Tigers Tabbed Fifth by ACC Media in Preseason Basketball Poll

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Atlanta, GA – The Clemson men’s basketball team was predicted to finish fifth in the ACC preseason poll, according to media members in attendance at Sunday’s operation basketball event at the Marriott Marquis. North Carolina was a unanimous choice as the ACC’s #1 team, followed by Duke, Wake Forest, and Miami.

The Tigers are coming off an impressive 2007-08 season. Clemson was third place in the ACC regular season race, then advanced to the championship game of the ACC Tournament for the first time since 1962. Clemson also earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, its first in 10 seasons.

Clemson is under the direction of sixth-year Head Coach Oliver Purnell.

The Tigers’ mentor holds a 94-68 record in his five seasons with the Tiger program, which includes a school-record 49 wins in the past two years alone. Purnell has guided the program to an improvement in its overall winning percentage each of the last four seasons.

The team returns three starters from last year’s squad, including 2008 first-team All-ACC Tournament players Trevor Booker and K.C. Rivers. The third returning starter for the Tigers is sophomore point guard Demontez Stitt. Clemson also returns 11 letterwinners, including double-digit scorer Terrence Oglesby.

The team will play host to Division II foe USC Aiken in its only public exhibition on Thursday, November 6. The game, which will start at 7:30 PM, will be free admission to the general public. Clemson’s first regular season game will be November 14 against Hofstra in the Charleston Classic.

Preseason Men’s Basketball Poll – ACC Sportswriters

1.	North Carolina (40)	480


2.	Duke	                436


3.	Wake Forest	        354


4.	Miami	                344


5.	Clemson	                306


6.	Virginia Tech	        298


7.	Maryland	        192


8.	Georgia Tech	        186


9.	NC State	        179


10.	Florida State	        145


11.	Boston College	        123


12.	Virginia	         79


Number in parenthesis is first-place votes.

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