Monday 06/21/1999
November 29, 1998
Clemson 2-1 in Maui Cemson returned to Littlejohn Coliseum this week for a pair of games against Radford and East Tennessee State. Clemson faces a 3-1 Radford team on November 30, then meets 4-0 East Tennessee State on Thursday. The Bucs have already beaten Virginia Tech and have a scoring margin of 18.2 points per game.
The Tigers played their finest all-around game of the season and perhaps in many years in a victory over Kansas State on November 25th, its most recent game. The Tigers used a balanced effort on offense and defense t ogain the 34-point victory. Clemson shot 53.7 percent from the field, 36 percent on three-point shots and had a +16 rebound margin. Four different players scored in double figures, led by Terrell McIntyre with 13. Vincent Whitt played his best game of the season, hitting 5-5 from the field. He had 12 points and seven rebounds, the rebound total was the best by a Tiger in the game. Clemson had just 11 turnovers in the contest and had nine steals and forced 16 turnoves.
Clemson opened the tournament with a 59-56 loss to Michigan, Clemson’s first loss of the season. The Tigers had a three-point shot to tie with two seconds left, but it fell short and Michigan had the victory. The Tigers made just 3-19 three-point shots, including just 2-14 by Andrius Jurkunas and Terrell McIntyre combined. Harold Jamison led the Tigers with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Tom Wideman had 14 points and nine rebounds. It was the first time that Wideman had ever led the Tigers in scoring. Louis Bullock scored 24 points to lead Michigan. He tallied 19 in the second half.
Clemson won its second round game over Chaminade 72-60. The Tigers held a 40-22 lead at intermission, but the Silverswords connected on 9 of their first 11 shots of the second half. They closed to within five points, but Clemson shut down Chaminade in the final minutes and came away with the 12-point win. McIntyre had 15 points, while Jamison added 14 to lead the Tigers. Will Solomon had 12 off the bench and contributed four steals.
Clemson Leaders in Maui A look to Clemson’s stats in Maui show a balanced team effort. Terrell McIntyre and Harold Jamison both tallied 35 points in the three games to lead the Tigers in scoring. tom Wideman had 27 points, while Vincent Whitt had 23 and Johnny Miller had 21. Whitt was the top shooter, hitting 10-14 from the field, 71.4 percent. Jamison connected on 69 percent of his field goals, and a much improved 68.4 percent from the foul line.
Overall, Clemson shot 48 percent from the field and 65 percent from the foul line. The Tigers were outstanding in terms of rebounding, pulling in 30 more rebounds than the opposition over the three games. Clemson also forced 10 more turnovers, yet committed nine less fouls.
Tigers Holding Opponents to 60 and under Clemson has held each of its first six opponents to 60 points or less and a 53.0 scoring average. This is the first time in over 50 years that Clemson has held six straight opponents to 60 points or less. The last time Clemson had a streak like that was in the 1945-46 season. That team coached by Rock Norman held 12 straight opponents to 60 or less from Janury 7, 1946 through Feb. 13, 1946.
Clemson has a 5-1 record, its only loss a 59-56 setback to Michigan in the Maui Classic. Chaminade actually has the most points against Clemson so far this year, as the Silverswords scored 60 in a 72-60 Clemson victory. The Silverswords shot 46 percent from the field against the Tigers and that is the high mark against Clemson so far this season.
Overall, opponents are scoring just 53 points a game, shooting 37 percent from the field and 33 percent on three-point shots. The last Clemson team to hold the opposition to fewer that 60 points a game over a season was the 1949-50 Tiger team, which held the opposition to 59.4 points per game. Clemson’s 1996-97 team held the opposition to 61.5 points per game and that is the best scoring defense by a Clemson team since 1949-50. Larry Shyatt was the associate head coach of that Clemson team.
The Clemson field goal percentage defense is on pace to be the best by a Clemson team in 40 years. The 1958-59 Clemson team held the opposition to .371 for the season.
Clemson Defensive Numbers Strong Head Coach Larry Shyatt had a strong reputation for outstanding defensive numbers by his Wyoming team last year. The Cowboys ranked in the top five in the nation in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, the only school in the nation in the top five in both categories last year.
Clemson is well on its way to equalling those stats. Through six games Clemson is allowing just 53 points per game and opponents are shooting just 37 percent. Opponents are hitting just 33 percent on three-point shots. Three-point percentage defense was a problem for Clemson last year, especially early in the season.
Clemson showed an ability to block shots in the Stetson game. The Tigers recorded eight blocks, a total Clemson reached just three times in the previous four years. Mohamed Woni had four and Adam Allenspach added three to highlight the Clemson shot-blocking performance. The addition of Andrius Jurkunas certainly helps the Tigers in that area. He led the Tigers in blocked shots in 1995-96 with 34.
Clemson held Western Carolina to 56 points by forcing turnovers. The Catamounts had 26 miscues in the game. The Tigers had 14 steals in the contest, four by McIntyre and three by center Tom Wideman.
The strong defense continued in Maui where opponents shot just 39 percent from the field and the Tigers forced 42 turnovers in three games. The Tigers had 23 steals in the three games and allowed just 54.7 points per game.
Allenspach, Whitt Contributors off the Bench Adam Allenspach and Vincent Whitt made great strides for the Tigers in the Maui Classic. Neither player started in any of the three games, but both were significant performers, especially in victories over Chaminade and Kansas State. In the three games in Hawaii, Allenspach and Whitt combined to shoot 15-24 from the field and averaged 14.4 points per game.
Whitt averaged 7.7 points, shot 10-14 from the field and pulled in 10 rebounds in 64 total minutes. Whitt was a perfect 5-5 from the field, had 12 points and seven rebounds against kansas State. Allenspach averaged 6.7 points and 4.0 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the field. He was a perfect 10-10 from the foul line. Allenspach had 10 points and four rebounds in just 17 minutes against Kansas State.
For the season, Allenspach is averaging 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He is tied for the team lead in free throw shooting with 15-18, .833. Whitt is averaging 7.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He is third on the Clemson team in rebounding and is now shooting 51.4 percent from the field. He is 2-7 on three point goals. He was just 2-26 in that category last year.
Clemson vs. Radford Clemson has a 1-0 record against Radford. The only previous meeting was a 114-76 Clemson victory in Littlejohn Coliseum during the 1989-90 season. That Clemson team went on to win the ACC Championship, the only ACC crown in Clemson history. The Tigers were led against Radford by Derrick Forrest with 20 points. Dale Davis had 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Elden Campbell had 16 points, seven rebounds and eight blocked shots. That victory gave Clemson a 6-0 record that season. Of course, Clemson will be going for its sixth victory of 1998-99 when it meets Radford on Nov. 30th.
Tigers Down Kansas State by 34 Clemson played one of its best all-around team games in recent memory with its 79-45 victory over Kansas State in the final game of the Maui Classic. The victory margin of 34 points was the fourth best in Clemson history against a “major conference, non-ACC” team. It was actually the best ever against a team currently in a “major conference”.
Clemson defeated TCU by 63 points in 1977-78, but the Horn Frogs were in the Southwest Conference at the time of the game. They are now in the WAC. Clemson also defeated Boston College by 52 in 1976-77. The Eagles are in the Big East now, but Boston College was independent at the time of the game. Finally, Clemson downed Baylor in a game at Clemson by 50 points in 1983-84. The Bears were in the Southwest Conference at the time of the game, but are now in the Big 12.
Regardless, it was a qualify win for Clemson. Kansas State entered the game 4-1 and had just lost to a top 20 Indiana team by just one point, 71-70, and also had an overtime victory against Arizona State.
Clemson’s Top Victory Margins vs. Major Conference, Non-ACC teams
Mar Score Opponent Date Site Current Conf+63 125-62 TCU 11-25-77 Clemson WAC+52 128-76 Boston College 12-28-76 Milwaukee, WI Big East+50 102-52 Baylor 12-19-83 Clemson Big 12+34 79-45 Kansas State 11-25-98 Maui, HI Big 12+28 85-57 Mississippi 12-29-65 Greenville, SC SEC+27 59-32 Mississippi State 12-19-81 Houston, TX SEC+27 47-20 Florida 2-13-30 Clemson SEC+26 46-20 Auburn 2-1-29 Clemson SEC+25 66-41 Texas A&M 1-7-95 Clemson Big 12+25 85-60 Georgia 12-29-51 Jacksonville, FL SEC
Clemson Rebound Margin Strong One of the highlights of Clemson’s 5-1 start has been rebounding. Clemson has a +10 rebound margin through six games. Western Carolina is the only team to out-rebound the Tigers so far this year and that was by just three. Clemson was +8 against a big Michigan team and +16 against Kansas State, a team that had had a positive rebound margin in its first four games.
Leading the way are Harold Jamison and Tom Wideman. The seniors have combined for 14.5 rebounds per game so far this year. Jamison’s 8.5 average is among the best in the ACC. Wideman had nine to lead Clemson against Chaminade and also had nine against Michigan. Vincent Whitt has also been a demon on the boards. The 6-6 junior who plays guard and forward his third on the team in rebounding with 4.5 per game.
McIntyre ACC Player of the Week Senior guard Terrell McIntyre was the ACC player of the week for the first week of the season. The native of Raeford, NC had a 22.7 scoring average in Clemson’s three victories. He had 27 in the first game of the season, a victory over Arkansas Pine Bluff, and had 25 in a win over Western Carolina. McIntyre became Clemson’s career three-point goal leader in the win over Western Carolina when he had five long distance shots.
McIntyre has scored in double figures in five of the first six games and is off to a great start in terms of shooting the ball. Through six games, McIntyre has shot 50 percent from the field, 48.6 from three-point area and 83.3 from the foul line. All three areas are well above his career figures. He also has 26 assists against just 11 turnovers and has 12 steals and just 10 fouls. No player in Clemson history has had more steals and turnovers and more steals than fouls in the same season.
McIntyre enters the Radford game with 1314 points, 14th in Clemson history. He will move up the Clemson scoring list rapidly as he needs just 37 points to move all the way to 10th place on the Clemson career list. He should soon pass Jim Brennan (1317), Devin Gray (1322), Larry Nance (1341) and Vince Yockel (1350).
Clemson Has Made More Free Throws than Opponent Attempts One of the statistical goals of Larry Shyatt’s first Clemson team is to made more free throws than the opposition attempts. This is normally a sign of an outstanding team. While Clemson has had some great teams in recent years, no team in school history has ever accomplished this over the course of the season.
So far this year, Clemson has made 105 free throws and the opposition has attempted 92, so the Tigers are on track for this unusual accomplishment. That is amazing considering Clemson is shooting just 60.3 percent from the line, and the Tigers had to shoot 65 percent in Maui to do that.
The closest Clemson has come to making more free throws than the opposition attempts over the course of a season took place in 1966-67. That year Clemson made 519 free throws and the opposition attempted 576, a -57 differential. In fact, only one other team in school history has been within a 100. The 1986-87 Clemson team was a -88 in terms of made free throws vs. opponent.
Tigers +32 in Turnover Margin Clemson has a +32 turnover margin through six games. The Tigers have committed just 71 turnover in six games, 11.8 per game. That is one common demoninator between Rick Barnes coached Clemson teams and Larry Shyatt coached Clemson teams. Taking care of the basketball is very important. Over the last four years, three of which Shyatt served as associated head coach, Clemson averaged less than 13 turnovers per game. All four of Barnes Clemson team rank in the top four in Clemson history in fewest turnovers per game over the course of the season. The 11.8 turnovers per game is so far would be second best in Clemson history. The 1994-95 Tigers averaged 11.57 turnovers per game.
Freshmen Contributing Clemson’s three first-year freshmen are starting to have an impact on the Clemson team. The trio of Will Solomon, Dustin Braddick and Chucky Gilmore combined for 18 points and 10 rebounds in the victory over Kansas State. The three players were on the court for a combined 32 minutes. Gilmore had seven points and six rebounds in just six minutes, while Braddick had six points in seven minutes. Solomon’s best game in Maui was actually against Chaminade when he had 12 points and four steals off the bench in just 22 minutes. As a group, the frosh have scored 53 points and had 23 rebounds in 147 combined minutes.
McIntyre Sets Three-Point Record Clemson senior point guard Terrell McIntyre became Clemson’s career three-point goal leader against Western Carolina. His third three-point goal of that contest broke Chris Whitney’s career record. Whitney had 167 in just two years and is now with the Washington Wizards. McIntyre had two more threes in the contest and five for the game. He enters the Maui Classic with 170 career three point goals.
McIntyre, a career 36 percent three-point shooter entering this season, has made 10-17 long distance shots this season, .588. He is shooting 58.1 percent from the field overall, 84 percent from the foul line, has 13 assists and seven steals. He has been charged with just seven turnovers and leads the team in scoring with a 22.3 average.
McIntyre is moving up the charts in many areas. He has 1279 points for his career, after his 25 point effort against Western Carolina. Including his 67 points this year, he is now 15th in scoring in school history. He should go ahead of Sharone Wright in the Maui Classic. Wright had 1308 points in his three seasons with the program.
The native of Raeford, NC is now tied for third in school history in career assists with 402. Bobby Conrad also had 402 during his four years (1976-80). Only Grayson Marshall (857) and Derrick Johnson (476) have more assists than McIntyre entering the Maui Classic.
Clemson Has 32 Straight over Non-ACC Foes at Home Clemson has a 48-5 regular season record against non-ACC teams over the last five seasons regardless of site. This includes a 13-4 record against the SEC, Big Ten, Big East and Big 12 combined. Clemson has won 32 in a row at home over non-ACC teams dating to a 91-88 loss to South Carolina at Littlejohn Coliseum in 1993-94, Cliff Ellis’s final season. The list includes three wins this year. The Tigers have five more non-conference home games this year.
Clemson has an overall home record of 329-112 at Littlejohn Coliseum over the years, a .744 winning percentage. This includes a 216-20 record in non-conference play, a 91 percent winning percentage. Clemson is 579-304-2 lifetime at home, regardless of the home facility.
Head Coach Larry Shyatt Larry Shyatt is in his first year as Clemson’s head coach. He was named the Tiger’s 20th head mentor on April 21, 1998 and succeeded Rick Barnes, who resigned to become head coach at Texas.
Shyatt had been at Clemson as Associate Head Coach for three years, 1994-95 through 1996-97. Clemson went to postseason play all three of those seasons, including NCAA appearances the last two years. Clemson advanced to the Sweet 16 before dropping a double overtime decision to Minnesota at the Alamo Dome in 1997.
Shyatt came to Clemson after a successful season as the head caoch at Wyoming. The 1997-98 Cowboys finished with a 19-9 record, including 9-5 in the WAC. He was named Mountain Division Coach of the Year and took Wyoming to the NIT, its first postseason appearance since 1990-91.
Including this year, he has a career head coaching record of 24-9. He has also coached at Cleveland State, Utah, New Mexico and Providence. Teams he has been to 14 postseason tournaments.
Jamison/Wideman in top 25 in Rebounding Two of the Clemson’s starters are in the top 25 in school history in rebounding. Harold Jamison has 642 and ranks 11th, while Tom Wideman has 510 and ranks 22nd. Wideman became the 21st member of the 500-rebound club in Clemson history. Both were outstanding on the boards in Maui, Jamison had 24 and Wideman had 23. Jamison had a double-double against Michigan, collecting 11 rebounds in the process. Wideman had nine rebounds against Michigan and nine more against Chaminade.
Jamison is one of the top offensive rebounders in Clemson history. He has 318 offensive and 324 defensive in his career. He led the ACC in offensive rebounds per game last year and has 14 in two games this season. Wideman is more of a demon on the defensive boards. He has 206 offensive and 304 on the defensive boards.
Clemson in the AP Poll Clemson moved into the top 25 of the Associated Press poll in the second week of the season. The Tigers were 26th in the preseason poll, then moved to #24 after its victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Clemson entered the Maui Classic ranked 22nd in the AP poll and 24th in USA Today.
Clemson has been no stranger to the AP poll in recent years. In fact, this is the fifth year Clemson has entered the AP rankings at some point. The Tigers won their first 10 games in 1994-95 and advanced to #18 in the AP poll of January 10th, its only ranking that season.
The Tigers were ranked for six straight polls at midseason in 1995-96, reaching a high of 16 on January 9. Clemson was ranked in every poll of 1996-97, from a preseason #20 to a high of #2 in January and a #14 final ranking that season.
A year ago, Clemson was fifth in the preseason poll, was ranked in nine of the first 11 polls, then dropped out in the January 25th poll. Clemson made a surge at the end of the season and was ranked 26th in the final AP poll. The final AP poll is done after the conference tournaments.
Clemson has been ranked in the top 25 on 36 occasions over the last five seasons (including this year as a season). The recent stretch represents 36 of Clemson’s 79 weeks in the AP poll in history. Clemson has now been ranked in the AP poll just 11 different seasons in history, including the current streak of five straight years. Clemson is one of 18 schools to be ranked at least once in each of the last five seasons.
Blackshear, Henderson Sign Early Clemson signed two players in the early signing period, Ronald Blackshear of Camilia, GA, and Raymond Henderson of Charlotte, NC.
Blackshear is a 6-4, 185-pound guard who attended Mitchell-Baker High School in Camilia, GA. he is currently at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, GA. In his senior year at Mitchell-Baker, Blackshear averaged 25 points per game. Blackshear is listed as a consensus Top 40 high school player by various publications heading into 1998-99.
Henderson is a senior this year at East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte. The 6-8, 245-pound forward/center averaged 16 points and 15 rebounds per game as a junior.
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