Clemson Hosts Elon In Basketball

Dec. 14, 2001

Game 10: Clemson vs. Elon Saturday, Dec. 15, 2001 4:00 PM (EST) Littlejohn Coliseum (11,020) Clemson, SC

TV: NoneRadio: Clemson Tiger Sports PropertiesPlay By Play: Jim Phillips* Color Analyst: Tim Bourret

Clemson Returns to the Court After a week off for final exams, Clemson returns to the court at 4:00 PM on Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum when it plays host to Elon. The Tigers have not played since an 81-59 loss to South Carolina last Saturday night and will be looking to get back on the winning track. Clemson is 6-2 in its non-conference portion of the schedule, but is 6-3 on the year after a loss at Duke, in the ACC opener on Dec. 2.

Clemson was 7-2 to begin the non-conference portion of its schedule a year ago before finishing with a 9-4 mark in non-league games. This year, the Tigers are led by sophomore forward Chris Hobbs, who is averaging 14.6 points per game. He is joined in double figures by junior captain Edward Scott (10.8) and junior forward Ray Henderson (10.1). Scott tops the team in assists with a 6.9 average and Henderson is the top rebounder with 8.9 boards per game.

About the Phoenix Elon is 4-5 this season, winning three of four at home and a neutral site game while dropping all four road contests. The Phoenix is led by Brendon Rowell who is averaging 13.2 points per game in the five games he has played. David Hall (11.9) and Gary Marsh (11.8) are also scoring in double figures. Chris Adams paces the Phoenix in rebounding, pulling down 5.1 boards per game.

A First at Littlejohn Clemson fans will see something at Littlejohn Coliseum this year that they have never seen before. Elon head coach Mark Simons is married to Duke women’s head basketball coach Gail Goestenkors. This will be the first season that husband and wife have coached at Littlejohn Coliseum in the same season. The Duke women play in Clemson on Thursday, Jan. 10.

Against the Big South This will be the first ever meeting between Clemson and Elon, but Clemson is familiar with teams from the Big South. In fact, Clemson is perfect in its previous 34 meetings against the Big South, including a 3-0 record last year. The Tigers beat Winthrop 69-59 last year to go with an 97-77 win against Charleston Southern and an 81-68 victory at Coastal Carolina. The Tigers will meet teams from that conference in each of their next three games: Elon, Winthrop (Tuesday) and Charleston Southern (Dec. 22).

Tigers Fall to 6-3 After Rare South Carolina Win in Clemson South Carolina claimed an 81-59 win over Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum on Dec. 8. It was just the second victory for the Gamecocks in their last 19 games in Clemson.

Chris Hobbs led Clemson with 14 points and six rebounds. McKnight added 13 and Edward Scott scored 10 points and had nine assists for the Tigers. Clemson struggled from outside, hitting 3-23 from behind the arc.

It was also the first game this season that the Tigers did not hold an advantage in rebounding as South Carolina controlled the boards 46-37. Clemson had been out-rebounding its opponents by an average of 11 rebounds per game. Aaron Lucas scored 20 points and Jamel Bradley added 18 for the Gamecocks.

The Tigers, who trailed 51-30 at the break, pulled within 14 at 64-50 off consecutive 3-pointers from Jamar McKnight. But McKnight missed his next two shots as the Clemson rally fizzled. South Carolina eventually built a game-high lead at 77-54 with five minutes to go.

Clemson’s struggles from the outside continued against South Carolina. The Tigers made just 3 of 23 attempts from behind the arc, including an 0-for-3 performance from Tony Stockman, an all-rookie ACC selection last year, who was fifth in the league a year ago in three-point shooting. South Carolina started the game hitting 2-of-10, but the Gamecocks hit nine of their next 10 shots to spark a 14-0 run and take a 33-16 lead with nine minutes left in the first half.

Clemson answered with an 11-5 run of its own to pull within 35-23. But after calling a 30-second time-out, South Carolina went into the lockerroom at the half on a 16-7 run and was ahead 51-30 at the break.

Tigers Out-rebounded for First Time This Year Clemson entered the South Carolina game out-rebounding its opponents by 11.6 boards per game, but the Gamecocks claimed the advantage on the glass last Saturday night. It marked the first time all season that one of Clemson’s opponents grabbed more boards. South Carolina held a 46-37 edge. Clemson had out-rebounded opponents in all but one game – against La Salle when the Explorers and Tigers each finished with 33 rebounds. Clemson averages 41.0 rebounds a game compared to 31.7 boards by opponents. Chris Hobbs and Ray Henderson account for 15.2 of Clemson’s rebounds each game. The Tigers also have clear advantage on offensive rebounds, 16.0 per game to 10.3 per game.

Struggles from Long Range Clemson hit just three three pointers in each of its last two games,going 3-20 against Appalachian State and 3-23 vs. South Carolina. For the season, the Tigers are hitting only 25.8 percent of their three-point attempts (40-155). That percentage pails in comparison to the clip the team was connecting from outside last season: 35.8 percent (248-692). That was an average of 8.0 three pointers a game. In fact, there were only two ocassions last season when Clemson hit three or fewer three pointers and only another six times when the connected five times per game or less.

This year, Clemson is making only 4.4 threes through its first nine games of the year with five games of three threes or fewer. The Tigers came out of the gate with a hot hand from downtown, going 22 of 58 (37.9 percent) in the three games in the Virgin Islands. Since then, they have connected 18 of 97 times (18.6 percent).

Of course, Tony Stockman missed two games after having knee surgery on Nov. 29. The sophomore was fifth in the ACC a year ago in three-point shooting. As a freshman, the Medina, OH native averaged 2.4 threes per game. This year, his per game number is down to 2.1, but that is slightly skewed since he made nine threes in his first two games of the year. He has made just six in his last five games and went 0-for-8 his last time out against South Carolina.

Despite Poor Outside Shooting, Clemson Still Managing to Win In Clemson’s last four wins – against Wofford, Penn State, Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State – the Tigers were outscored 114-27 on three-point baskets.

The Tigers made just three of 20 attempts from beyond the three-point arc against Appalachian State. That was after making six threes at Duke on Dec. 2, the most since the Tigers connected to make eight in the second game of the year.

Clemson made just six three pointers against Wofford, Penn State and Coastal Carolina, but claimed victory in each of the contests, including the first two of those in come-from-behind fashion. In those three games, the Tigers were outscored 87-18 by opponents from outside. Clemson made just 2-15 three-point shots in its victory over Wofford, including an 0-5 performance in the second half. The Terriers shot lights out, hitting 15-32, or 46.9 percent. Wofford’s total tied for the third most three-point goals in Clemson history against the Tigers. Only Duke with 17 in the 2000 ACC Tournament, and Georgia Tech with 17 at Clemson last year, are higher figures.

Clemson followed that with a 1-10 three-point shooting performance at Penn State. That one three-point goal was a big one, however. Dwon Clifton nailed a three on the first Clemson possession of the second half to cut the 10-point margin to seven. The Tigers took that momentum from there.

Against Coastal Carolina, the Tigers were 3-17 from long distance getting three-pointers from Dwon Clifton, Jermel Douglas and Tony Stockman.

A victory for the Tigers with a three-point goal percentage less than 20 percent is a rarity. In fact, the Tigers had lost 12 straight games when failing to hit at least 20 percent from three-point range prior to the Wofford game. Clemson won four in a row when failing to shoot 20 percent on three-point shooting (Wofford, Penn State, Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State). The South Carolina game was the first loss of the season when the Tigers failed to shoot 20 percent or better from behind the arc. Clemson was 6-12 (.500) in the loss at Duke. The Tigers were 0-11 under Larry Shyatt when failing to hit 20 percent from behind the arc prior to this year. Clemson was 2-21 between 1993-94 and 2000-01 when it failed to connect on at least 20 percent of its three-point shots.

Tigers Shooting Better Than 50 Percent on Two-Pointers While Clemson continues to struggle from three-point land, the team is shooting better than 50 percent on its two-point tries. The Tigers have made 199 of their 378 two-point attempts for their first nine games of the year. That is 52.6 percent.

Chris Hobbs and Ray Henderson are definitely responsible since Clemson has gone cold from outside. Hobbs is shooting 59.7 percent from the floor this season, while Henderson is making 58.7 of his attempts. Clemson has never had two players shoot at least 60 percent from the field on the same team for an entire season.

Bruise Brothers Leading Inside Game Clemson frontcourt players Chris Hobbs are becoming quite a duo on the inside this year. Hobbs ranks first on the team in scoring with a 14.6 average, while Henderson is third on the team with a 10.1 average. They are the top two rebounders on the Tiger team, as Henderson has a 8.9 rebounding average and Hobbs is at 6.3 per game. Both have double-double potential. Henderson had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Appalachian State, while Hobbs had 20 points and five rebounds in just 22 minutes. For the year, the duo has combined for 24.6 points and 15.2 rebounds per game in almost 58 minutes per game.

Henderson and Hobbs, both from the state of North Carolina, are the major reason Clemson is out-rebounding the opposition by 9.3 rebounds per game.

With both players at roughly the same size, 6-7 and 255 pounds, Coach Larry Shyatt has begun to call them the “Bruise Brothers” when he refers to Hobbs and Henderson in interviews. They are reminding some of a powerful frontcourt duo that led the Tigers to the ACC regular season championship in 1989-90.

That year, Elden Campbell and Dale Davis both were named first-team All-ACC, the only year in school history Clemson has had two first-team selections. Campbell and Davis combined for 30.7 points and 19.3 rebounds per game on Clemson’s 24-8 squad that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

Campbell and Davis were known as the “Duo of Doom” as the 6-11 frontcourt players struck fear in opposing players who drove the lane against them. Both are still in the NBA 12 years later. Campbell is the starting center for the Charlotte Hornets, while Davis is the starting center for the Portland Trailblazers.

Tigers Beat Appalachian State by 10 Chris Hobbs scored 20 points to lead Clemson to a 76-66 win over Appalachian State Dec. 5 at Littlejohn Coliseum.Hobbs was 9-12 from the floor and added two free throws in 22 minutes. It was the second straight game for him with at least 20 points. He scored 25 at Duke Dec. 2.

Ray Henderson added 16 points grabbed 10 rebounds for the Tigers, which improved to 6-2. Edward Scott added 13 points and seven assists for the Tigers. Appalachian State was led by Jonathan Butler, Matt Jones and Shawn Hall with 11 points each.

Clemson shot a season-low 42 percent from the field and made just 3-20 three-pointers. Appalachian State shot 43 percent from the field and 9-29 from behind the arc.

Clemson Falls at Duke Clemson sophomore forward Chris Hobbs scored 25 points and freshman guard Chey Christie added 21 to lead the Tiger offense in a 96-80 defeat at Duke last Sunday. The Tigers, which shot 43 percent, out-rebounded the Blue Devils 42-29. Clemson had nine more offensive rebounds than Duke, but only converted them into 13 points.

Edward Scott added 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds in another fine all-around performance. He had eight points, nine assists and seven rebounds at the win over Penn State last Wednesday.

After a 9-9 tie early in the game, Duke pulled away for a 14-point first half advantage. But the Tigers fought back to pull within three points with just under three minutes to go in the first half before trailing by six at intermission. In the second half steadily built its lead to 23 with 6:17 to play before Clemson managed to pull within 12 with 44 seconds to go. The Blue Devils margin of victory was 16 points. It was the closest margin at the final buzzer since 1998 when the Tigers lost 81-80.

Carlos Boozer scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He was 6-9 from the floor and was 11-15 from the free throw line. Five other Blue Devils scored in double figures.

Chey Christie Named ACC Rookie of the Week Clemson’s Chey Christie was tabbed as the ACC Rookie of the Week after averaging 15.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in the Tigers’ three games last week. The Hartford, CT, freshman scored a career-high 21 points at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Sunday’s 96-80 loss to top-ranked Duke. Earlier in the week, Christie was Clemson’s second-leading scorer with 16 points in the win over Penn State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Against Coastal Carolina on Nov. 30, Christie tallied nine points with three assists and three steals.

Clemson Cruises Past Coastal Carolina Chris Hobbs scored 13 points and Ray Henderson tallied 10 as Clemson claimed an 83-54 victory against Coastal Carolina Nov. 30 at Littlejohn Coliseum. Thirteen of the 14 Tigers who played in the game scored at least two points. Edward Scott, Chey Christie and Jemere Hendrix each scored nine points apiece. Clemson shot 48.3 from the field and held the Chanticleers to 35.7 percent shooting. The Tigers also forced 24 turnovers, the most by Clemson since forcing 26 against Western Carolina on Nov. 19, 1998. Clemson got to the line for 32 free throw attempts and made 24 of them for 75.0 percent. Coastal Carolina was just 8-14. Clemson out-rebounded Coastal Carolina 40-32, but the Chants had the game’s top rebounderas Anthony Susnjara grabbed eight. Henderson was Clemson’s top rebounder with seven, but at least five Tigers had five boards.

Coastal Carolina was led by Brandon Newby with 13 points and Derrick Robinson with 12. Clemson improved its all-time record against Coastal Carolina to 4-0.

Tigers Comeback for Road Win at Penn State Chris Hobbs had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Clemson to a 79-66 victory over Penn State Nov. 28 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in State College, PA.

The Tigers came back from a 10-point halftime deficit thanks to 59.1 percent shooting in the second half and a 20-7 run in the final 10 minutes of the game. Clemson held Penn State to just 22.7 percent shooting in the second half as the Nittany Lions made only 5 of 22 shots.

The first half was much different as Penn State erupted to an early 23-9 lead. The Nittany Lions made their first 10 shots from the floor and finished the first half shooting 61.5 percent from the field compared to Clemson’s 38.2 percent.

Coupled with Clemson’s comeback from an 11-point halftime deficit vs. Wofford on Nov. 24, the comeback from the 10-point halftime deficit to Penn State marked the first time in school history that Clemson has overcome double-digit halftime deficits to win in consecutive games. The double-double by Hobbs was his first of the season and the seventh of his career. Freshman Chey Christie had 16 points and three steals and two rebounds in 34 minutes. Clemson had a total of five players in double figures and all eight Tigers who played finished with at least one field goal, one free throw, two rebounds and one steal. Junior captain Edward Scott finished with eight points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals after playing all 40 minutes.

Clemson out-rebounded Penn State 46-22 and had 22 offensive rebounds. The rebound margin of +24 was the largest by Clemson under head coach Larry Shyatt, who is in his fourth season. The Tigers shot 1-10 from the three-point arc while Penn State hit 8 -23.

Big Ten/ACC Challenge Clemson improved to 2-1 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with the 79-66 win at Penn State Nov. 28. Clemson lost at Penn State, 85-75, in inaugural ACC/Big Ten Challenge during the 1999-00 season, but responded in 2000-01 with a 57-44 victory vs. Northwestern at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson improved to 5-11 all-time against the team that make up the Big Ten.

The ACC won the challenge against the Big Ten for the third straight year. After winning 5-4 each of the past two years the ACC claimed this year’s games by a count of 5-3. Clemson was one of two schools to win on the road and the only school in the ACC. Indiana won at North Carolina. The Michigan State vs. Virginia game was not finished because of excessive condensation on the floor at the Richmond Coliseum.

Tuesday, Nov. 27 Maryland 76, Illinois 63 Ohio State 64, N.C. State 50 Duke 80, Iowa 62 Wake Forest 85, Minnesota 79

Wednesday, Nov. 28 Georgia Tech 62, Wisconsin 61 Michigan State vs. Virginia (Richmond, VA), Postponed Clemson 79, Penn State 66 Indiana 79, North Carolina 66 Northwestern 57, Florida State 50

Five Tigers in Double Figures vs. Penn State Clemson had five players in double figures in its victory at Penn State on Nov. 28. That marked the first time since Dec. 3, 1998 that Clemson has had five double figures scorers in the same game, and just the second time in the Larry Shyatt era. Shyatt is in his fourth season as Clemson head coach.

Leading the balanced effort for the Tigers was Chris Hobbs with 17 points, while freshman Dwon Clifton had his second straight double figure outing with 10, while Tomas Nagys (11) and Sharrod Ford (10) scored in double figures off the bench.

Iron Man Scott When Tony Stockman missed the Wofford and Penn State games because of a knee injury, Edward Scott stepped up to go the distance. He played all 40 minutes in each contest and is averaging 35.0 minutes per game for the season. That is up from last year when he played 33.3 minutes per game. Scott played exactly 1,000 minutes in 30 games last year.

Scott has been very efficient in running the Clemson offense this year. Through nine games he has 62 assists and just 28 turnovers. That is a 2.21 assist/turnover ratio. Scott is second in the ACC in assists with 6.89 per game. Only Steve Blake from Maryland is averaging more assists per game (7.00 also through nine games). The Clemson captain never had more than seven assists in a game over his first two years. He has had seven or more in six of his last seven games. He had a career-high 11 in the win over Wofford on Nov. 24.

Scott is dealing out assists at quite a rate. His 6.88 per game rate would be third best in Clemson history. Grayson Marshall, Clemson’s all-time leader in assists, averaged a record 7.71 per game in 1985-86 and followed that with 7.37 per game in 1986-87. Those are the only averages over seven assists per game in school history.

Scott has been contributing in all phases of the game so far this year. In addition to his 6.88 assists per game, he is also scoring 10.8 points a game and contributing 4.6 rebounds from his point guard position. In the win over Penn State he had eight points, nine assists and seven rebounds and against Duke, he had 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Those two games marked the second and third time in his career he had at least six in each category.

Clemson Overcomes Double Digit Halftime Deficit Clemson has overcome a double-digit halftime deficit to gain victory to beat both Wofford and Penn State. That was the first time in school history that Clemson had done that in consecutive games.

Clemson overcame a 14-point first half deficit and an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat Wofford on Nov. 24, 85-82. It marked just the second time since 1990 that Clemson had overcome a double-digit deficit at intermission to gain victory. It marked just the fifth time since 1990 that Clemson had overcome a deficit of at least 14 points at any juncture of the game to gain victory.

Clemson followed that up with a just as impressive comeback at Penn State. Clemson trailed by 14 points in the first half, 26-12, and trailed 44-34 at halftime. The Tigers won the second half 45-22 to claim a 79-66 win. That marked just the third time in school history that Clemson has overcome a double digit halftime deficit to win a road game. The others took place at Coastal Carolina last year and at Furman in 1973-74, Tree Rollins’s freshman season. Clemson overcame a 13-point deficit in that game.

Clemson has outscored the opposition by 36 points in the second half this year, a key to its 6-2 record. Clemson shot 57.6 percent from the field, had a +11 rebound margin and scored 51 points in the second half of the win vs. Wofford. Clemson followed that with a 59 percent field goal accuracy, a +12 rebound margin and 45 points in the second half at Penn State.

Tigers Rally to Beat Wofford Edward Scott added 11 points and 11 assists as Clemson rallied to beat Wofford 85-82 in the home opener Nov. 24 at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Henderson was 10-12 from the field and had 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and just the fourth of his career. The double-double by Scott was the first of his career. Dwon Clifton had 14 points and Chey Christie added 13 for the Tigers, which improved to 3-1. Clemson trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half before making a run in the second half. Wofford led 45-34 at intermission, but an 8-2 Clemson run in the first five minutes of the second half pulled the Tigers within 49-44. The Terriers stretched their lead to nine again with 12:24 to play before a Dwon Clifton jumper, a pair of Henderson free throws and three straight baskets by Christie gave the Tigers a 61-60 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Clemson shot 52 percent from the field compared to just 46 percent by Wofford. The Terriers were 15 of 32 from behind the arc, but Clemson dominated the boards, 43-29.

Wofford, which fell to 2-2 on the season, was led by Nixon’s 25 points. Lenzly scored 20 and Justin Stephens had 18. Lenzly was 6-12 from three-point range and Nixon and Stephens each had four three-pointers. Clemson connected on just two of 15 three-point attempts.

Tony Stockman Rebounds in One Week After Surgery Clemson sophomore guard Tony Stockman, the top returning scorer from last year’s Tiger squad, missed just one week of action after a knee injury. The native of Medina, OH had arthroscopic surgery to repair of damaged cartilage on Nov. 23 and returned Nov. 30 against Coastal Carolina. It is believed to be the quickest comeback from a meniscus surgery by a Clemson football or men’s basketball player.

Stockman suffered the injury in the first half of the La Salle game in Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands Nov. 19. He played just 13 minutes in that contest, an 81-69 Tiger victory. He started in the championship game against Miami (FL), but was only able to play 17 minutes in Clemson’s two-point loss.

Stockman had an MRI on the morning of Friday, Nov. 23, and the exam revealed that he had a “Bucket Handle Tear of his medial meniscus in his right knee,” said Clemson basketball trainer “Raz” Razayeski. The surgery was performed by Clemson team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Larry Bowman at the Oconee Memorial Hospital in Seneca.

Stockman tied a career high with 23 points in the season opener against Morris Brown. He hit a career-high seven three-point goals in that game, just one off the Clemson single game record. He also had six assists and three steals. He added eight points on 3-4 shooting in the first half against LaSalle.

For the three games in The Virgin Islands, Stockman scored 11.3 points a game and shot 50 percent on three-point goals, hitting 10-20 from long range. He also had eight assists and just two turnovers.

Stockman returned against Coastal Carolina Nov. 30, but played only 17 minutes against the Chanticleers going 1-6 from the field, all on three-point attempts. After scoring 10 points in 33 minutes at Duke, he scored six points, on two of Clemson’s three three pointers, in 28 minutes.

In Memoriam… Clemson junior forward Tomas Nagys has marked the initials “VK” onto the outside of both of his shoes in the memory of Valdas Kiesus, a friend of his from Lithuania. Kiesus was kidnapped about a year ago. His body was found in mid-November. The two played basketball together before Nagys came to the United States. Nagys attended Montgomery (AL) Catholic for one year after playing two years of high school basketball in Lithuania.

Clemson Finishes Second in Virgin Islands Clemson opened with a 70-57 win over Morris Brown thanks to 23 points by Tony Stockman, who hit seven three pointers. Stockman was 7-13 from three-point range and 8-15 overall. He had six assists and had three steals with just one turnover in 32 minutes. Ray Henderson added 14 points.

Edward Scott and Jamar McKnight combined for 38 points and both registered career highs in leading Clemson to an 81-69 victory over La Salle in the second round. Scott scored 25 points on the night, seven more than his previous high of 18 set against Penn State during his freshman year. McKnight added 13 points on 5-9 shooting, one higher than his previous high of 12 set last season against Western Carolina. Ray Henderson was also in double figures with 10 points and he was the team’s leading rebounder with eight.

McKnight and Chris Hobbs both scored 19 points, but it was not enough as Miami (FL) defeated Clemson 67-65 in the championship game. Clemson had possession of the ball with 4.5 seconds left, down two. But, two shots fell off the rim and the Hurricanes came away with their first ever win over the Tigers. McKnight had 17 of his career-high 19 points in the first half. It was his second straight double-figure scoring game.

Hobbs Named to All-Tournament Team Sophomore forward Chris Hobbs was named to the all-tournament team of the Paradise Jam after averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in the three games in the Virgin Islands. He had 19 points and nine rebounds in the championship game, a two-point loss, against Miami.

Paradise Jam All-Tourney Team Ricky Cottrill, Eastern Michigan Eric Bush, UAB Rasual Butler, La Salle Darius Rice, Miami (FL) Chris Hobbs, Clemson MVP: John Salmons, Miami (FL)

Robinson, Akingbala Sign with Clemson Clemson Head Coach Larry Shyatt has announced the signing of his first two members of his 2002 freshman class. On Nov. 14, the first day of the early signing period, 6-2 guard Shawan Robinson and 6-9 forward Akin Akingbala each signed a national letter of intent.

Robinson attends Leesville Road High School in Raleigh and is considered one of the top players in North Carolina and a top-100 player nationally. He averaged 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals per game last year.

Robinson is ranked in the top 100 in the nation by All-Star Sports and by Hoop Scoop. A first-team all-conference player the last two years, he combined with current Florida State freshman Anthony Richardson to lead Leesville Road to the state championship game last year. His father, Darryl Robinson, is the Leesville Road High School head coach. “Shawan will be a tremendous asset to Clemson University and our basketball program,” said Shyatt. “He comes to us from a wonderful family and is an excellent student. You can tell he is the son of a coach. He is an excellent combo guard who will help us immediately as a primary ball handler and deep shooter.”

Akingbala, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, is a senior at The Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT. He averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots per game a year ago. He had a high of 11 blocked shots in a game and shot 68 percent from the field.

Akingbala led his team to a 19-6 record last year and a runner-up finish in the New England Prep School Championships. The Brunswick School won the New England Championship his sophomore year. Akingbala was ranked among the top 100 rising seniors for 2001-02 by Hoop Scoop this past summer.

“Akin is an athletic and enthusiastic leaper,” said Shyatt. “He has excellent desire, especially on the defensive end where he is an intimidating shot blocker. His athletic ability on the soccer field and in basketball is eye-catching. He too fits exactly what we are looking for in our program. He has excellent academic credentials.”

Clemson Goes 2-0 in Exhibition Season The Tigers went 2-0 in the exhibition season with wins over Nike Elite and the EA Sports Central All-Stars. Tony Stockman scored 19 points and Jamar McKnight added 18 to lead Clemson to a 98-85 basketball victory over the Nike Elite in the team’s first exhibition (Oct. 31) and then Freshman Ray Henderson and Chris Hobbs each had double-doubles, leading Clemson to a 94-76 victory over the EA Sports Central All-Stars (Nov. 12).

Scott Named Clemson Captain Junior point guard Edward Scott was named the captain of the Clemson men’s basketball team for the 2001-02 season. Head Coach Larry Shyatt made the announcement in August on the first day of school. It marked the first time Shyatt has named a captain in the preseason. Scott is the first underclassman on record to be named sole captain of the team and the first sole captain of the Clemson basketball team since Grayson Marshall in 1987-88.

Scott bounced back from an injury-plagued freshman campaign to lead the Tigers in durability last season. His ability to distribute the ball as well as defend the great point guards of the ACC will be counted on again this season.

Scott led Clemson in assists last season and averaged one turnover every 13.5 minutes, the fifth best ratio for a point guard in school history. He had 127 assists against just 74 turnovers for the season and shot 82.1 percent from the foul line. The native of Eastover, SC and Lower Richland High School averaged 7.3 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per outing in starting 30 contests. At one stretch he made 23 consecutive free throws, the longest streak by a Clemson player since 1984. His contributions both on and off of the stat sheet made the designation of captain an easy one for Shyatt. “Through a lot of hard work, quality minutes and a high level of respect from both his teammates and his coaches Ed Scott has earned the responsibility of serving as our team captain. This team is looking for a leader and for somebody who has experienced the ups and downs, who’s overcome obstacles and in particular has shown a consistent work ethic in the classroom and on the court these last two years.”

Clifton Cleared to Play Clemson sophomore forward Dwon Clifton has been cleared to return to practice and play for the Tigers this year, Clemson Head Coach Larry Shyatt announced Oct. 26.

Initial tests indicated that Clifton, a sophomore from Greensboro, NC, had a heart abnormality called Long QT Syndrome, a problem that inhibits the repolarization process in the heart, a condition that would have prevented Clifton from playing competitive basketball.

But further tests conducted during a two-week period showed that Clifton does not have Long QT Syndrome. A fainting spell earlier this fall was the result of extreme fatigue. Clifton had a final battery of tests at Emory Hospital in Atlanta on Oct. 25.

Doctors at Emory gave him the green light to return to practice immediately.

“The tests revealed that Dwon does not have any structural cardiac abnormalities,” said Clemson basketball physician Dr. Len Reeves. “He had a different battery of tests at Emory that showed he does not have Long QT Syndrome. He has Vaso-Vagal Sycope, which is a common problem that can lead to fainting spells, as the result of relative dehydration and extreme fatigue. We will continue to monitor Dwon. He is not on any medication.”

Clifton was pleasantly surprised at the result of the tests. “I was shocked because I had prepared myself for the worst,” said Clifton. “I was prepared to be told that I could not play. This experience has made my beliefs in God even stronger. I received all kinds of e-mails and calls from Clemson fans who said they were praying for me. I want to thank them. This is a blessing.”

Clemson Head Coach Larry Shyatt, who went to Emory on Thursday to be with Clifton during the medical testing was excited with the news. “Of course we are very happy for Dwon and his family. It is reassuring that the Clemson University medical staff took the safe approach the last three weeks. There were tears of joy at Emory Hospital.”

Clifton started 17 of Clemson’s 31 games last year. He and classmate Tony Stockman were the only Tigers to play in every game last year as freshmen. The 6-5 native of High Point, NC averaged 3.9 points and 2.6 assists per game a year ago. His top game was a 10-point, seven-rebound outing at North Carolina late in the year. He had a season high 12 rebounds against Washington in a tournament in Puerto Rico.

Tigers Tied for 10th in Producing NBA Talent Clemson has seven of its former players on NBA rosters this year, tied for the 10th highest total in the nation. This also ties for the most NBA players Clemson has had in a single season.

North Carolina leads the way nationally with 12 former players, while ACC rival Duke is second with 11. A third ACC school, Georgia Tech, is tied with Arizona and Kentucky for third with 10 former players apiece. Michigan State has nine, while Georgetown, Michigan and UCLA are tied with eight players apiece.

Clemson, Cincinnati, UConn, UNLV and St. John’s all have seven, while Kansas and Maryland have six apiece. California and Villanova round out the top 18 schools with five apiece.

Horace Grant is the veteran of the former Tigers in the NBA. The 1987 ACC MVP, the only Clemson player to win that honor, is now in his 14th year in the NBA. He has won four NBA World Championship rings, including last year with the Los Angeles Lakers. The native of Sparta, GA has more World Championship Rings than any other former Clemson athlete in any sport. Grant is now on his second tour of duty with the Orlando Magic. He has averaged 6.1 points and 5.6 rebounds a game as a starter in each of the first eight games this year with the Magic.

Dale Davis and Elden Campbell, who combined to lead the Tigers to the 1990 ACC Regular season championship and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, are both still starting in the NBA. Davis, in his 10th year in the league and is the starting center for the Portland Trailblazers. The native of Toccoa, GA has averaged 7.8 points and 8.1 rebounds a game through the first eight contests with the Trailblazers. He had 15 rebounds in a win over the Pistons on Nov. 11.

Campbell is in his 11th year in the NBA, his third with the Charlotte Hornets. He has the best stats among former Tigers in the league, nearly averaging a double-double on the young season. He had a 14.2 scoring average to go with 9.8 rebounds per game through games of November 12. Greg Buckner and Chris Whitney, two former Tigers from Hopkinsville, KY, are also in the NBA this year. Buckner is a reserve with the Dallas Mavericks, while Whitney has been an occasional starter for the Washington Wizards. Whitney, who has been in the league since 1993-94, has averaged 10 points per game for the Wizards, including an 18-point effort in the season opener.

Harold Jamison is a sixth former Tiger in the NBA. A rookie with the Miami Heat two years ago, he was recently activated by the Los Angles Clippers, but has yet to play in a game. Will Solomon, Clemson’s leading scorer last year with a 19.7 average, has played five games with the Memphis Grizzlies, including one start. He has averaged two points and 1.2 rebounds in his limited action so far this year. He had a high of seven points in a recent game against the Los Angles Lakers.

Clemson Tigers Sports Properties Clemson Men’s Basketball on Clemson Tiger Sports Properties can be heard throughout South Carolina, as well as portions of North Carolina and Georgia on a strong lineup of radio affiliates. Each CTSP broadcast is also carried live on the internet on ClemsonTigers.com. CTSP begins coverage of each men’s basketball game 30 minutes before tip-off with the Countdown to Tip-Off Show. There will be a half hour post game show featuring comments from Head Coach Larry Shyatt.