Necessary items for winning basketball games

Right now, the Tigers are in a precarious situation.

Their performance of late has been less than consistent. At best, the Tigers are a Sweet 16 team; at worst, they don’t even make the tournament. They are a team with two distinct parts of their personality:

1. They play aggressive hard-nosed defense. They feed the ball through T. Booker,  Stitt  slashes and passes, and another player rises to the occasion as necessary.
2. They have short-term memory loss. They build big leads quickly and let off the gas. They do not follow through with their course of action

This is what I wrote on Deadspin before last year’s NCAA tournament:

2) Stay Hard Clemson Each of the past four years, the Tigers have started out hard. Each of the
past four years, the Tigers have finished soft. Incidentally, the 1996-1997 team did as well.

2006: First Half of season: 11-0, second half: 8-13, final record, 19-13
2007: First Half of season: 17-0 second half: 8- 11, final record: 25-11
2008: First Half of season: 10-0, second half: 14-10, final record: 24-10
2009: First Half of season: 16-0, second half: 7-8, current record: 23-8

These strong starts have been a knock against Clemson Basketball from both fans and national media. Still, as a charter member of the ACC, and a self-proclaimed “football school,” just being discussed in the context of basketball is nice. We’ll see if Oliver Purnell can get his first NCAA win and help the Tigers seal the deal this year.

The same general idea holds true now. While we are not involved in a gaudy winning streak. We are involved in a series of in-game collapses, or near collapses- see Illinois and NC State games.

With Duke coming to town this weekend, the Tigers must not get wrapped up in the national attention this game will be receiving, but rather play their game.

Duke is not invincible. They lost to NCSU, who the Tigers just beat, though just barely, last week. They keep their focus tight and clear. It is up to the Tigers to prevent the Blue Devils from playing the anticipatory Duke brand of basketball. They block passing lanes, they move well without the ball, and do the small things that most other teams do not. Their big three: Scheyer, Singler, and Smith now have a capable supporting cast.

Clemson has to feed Trevor Booker. They have to have a big game from Stitt.  Someone else from either the starting lineup- Grant, Potter, or Smith needs to play well and one player- or any combination of players- from the bench needs to step up.

The loss to GT was tough, but it proved that the Tigers can be resilient. This resilience will be necessary to avoid a mini-collapse as the ACC progresses.

The next group of games after this much-hyped match up with Duke could be dangerous for the Tigers if they are focusing on anything else but the game at hand.

For more Clemson basketball news and info, check out The OP blog or follow me on twitter.

With Clemson 5 games into the ACC schedule and coming up on a big game against Duke Saturday, I wanted to look at where the Tigers are and where they need to go to achieve our goal of 10 ACC wins this season. So far the Tigers have been about average, scoring wins over Boston College, NC State, and UNC yet getting drilled by Duke and dropping a close one at Georgia Tech.

Clemson’s play has been up and down to this point, hitting on all cylinders against an overrated UNC team, scoring a mere 12 points in a half against Duke, giving up a huge second half lead against the Wolfpack, and not being able to convert on opportunities in the GT game. All in all, I think Clemson has some issues that they will need to iron out but still think double digit wins in-conference are attainable.

Clemson has been about who we thought they were…a team that is essentially propped up by its best player, Trevor Booker. Clemson has gotten some quality production out of the PG, Demontez Stitt, and out of scrappy Tanner Smith. While freshmen Noel Johnson, Devin Booker, and Milton Jennings won’t leave for The League after this year, they have been utilized this season and appear to be improving as the season progresses, though not as quickly as we all would like. Andre Young has been able to step in and give Clemson some quality minutes and gives Oliver Purnell some flexibility with Stitt if needed.

The Tigers have struggled in their usual areas (free throws) as well as in the spots we were concerned about entering the year–particularly perimeter shooting. I really cannot explain our inability to shoot free throws at times (Ga Tech sticks out) and really cannot point a finger at a Clemson team in recent memory that has been decent at the stripe game in and game out.

Clemson has also looked lackadaisical at times on both ends of the court. I would like to see Trevor Booker and the boys get more aggressive under the boards and on the defensive end overall, as this team has a tendency of taking some defensive possessions off. Clemson at times has been able to utilize pressure (full court) to create scenarios favorable to the Tigers.

Offensively, Clemson can be frustrating to watch. Too frequently you look up and see a bunch of guys in orange shirts standing around with one person dribbling. Shot selection has also frustrated me at times, as I think that Clemson forces bad shots and often does not try hard enough to get the ball inside when we are shooting poorly from outside.

CU’s offense goes through one man, Trevor Booker. Booker averages 15.6 PPG and has scored as needed this season. Stitt has picked up some of the slack offensively and averages double figures on the season. Tanner Smith plays extremely hard all game long, and has been able to help Clemson so far with points on the floor and from the charity stripe (particularly at NC State). Like we have said all year, Tanner may not be the most talented player on the court but will bust his tail all game long and does everything that he can to help the Tigers become successful on the court. Andre Young rounds out the other most reliable player that the Tigers have on this squad. Young is a talented player who sometimes lacks confidence in his game, it appears. He has the ability to get hot from downtown, which is something the Tigers will need to be a factor down deep into February.

There is a significant drop-off in production after Young. We were hoping that Noel Johnson and Milton Jennings would be able to contribute significantly after coming into school with such high praise. I was particularly wanting to see Noel Johnson establish a confident stroke outside to take some pressure off of T. Booker down low, which unfortunately has not (consistently) happened this season. Jerai Grant has not been a consistent threat and David Potter has been pretty much worthless to this point.

So, where are we at as a squad? Duke pretty much took the Tigers to the woodshed, throttling us from the opening tip. Clemson was able to bounce back against Boston College then killed North Carolina in a down year for the Tigers. These results (well, probably not the absolute kill shot taken to Duke then given to UNC) did not really surprise me nor concern me too much, as Cameron Indoor is a tough place to play and UNC is retooling from their great run last season and Clemson hosted the Heels at Littlejohn.

The games against NC State and Georgia Tech were troubling for me as a fan. The NC State game was one where Clemson had a chance to go for the jugular and could not put away the Pack despite a huge lead. I really thought that Clemson learned from the Illinois game (but will concede that losing Stitt played a bigger factor than I will give credit to). Instead, Clemson let up again and almost was the victim of another ridiculous comeback. The Georgia Tech game was another one that makes you scratch your head. Clemson was extremely sloppy throughout and shot a mere 37% from the floor. Worse than the 37% effort was Clemson’s 50% effort from the line. This is pitiful and will not win many ACC basketball games.

Where do we need to go? This team is at 3-2 right now, not exactly down and out but CU could/should have won Tuesday night against the Jackets. Obviously, we need some consistent perimeter shooting. While the Tigers did this well in the first half of the North Carolina game, we have not been able to effectively take as much pressure off of Trevor Booker as I would like. Side note to Trevor–where is the beast we have grown to love over the past few years? I know the NBA is exciting, but we miss the monster and specifically the shear aggression seen before.

I think Clemson as a team lacks an overall killer instinct as shown in the Illinois and NCST games. Clemson showed that they can battle back (Ga Tech) but need to learn how to finish. This team has to learn how to make free throws. Watching Clemson make a mere half their chances from the stripe against Tech made me want to puke. You cannot win basketball games in the ACC without taking advantage of easy scoring opportunities, and free throws definitely fit into that category.

We are hoping that Stitt will be able to recover fully from the injury he suffered at NC State, as he has been a pleasant surprise for me this season providing an outside shot and creating opportunities off of dribble penetration. Clemson will need more attempts from Andre Young as we move forward. Young has been able to convert a fair amount of looks, shooting 44% from three point land in ACC play. We will need to see more out of Noel Johnson and his touted perimeter touch.

As posted earlier, the Clemson defensive effort improves dramatically when we are able to score points due to the Tigers’ ability to implement their full court pressure. In half-court sets, CU does not appear as aggressive at times as it has in previous years. I would really like to see the Tigers get after it a little better on the glass to avoid giving opponents multiple looks at the basket on a single possession. So far, Clemson has been out-rebounded by Duke, North Carolina, NC State, and Georgia Tech and will need to win more of these battles in the future.

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Anima eius et animae omnium fidelium defunctorum per Dei misericordiam requiescant in pace

This morning we were struck by news that shakes all Tiger fans to the core: one of our own has died.

Gaines Adams signed with Clemson in 2002, coming from Fork Union Prep in Virginia. His High School, Cambridge Academy, played 8-man football and he got little interest at that time. His coach, Steve Taneyhill, tried to get people to notice him to no avail, despite winning the state championship. Taneyhill called USC, and they declined. He then called Tommy Bowden. He wasn’t able to sign out of Cambridge and went to Fork Union. During his season at Fork Union, he finally got the nation’s attention for his former star player.

At Fork Union, he lit up scoreboards as a TE and terrorized QBs with 22 sacks as a DE. He was committed to UNC for a short time, but John Bunting could not hold onto him and he committed to Clemson in 2002. He was a tall lanky kid who had to put on weight to play, so he redshirted in 2002. My first recollection of him is watching him fly into the Florida State backfield in 2003 as a freshman, sacking Chris Rix; his speed off the edge was so phenomenal that he ran right by some of the best left tackles in the conference even then. He broke up a pass against Tennessee in the Peach Bowl and played nearly half of that game and he gave the Vols fits off the edge.

But 2005 was his breakout season. Finally named a starter, he registered 9.5 sacks and 56 tackles. The team strung together wins and Gaines was unstoppable in each of them. He again ripped apart the Seminoles’ offensive tackles. The game against Colorado in the Champs/Tangerine Bowl reminded me much of how the defense ate up Major Harris in the Gator Bowl, and Gaines Adams led the way. After the year, he called Steve Taneyhill and asked him if he should go pro. Taneyhill asked him what he wanted to do after football, to which Gaines replied, “I want to coach with you”. Steve said he’d need that degree and that the pros can wait til next year, so Gaines stayed for his last year.

In 2006 he removed the stigma that had been over his head previously, namely that he “took plays off” and was stellar all year, even as the team collapsed down the stretch. One play saved the Tigers from an embarrassing loss to Wake Forest. On a cool dreary day the Tigers looked lethargic and got themselves down 17-3 at the start of the 4th quarter, and Gaines picked up a fumbled FG attempt and ran it back for a TD that ignited the team to a 27-17 win and we rode a wave that continued through the night game against Georgia Tech. Gaines capped it off by being the 4th pick in the draft by the Tampa Bay Bucs.

It never mattered that Gaines didnt play for my team, I pulled for him anyway. He is a Clemson boy, Clemson is family, and we are Tigers for life.

But this morning Gaines was taken from us. We don’t know why, but God has a plan and now Gaines is home. As bad as we feel for ourselves and his family, we should rejoice for him, because now he’s with Our Father in a place where no shadows fall.

“I remember his smile. He never complained about how long practice was, how much hitting we were going to do. He always had that smile on his face.” – Tommy Bowden

Where the Blue Ridge yawns its greatness;
Where the Tigers play;
Here the sons of dear Old Clemson,
Reign supreme always.

Dear Old Clemson, we will triumph
And with all our might
That the Tiger’s roar may echo
O’er the mountain height.

Your roar will not be forgotten Gaines. You now have the ultimate triumph in His presence.

Here’s how we rank them. What does everyone think about the order?  Which games did you like best?

1. 2003 – #3 FSU falls to Clemson in Death Valley

2. 2009 – #8 Miami on the road, Swinney’s first big win

3. 2001 – Woody Dantzler leads Clemson over Georgia Tech

4. 2000 – The Catch II, Clemson vs Carolina

5. 2003 – Clemson thumps Tennessee in the Peach Bowl

6. 2004 – Clemson breaks Miami’s Orange Bowl night game winning streak

7. 2003 – 63-17

8. 2006 – Clemson beats FSU on the road

9. 2006 – Georgia Tech gets walloped by Davis and Spiller

10. 2004 – The Fight against Sakerlina

Sponsored by the Raycom Maryland blog we’ll be ranking the ACC teams each week. Feel free to complain and argue with how we rank ‘em. Now that we have a first few games of ACC play, we know better how to rate them. Week 7’s ballot was the same as week 6.

ACC Scores

1. Duke – waxed Clemson on their home court, and won their 3rd game in a week. Pretty hard to make a case for anyone else to take this spot at the moment. Three players: Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith are averaging more than 15 ppg.

2. UNC – faces CofC today in Charleston, and should handle them well. They’ve pounded the non-conference competition the last two weeks. They line up with VT next weekend.

3. Wake Forest – up from 6th in the power poll due to wins over NC State, Xavier and de facto ACC member UNC-Greensboro.

4. FSU – Solomon Alabi will give Trevor Booker fits. Pounded their non-con competition recently and beat GT on the road.

5. VT -  Iowa, Penn State and Seton Hall have all fallen to Seth Greenberg’s squad so far.

6. Clemson - weak showing against SC State and then thrashed by Puke.

7. Georgia Tech – not far from being unbeaten but lost to FSU at home in OT. Play Georgia next, then Duke next weekend.

8. NC State – lost on a total fluke to Florida, so I cant hold it against them. Lost to Wake. Lost to Arizona in Tuscon. Potential ACC sleeper.

9. Miami – weak schedule but have beaten BC. We’ll know when they play Wake Forest Saturday.

10. Maryland – lost to William & Mary at home, who also beat Wake Forest earlier, but have lost to their quality competition so far: Cinci, “Nova, Wisconsin.

11. UVA – bad.

12. BC – Losing to URI is forgivable, but Harvard and Maine, uh, no. A win over UMass and a pitiful SC team doesn’t improve them in my eyes.

Argue as you see fit.