Lock. The best word you can hear in the last week of the season.
. . . and thank you to Clemson for putting the tiebreakers in Duke's favor for the ACC tournament!
Clemson is surely a lock at this point. Playing for seed.
How many future first round draft picks does it take to get Paul Hewitt 10 ACC wins in one season?
Answer: It's a trick question. Paul Hewitt has never had 10 ACC wins in a regular season. He's had multiple lottery picks on his team simultaneously, yet can't hit double digits. He's only had 1 winning season in the ACC (9-7) in 10 years!
Congratulations to Clemson.
Congratulations to Clemson. They seemed to stutter for a while when Demontez Stitt was slowed with an injury and I was worried the Tigers wouldn't recover. The last four games of their schedule all looked tough but Clemson has won two of three so far and Wake Forest isn't looking so tough these days.
Bob Green
I will be cheering for Clemson and Wake to make some noise in the NCAAs. They need to redeem themselves after last year, as does the league in general.
Klem - do you think Clemson is better or worse suited for the NCAAs this year?
klem,
I agree that you folks are a lock for NCAAT. Purnell has shown that he can recruit/coach at a level that gets the Tigers to the top levels of the ACC.
gw67
Congrats, Klem! Too bad you don't play in chapel hill this year... It would be fun watching you and TigerTaz "stroll" down Franklin St. after your big win.
Ozzie, your paradigm of optimism!
Go To Hell carolina, Go To Hell!
9F 9F 9F
https://ecogreen.greentechaffiliate.com
Given one-and-done status the last two years, I'm not sure how we could be worse suited for NCAA action. We'll see.
Two years ago we made, for us, an unprecedented run to the ACC Tourney Finals. 15 minutes in to our 1st round game with 'Nova we were up by 18...and killing them. Then the wheels came off - almost literally. In the aftermath Purnell acknowledged that he hadn't expected how much having to play three tough games in three days in the ACCT would take out of the team and he thought it had really caught up to them in the NCAA game. We lost by 6.
Last year I think we just caught a tough match-up with Michigan. How much zone do you see in an ACC Regular Season? Michigan came out in zone pretty much from the start and dared Oglesby and Rivers to shoot over the top. We got frustrated (Ogelsby, especially) and let the game get away from us - losing by 3 with a game-tying 3 rimming out as time expired.
I don't think either result was necesarily a condemnation of the specific team. 'Nova, as it turns out, was a good team. They snuck in as the last At-Large (12-seed) but were very talented, if young, on the perimeter. Michigan had a great all-around player (Harris) and a tough inside presence (Sims) and a wonky defense that threw a wrench at us.
For Trevor Booker, David Potter, Jerai Grant and Demontez Stitt - this will be their 3rd NCAA Appearance. Remember, Clemson hadn't been to the NCAAs in more than 10 years prior to 2008. There's a learning curve. It's a different atmosphere - a different mindset. Hopefully experience pays off.
We are experienced. We've got very solid guard play. We've got a go-to stud. We're pretty deep - with nine guys seeing significant action in ACC play. We've spent that last two months grinding out our half-court offense (with mixed results) against the toughest half-court defenses in the country. We present our own set of challenges to an opponent with our non-stop pressure.
Will we win a game? I have no idea. Am I excited as all get-out to try? Yes, I am.
Klem
Lem:
Was last night's win a classic for the Tigers: 55% from the field and 46% from the FT line?
sagegrouse
'I for one look for the ACC teams -- except Wake -- to do well in the NCAA's. Sweet Sixteen, at least, for you guys'
Klem, hope your Tigers do well in both Tournaments. Unless it's against the Blue Devils of course. With Clemson's experience and 9 deep rotation you should do ok in both. There were a few games that your guards failed to get the ball into Booker and that hurt you guys for a while. Hope you get to play the unc Tar Heels one more time this year. It will make up for not getting them in the nosedome this year. No, wait it won't. Good Luck. Go Duke!
Last edited by jv001; 03-03-2010 at 11:51 AM. Reason: sp