Bobo Baciu to See More Playing Time?

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Jan 23 15:32:03 GMT-04:00 2009

Will Catalin “Bobo” Baciu be seeing more playing time as the ACC season rolls along? Perhaps, according to Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell.

Baciu is the 7-foot-2, 230-pound freshman from Cluj-Napoca, Lithuania that came to Clemson by way of Veritas Christian Academy in North Carolina. He was suspended by the NCAA for the first five games of the season for playing with a pro team five years ago, and since his return has seen little action as a Tiger.

However, with Clemson losing two straight ACC games, post player Trevor Booker struggling against some of the bigger players in the league, and the Tigers lacking a true inside presence, Purnell said that getting Baciu more time on the floor for key minutes is something the coaching staff is considering.

“A guy that we are really taking a long look at in practice is Baciu,” Purnell said to the media on Friday. “He is big and long, and did a decent job against North Carolina, even though we know what kind of game that was. He might see a little action; we are not ruling that out. If you are providing us with effort and results, you’ll play more.”

Purnell admitted that during the current losing streak, and for a few games before that, Clemson has struggled on offense, and an inability to generate offense from the post has been a part of that.

“We don’t seem to be finishing (plays) inside,” Purnell said. “We’ve been getting the ball inside to Jerai (Grant) and (Raymond) Sykes, but don’t seem to be finishing inside. Baciu might have a better chance of finishing inside because he is 7-foot-2.”

One of the problems for the 6-foot-7 Booker has been that larger players have made a concerted effort to push him out of the lane, and as a result he has been taking more jump shots and not making plays around the rim like Purnell would like.

One option would be to get Baciu on the court with Booker, requiring the opposing team to use their bigger players to guard Bobo, and give Booker an easier matchup.

Purnell said that while he hopes Baciu can start making a contribution, it is still going to be a lengthy process for him.

“He is getting bigger and stronger and progressing,” Purnell said. “He has a bright future, and it’s important we keep an eye on him and use him to help us right here in his freshman season. He wasn’t available to us in the first five games, which is why he is not further along. That kind of set him back a little bit. We will keep an eye on him in practice, and if he can help us, maybe we’ll look at doing that.”

Baciu has appeared in seven games this season, playing 39 minutes. He is 7-for-19 from the field and 2-for-5 from the free throw line, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked two shots.