[B]COACH AND PROGRAM[/B]
It could be argued that Clemson’s 2007-08 basketball season was one of the best years in school history. But it could have been so much better.
Let’s look at the positives first.
Just three previous Clemson teams topped last year’s victory total. The 2008 Tigers finished the season ranked No. 22 in the final Associated Press poll – just the third team in school history to wind up in the rankings. The team’s third-place ACC regular-season finish was Clemson’s best since 1990 and just the third time in school history the Tigers finished in the league’s top three. Clemson also reached the ACC Tournament title game for the first time since 1962 and just the second time in history. And, most significantly, Oliver Purnell’s team earned its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998.
“We had a really good team last season,” Purnell said. “But with a little good fortune, we could have gone further.”
[B]Clemson Tigers[/B]
Last Season 24-10 (.706)
Conference Record 10-6 (3rd)
Starters Lost/Returning 2/3
Coach Oliver Purnell (Old Dominion '75)
Record At School 94-68 (5 years)
Career Record 350-259 (20 years)
RPI Last 5 years 90-88-77-45-19
Purnell may have been thinking about Clemson’s first-round loss to Villanova, when the fifth-seeded Tigers blew a 12-point halftime lead. Or he may be obsessing over three bitter losses to powerful North Carolina – one in overtime, one in double-overtime and a five-point loss in the ACC title game.
“We don’t feel like last year was where we wanted to go,” Purnell said. “We want to go to the ultimate. We’ve continually gotten better since we’ve been here, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”
Indeed, Purnell’s steady progress since inheriting a downtrodden program in 2003 has been remarkable. After a 10-18 start, the Tigers improved their win total for three straight years. Last year’s 24-win finish was a one-game drop-off from 2007’s 25-win season, but the winning percentage was better and there’s no question that improv-ing from an NIT bid and an eighth-place ACC finish in '07 to the NCAA Tournament and a third-place ACC finish in '08 was a significant step forward.
One more step would put Purnell just about where he wants to be. However, it’s not going to be easy for the Tiger coach to keep moving forward after suffering the heavi-est graduation losses in his tenure at Clemson.
“It’s not going to be easy to replace our first recruiting class,” Purnell said. “They believed in what we were doing and had a lot to do with everything we’ve accom-plished. Emotionally, for me, I’ll always look back on that class with affection.”
He may also look back and miss the defensive prowess that his three 2008 seniors represented. Purnell has built his program around full-court defensive pressure, and few players have been more important in that regard than 6-9 James Mays, 6-3 Cliff Hammonds and 6-5 Sam Perry.
“Mays was the best on-the-ball defender I’ve ever seen at the point of the press,” Purnell said. “Hammonds was the guy we assigned to the opponent’s top perimeter player. Sam Perry was a huge part of our defense with the energy he brought off the bench.”
Hammonds was one of the most versatile – and most overlooked – players in modern ACC history. Not only was he a terrific perimeter defender, but he finished his career as one of five players in ACC history with at least 1,400 points, 400 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals.
Purnell will miss the flexibility and the leadership Hammonds provided. But the Clemson coach is confident he retains enough talent to sustain the momentum of his program.
“There is a core there,” he said. “That’s the mark of a good program, having veteran players back to build around.”
[B]PLAYERS[/B]
Clemson’s core group starts with [B]K.C. Rivers [/B](#1, 14.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.9 spg), a 6-5 senior from Charlotte, N.C., who earned second-team All-ACC honors last season.
“I hope people don’t underrate him – he’s not only one of the top players in the ACC, he’s one of the better players in the United States,” Purnell said. “He does a lot of dif-ferent things. He shoots the three [.402], is effective in between, he scores on the break. He can get you 10 rebounds. He plays four different positions. And I’ve asked him to shoulder a lot of the leadership role.”
Purnell is hoping junior [B]Trevor Booker [/B](#35, 11.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.9 bpg) can help Rivers anchor this team. The 6-7, 240-pound post has been remarkably consistent in his first two seasons, scoring exactly 374 points each year and hauling down 232 and 249 rebounds.
“The main thing for Trevor is to be on the floor,” Purnell said. “We would have had a better year if he had not been in foul trouble so often. Often he’d have to go to the bench after three or four minutes in the first half, then he’d have trouble getting in rhythm in the second half. We’re hoping maturity and experience will help him stay on the floor.”
Two sophomore guards are also part of Purnell’s core group. [B]Demontez Stitt [/B](#2, 8.8 ppg, 3.0 apg, 1.6 rpg) stepped into the starting point guard role as a true freshman and was only slowed by midseason knee surgery. [B]Terrence Oglesby[/B] (#22, 10.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg) served as the team’s sixth man, providing instant long-range firepower off the bench. The 6-2 guard from Cleveland, Tenn., hit 85-of-211 three-point tries last season, a healthy 40.3 percent. And he led the ACC’s worst free-throw shooting team from the line, hitting 85.1 percent.
“He’s clearly one of the best shooters in the country,” Purnell said. “He struggled a little bit early in defining what is a good shot. It’s not about range. He shoots so deep that the new [NCAA three-point] line won’t bother him. I don’t mind him shooting from 30 feet, just as long as the ball has gone inside, then outside and he has his feet set and we’ve got people in rebounding position.”
Purnell would like to see the young guard get better as a man-to-man defender, adding, “He is already pretty good in the press.”
As for Stitt, he’s an athletic slasher with superior quickness and one other quality Purnell admires.
“He showed me real toughness after his knee surgery,” Purnell said. “At a time when a lot of freshmen hit the wall, he not only recovered quickly, he came back stronger. It’s easy to see why we’re so optimistic about him.”
Purnell is also optimistic that [B]Raymond Sykes [/B](#12, 4.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg) can help lesson the impact of Mays’ departure. The 6-9 senior, known for his flamboyant hair-dos, is similar to Mays in many ways. Neither is a great offensive threat, but both are long, lean big men who run and defend well.
“He started six games last season when Mays was out – and we won five of them,” Purnell said. “He’s proven he can be pretty good on the floor.”
Purnell is hoping 6-6 junior [B]David Potter [/B](#15, 4.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg) can step into Perry’s role as a midsize defender and energy guy. Potter is actually a more effective offensive player than Perry was, but has a ways to go to match his defensive prowess.
Sophomore [B]Jerai Grant [/B](#45, 2.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg) is also set to play a larger role this season after the 6-8 son of Harvey Grant (and nephew of former Clemson star Horace Grant) averaged just eight minutes a game as a freshman.
“He reminds me of a young Raymond Sykes,” Purnell said. “He’s a long shot blocker who can post it up. We’d love to see him step into the role Raymond Sykes played last season. We need him to bring some energy off the bench.”
While Purnell is comfortable with his returning veterans, he knows he needs help from some unproven players.
“Our style and system requires so many players that we need significant contributions from our freshman class,” Purnell said.
Clemson’s recruiting efforts usually don’t get a lot of accolades, but Purnell and his staff have proven they know how to find talent. Catalin [B]“Bobo” Baciu [/B](#10, 22.6 ppg, 14.7 rpg, 6.9 bpg, at Veritas Academy in Fletcher, N.C.), a consensus top-50 player in the class of 2008, is actually the highest-rated prospect ever signed by Purnell. The 7-1, 230-pound Romanian could play a major role for the Tigers as a freshman.
“He’s long and agile and can run up and down the floor,” Purnell said. “The question is how well will he adjust to the physicality in the ACC? He’s been in the weight room all summer and going against Booker in practice will help.”
The arrival of Baciu may help the development of 6-11, 260-pound junior [B]Karolis Petrukonis [/B](#55, 0.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg). The Lithuanian has managed to play just 81 minutes in two seasons. The presence of another big man could help him polish his game in practice – or bury him even deeper on the bench.
At the other end of the physical spectrum, 5-9 freshman [B]Andre Young [/B](#11, 21.5 ppg, 6.0 apg at Deerfield-Windsor School in Albany, Ga.) brings explosive quickness and a deadly outside shot. He should provide a quality backup for Stitt at the point.
Wings [B]Tanner Smith [/B](#5, 11.7 ppg, 7.3 apg, 6.7 rpg at Wesleyan High in Alpharetta, Ga.), who’s 6-5, and 6-6 [B]Bryan Narcisse [/B](#21, 14.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 4.0 bpg at North Augusta [S.C.] High) offer a variety of strengths.
“Tanner Smith – I call him the ultimate glue guy,” Purnell said. “Narcisse, we found out about late. We were losing so much athleticism that we wanted somebody who can run the floor and use his quickness in the press. He’s as good an athlete as we have on the team.”
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT:B+
BENCH/DEPTH: A-
FRONTCOURT: B+
INTANGIBLES:B+
[B]OUTLOOK[/B]
Purnell pushed the 2008 Clemson Tigers to the brink of prominence in the ACC. Can his 2009 team take the next step? Or will his program – for the first time in his tenure – take a step back?
It’s going to be very hard to replace Mays and Hammonds, two players who were at the very heart of Clemson’s recent revival. The presence of Rivers and Booker, plus the promise of Stitt and Oglesby, provides Purnell with the weapons to remain in ACC contention, but he’s going to need major contributions from his young players to approach last season’s success.
Purnell has one thing going for him – he’s slowly changing the culture at the ACC’s worst basketball school. The Tigers are the one original ACC member without a league title or a Final Four appearance. Unlike the basketball factories on Tobacco Road, football has always reigned supreme at Clemson.
Purnell is not going to change that, but he’s generated a new excitement and a new confidence about his basketball program. The Tigers have proven they will no longer accept second-class status in the ACC. The momentum Clemson’s program has gained in recent years should pay off this season. It might be asking too much to expect improvement on last year’s many accomplishments, but it would be a mistake to view 2008 as a fluke. The Tigers aren’t going away.