Tigers open ACC play Saturday against Florida St.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Jan 04 16:18:16 GMT-04:00 2013

CLEMSON – Brad Brownell Brad Brownell
Head Coach
View Full Profile ’s basketball team opens ACC play Saturday afternoon with a 4 p.m. tipoff against defending ACC champ Florida St., and Brownell said Friday that senior big man Devin Booker Devin Booker
Sr. Forward
#31 6-8, 250
Whitmire, SC
View Full Profile should be good to go against the Seminoles.

Booker twisted his ankle against The Citadel on New Year's Day, and has been held out of practice this week. Booker told the media Friday that he would try and practice this afternoon but won’t go through a full workout, but Brownell said that Booker is probable.

"I'd be shocked if he can't play. He moved on it a little bit yesterday and there really wasn't much swelling afterward, so that was good,” Brownell said Friday afternoon.” It's an ankle that he tweaked in practice, maybe five days ago. He landed on a guy when he was rebounding the ball the other day, re-injured it. We kept him out and he's gotten treatment the last couple of days. Hopefully, he'll feel better, and should be fine by tomorrow."

Clemson has defeated the Noles in 11 of the past 12 meetings in Littlejohn Coliseum, the lone exception during the 2008-09 season when the Tigers, fresh off of an emotional win over Duke, lost a 19-point lead and the game. Saturday’s meeting will be the first of two meetings between Clemson and Florida St. in a span of 19 days.

The Seminoles will have a new look Saturday – last year’s team featured a strong post presence and deadly outside shooters. However, graduation and attrition mean that Michael Snaer, who averages 16.3 points per game, will be one of the few recognizable faces to Clemson fans.

Brownell said that the Tigers will have to have a team effort in guarding the senior.

"There will be a couple of different people guarding him, at times,” Brownell said. “Rod {Hall] will guard him some. Damarcus [Harrison] may guard him. There are going to have to be a couple of people guard him."

Clemson has a short turnaround following Saturday’s game – they play at Duke next Tuesday night. However, Brownell said he doesn’t think his team will be looking past an 8-5 Florida St. team and ahead to the Blue Devils.

“It's funny, not at all. Because, to be honest with you, I don't know if we've had enough media coverage to really make the Duke thing a big deal,” he said. “Everybody has been inundated with all the football, which is great. I haven't heard one of our guys, one of our coaches, nobody on our staff or anybody in our locker room. I've never even heard the word Duke. Obviously, that's all we're going to hear, as soon as the Florida State game is over. It's fine, but there's nobody looking forward. We're so young, our guys don't look too far past the next day. They just aren't wired that way yet."