Clemson Men’s Basketball Holds 2008 Awards Banquet Sunday

April 13, 2008

GALLERY (courtesy of Mark Crammer)

Clemson, SC – The Clemson men’s basketball program announced its award winners for the 2007-08 season at the team banquet Sunday, held at the Madren Center on the school’s campus. The Tiger coaching staff handed out awards to the team’s top performers as well as various support staff.

Cliff Hammonds was the recipient of four awards, including the Paul Bowie Most Valuable Player. James Mays earned the team’s Defensive Player Award, while David Potter was named the Tom Lynch Most Improved. Fellow seniors Matt Morris and Sam Perry also took home awards. Morris won the team’s Mr. Effort Award, while Perry was presented with the inaugural Vigodsky-Nash “Spirit of Clemson Basketball” Award.

Other award winners Sunday were Trevor Booker, Terrence Oglesby, K.C. Rivers and Jesse Yanutola.

Paul Bowie Most Valuable Player Cliff Hammonds

Second-team All-ACC selection and All-District choice by theU.S. Basketball Writers Association. Ranked first on the team inassists (133), steals (66), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.22).Ranked second on the team in points per game (11.4), fourth inrebounds per game (4.1). Ranked second in the ACC inassist-to-turnover ratio (2.22), third in steals per game (1.94),and seventh in assists per game (3.9).

Defensive Player of the Year Award – Spartanburg County Clemson Club James Mays

Ranked third on the team in steals (50) and blocked shots (20).Ranked seventh in the ACC in steals per game (1.78). Ranks in thetop 10 in Clemson history in both career steals (166) and blockedshots (94).

Tom Lynch Most Improved Award David Potter

Improved from 2.5 points per game as a freshman to 4.8 as asophomore. Improved overall field goal accuracy from 32.7 to 41.2percent. Improved three-point accuracy from 17.1 to 33.9 percent.Doubled amount of blocked shots as a sophomore (13), and nearlytripled his steal total (29) from his first year with the program.

Road Warrior Award – Cherokee County Clemson Club K.C. Rivers

Led the Tigers in scoring on the road with 13.5 points per gameand at neutral sites with 16.3 points per game. Shot over 40percent from three-point range both on the road and at neutralsites. Had a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the road. Scoredcareer-high 32 points in rout at Virginia, where he tied a schoolrecord with eight three-pointers in the game.

Academic Excellence Award Jesse Yanutola

Possesses top cumulative grade-point average on the team.Member of the Calhoun Honors College. Two-time President’s List(4.0 GPA) selection. Majoring in Electrical and ComputerEngineering.

Tiger Strength Award – Lexington County Clemson Club Cliff Hammonds

Won the award for the third time in his four years with theprogram. Strongest player on the team on a pound-for-pound basis.Ranked in the top five in the ACC in minutes played per game as asenior. Ranks first in Clemson history in games played (134),starts (133), consecutive starts (130), and minutes played (4,285).

Mr. Effort Award – Aiken County Clemson Club Matt Morris

Played his first three years as a walk-on before earning ascholarship for his senior season. Played in 16 games as a seniorand 54 in his career. Scored 69 points in his career, second-mostin Clemson history for an original walk-on in the ACC era(1953-present). Served a valuable role the past four years as amember of the scout team.

Most Assists Award – Union County Clemson Club Cliff Hammonds

Ranked first on the team with 133 assists, 3.9 per game. Rankedseventh in the ACC in assists per game. Concluded his career with473 assists, fifth-most in Clemson history.

Field Goal Percentage Award – Greater Columbia Clemson Club Trevor Booker

Led the team in field goal accuracy at 55.5 percent (min. 4made field goals per game). Made 20 of 26 shots in consecutivegames versus Charlotte (32 points) and Florida State (29 points).Ranks fifth in Clemson history with a career 57.8 percent fieldgoal accuracy.

Free Throw Percentage Award – Greater Greenwood Clemson Club Terrence Oglesby

Led the team in free throw accuracy at 85.1 percent (min. 1made free throw per game). Ranks second in Clemson history for freethrow percentage by a freshman in a single season. Made 8-8 in theNCAA Tournament game against Villanova, which tied for the highestsingle-game percentage by a Clemson player in the 2007-08 season.

Leading Rebounder Award – Greenville Clemson Club Trevor Booker

Led the Tigers in total rebounds (249) and rebounds per game(7.3). Ranked fourth in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game(2.7) and sixth in total rebounds per game (7.3). Postedcareer-high 17 rebounds at East Carolina, most by a Clemson playersince 2002. Posted 10 double figure rebound efforts for the season.

Air Force ROTC “Aim High” Award Cliff Hammonds

First-ever winner of the ACC’s “Skip” Prosser Award as theleague’s top scholar-athlete for men’s basketball. Inducted intoClemson’s chapter of the Blue Key Honor Society in the fall. FirstClemson player since 1967 to be named All-ACC on and off the courtin the same season.

Vigodsky-Nash “Spirit of Clemson Basketball” Award Sam Perry

Presented to a player on the team that embodies the spirit ofClemson basketball through dedication, enthusiasm, and a selflessattitude. Played in 128 career games, second-most in Clemsonhistory, despite multiple injuries in his four years with theprogram. Scored 545 career points and added 342 rebounds, 114steals, and 58 blocked shots.