Friday 02/04/2000
Feb. 4, 2000
Clemson vs. North Carolina Littlejohn Coliseum Sunday, February 6, 2000 (1:30 PM)
Series Record: North Carolina leads 106-16 at Clemson: North Carolina leads 30-12 at Littlejohn: North Carolina leads 19-9 at Chapel Hill: North Carolina leads 46-0 Last Meeting: UNC 65-45 at Chapel Hill, 1-6-00 Last at Clemson: Clemson 78, UNC 63 in 1998-99 Tickets: Available ($15) 1-800-CLEMSON Television: RJ (Bob Rathbun, Gil McGregor)
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Quick Facts
Please note that the Clemson vs. North Carolina game will startat 1:30 PM, not 4:00 PM as listed on the tickets and schedulecards. Change was made after these items were printed. AndriusJurkunas has been on a hot streak of late. The senior who isfinally recovered from a broken right thumb, has made 19 of hislast 34 shots from the field and 9 of his last 17 three-pointattempts. He is averaging 13.8 points per game over his last fourgames and is coming off a career high 21 point performance. He hasled Clemson in scoring and rebounding in two of the last four gamesafter never doing that leadership double in his previous 102 gamesat Clemson. Adam Allenspach could return for the Tigers aftermissing the Georgia Tech game due to a bulging disk. It was justthe second game he has missed as a Tiger, breaking a streak of 55straight games played. Will Solomon had his streak of 24 straightgames with at least one three-point goal snapped against GeorgiaTech. He did continue his streak of consecutive double figurescoring games. He is the only ACC player to score in double figuresin every one of his team’s games (21) this season. North Carolinawon the earlier meeting between the two teams in Chapel Hill,65-45. Will Solomon led Clemson with 13 points, while Joseph Fortehad 15 for the Tar Heels.
Clemson vs. North Carolina Series North Carolina has dominated the series with Clemson. The Tar Heels have won just one in a row, the game at North Carolina earlier this year, but they have taken 11 of the last 13 overall. The Tigers won at Clemson last year, 78-63 and won in the ACC Tournament in 1996 on Greg Buckner’s dunk with 0.6 seconds left (75-73). Current Clemson senior Andrius Jurkunas was on the court as a freshman when Buckner made the dunk. It was a landmark win for Clemson, as it was the Tigers first ever win over North Carolina in the ACC Tournament.
North Carolina had won four straight at Clemson prior to last season. Three of those North Carolina wins were by seven points or less. North Carolina won at Clemson in 1996 by a 53-48 count behind eight three-point goals by Jeff McInnis. North Carolina downed Clemson 76-69 in 1996-97. In 1997-98, Greg Buckner’s 30 points were not enough as North Carolina came away with a 73-70 win.
Overall, North Carolina holds a 106-16 lead in the series that dates to a 48-24 North Carolina win in Chapel Hill in 1926. Clemson’s first win in the series took place 50 years ago, when Clemson upset North Carolina in the Southern Conference Tournament behind Banks McFadden, 44-43. Clemson’s only other win in the series before 1964 took place in Tigertown, 77-69 in 1952.
Clemson actually won four out of eight games played between 1964-67. The Tigers swept North Carolina in 1963-64. The road win was in Charlotte at the North-South Doubleheader, not in Chapel Hill. Clemson has defeated North Carolina in consecutive seasons just twice, 1978-79 and 1979-80 and 1888-89 and 1989-90. Of course Clemson can make it three times with a win on Sunday. Clemson had just four wins over North Carolina in the 1990s.
Last Year at Clemson Clemson 78, North Carolina 63
Clemson held North Carolina to just one three-point field goal over the last three minutes and road the 25-point scoring by Terrell McIntyre in defeating 9th ranked North Carolina on Feb. 4, 1999, 78-63. It was Clemson’s largest margin of victory over North Carolina since Jan.2, 1980 when the Tigers defeated a 6th ranked North Carolina team, 93-76.
McIntyre scored 25 points, including four three-point goals. One of the threes was a “catch and shoot” 22 footer with the shot clock near zero. That play was cited as the CNN Play of the Day.
McIntyre also had six assists and three steals in leading the Tigers to the victory. Tony Christie added a season high 15 points and became Clemson’s career leader in three-point goals by a forward. Harold Jamison was a third double figure scorer for Clemson with 11 points and he added seven rebounds and three steals. Tom Wideman had 10 rebounds, seven points and four assists.
Clemson won the rebounding battle, 39-28, including 18-7 on the offensive boards. North Carolina came into the game ranked number-one in the nation in rebound margin. The Tigers also had a +5 in terms of turnover margin, forcing 17 defensively and committing just 12 offensively.
The Tigers scored the first bucket of the game on a layup by Tom Wideman and never trailed. It is the only time in history that Clemson has played a game against North Carolina and never trailed. North Carolina tied the count at two, and that was the only tie of the game. Clemson had a 10-point lead in the first half at 31-21 and led 39-31 at intermission. Andrius Jurkunas hit a three-point goal with four seconds left to send Clemson into the locker room with momentum.
North Carolina cut the lead to four in the second half at 45-41, but the Tigers went on a 10-0 run to take a 55-41 advantage. It reached 15 with 12:38 left on a three-point goal by McIntyre. North Carolina got to within seven points on a three-point goal with 2:25 left by Ronald Curry, but that was North Carolina’s only points in the last three minutes. Clemson went on an 8-0 to close the game.
Earlier this Year North Carolina 65, Clemson 45
North Carolina held Clemson to 32 percent shooting overall, 3-24 shooting on three-point goals, in gaining a 65-45 win over the Tigers in Chapel Hill on January 6, 2000. It was the 46th straight victory for the Tar Heels over the Tigers in Chapel Hill. Freshman Joseph Forte led the Tar Heels with 15 points, while Kris Lang had 12.
Adam Allenspach had six. Ray Henderson might have been Clemson’s best player, as the freshman forward had nine rebounds and six points in 22 minutes off the bench.
Clemson scored just 45 points in the game, its low output in an ACC game since 66-39 loss at North Carolina in 1994-95. Clemson made 19-60 shots from the field and 3-24 three-point shots. It was Clemson’s worst three-point shooting performance since a 1-9 (.111)performance against Charleston Southern in 1997-98.
The game was tied at 11-11 11 minutes into the game on a driving shot by Will Solomon. But, the Tar Heels went on a 15-2 run over the next six minutes to take a 26-13 lead. That 13-point lead was held at halftime, 33-20. Clemson shot just 9-29 in the first half, 2-16 on three-point goals.
Clemson was still in the game at 49-37 with 10:30 left. But, Clemson’s offense died, missing 12 consecutive shots and committing four turnovers during a six-minute drought. The Tar Heels scored 16 straight points and held a 65-37 lead with 4:08 left. Clemson scored the last eight points of the game.
Clemson was beaten on the boards 43-34, just the second time this year that Clemson lost the rebound battle. Clemson held the Tar Heels to just 43.4 percent shooting, below their 51 percent for the season. The Tigers also had just nine turnovers on offense, tying for their low total of the season.
Clemson Starts Second Half of Season Sunday’s game with North Carolina starts the second half of the ACC schedule. Clemson certainly hopes the second half will be more successful than the first half, although it was more successful than last year. The Tigers are 2-6 so far, tied with Georgia Tech, but had just a 1-7 record at the midway point of the schedule last year. That was the worst midseason ACC record since the 1990-91 season when Clemson was 0-7.
Clemson closed with a 4-4 second half of the ACC slate last year, just the fourth time in the last 19 years that Clemson has been .500 or better in the second half of the ACC season. The Tigers were 4-4 in the second half of the 1997-98 season and finished 7-9 for the regular season. Clemson’s best second half in the last 25 years took place in 1989-90 when the Tigers were 6-2 on the way to the ACC regular season championship. Andrius Jurkunas experienced a 6-2 run in the first half of the ACC slate in 1996-97.
Henderson Has Finest Game One of the bright spots of Clemson’s 20-point loss at North Carolina in January was the play of freshman forward Ray Henderson. A native of Charlotte, NC, Henderson had a productive 22 minutes of play. Troubled by injury most of this year, Henderson had a season best and team high nine rebounds in those 22 minutes, including four off the offensive boards. He also made 3-5 shots from the field and did not have a turnover in 22 minutes. He also had an effect on the production of Brendan Haywood. The 7-1 North Carolina center had just 10 points and got just four field goal attempts in the game.
Henderson has been injured much of the time since that game. But, he did play 16 minutes in the win over Georgia Tech and scored six points in 3-4 shooting. He also played strong defense against Alvin Jones of Georgia Tech. For the year, Henderson is 17-29 from the field, a team best .586 shooting percentage.
Clemson 70, Georgia Tech 58 Andrius Jurkunas and Dustin Braddick both scored career highs in leading Clemson to a 70-58 victory over Georgia Tech on February 2. It was the 24th time in 28 meetings in Littlejohn Coliseum that Clemson had gained victory over the Yellow Jackets. Clemson led by as many as 20 points in the second half.
Jurkunas scored 21 points, the first 20-point game of his career, and hit 7-12 shots from the field. He also made 4-7 three-point goals and tied for the lead in rebounding with seven. It was the second time in four games that Jurkunas has led Clemson in both categories in the same game. He made just 3-9 shots from the line or he would have had a 25-point game.
Braddick scored 14 on 4-5 shooting and also had seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in another fine all-around game for the 6-5 forward who did not play against North Carolina the last time the two teams met. Will Solomon had 15 points in the second half and 17 for the game. He also had a team best five assists. Ray Henderson led the bench with six points on 3-4 shooting.
Clemson held Georgia Tech in check, allowing just 34.5 percent shooting, including just 7-29 three-point shots. The Tigers were playing without Adam Allenspach for the first time in 55 games. The 7-1 center was out with a bulging disk, forcing Clemson to go with a small lineup. But, Clemson won the rebound battle 40-38.
Tech jumped out to a 7-2 lead early. Jones scored the first two baskets for the Yellow Jackets, then never scored another field goal. Clemson held Jason Collier, the second leading scorer in the league entering the contest, to 10 points and just three field goals. He took six shots in the first six minutes, then got just four shots the last 34 minutes.
Clemson went on 13-4 run to end the half and held a 23-18 lead at intermission. It was just 27-23 with 17 minutes left when Clemson went on a 13-3 run over four minutes to take a 14-point lead. It was 54-34 in favor of Clemson with 7:53 left. Tech never got the deficit under double figures the rest of the game.
Tigers Have 10 Healthy Scholarship Players for First Time College basketball teams begin practice on October 15, but it took until February 4 for Clemson to have its full roster of scholarship players available for a practice. This past Friday, Adam Allenspach returned to practice after missing the Georgia Tech game with a bulging disk.
Clemson has played 21 games so far this year and at least one scholarship player has been injured and unable to play in every game. If Allenspach is healthy on Sunday, it would be the first game this year in which all 10 Clemson scholarship players were ready to go.
The absence of healthy scholarship players has hurt Clemson’s preparation in games this year. Many practices prior to games Clemson has had just six healthy scholarship players. Clemson played at Maryland with just six scholarship players.
Tigers Have Won 2 of last 3 Clemson has won two of its last three ACC games, the first time Clemson has done that since winning two league games in a row last year against Florida State and Virginia, both at home. Clemson has gained those wins over NC State and Georgia Tech by a combined 29 points. Clemson has played well at both ends of the court, but especially on defense. State and Tech combined to shoot just 35-108 from the field ( .324) and just 14-53 on three-point shots. Clemson has forced 34 turnovers and committed 30 in those two games combined and had a +6 rebound margin.
Gilmore in ACC Top 10 in Rebounding, Blocks One of the unsung heroes of Clemson’s strong field goal percentage defense and rebounding figures this year is sophomore forward Chucky Gilmore. The native of Fayetteville, NC is now ranked 10th in rebounding and blocked shots in the ACC this year. He is pulling in 6.7 rebounds and has 21 blocked shots in his 18 games. He averaged 6.8 rebounds in ACC play to rank 10th in the league in ACC games. He is also sixth in the league in offensive rebounds. Gilmore is one reason opposing starting centers are shooting under 40 percent from the field and averaging less than six points and six rebounds per game.
Many NCAA Stat Leaders in this Game Some of the nation’s statistical leaders will be on display in Littljohn Coliseum on Sunday. Leading the way is North Carolina center Brendan Haywood, who leads the nation in field goal percentage at .718. He is on pace to eclipse Dale Davis’s all-time ACC record of .670. Ed Cota of North Carolina ranks third in the nation in assists with 8.4 per game. Clemson’s Will Solomon ranks 13th in the nation in scoring, first in the ACC. He is also 20th in three-point goals per game.
Healthy Braddick Helping Clemson Adam Allenspach.
Tigers Have Three Tar Heels on Roster, More on the Way Clemson has three natives of North Carolina on its roster this year. Chucky Gilmore is a native of Fayetteville, NC and is Clemson’s second leading rebounder. Ray Henderson, a 6-8 forward, is a native of Charlotte and leads Clemson in field goal percentage. Walker Holt is a top reserve who had eight points in 14 minutes at Duke last weekend.
Clemson could have six natives of North Carolina on its roster next year. Three of Clemson’s four signees for 2000-01 are from North Carolina. Dwon Clifton (High Point), De’on Dixon (Fayetteville) and Chris Hobbs (Chapel Hill) are slated to join Clemson’s program next year.
Allenspach Records Career High Clemson center Adam Allenspach scored 24 points in Clemson’s loss to Appalachian State on January 19. That was his career high scoring effort and it was in fact the highest scoring game for a Clemson center since Sharone Wright scored 25 points at Wake Forest on Feb. 22, 1994. Allenspach connected on 7-11 field goals and 10-12 free throws.
His free throw shooting stats were also a career high. He made his last nine free throws of the game and is now shooting 71 percent from the line for the year. The native of Parkland, FL is trying to become the first Clemson center to lead the Tigers in free throw shooting since Ed Brinkley shot 77.8 percent in 1956-57. That is the only free throw shooting percentage over 75 percent for a season by a Clemson center in history.
Allenspach had five straight double figure scoring games and was averaging 16 points a contest prior to the Duke game in Durham when he went down with a bulging disk in his back. He had 12 points and seven rebounds in the win over NC State. He did not play against Georgia Tech due to a bulging disk in his back.
Jurkunas on Hot Streak Clemson senior Andrius Jurkunas has played his best basketball of the season of late. Over the last four games, Jurkunas has made 19 of 34 shots from the field, including 9-17 three-point shots. He has scored 55 points in those four games. He had a career high 21 points in the win over Georgia Tech. He also led the team in rebounds with seven. That is the second time in the last four games that he has led Clemson in both categories.
Jurkunas had one of his most productive games as a Clemson Tiger in the 74-62 loss to Maryland on January 22. The native of Lithuania whose Clemson career dates to November 26, 1995, scored 16 points on 4-6 shooting. He also had 3-4 three-point goal successes and pulled in seven rebounds. he led the Tigers in scoring and rebounding, the first time he has done that in the same game.
Jurkunas continued his fine play against NC State with 10 points on 4-8 shooting. He had three assists and just one turnover in his 38 minutes and also had a pair of steals. He is among the top 10 assist leaders in the ACC and leads the Clemson team on a per game basis.
Clemson Downs #21 NC State Four Tigers scored in double figures and the Clemson defense held NC State to 30 percent shooting, as Clemson broke a six-game losing streak with a 59-42 win over NC State in Littlejohn Coliseum on January 27th. Clemson had been 0-5 in the ACC prior to the game.
Will Solomon scored 15 points to lead the Tigers in scoring, but it was the play of freshman point guard Edward Scott that provided the spark for Clemson. Coming off the bench and seeing his first playing time in four games, Scott scored 10 points, had three rebounds and five assists. He also had two steals for his 34 minutes of play. Most importantly, he held Justin Gainey to no points and no assists in 27 minutes of play. Gainey had lit up Clemson for 28 points on 7-7 shooting the last time the two teams met.
Andrius Jurkunas had 10. It was the second straight double figure scoring game for Jurkunas, the first time this year he has put back to back double figure scoring games together. Chucky Gilmore added 10 rebounds for the Tigers, who are ranked 14th in the country in rebounding.
Clemson’s defense held NC State to just 42 points, its starters to just 15 points. Anthony Grundy scored nine, but Damien Wilkens, Damon Thornton and Kenny Inge all scored just two points apiece. Gainey was shut out. Only the three-point shooting of Archie Miller kept the Pack in the game. He was 5-9 on three-point goals.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half. The Tigers jumped out to an 8-0 lead to open the game in the first three minutes. Clemson held the Pack to five points in the first 12 and a half minutes, as NC State made just two of its first 15 shots. Clemson did not take advantage as Clemson went 8:34 without scoring at one point. Clemson held a 23-17 lead at halftime.
Clemson brought the lead to 34-21 at 13:31 left on a layup by Adam Allenspach. But, Miller started hitting three-point goals and brought the Pack back to 42-38 with 7:36 left on the fourth three of the half by Miller. But, that was the last field goal he would make. Clemson then went on a 17-4 run to end the game. Solomon scored seven points down the stretch.
Clemson won the rebounding battle 40-36 and had 15 assists and 15 turnovers. It was the first time in eight games that Clemson had at least the same amount of assists as turnovers. NC State had a 5/19 assist/turnover ratio. The Tigers were 14-27 from the field in the second half.
Walkon Holt Makes Contribution Walker Holt made his first career start at Maryland. The original walk-on who is now on scholarship for this season was the first original walk-on to start a game for the Tigers since the 1985-86 season when Jeff Holstein started at Georgia Tech.
Holt, a freshman from Greensboro, NC did not score in the game in 25 minutes (he took just two shots), but did have a season high five rebounds and three assists with just one turnover. He had a career high 12 points on 5-7 shooting against Appalachian State on January 19. He had those 12 points in 20 minutes. He had not scored over three points in a game all year prior to that contest.
Holt’s performance against Appalachian State included a midcourt shot at the end of the half that swished through the nets, the longest shot made by a Clemson player in the history of Littlejohn Coliseum. That fact is according to longtime Clemson SID Bob Bradley and 32-year play-play man Jim Phillips, who have seen almost every game in the history of the Coliseum. Wake Forest’s Rod Griffin made a shot just inside midcourt against the Tigers in 1978, but that is the closest long bomb anyone can remember.
Holt’s improvement could be traced to the “buzz cut” his teammates gave him on the road trip to North Carolina on January 5. Holt had long curly locks prior to that and the trim has had the opposite affect it had on Sampson (not Ralph, but mythology).
Since he had the locks cut, Holt has played 98 minutes, has shot 8 of 15 from the field, including 4-7 on three-point shots. He is 5-6 from the line, has 13 rebounds and nine assists to go with 25 points. Prior to the haircut, Holt had played 88 minutes in 10 games, scored just four points, had eight assists and nine rebounds. He was 2-9 from the field.
Rebounding–Tigers are +7.1 for the season, first inthe ACC and second best in Clemson history. Clemson was 12th in thenation in rebounding last week.Tigers have been out-rebounded injust three games all year and have had a double digit reboundmargin against 10 opponents. Defense–Clemson has allowedopponents to make just 39 percent of their shots. Only one team(third rnaked Duke) has shot over 46 percent against Clemson thisyear. Free Throw Shooting–Clemson has made 66.6 percent ofits free throws this year, up from 62.5 last year. Clemson has made68 percent in ACC games. Clemson has made at least 70 percent ofits free throws in six of the last eight games.
Three-Point Shooting–Clemson has made just 30.1percent from beyond the arc. Opponents have made more three-pointgoals than Clemson in 12 straight games and 18 of 21 games thisyear. Assist/turnover ratio–Clemson has had more turnoversthan assists in 15 of 21 games. Clemson has committed 121 moreturnovers than the opposition and has 53 more turnovers thanassists. Forcing Turnovers–Opponents have had more assiststhan turnovers in 10 of the last 11 games. A nine game streak wassnapped in the win over NC State. Clemson has just 89 stealscompared to 162 by the opposition. Free Throw Attempts–InACC play the opposition has attempted 50 more free throws thanClemson in the eight games.
Solomon Leads Clemson in Scoring and Assists Will Solomon leads the Tigers in scoring and assists per game, a rarity in college basketball. In fact, only two players in the last 30 years have done that over the course of a season for Clemson. Chris Whitney led the Tigers in both areas in 1992-93 and Terrell McIntyre did it last year. Prior to that you have to go back to Butch Zatezalo in 1968-69 to find the last time a Tiger led the Team in scoring and assists in the same season.
Solomon Scoring Coming in Second Half Clemson Head Coach Will Solomon play half a game over in Fike Fieldhouse prior to the Tigers next contest. Solomon, the ACC’s top scorer and ranked 13th in the nation in that area, has struggled in the first half and been near unstoppable in the second half of games this year, especially recently.
Over the last four games, two of them Clemson victories, Solomon has scored a total of seven points in the first half and 56 in the second half. Over the last 14 games, a span in which he has averaged over 20 points a game, Solomon has 85 first half points and 196 in the second half. For the season, he has 160 in the first half and 271 in the second half.
In Clemson’s victory over Georgia Tech on Feb. 2 Solomon scored just two points in the first half, but tallied 15 in the second half. He did not score in the first half at Duke, but shot 4-6 on three-point goals and scored 19 in the second half.
Solomon Three-point Goal Streak Ends at 24 Clemson guard Will Solomon made at least one three-point goal in the first 20 games this year. His streak actually reached 24 games dating to last year, the third longest streak in Clemson history. Georgia Tech snapped the streak on Feb. 2, but he still scored 17 points in Clemson’s victory. Solomon ranks first in the ACC in 20th in the nation in three-point goals per game.
Terrell McIntyre holds the record with 26 games in a row set over the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. Chris Whitney, now with the Washington Wizzards, had a 25-game streak, the last 25 games of his career.
Clemson Consecutive Game Streak with a Three-Point Goal
Clemson Recent Wins over Ranked Teams Clemson just finished a stretch of three straight games against ranked teams, the first time since the 1995-96 season that Clemson has played three straight top 25 teams. Clemson defeated #21 NC State in the middle game of the stretch, its first ranked win of the season. Clemson has now defeated at least one ranked opponent each of the last 14 years.
Recent Clemson top 25 Wins
Clemson Veterans vs. North Carolina
Jurkunas Three-Point Record Holder Clemson senior Andrius Jurkunas became Clemson’s career three-point goal leader among forwards when he made a pair of three-point goals against Wofford on November 21. He moved into fifth place on the all-time list regardless of position when he had four against Georgia Tech on Feb. 2. He moved ahead of Merl Code in that game and now needs just two to move ahead of Bruce Martin into fourth place. He has 128 for his career, breaking the mark of 106 set by former teammate and roommate Tony Christie, who is now playing professionally in England.
Jurkunas had 51 three-point goals as a freshman and as a junior. Injury problems on 1996-97 gave him shooting problems all year and he made just 3-38 from long range. He has made 9 of his last 17 three-point goals and is up to 35 percent in ACC play, 10th best in the league. He is shooting 30 percent overall. He made just 14 of his first 60 (.233) to start the season when he had the broken thumb on his shooting hand.
Clemson Career Three-Point Goal Leaders
Jurkunas stands 6-9 and is an unusual player in that he is capable of defending on the inside, but he is also a capable scorer on the outside. Jurkunas is one of just four players in ACC history standing 6-9 or taller to make over 100 three-point goals in a career. The others to do it are Tom Gugliotta of NC St, Michael Maddox of Georgia Tech, and Danny Ferry of Duke.
Jurkunas has 71 blocked shots to go with his 128 career three-point goals. He entered 1999-2000 as one of just 10 players in ACC history with at least 100 three-point goals and at least 50 blocked shots. No player in ACC history has had at least 100 three-point goals and 100 blocked shots. Jurkunas would need 44 blocked shots his senior year to do it (he has 15 so far) Maddox of Georgia Tech came the closest with 133 three-point goals and 93 blocked shots.
ACC Players with 100 Career 3s and 50 Blocked Shots
Head Coach Larry Shyatt Clemson Head Coach Larry Shyatt had a 20-15 record in his first year as Clemson Head Coach. He guided Clemson to the Championship of the NIT, a 61-60 loss to California. The 20 victories were a record for a Clemson coach in his first year and he was just the fourth coach in ACC history to win at least 20 in his rookie year with an ACC program.
Shyatt was the head coach at Wyoming in 1997-98 and posted a 19-9 ledger and berth in the NIT. Thus, he had a 39-24 record as a head coach entering this year. This is his 25th year in college coaching, his third as a head coach. In 15 of his last 16 years the team he has coached (head or assistant) has gone to the NIT of the NCAA.
Shyatt has also had assistant coaching stints at Utah, Cleveland State, New Mexico and Providence in addition to his three years as associate head coach at Clemson under Rick Barnes. Shyatt enters this game with a record of 28-28 at Clemson and he is 47-37 overall.
Clemson Has Young Roster Clemson has one of the youngest teams in the nation with only one senior and one junior with previous Division I experience listed on its roster. This is the youngest Clemson team since the 1987-88 season when Grayson Marshall was the only senior and Jerry Pryor was the only junior among scholarship players. That Clemson team finished 14-15, but did qualify for the NIT.
This year’s Clemson team has one senior, Andrius Jurkunas, and one junior, Adam Allenspach among scholarship players. Walk-on Michael Crocker is a junior, but is in his first year with the program.
The young veteran Clemson players have been asked to step up their play considerably from last year. The five players returning from last year have made large jumps in terms of playing time and scoring. Will Solomon scoring average is triple what it was last year, from 6.3 points to 20.7 and is the largest increase in the ACC.
Ninety-one percent of Clemson’s scoring and 88 percent of its rebounds have come from underclassmen this year.
Three Walk-ons Join Team Three walk-ons have joined the Clemson roster for this year. The three players joined the program in mid-October and are members of the roster. The group is led by Larry Shyatt. Jeremy will become just the second ACC player to play at an ACC school for his father. Chucky Driesell played for his father Lefty at Maryland from 1981-85.
Two other walk-ons are Michael Crocker. Powell is in his second year as a walk-on. The 6-2 guard from Westminster, SC, connected on a three-point goal in the closing moments of the Georgia Tech game last year in the final home contest of the season. Crocker is a 6-6 forward from Newberry, SC. Both his parents are Clemson graduates. He was more noted for his abilities in soccer in high school. He set the Newberry High scoring record in soccer with 70 career goals.
Clemson 3-Pt Streak at 299 Consecutive Games Clemson has a streak of 299 consecutive games with at least a three-point goal. The streak dates to the 1990-91 season when the Tigers were 0-7 from long range in an 81-55 loss at Wake Forest. Clemson was also 0-17 that year in a home loss to UNC Charlotte.
Clemson has made at least two three-point goals this year in every game. Clemson had its best three-point shooting game of the year against Virginia, hitting 11-20, for 55 percent. Will Solomon made 8-12 from long range in that game. The Tigers were also 8-19 at Penn State from long range.
Clemson made 43 percent of its three-point shots at Maryland recently. Will Solomon leads the team with 60 and is on a record pace in terms of three-point goals per game (2.9). Clemson has improved its three-point shooting of late, hitting 20 of its last 53 from long range (.377).
1999 Seniors All Playing Basketball Where have the seniors of 1998-99 gone? They are all doing well and are all still in the game of basketball. Tony Christie is playing professionally in England, while Terrell McIntyre is playing for a team in France. Tom Wideman and Harold Jamison are both playing in the United States. Wideman has landed a spot on the roster of the Fort Wayne Fury of the CBA, while Jamison started the year on the injured list of the Miami Heat of the NBA. He played in his first NBA game on December 3 in the Fleet Center and scored two points in six minutes.
Wideman has his degree from Clemson and concluded his career as one of the most decorated student-athletes in Clemson history. A year ago he was the recipient of the Weaver-James-Corrigan Scholarship from the ACC. He was also an Academic All-District Choice and a recipient of an NCAA Scholarship. Through 27 games with the Fort Wayne Fury, Wideman was averaging 8 points and 6 rebounds a game. He was named to play in the CBA All-Star Rookie Game in South Dakota and had eight points and nine rebounds in the contest. Last week, however, he sustained a knee injury that will require surgery. It will be the first time since the seventh grade that he has missed a game.
The four players led Clemson to 79 wins the last four years, the second highest victory total for one Clemson class in Clemson history. They were major reasons Clemson has been to three NCAAs and one NIT championship game the last four seasons.
Signees for Class of 2000 Clemson head men’s basketball coach Larry Shyatt announced on Wednesday that four players, including three from the state of North Carolina, signed with the Tiger program on the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period.
Dwon Clifton, De’on Dixon, Chris Hobbs, and Tony Stockman all made their commitments to the Clemson program official on signing day in November. Three of the players are ranked among the top 100 players in the nation by Hoop Scoop. Clemson is tied for second behind St. John’s (5) for the most top 100 players. Missouri and Seton Hall (who will play at Clemson next year) also have three.
“These players come from four wonderful families,” stated Shyatt. “These are four young men who are very focused about working towards gaining degrees, as well as improving their basketball skills during their four years here at Clemson.
“I thought we really needed to get some experience and talent in the backcourt in particular where we had some key openings due to both graduation and losses of late,” added Shyatt.
“Tony Stockman could well be one of the most creative and exciting point guards in the country and Dwon Clifton gives us size in the backcourt which we haven’t had in years. What’s also exciting is the fact that De’on Dixon could someday make the switch from a 6-8 athletic wing to a backcourt player. Chris Hobbs gives us an impressive strength presence inside and he comes in as probably the strongest high school prospect to ever sign at Clemson at 6-7, 250 pounds.”
“Stockman is capable of playing both guard spots, but is a tremendous lead guard candidate,” Shyatt said. “Clifton has tremendous athleticism and scoring guard skills, but could also someday be a lead guard. So that potential is out there for both Stockman and Clifton.”
Clifton is a 6-4, 195 pound guard from High Point, NC. He has the ability to play both guard positions and is described as an excellent shooter. Clifton averaged 24 points per game as a junior at Westchester Academy and also pulled down 8.5 rebounds per game and dished out 5.0 assists per game for coach Pat Kahny. He is listed among the nation’s top-100 in several publications, including PrepStars Magazine which has him 40th and Bob Gibbons who tabbed him 52nd.
Dixon is a senior at 71st High School in Fayetteville, NC, the same high school that current Tiger forward Chucky Gilmore attended. Dixon is coached by Bernie Poole and averaged 12 points per game and seven rebounds per game as a junior. The 6-8, 185-pound forward also had 3.5 assists per game and 3.5 blocks per game last season.
Hobbs is a 6-7, 250-pound senior at East Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill, NC. As a junior, the power forward averaged 19.4 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game for coach Ray Hartsfield’s club. Those numbers helped Hobbs earn the Triad 3-A Player of the Year award. He was also a first-team all-state pick by the Associated Press. Bob Gibbons rated Hobbs as the number-eight junior in the country and he has been tabbed among the top-40 in several recruiting publications.
Stockman plays at Medina High School in Medina, OH for coach Jody Peters. Stockman is a 6-1, 165 pound guard who is described as a good shooter and ball handler. As a junior at Medina, he averaged 19 points, four assists, and two steals per game. This past summer, Stockman played at the Five Star Camp in Pittsburgh, PA.
“I am proud of our coaching staff, Scott Duncan, Darren Tillis, Matt Driscoll and Anthony Solomon. They worked hard on this class and recruited these young men with class and dignity,” said Shyatt.
Note – Stats are from junior seasons @ – Denotes assists per game
15 of 21 Clemson Games Up For Grabs While Clemson has a 8-13 record so far this year, Clemson has been in all but six contests with five minutes left. Clemson has lost by more than 20 points just once this year and had one other loss by 20, at North Carolina (65-45).
In Clemson’s 17-point loss to Wisconsin-GB, the Tigers were tied with the Phenix at 40-40 with 5:42 left. In a 10-point loss to Penn State, Clemson trailed by just four with two minutes left. Clemson lost by 14 to Wake Forest, but it was a six-point game with 2:30 left. Clemson trailed by just four points, 89-85 against Virginia with 50 seconds left.
Clemson has shown an ability to win close games this year, something that was not the case last season. Clemson is 4-3 in games decided by six points or less this year.
Clemson has won two of its last three games by double digits, a 17-point win against NC State and a 12-point victory over Georgia Tech.
Solomon Has Record Setting Performance Clemson guard Will Solomon put on a scoring show against Virginia on Saturday, January 15. The sophomore from East Hartford, CT scored 43 points in Clemson’s 98-91 loss, the most points by a Tiger in almost 30 years. Solomon connected on 14-21 shots from the floor, including 8-12 on three-point shots. He made 10 of his last 12 shots from the field, including 5 of his last 7 three-point shots. He also made 7-10 free throws and found time to collect nine rebounds, three assists, a blocked shot and a steal. He did that in 37 minutes.
Here are some notes on Solomon’s game:
“We couldn’t stop Will Solomon. We recruited him, so we know how he plays. He is a great player. We should not have allowed him to score that many points, but he did.” Virginia Head Coach Pete Gillen.
“Will’s performance was one of the best individual performances I have ever seen. And, he did it against a Virginia team that has outstanding defenders in the backcourt.” Clemson Head Coach Larry Shyatt.
Solomon Point total Most in 30 Years Clemson guard Will Solomon has recorded two of the top 12 scoring games in Clemson history this year. He had quite a night at Penn State on December 1. The sophomore scored 37 points against the Nittany Lions, on 13-27 shooting from the field and 7-10 from the line. He was 4-9 from three-point land.
Solomon trumped that performance with 43 against Virginia on January 15, 2000. It was the most points by a Tiger in 30 years, dating to Butch Zatezalo’s 43 point game against NC State in 1970. That performance tied for the fourth highest scoring game in Clemson history. He had eight three-point goals in the game, which also tied a Clemson record. It also tied for the second highest point total by a Tiger against an ACC opponent and was the most points by a Clemson player in Littlejohn Coliseum.
Solomon’s performance at Penn State was also the second highest point total in Clemson history on an opponent’s home court. The 37 points by Solomon exceeded Clemson’s entire team total of 35 in its previous game, a 53-35 loss to Oregon State.
Over the last nine minutes of the Penn State game, Solomon scored 24 points. He had 26 over the last 12:35 of the Virginia game.
Clemson’s Individual Highest Scoring Games
Clemson Defense Still Strong Clemson has struggled on offense, but the defense has been outstanding in all 21 games so far this season. So far this year, Clemson opponents are shooting just 38.8 percent from the field overall and are averaging just 67 points per game. The 38.8 percent is second best in the ACC and would be the second best by a Clemson team in the last 40 years if the season ended today. Clemson held North Carolina to 43.4 percent shooting and 65 points. NC State scored just 42 points at Clemson, its low total since 1996.
Duke is the only Clemson opponent to shoot over 47 percent against Clemson, they hit 52.4 against the Tigers on January 29 in Durham. NC State shot just 30 percent against Clemson in the Tigers victory in January.
Defense has been a hallmark of Larry Shyatt coached teams. Clemson opponents scored just 64.7 points a game last year and shot just 41.1 percent from the field. The Tigers led the ACC and ranked in the top 20 in the nation in scoring defense last year.
Clemson top Field Goal % Defense Seasons (Last 40 Years)
Conrad Appointed by Reno Bobby Conrad, the starting point guard on Bill Foster’s 1979-80 team that advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, has been appointed Director of the Campaign Finance Task Force by Attorney General Janet Reno. The announcement was made December 27th in Washington DC.
Conrad, now a resident of Charlotte, NC, has been an Assistant United States Attorney for Western North Carolina. He will take an 18-month sabatical from that job to serve his appointment under Reno. His primary activity will be to look into allegations of illegal campaign contributions during the 1996 election cycle.
Conrad graduated from Clemson in 1980. He was a member of the Tiger basketball team for four years, a starter his last two seasons. In 1979-80 he led the Tigers in assists with 157 and averaged 7.8 poins per game. He shot 81 percent from the foul line, including an 8-8 performance in Clemson’s 87-82 overtime victory against #1 ranked Duke.
For his career, Conrad scored 542 points and dealt out 402 assists in 116 games. He also had 172 rebounds and shot 71.6 percent from the foul line. A three-time Academic All-ACC performer, Conrad was the recipient of Clemson’s 1980 Norris Medal, which is given to the top all-around student on the Clemson campus. From Clemson, he went on to earn his law degree at the University of Virginia.
Clemson Successful in Classroom Clemson had a record setting first semester in the classroom for the period completed this past December. Five of the 13 Clemson players on the roster earned a 3.0 or better, the highest number of academic honor roll selections for a semester in Clemson history. The team had a 2.39 GPA, its best in the fall since 1995 and the fourth best overall.
Starting center Adam Allenspach was on the honor roll, as was reserve guard Larry Shyatt, both made the dean’s list. Walk-on J.D. Powell also made the honor roll.
It was an outstanding semester overall for Clemson athletic teams. A record 229 student athletes made the academic honor roll and the overall GPA for all 15 programs was 2.74, highest on record and just .04 from the average for the overall student body.
Seven Tigers in the NBA For the first time in history, Clemson has seven former players in the NBA in the same season. The list includes four former Clemson centers, a point guard, a two guard and a small forward. The previous high for former Tigers in the NBA was six.
Leading the way has been Dale Davis, who is in his ninth year with the Indiana Pacers, his seventh year as a starter. Through 43 games, Davis was averaging 11.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. He was fifth in the NBA in field goal percentage through games of January 22 with a .516 figure. He was also eighth in the league in rebounding and 17th in double-doubles with 14. What is most impressive is his much improved free throw percentage (.701).
Elden Campbell is the highest scorer among former Clemson players in the NBA. Campbell was averaging 12.3 points a game in 31 minutes a game for the Charlotte Hornets. He was also pulling in 7.1 rebounds a game and was 17th in the league in blocked shots.
The veteran of Clemson’s group in the NBA is Horace Grant. A rookie with the Chicago Bulls in 1987-88, he played on three World Championship teams with that franchise. After a four-year stint with the Orlando Magic, he is now with the Seattle Supersonics. He has started all 41 games this year and averaged 36 minutes per game. He is averaging 8.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
Chris Whitney is in his sixth year with the Washington Wizzards as a backup point guard. He had 17 points in his third game of the season and also had a double-double this year against Seattle. Whitney is a carerer 80 percent free throw shooter.
Devin Gray replaced Charles Barkley on the Houston Rockets when the future Hall of Famer was injured in December. He has played in four games for the team. Greg Buckner joined the Dallas Mavericks after the first of the year and has played 20 minutes a game over the last eight outings. Harold Jamison has played in one game for the Miami Heat. The 1998-99 Clemson senior is currently on injured reserve.
Clemson Players in the NBA (Through Games of Jan. 22, 2000)
*Denotes Assist Average
Allenspach, Gilmore Strong Defender in Middle Clemson 7-1 center Adam Allenspach and 265-pound forward Chucky Gilmore have proven to be large obstacles for opposing centers so far this season. A look to the stats shows us that opposing starting centers have averaged just 5.7 points and 5.4 rebounds a game against the Tigers this year. They have shot just under 40 percent from the field and have just 37 offensive rebounds.
Allenspach has averaged 12.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the first 21 games, all as a starter, so he is obviously winning the war at his position. Gilmore has contributed 6.7 rebounds per game. Allenspach has 12 double figure scoring games and four double-doubles. No opposing starting center has a double-double against the Tigers, in fact, only four opposing centers have scored in double figures, and only one has had double figures in rebounds.
Opposing Centers vs. Clemson
Clemson Near Record Pace in Rebound Margin If the season ended today, this would be the second highest rebound margin by a Clemson team in school history. The Tigers are +7.1 in overall games so far this year. Clemson has been out-rebounded just three times all year, a sign of the hustle and drive of Larry Shyatt team. Wisconsin-GB is the only non-conference team this year to hold a rebounding edge against the Tigers and that was by a 35-31 margin. North Carolina won the rebound battle 43-34 in the ACC opener and Maryland defeated the Tigers 41-38 when Clemson started a three-guard lineup.
Clemson has won the battle of theboards in 18 of its 21 games this year and has had a double figure advantage in 10 of the 21 games, including at Duke on January 29 by +12. Clemson was +18 on the boards against Virginia on Jan. 15. Clemson had a positive rebound margin in its last seven games last year, so the Tigers have outrebounded the opposition in 25 of their last 28 games. Larry Shyatt has been Clemson’s head coach for 56 games and the Tigers have been beaten on the glass just nine times.
The Clemson record for rebound margin in a season is +7.4 rebounds per game set by last year’s team. That team broke the record of +5.8 set by the 1975-76 Clemson team that was led by Tree Rollins. Three other Clemson teams have been at +4.9 rebounds per game for a season. The Clemson team of 1989-90 led by Dale Davis and Elden Campbell had a +4.5 rebound margin per game.
Clemson is 12th in the nation in rebounding this week.
Clemson’s Top Rebound Margin Teams
Solomon Leads ACC in Scoring, Minutes, 3-Pt Goals Will Solomon leads the ACC in three categories. His 20.5 scoring average is best in the league and 13th in the nation (through games of Jan. 31) , while his 2.9 three-point goals per game Solomon also leads the ACC in playing time, averaging 35.6 minutes per game.
Solomon is attempting to become just the fourth Tiger in history to lead the ACC in scoring. Butch Zatezalo paced the league twice, with a 23.0 average in 1967-68 and with a 25.8 average in 1968-69. He did not lead the league as a senior. Horace Grant led the league as a senior in 1986-87 with a 21.0 scoring mark, while Terrell McIntyre led the conference last year with a 17.9 figure.
Solomon’s 20.5 scoring average is the highest by a Clemson player Horace Grant averaged 21.0 in 1986-87. The Clemson record for a season is a 28.3 figure by Bill Yarborough in 1954-55. Yarborough did not lead the league that year because of Virginia’s Buzz Willinson’s 32.1 average, a figure that is still the ACC record.
Six Tigers Have Missed 26 Games due to Injury Clemson has not had a full compliment of scholarship players for a single practice, never mind a game this year. That certainly has hindered Clemson’s preparation for games, as walk-ons, managers and even graduate student manager Bruce Martin have helped out in practice. When Adam Allenspach missed the Georgia Tech game he was the sixth different player to miss action this year due to injury. Heading into the North Carolina game Clemson players have missed 26 combined games. That does not include the seven games Pasha Bains missed at the start of the season due to the NCAA transfer rule.
If Adam Allenspach can return this weekend, the Tigers could play their first game all year with all 10 scholarship players healthy.
Here is the injury rundown so far this year:
Solomon’s Outburst 5th Best Scoring Game in NCAA Will Solomon 43 point scoring game against Virginia on January 15 ranks in a tie for the fifth highest scoring game in the nation this year. The top figure is the 61-point outing by Eddie House for Arizona State against California on January 8th. Solomon’s point total against the Cavs is the highest by a college player in the South or east. Solomon’s point total tied Courtney Alexander (ironically a former Virginia player) who scored 43 for Fresno State against UAB on December 11. Solomon was ranked 13th in the nation in scoring entering games of January 31. No Clemson player has finished the season in the top 10 in scoring since Bill Yarborough was fourth in 1954-55 with a 28-point average. Solomon is 20th in the nation in three-point goals per game (2.9)
Highest Scoring Games in Division I 1999-2000
#1 Will Solomon, G, So., East Hartford, CT Leading scorer in the ACC with 20.5 average, he ranks13th in the nation. …that is the highest scoring average by a Tiger player since the 1986-87 season when Horace Grant averaged 21 a game for the season…also leading the ACC in thre-point goals per game with 2.9, he ranks 20th in the nation in that category…averaging over 20 points a game, but has not had a 20-point game since he had 43 against Virginia on January 15th (5 straight without a 20-point outing)….has been on scoring spree in second half of games of late…over the last four games has scored seven total points in the first half and 56 in the second half… had two points in first half of win over Georgia Tech, 15 in the second half…led Clemson in scoring in win over #21 NC State with 15 points…had 19, all in the second half, at #3 Duke, he was 4-6 on three-point shots in that game….averaging 19.8 vs. the ACC and 20.7 overall…had 43 point outing against Virginia on January 15 in which he set Littlejohn Coliseum scoring record for a Tiger…most points by a Clemson player in a single game in almost 30 years…fifth highest scoring game in the nation this year…hit 14-21 from the field, including 8-12 on three-point goals…that tied Clemson record for three-point goals in a game…has had two games in which he has nearly scored 50 percent of Clemson’s points, he had 26 of the 53 against Wake Forest on Jan. 9 and 37 of 75 against Penn State on December 1…has scored 32.5 percent of Clemson’s points this year, a higher percentage than the 25 percent Terrell McIntyre scored last year…Clemson’s go-to guy, he has 55 of Clemson’s 107 points in the last five minutes of games decided by 10 points or less…has 60 of Clemson’s 118 three-point goals this year ..has scored in double figures in every game this year, has had 10 games of at least 20 points and seven of at least 25…had one of his best games in Clemson’s ACC home opener with 26 points and five assists against just two turnovers…also guarded All-ACC candidate Robert O’Kelley and held the junior to 4-13 shooting…made then career high six three-point goals in win over Charleston Southern… had at least one three-point goal in first 20 games this year and had a 24-game streak over two seasons snapped against Georgia Tech…that is third longest streak in Clemson history… Clemson’s scoring leader in 16 of the first 21 games…first Clemson player in history to wear number-one…had first career double-double in win over South Carolina, he had 26 points and 11 rebounds..has improved his scoring average by 14.2 points over last year, the biggest increase from last year in the ACC…trying to become just the third Clemson player in the last 30 years to lead Clemson in scoring and assists in the same season…Chris Whitney and Terrell McIntyre are the only other players to do it.
#10 Edward Scott, G, Fr., Eastover, SC Played 34 minutes without a turnover against Georgia Tech…also had six points and five rebounds and helped hold Tony Akins to 7-18 shooting and 2-10 on three-point goals…played 34 minutes off the bench in win over #21 NC State, he had 10 points, five assists, two steals and three rebounds…freshman point guard who missed first three games of the season due to a broken bone in his left foot to open the season and missed three more games with a cartilage problem in his chest Jan. 15-22…in the first game he played (11-27 vs. Wisconsin-GB), suffered big toe injury on right foot…later had to have toe nail on each big toe removed…still has a pin in his foot as result of broken foot he suffered earlier in the year, he will have that pin for the entire season…made 4-8 three-point shots and scored 18 points against Penn State for his high scoring game so far…also had six rebounds in that fine all-around performance in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge…combined with Will Solomon for 55 points from the backcourt, most points by a Clemson starting backcourt since 1969-70 season…suffered broken foot in practice on October 27, he did not practice again until just before his first game, against Wisconsin-GB at the BiLo Center on November 27…played 65 minutes in two games at the SoCon Holiday Hoops and had just two turnovers…had nine points in first 10 minutes against South Carolina State, but did not score the rest of the game…had six assists and just one turnover against George Washington…second on the team in three-point goals with 17 even though he missed three games.
#20 Walker Holt, G, Fr., Greensboro, NC Reserve who has been outstanding in second half of the season…made first college start at Maryland, first walk-on to start for the Tigers in 13 years…did not score, but had season high five rebounds and three assists at Terpland…had eight points at Duke in 14 minutes, he also had a rebound and an assist…has 25 points on 8-15 shooting and 4-7 three-point, he is also 5-6 on free throw shooting over the last six games, he was 2-9 and scored just four points in the first 14 games of the season…scored 12 points in 20 minutes against Appalachian State, that included a 50-foot shot at the end of the half…believed to be longest made shot in the history of Littlejohn Coliseum…has made 6 of his last 9 shots from the field, including 3-4 three-point shots…came to Clemson as a walk-on, he is now on scholarship…handles the ball well, has a 16-10 assist-turnover ratio…a factor at Florida State when he had three points, an assist and two rebounds in 8 minutes in first half.
#3 Andrius Jurkunas, F, Sr., Kaunas, Lithuania Coming off career high 21-point performance in win over Georgia Tech…led Clemson in scoring and rebounding in that game, second time in last four games he has done that after never doing in in first 102 games of his career…has made 19 of his last 34 from the field, including 9 of last 17 three-point shots..had solid against Maryland with 16 points and seven rebounds…coming on strong now that his broken thumb is healed….had10 points and three assists with just one turnover in win against NC State…also second on the Clemson team in assists with 47…suffered a broken right thumb while trying to draw a charge in the second half of a Clemson victory over Central Florida on Nov. 26…missed the rest of that game and the next four contests, Clemson lost three of the four games he missed…had best game since breaking thumb at Florida State, he had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists…averaging nearly 10 points a game in the ACC and eight points a game overall….had 13 points and seven rebounds in Clemson’s opening game victory against ETSU..became Clemson’s career leader in three-point goals by a frontcourt player when he made his second three against Wofford…moved into fifth place on Clemson’s career three-point goal list when he had four against Georgia Tech, he now has 128 for his career, ahead of Merl Code’s 125…next on the list is Bruce Martin with 129…had career high seven assists and career high 11 rebounds against George Washington…also had nine points in that game…a key to Clemson’s win over South Carolina with seven rebounds and four assists…had 6/1 assist/turnover ratio against Winthrop…had career high 12 rebounds against Appalachian State.
#24 Dustin Braddick, F, So., Charleston, SC Coming off career high 14 point scoring game against Georgia Tech, he made 4-5 shots from the field and also had seven rebounds, three assists and three steals…played well the last four games with 35 points and 20 rebounds…moved into starting lineup against Georgia Tech when Adam Allenspach was hurt, he played 34 minutes in that game…averages 20 minutes a game off the bench since coming back from injury…had best game in two months against Maryland when he scored 9 on 3-5 shooting in 17 minutes…followed that with four points in 18 minutes in win over #21 NC State…missed 6 straight games after ankle surgery, he returned for the Appalachian State game and played 8 minutes….had surgery on December 19 and January 3 to repair foot..was running on the side during shoot-around the day of the Florida State game in Tallahassee…Clemson’s leading rebounder and leader in assist until he suffered foot injury, quite an accomplishment for a 6-5 guard/forward…started the first five games this year at guard, he then started three at forward…averaged 7.8 rebounds per game and 3.4 assists per game for first eight games, both figures rank in the top 10 in the ACC…fifth in the league in rebounds, best among guards/small forwards when first injured…led Clemson in assists five straight games and in six of the first eight games this year..had at least seven rebounds in seven of the first eight games…had career high 11 rebounds and five assists in win over Charleston Southern, a Division I school in his hometown of Charleston…had career high 12 points against Wofford, he also had seven rebounds, five offensive..played 33 minutes without a turnover against Wisconsin-GB…had nine points and nine rebounds in victory over Central Florida
#55 Adam Allenspach, C, Jr., Parkland, FL The prime reason opposing starting centers have struggled against Clemson this year…opposing starting centers have averaged just under 40 percent from the field, just 5.6 rebounds and 5.8 points game…played just six minutes at Duke due to back spasms, he missed the Georgia Tech game, ending a streak of 55 straight games played..had career high 24 points against Appalachian State, he made 7-11 field goals and 10-12 free throws…made his last nine free throws of that game and now shooting 71 percent from the line for the year….no opposing center has had a double-double against Clemson this year…seventh in ACC in rebounding with 7.4 figure…second leading scorer and leading rebounder on the Clemson team…had first career double-double against an ACC team at Florida State on Jan. 12…has a 12.1-point average, more than double his career average heading into this year..had five straight double figure scoring games prior to his injury at Duke..had 19 points in win over Furman on December 29th and career high 11 rebounds at Florida State on Jan. 12…has four double-doubles this season, including 14 points and 10 rebounds in win over Winthrop…averaging 32 minutes a game after playing just 15 minutes a game previously…opened the season with his first career double-double, it was a key to Clemson’s 30-point win over East Tennessee State…had 16 points and 10 rebounds and made 6-8 shots from the field in that game…also had double-double against Wisconsin-GB with 13 points and 10 rebounds….had 18 points in loss to South Carolina State…only junior on the Clemson team with two letters entering this season…had 12 points and seven rebounds in win over #21 NC State.
#42 Chucky Gilmore, F, So., Fayetteville, NC Led Clemson in rebounding in the win over #21 NC State with 10…has 46 rebounds in last six games…..10th in the ACC in rebounds per game, he is also in top 10 on offensive rebounds basis….also in top 10 in the ACC in blocked shots per game and Clemson’s leader in that area…second leading rebounder on the Clemson team with a 6.7 average, and second leading rebounder off the offensive boards with 47….also leads the Tigers in blocked shots with 21…had solid game against Virginia, but not in the scoring column…led Clemson in rebounding (12), assists (4) and blocked shots (3) against the Cavs…Gilmore missed three games with a concussion suffered in practice on December 9…played just nine minutes off the bench against UNC, he had a dental surgery earlier in the day…a root canal and playing at North Carolina in the same day…had four rebounds in just nine minutes at UNC, including three offensive rebounds…shooting 48 percent prior to the concussion, just 37 percent since..has averaged 24 minutes a game this year, he never played more than 14 minutes in a game as a freshman…had then career high 10 rebounds, including four offensive, in helping Clemson to victory over Charleston Southern….had seven rebounds in just 19 minutes against Florida State…has started 14 games this year, Georgia Tech game was his first career start at center.
#33 Pasha Bains, G, Fr, Richmond, Canada Transfer from Wyoming who has played 13 games, four as a starter… Clemson’s fourth leading scorer (6.5) on a per game basis…has given Clemson a lift off the bench, but started four games due to injury to Edward Scott…had 16 points against Virginia on Jan. 15 for his best game against an ACC team…had best game against George Washington when he led the Tigers in scoring with 19 points in 29 minutes…made three three-point goals in that game…contributor in win over Furman with seven points and five assists against just one turnover…made 3-6 shots at North Carolina and had seven points…scored just three points against South Carolina, but hit key three-point goal with two minutes left…averaged 38 points a game in high school in Canada…did not come to Clemson with reputation of being a great ball handler, but has just 15 turnovers in last 280 minutes covering 10 games, one every 19 minutes…has made 74 percent of his free throws, best on the team..had nine points in 30 minutes at Maryland, he also had three assists.
#31 Tomas Nagys, F, Fr., Mazeikai, Lithuania Freshman forward who has given Clemson productive minutes…leads the team in charges taken with 11…had season high eight rebounds at Duke, he also scored eight points in productive 17 minutes…that was his top minutes played total in an ACC game…led Clemson in rebounding in game with South Carolina State, he had eight in that game, including four off the offensive boards…made 5-6 free throws in that game, he was 7-8 from the line in his first game…leads the team in free throw attempts/minute with 53 in 175 minutes…had season high seven points in that win over East Tennessee State and added seven more in win over Winthrop…had seven points in eight productive minutes against Virginia…has made 73.5 percent from the line this year, second on the team…one of three Lithuanian players in Clemson’s first nine players…handles the ball well, he has just 19 turnovers in 175 minutes.
#21 Ray Henderson, F, Fr., Charlotte, NC Had one of his best game at North Carolina with six points and nine rebounds in Chapel HIll in just 22 minutes…made his first appearance in three games against Georgia Tech, he was 3-4 from thefield and had six points in 16 minutes…hit three tough shots on baseline moves against Tech’s big front line…has suffered from many injuries and missed three games previous to Tech game with pulled groin and knee problems…also missed time in games due to cartilage problem in his chest and preseason knee surgery…Clemson’s leading rebounder at North Carolina, he had four off the offensive boards…hit 3-5 shots from the field, only Tiger over 50 percent in that game…made his first college start against Wake Forest on Jan. 9 and had two points and five rebounds in 15 minutes….freshman power forward who made his first eight shots from the field this year, longest streak ever by a Tiger to open his career…top field goal percentage shooter on the team with 59 percent mark…suffered a knee injury in preseason workouts and had arthroscopic surgery…that limited his time in practice until the second week of November…had best game in non-conference schedule against Charleston Southern with eight points in 12 minutes, he was 4-5 from the line and 2-2 from the field…also had high of three rebounds in that game…has been very productive as rebounder of late, has 21 rebounds in 50 minutes over the last four games…had career high seven rebounds in 12 minutes against George Washington…native of nearby Charlotte.
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