1) +8.0
Clemson In February
Clemson finished the month of January with a 2-6 record, victories
over Georgia Tech and Virginia on Jan. 5 and 8, respectively. Having
a losing record in the month of January is nothing new for Clemson.
Historically it has been a difficult month for the Clemson program.
Dating to the beginning of the ACC in 1953-54, Clemson has had a
winning record in January just 13 of 49 seasons. This year marks the
fifth straight year Clemson has won just two games or fewer in the
month.
Clemson is just 7-33 over the last five years in January, including
this year. That includes a 2-6 record in January 1998, a year Clemson
went on to make the NCAA Tournament. Clemson has had a better record
in February than January each of the last four years. Larry Shyatt
hopes the trend continues this year.
The same holds true when comparing the first half of the ACC schedule
to the second half. This year the end of the first half coincides
with the change from January to February. Over the last four years
Clemson is 6-26 in games played in the first half of the ACC
schedule, but 12-20 in the second half of the league schedule. In
other words Clemson has a winning percentage 100 percent better in
the second half than the first half.
Clemson has had an improved or at least the same record in the second
half as compared to the first half 35 of the previous 48 seasons.
Clemson has had at least the same record in the second half as
compared to the first half in each of the last four years and 10 of
the last 12.
Three-Point Shooting Has Been Important
Three-point shooting has become more and more important in basketball
at all levels. Each of the top nine three-point shooting teams in the
NBA were the top nine teams in terms of winning percentage entering
last week's play.
North Carolina made 11 three-point goals in its win over Clemson on
Jan. 26, while the Tigers made just five. The six made field goals
from three-point range equaled the scoring difference in the game.
The same was true in the Duke game on Feb. 2 as the Blue Devils made
11 three-point goals to just six for the Tigers, a 15-point
difference, a key to the 10-point Duke victory. That was again the
case against Georgia Tech, who had 11 three-point goals to just four
for the Tigers and the 21-point difference in made three-point goal
points nearly equaled the final margin (74-50). N.C. State made 12
threes compared to just one for Clemson last Sunday. For the 13 ACC
games, the opposition has made 50 more three point goals than
Clemson, 150 additional points.
When Clemson defeated Virginia earlier this year the Cavs made just
2-25 three-point goals compared to 8-19 for the Tigers. When Wake
Forest defeated Clemson in Winston-Salem the Deacs made 9-20, while
Clemson was just 3-12. When N.C. State downed Clemson in Littlejohn
the Wolfpack made 15-31 threes compared to 5-12 for Clemson. Clemson
made 15-28 threes at Maryland, a big reason Clemson was in the game
the entire time at College Park.
The team with the higher three-point goal percentage has won 10 of
the last 13 Clemson games. One of the exceptions was the recent Wake
Forest game when Wake Forest hit 19-42 three-point goals for 45.2
percent, yet lost to the Tigers. Clemson did make 9-20 three-point
goals in that game.
Scott Second in Nation in Assists
Clemson guard Edward Scott was second in the nation in assists
through games of Feb. 11. A new ranking is issued every Tuesday
afternoon. With his 16-assist game against Wake Forest, Scott now
averages 8.2 assists per game. Scott had a 7.9 average through games
of Feb. 11, second only to Texas guard T.J. Ford.
Scott has had at least eight assists in eight of the last nine games,
including 13 against N.C. State on Jan. 15. He is on pace to set a
Clemson single season record. Grayson Marshall averaged 7.71 per game
in 1985-86 and that is the record for the course of an entire season. Grayson Marshall is the only Clemson player to rank in the top 25 in
the nation in assists over the course of a season. Marshall was 20th
as a freshman, 13th as a sophomore and 16th as a junior (1984-85
through 1986-87). Scott leads the ACC in assists per game, just ahead
of Steve Blake of Maryland. Clemson player has ever led the ACC in
assists over the course of the season.
NCAA Assist Leaders (Through Feb. 11, 2002)
Player School GP Ast /G T.J. Ford Texas 23 199 8.7 Edward Scott Clemson 24 189 7.9 Matt Montague BYU 22 164 7.5 Steve Blake Maryland 22 163 7.4 Chris Thomas Notre Dame 23 165 7.2 Sean Kennedy Marist 23 164 7.1 Reggie Kohn S. Florida 23 163 7.1 Guilheme DaLuz Furman 24 167 7.0 Sean Peterson GA Southern 23 160 7.0
Scott Moves to Fourth on Clemson Assist List
Clemson junior guard Edward Scott had five assists against N.C. State
on Feb. 16 and moved into fourth place on the Clemson all-time assist
list. He now has 406 for his career, ahead of Bobby Conrad, who had
401 between 1976-80.
Scott has seven games of double figures in assists and 16 with eight
or more this year, including eight of the last nine. That includes
the win over Wake Forest when he had a career-high 16 assists. That
set a Clemson record for an ACC game and ranked in a tie for third
best in Clemson history for a single game. It was the high total by a
Tiger since the 1985-86 season when Grayson Marshall had a record 20
assists against Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Scott has been improved in a number of areas this year, including
scoring. He has averaged 10.8 points a game this year and has had
four 20-point scoring nights, the first four of his career. He
recently netted 20 points, including a career high five three-point
goals, in a loss at #3 Maryland, then had 20 on 10 field goals
against #1 Duke two weeks later. His top game was against Wake Forest
when he had 30 points and 16 assists.
"Edward Scott was terrific," said Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski.
"He really did a good job pushing the ball up. Obviously (Tony)
Stockman made a lot of shots, but I really admire what Scott did
tonight."
Scott has had more turnovers than assists in just two games all
season and has had more assists than turnovers in all 13 ACC games.
He has done that in 13 straight games overall.
Scott had 25 points on 8-12 shooting in the win over LaSalle in The
Virgin Islands in the second game of the year, and had 21 points and
11 assists in a victory over Elon. That was the first time since the
1998-99 season that any Clemson player had 20 points and double
figures in assists in the same game. He had 17 against Virginia on
January 8, his career high against an ACC opponent.
And, Scott's rebound average of 4.7 this year is ahead of his career
3.8 figure. In fact, his 4.7 rebounds per game is the best for a
Clemson point guard since Doug Hoffman had a 6.0 average as the point
guard in 1957-58. Scott had 10 rebounds in the loss to Yale, his
career high. He had an unusual double-double in that game with 10
rebounds and 11 assists, but just one point.
Seven times this year Scott has had at least six rebounds, assists
and points in the same game, including the Maryland game of Jan. 20
when he had 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Clemson Has Balanced Team
Clemson has a much more balanced team offensively than it has had in
each of the last two years. The previous two seasons Will Solomon
averaged around 20 points per game. The Tigers had just one other
double figure scorer in each of those seasons. A year ago Solomon
scored 26 percent of Clemson's points. In 1999-00, he scored 32
percent.
Clemson has four players averaging in double figures and five players
averaging over 8.3 points per game this year. No Clemson team has had
four players average in double figures over the course of the season
since 1965-66.
The balance has continued in ACC play as four players have scored in
double figures on a per game basis in the conference games. Jamar
McKnight leads the way in league games with a 15.2 average, while
Chris Hobbs and Tony Stockman stand at 12.8. Clemson has four players
averaging at least 12.2 a game in conference play. Clemson averages
74.5 points a game in ACC games and 74.6 in overall games.
Bruise Brothers Leading Inside Game
Clemson frontcourt players Ray Henderson and Chris Hobbs have been a
strong duo on the inside this year. They combined for 23 points and
22 rebounds against third-ranked Maryland on Jan. 20. They had 32
points and 24 rebounds in the double overtime win over Wake Forest.
They were especially outstanding in overtime. Henderson had eight
points and six rebounds in overtime, while Hobbs had 10 points and
three rebounds in the extra 10 minutes.
Hobbs ranks second on the team in scoring with a 12.3 average, while
Henderson is fifth on the team with an 8.3 average. They are the top
two rebounders on the Tiger team, as Henderson has an 8.8 rebounding
average and Hobbs is at 6.3 per game. Henderson is second in the ACC
in rebounds per game. Both are shooting at least 56 percent from the
field.
Both had a strong impact on Clemson's win at Georgia Tech. Hobbs had
25 points and 10 rebounds, while Henderson added nine points and six
rebounds. Collectively, they shot 13-21 from the field and pulled in
16 rebounds to go with 34 points.
Both have double-double potential. Henderson already has eight
double-doubles this year, more than he had all of last year and
second best among ACC players. Hobbs has three double-doubles,
including the win over Georgia Tech and the win at Penn State. He had
a monster game against Wake Forest on Feb. 13 with 24 points and 17
rebounds. Henderson and Hobbs, both from the state of North Carolina,
are the major reason Clemson is out-rebounding the opposition by 6.2
rebounds per game.
With both players at roughly the same size, 6-7 and 255 pounds, Coach
Larry Shyatt has begun to call them the'"Bruise Brothers" when he
refers to Hobbs and Henderson in interviews. They are reminding some
of a powerful frontcourt duo that led the Tigers to the ACC regular
season championship in 1989-90.
That year, Elden Campbell and Dale Davis both were named first-team
All-ACC, the only year in school history Clemson has had two
first-team selections. Campbell and Davis combined for 30.7 points
and 19.3 rebounds per game on Clemson's 24-8 squad that advanced to
the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
Campbell and Davis were known as the "Duo of Doom" as the 6-11
frontcourt players struck fear in opposing players who drove the lane
against them. Both are still in the NBA 12 years later. Campbell is
the starting center for the Charlotte Hornets, while Davis is the
starting center for the Portland Trailblazers.
Below is a comparison between Davis-Campbell and Hobbs-Henderson. It
looks at the year 1988-89 for Campbell and Davis, the year they were
juniors and sophomores, respectively, the same class and level of
experience for Henderson and Hobbs. Campbell and Davis scored at a
higher rate, but Hobbs and Henderson are holding their own in terms
of rebounding, field goal percentage and free throw percentage,
despite playing fewer minutes.
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