#1 Will Solomon

Guard, Sophomore, East Hartford, CT

Facts on Will Solomon First-team All-ACC, Clemson’s first first-team selection since 1990, the first Clemson guard to be chosen first-team in 20 years…first freshman or sophomore from Clemson to make the team in 25 years…All-District 5 selection by the NABC and the Basketball Writers Association of America…three-time ACC Player of the Week, first Clemson player in history to be named thre times in one year…leading scorer in the ACC with 20.9 average, he ranked 16th in the nation…scored 627 points for the 1999-00 season, ironically, the same total Terrell McIntyre had the previous year…that was the fourth highest total in Clemson history for a single season…that is the highest scoring average by a Tiger player since 1986-87 when Horace Grant averaged 21 a game… just the fourth player in Clemson history to average at least 20 points a game for a season…just the fifth player in Tiger in history to score 600 points in a season…scored 32.44 percent of Clemson’s points in 1999-00, he nearly scored a third of the Tigers points..had three consecutive 25-point games between Feb. 6-12, first Tiger to do that since Zatezalo had a record six straight in 1968-69…over that three-game span Solomon averaged 29.3 points, and made 32-56 shots from the field, 16-27 three-point shots and scored 42.5 percent of Clemson’s points in those games against North Carolina, Wake Forest and Florida State…entered ACC Tournament on a hot streak, he has had 56 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds over his last two games combined…also led the ACC in three-point goals per game with 3.1, he ranked 16th in the nation…had 33 points against Florida State on Feb. 12, he made his last six shots from the field and scored 15 straight points for the Tigers in a four-minute period…had 26-point performance against North Carolina on Feb. 6, he made 6-7 three-point goals in that game, his best shooting percentage from long range as a Tiger…followed that with 29 at Wake Forest..had 12 games of at least 25 points…that includes 26-point effort against #4 ranked Duke team…averaged 20 points in three games against the top five Blue Devil team…had career high nine assists and six rebounds in that second Duke game, he scored 26 against Chris Carrawell….does not get enough credit for his defense, he held Anthony Grundy to 3-16 shooting on Feb. 27 in Clemson win…led Clemson in scoring in win over #21 NC State in January with 15 points, one of 21 times he led Clemson in scoring last year….averaging 21.3 vs. the ACC and 20.9 overall…led the ACC in scoring average in league games.. 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…seventh highest scoring game in the nation in 1999-00…hit 14-21 from the field, including 8-12 on three-point goals…that tied Clemson record for three-point goals in a game and was fourth most points ever scored against Virginia…had 93 of Clemson’s 189 three-point goals, the second highest single season total in history .. scored in double figures in every game , only ACC player who can make that claim and the first Clemson player to do that in every game in 30 years…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…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.. improved his scoring average by nearly 14.6 points a game over his freshman year, the biggest increase from last year in the ACC’s 47-year history…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….had 213 field goals for the year, seventh most in Clemson history…averaged 36.0 minutes per game, sixth highest in Clemson history.

What they are Saying About Will Solomon “He is a courageous player. To put up the numbers with that type of attention and play not just on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, and be the target of every coach’s defensive game play, it says a lot for him. He had two really good games against us last year. I knew he was very good. Now he seems even better.” Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski

“He should be first-team All-ACC. Solomon is tough.” Duke ACC MVP Candidate Chris Carrawell

“You change defenses. You keep fresh defenders on him. Truth is, he scores against anybody. He seems to get better as the game moves along-which is a scary thing.” Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Odom

“Clemson’s Will Solomon must make first-team All-ACC. This is my crusade.” Gregg Doyel, Charlotte Observer Columnist

“I will match up with him, but it is a team effort (against Solomon). Everyone is going to pretty much guard him.” NC State player Marshall Williams

“Will Solomon stepped up and made some huge shots. He really took off. He can make difficult shots.” Florida State Head Coach Steve Robinson

“We couldn’t stop Will Solomon. He is a great player, but we shouldn’t have allowed him to score 43 points. We recruited him, so we know how he plays. At least we know we are recruiting the right players.” Virginia Head Coach Pete Gillen

“We had a hard time stopping Solomon. Joseph Forte did a good job on him, but he still scored 26 points. Solomon is just a handful.” North Carolina Coach Bill Guthridge

Solomon Game-by-Game Date OpponentMinF-Fga3-3AFt-FAOf-RbA-TB-SPFPts 11-19*ETSU288-163-62-60-11-30-1321 11-21*Wofford4011-242-94-41-72-60-1328 11-26*C. Florida406-211-72-31-65-51-1115 11-27*Wis. GB235-122-80-10-00-40-0512 11-28*Oregon St.394-152-70-02-73-30-2310 12-1*at Penn State4013-274-97-102-52-51-3337 12-4*Charleston So.388-166-105-50-44-63-1127 12-11*S.C. State397-263-125-62-42-10-2422 12-16*South Carolina388-204-96-123-113-80-3226 12-18*Winthrop407-155-123-71-33-20-2222 12-22*G. Wash.335-163-101-22-23-21-0314 12-29*Furman398-174-107-90-15-22-1127 1-6*at N. Carolina365-191-82-40-00-20-1213 1-9*Wake Forest368-192-88-91-25-20-0426 1-12*at Florida St.264-102-53-41-33-40-0313 1-15*Virginia3714-218-127-100-93-71-1443 1-19*Appalachian St.382-132-106-60-24-61-2312 1-22*at Maryland374-141-43-30-44-60-1412 1-27*NC State275-121-44-40-22-40-1315 1-29*at Duke356-194-63-42-61-50-0219 2-2*Georgia Tech384-120-59-110-75-70-0117 2-6*North Carolina3610-186-70-11-21-00-1226 2-8*at Wake Forest409-164-87-101-51-60-1429 2-12*Florida State3613-226-121-10-44-10-1233 2-15*at Virginia394-132-73-60-12-70-3313 2-22*Maryland365-151-51-20-54-12-1 212 2-27*at NC State315-153-60-01-8 6-60-2 313 3-1*Duke4010-263-113-61-69-61-24 26 3-4*at Georgia Tech 39 10-24 4-12 6-7 2-3 4-3 1-2 2 30 3-9*Duke (ACC) 35 5-18 4-9 0-0 0-3 4-5 0-2 3 14

Solomon Has Record Setting Performance Clemson guard Will Solomon put on a scoring show against Virginia on Saturday, January 15, 2000. 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: *Scored 43 points, most points by a Clemson player since Valentine’s Day, 1970 when Butch Zatezalo tallied 43 against NC State in a game played in the Charlotte Coliseum. *Most points ever by a Clemson player in Littlejohn Coliseum, breaking the previous high of 38 by Skip Wise against Pennsylvania in 1974-75 and by Butch Zatezalo against Wake Forsest in 1968-69. *Tied for most points by any player in a men’s game in the 32-year history of Littlejohn Coliseum. Hawkeye Whitney scored 43 against Clemson in a January 30, 1980 game, a contest the Tigers won. (Barbara Kennedy of Clemson holds the overall Coliseum record with 45 against Claflin in 1981-82.). *His 43 points were most ever by a Clemson player against Virginia. *Was the seventh most points scored by a Division I player in a single game in 1999-00. *Was the most points in an ACC game by any ACC player since Rodney Monroe had 48 for NC State against Georgia Tech in 1990-91. *Became first Clemson player in two years to have more points scored than minutes played. His 1.16 points per minute was 7th best in Clemson history, best by a Tiger since Rayfield Ragland scored 26 points in 22 minutes at Charleston Southern in 1993-94. It was the third best points per minute figure in an ACC game in Clemson history, best since Anthony Jenkins scored 30 in 25 minutes against Duke in 1982-83. *Tied the Clemson record for three-point goals in a game with eight. He tied the total that had been recorded in a game by previous Tigers David Young, Chris Whitney and Terrell McIntyre. *The 43 points tied for the fourth most points in any game at any site in Clemson history. J.O. Erwin has the record with 58 against the Butler Guards in 1912, the second game on the first day in the history of the sport at Clemson. Bill Yarborough had a 46-point game against South Carolina in 1955 and Zatezalo scored 46 against Wake Forest in 1969. *Scored 29 points in the second half, 26 in the last 12:35 of the game and 12 of Clemson’s final 14 points over the last 1:31 of the game.

“We couldn’t stop Will Solomon. We recruited him, so we know how he plays. At least we know we are recruiting the right players. 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 recorded two of the top 12 scoring games in Clemson history in his sophomore season. 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. 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 GamesNoName Site-Opponent Date 58 J.O. Erwin N2-Butler Guards 2-9-12 46 Bill Yarborough H-South Carolina 1-18-55 46 Butch Zatezalo A-Wake Forest 2-18-69 43 Butch Zatezalo N1-NC State 2-14-70 43 Will Solomon H-Virginia 1-15-00 40 Bill Yarborough H-Virginia 12-17-54 39 Choppy Patterson H-The Citadel 12-17-60 38 Bill Yarborough H-Duke 1-11-56 38 Butch Zatezalo H-Wake Forest 2-27-69 38 Skip Wise H-Pennsylvania 11-30-74 37 Will Solomon A-Penn State 12-1-99 37 Garry Helms H-Georgia Tech 2-22-66

Solomon Led ACC in Scoring, 3-Pt Goals Will Solomon led the ACC in two categories in 1999-00. His 20.9 scoring average was best in the league and 16th in the nation , while his 3.1 three-point goals per game was best in the league, 16th best in the nation.

Solomon became 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. It marked the fifth time in ACC history that two different players from the same school led the league in scoring in consecutive years.

Solomon’s 20.9 scoring average was the highest by a Clemson player since 1986-87 when Horace Grant averaged 21.0 a game in leading the league. 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, still the record.

Solomon Led Clemson in Scoring and Assists Will Solomon led the Tigers in scoring and assists per game in 1999-00, a rarity in college basketball. In fact, only two players in the previous 30 years did 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 in 1998-99. 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 Three-point Goal Streak Ends at 24 Clemson guard Will Solomon made at least one three-point goal in the first 20 games of 1999-00. 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. It was the only game all year that Solomon failed to make a 3-pt goal.

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

Solomon’s Outburst 7th Best Scoring Game in NCAA Will Solomon 43-point scoring game against Virginia on January 15, 2000 ranked in a tie for the seventh highest scoring game in the nation in 1999-00. The top figure was the 61-point outing by Eddie House for Arizona State against California on January 8th. 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 16th in the nation in scoring. That is the highest finish in scoring by a Clemson player since Butch Zatezalo finished 14th with a 25.8 average in 1968-69. 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.

Highest Scoring Games in Division I 1999-2000 Player, Team Opponent Date Pts Eddie House, Arizona St. California 1-8-00 61 David Webber, C. Mich. Ball State 2-24-00 51 Damon Stringer, Cleve St. Wisconsin-Mil 1-29-00 47 Eddie House, Arizona St. San Diego St. 12-18-99 46 Nate Green, Indiana St. Eastern Illinois 12-19-99 45 Detric Golden, Troy St. Jacksonville 2-5-00 45 Will Solomon, Clemson Virginia 1-15-00 43 C. Alexander, Fresno St. UAB 12-11-99 43 Brad Buddenberg, Oakland Missouri-KC 2-24-00 43 S. Brown, G. Wash. Siena 12-11-99 42 Eddie House, Arizona St. Penn State 12-29-99 42

Solomon’s Hot Streak Feb. 6-12 Clemson All-ACC candidate Will Solomon was on a hot streak between Feb. 6-12. Over those three games Solomon scored 88 points, made 32-56 shots from the field (.571), made 16-27 three-point goals (.593) and 8-12 free throws. That is a 29.3 scoring average over the three games. In this time he scored 42.5 percent of Clemson’s points. He had 26 points against North Carolina on Feb. 6, 29 against Wake Forest on Feb. 8 and then scored 33 against Florida State on Feb. 12.

Solomon was the first Clemson player to have three straight games of at least 25 points since Butch Zatezalo had a record six straight games of at least 25 points from Feb. 15 to March 6, 1969. Those were the last six games of his junior year. The streak stopped in the first game of his senior year when he had just 17 points.

Zatezalo averaged 34.5 points a game during that six-game stretch, but he averaged 28 shots a game. He made 88 percent of his free throws to help his scoring production. He scored 40.27 percent of the Tigers points in that six-game stretch.

The Clemson record for most 25-point games in a season is 16 by Bill Yarborough in 1954-55. He averaged 28.3 points a game that year, fourth best in the country. Solomon finished the year with 12 games of at least 25, including a 30-point performance at Georgia Tech in the regular season finale.

Butch Zatezalo’s Six-Game 25-point Streak

Will Solomon Three-game 25-point Streak

Solomon Named First-team All-ACC Clemson guard Will Solomon was named first-team All-ACC by the Atlantic Coast Sportswriters Association in 1999-00. It was the first time in 10 years that Clemson had a first-team selection, the first time in 20 years that a Clemson guard was chosen.

“This honor is a credit to Will’s hard work and the hard work of his teammates,” said Head Coach Larry Shyatt. “Will has been outstanding all season, even when the opposition made plans specifically to stop him. Being selected to this team as a sophomore speaks well for our future.”

Solomon, a native of East Hartford, CT, led the ACC in scoring with a 20.9 average, the highest by a Clemson player in 13 years. He also paced the conference in three-point goals per game (3.1) and was ranked in the top 10 in assists and three-point goal percentage.

He had 12 games of at least 25 points this year, including a 43-point outburst against Virginia on January 15 that was the highest scoring game by an ACC player in 1999-00. Solomon scored 32.44 percent of Clemson’s points this year, highest % of a team’s points by an ACC player in 8 years.

A three-time ACC Player of the Week selection, Solomon was just the eighth player in Clemson history to make first-team all-conference. He was the first Tiger to make the team since 1989-90 when Elden Campbell and Dale Davis were both selected. Solomon was the first Clemson guard to make the team since 1979-80 when Billy Williams was selected. He was the first sophomore or freshman from Clemson to make the team since 1974-75 when freshman Skip Wise made first team.

Clemson’s First-team ACC Selections (ACC Sportswriters Association Selections)

Solomon Three-Time ACC Player of the Week Clemson guard Will Solomon and Maryland guard Juan Dixon were named ACC Co-Players of the Week by the Atlantic Coast Conference Sports Writers Association on February 14, 2000.

This was the third time Solomon won at least a part of the award in 1999-00. His selection broke the Clemson record for most ACC Player of the Week selections in a season. Terrell McIntyre (1998-99), Dale Davis (1988-89) and Horace Grant (1986-87) were also two-time selections.

Solomon scored 62 points in two games between Feb. 6-12 to win the honor. He had 29 in a loss at Wake Forest and 33 in a victory over Florida State. Solomon was an impressive 22-38 from the field overall that week, 10-20 on three-point shots and 8-11 from the foul line. He also had nine total rebounds and five assists.

Solomon played all 40 minutes in the game at Wake Forest and also held Robert O’Kelley to 3-9 shooting from the field. In the 26-point win over Florida State, Solomon scored 15 consecutive points at one stretch late in the game, the longest stretch of its kind on record. He made 6-6 shots from the field in the four-minute outburst.

Solomon Has All-Around Stats Clemson guard Will Solomon received much notority for his scoring this year. The sophomore has a 20.9 average and 12 games of at least 25 points, including the 26-point performance against fourth-ranked Duke (at Clemson) and a 30-point effort at Georgia Tech. Solomon also had nine assists and six rebounds in that Duke game.

For the year, Solomon had 627 points, 123 rebounds and 95 assists. He almost became just the eight player in the last decade to accumulate at least 600 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists in the same season. He was just five assists short of pulling off this rare triple.

It is interesting to note that all seven of the players to accomplish this in the last 10 years are in the NBA with the exception of Childress.

ACC Players with 600 Points, 100 Assists, 100 Rebounds(In Last 10 Years)

Solomon Scoring Most Improved in ACC History Clemson guard Will Solomon improved his scoring average by 14.6 points per game in 1999-00 as compared to his freshman year, an improvement that is the largest jump in ACC history. The research, done by Brian Morrison of the ACC office, takes into account players who played 75 percent of his team’s games over the course of each season.

Solomon averaged 6.3 points a game as a freshman and finished the 1999-00 season at 20.9, best in the ACC and 16th in the nation, and improvement of 14.6 points a game. The previous best improvement was +14.5 points a game by Tate Armstrong, who went from 9.7 points a game in 1975-76 to 24.2 in 1976-77.

ACC’s Top One Season Scoring Improvements

Solomon Chasing Scoring Marks Will Solomon set a Clemson record for points scored by a sophomore when he had 13 against NC State in Raleigh in late February. He finished the year with 627 points, breaking the mark of 552 by Butch Zatezalo in 1967-68.

Solomon threatened the overall season record of 651 points, held by Bill Yarborough and Horace Grant. His final season total of 627 tied for the fourth highest total in Clemson history, ironically with Terrell McIntyre, his former teammate.

Solomon’s average of 20.9 finished seventh best in Clemson history for a single season.

Clemson Single Season Scoring Leaders

Clemson Single Season Points/Game Leaders

Clemson Single Season Three-Point Goals

Clemson Single Season 3Pt Goal/Game Leaders