Clemson vs. Wofford

Nov. 22, 2002

Game One: Clemson vs. Wofford Sunday, November 24, 2003 4:00 PM Anderson Civic Center

Clemson vs. Wofford Series Clemson holds a 43-14 advantage in the series with Wofford. The Tigers have won two in a row and eight of the last nine. The two teams have met six times in the last 10 years and Clemson has won five of the six. Wofford’s only win in the series since 1948 took place in 1999-00, a 79-74 Terrier victory in Littlejohn Coliseum. This is the fourth consecutive year the two teams have met.

The two teams first met in the 1911-12 season, the first season of basketball in Clemson history. The Tigers won both of those games, 34-23 and 56-13, the third and fourth games in Clemson basketball history, respectively. The two teams played three games the next year, two wins by the Tigers, and one for Wofford. Clemson won a 72-23 game at home that year, then lost to Wofford, 22-21, in the next to the last game of the season.

Clemson won 11 straight games in the series between 1934-39. The two teams played 51 of their 57 games between 1912-49, incuding four times in 1929-30. Clemson has a 28-6 record in games at Clemson, a 15-8 lead in games at Wofford.

Each of the last three games have been decided by five points or less. Wofford won 79-74 in 1999-00, Clemson won in 2000-01 by a 78-74 score and the Tigers won last season 85-82.

Last Year’s Game Clemson Overcame 11-Point Halftime Deficit to Defeat Wofford Clemson overcame a 14-point first-half deficit and an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat Wofford, 85-82 on November 24, 2001. 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 made just 2-15 three-point shots in its victory over Wofford last year. The Terriers shot well, hitting 15-32, 47 percent. Wofford’s total tied for the third most three-point goals in Clemson history against the Tigers at the time.

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. The Tigers were 0-11 under Larry Shyatt when failing to hit 20 percent from behind the arc heading into the game.

Clemson center Ray Henderson was one of the leaders for the Tigers. It was the best all-around game of the junior’s career. He established career highs for field goals made (10), points scored (23) and tied his career high for rebounds (13) and blocked shots (4). He did all of that in just 28 minutes. His previous career high in scoring was just 15 points, set in the 2000 ACC Tournament win over Florida State. He had never made more than six field goals in a game before recording 10 against Wofford.

Junior captain Edward Scott had 11 points and 11 assists and just one turnover in helping the Tigers to the victory. It was the first double-double for Scott in his career. He went on to record five more last season. He had nine assists and no turnovers over the last 30 minutes of the game.

Scott was one turnover away from tying the Clemson record for the most assists in a game without a turnover. Grayson Marshall, Clemson’s career leader in assists, still has that mark. He had 11 assists without a turnover in a game at NC State in 1986-87. Chey Christie also had 13 points in the victory, his high point total in Littlejohn Coliseum last season.

Wofford was led by Lee Nixon with 25 points, Mike Lenzly with 20 and Justin Stephens with 18. Lenzly is slated to start in this Sunday’s game for Wofford. All three were wing players for Wofford, who made eight three-point goals in the first half and seven in the second. Clemson won the rebound battle 43-29 to offset Wofford’s 45-6 margin in points of three-point goals.

Clemson 5-0 on November 24 Clemson has a 5-0 record on November 24 over the years. That is the second best perfect record for the Tigers on any date. The all-time best perfect record is 6-0 on November 25. One of the November 24 wins took place last year when Clemson gained victory over Wofford. Overall, Clemson has a 64-14 record in November over the years, a winning percentage of .821.

Clemson in Season Openers Clemson has won all four season openers under Larry Shyatt. That includes last year’s victory over Morris Brown in the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. Clemson beat Arkansas Pine Bluff 83-59 in Shyatt’s first year. The Tigers opened his second season with a win over East Tennessee State, the downed Hartford 86-67 in the opener in his third season.

The Tigers have now won each of their last 17 season openers dating bac kt o a one-point loss to Tennessee Tech in overtime in the first game of 1984-85, the first game of the Cliff Ellis era. All but three of those previous 17 seasons Clemson was playing at home. Clemson actually opened the 1987-88 season in Taiwan with a 69-54 win over Oregon State. Clemson opened 1989-90 in Puerto Rico with a victory over American University of Puerto Rico.

Clemson’s most shocking season opening victory over the last 17 years, and in history for that matter, was a 79-71 overtime win over Kentucky in the Hoosier Dome. Kentucky was the defending NCAA champion, ranked third in the nation, and advanced to the 1997 NCAA Championship game. Clemson advanced to the Sweet 16 that year and was ranked eighth in the nation in the final USA Today poll.

Clemson vs Southern Conference Clemson has an all-time record of 249-107 against Southern Conference foes. That includes a 155-41 record in games played at home. Clemson is 87-63 against Southern Conference teams on the road and 9-2 at neutral site.

Of course, Clemson was a member of the Southern Conference from 1921-53. Clemson won the Southern Conference Tournament in 1939, Clemson’s only postseason tournament victory in history. Banks McFadden, still going strong at 86, was the leader of that Clemson team that won four games to win the event. Clemson won the championship without ever holding a halftime lead in any of the games. Larry Shyatt is 10-2 against Southern Conference teams in his Clemson career.

Clemson Has Some Experience In the last three years, Clemson has been “behind the curve” when it comes to experience when compared to other ACC teams. Clemson has had just one senior on its roster each of the last three years.

This year, Clemson has three senior scholarship players and two other recruited walk-on seniors who have seen significant playing time over the years. That should give Clemson a leg up in many areas in the league that has just 19 returning starters among the nine clubs. Clemson has six of its top eight scorers and rebounders returning from last year and 10 lettermen overall. As you can see by the charts below, Clemson has the highest percentage of its points and rebounds returning from last year.

Percentage of Scoring Returning for 2002-03 Rk School % 1. Clemson 64.1 2. NC State 62.7 3. Georgia Tech 57.5 4. Virginia 44.8 5. Wake Forest 37.4 6. North Carolina 37.3 7. Florida State 34.7 8. Duke 34.2 9. Maryland 31.2

Percent of Rebounding Returning for 2002-03 Rk School % 1. Clemson 79.9 2. NC State 77.9 3. Georgia Tech 68.8 4. Virginia 56.5 5. Wake Forest 50.6 6. Florida State 50.4 7. Duke 43.1 8. North Carolina 40.5 9. Maryland 39.6

Nagys to Miss First Eight Games of Season Clemson forward Tomas Nagys will miss the first eight games of the 2002-03 season due to his involvement in an NCAA secondary violation. The senior from Lithuania will play his first game against Coastal Carolina on December 31, 2002.

The action was taken as a result of his use of an athletic staff member’s long distance telephone access code. He used the code without permission to make phone calls over several months earlier this year. As part of his condition for reinstatement, Nagys has repaid the value of the phone calls.

“I regret that this happened,” said Nagys. “All of the phone calls were made to my family in Lithuania. We had some family issues that needed to be addressed. I accept the NCAA’s ruling and look forward to rejoining our team on December 31.” Nagys is permitted to practice with the Tigers during the period he will be held out of games.

“We regret that this situation has occurred,” said Clemson Head Coach Larry Shyatt. “We have addressed it with the NCAA and taken corrective action for these secondary violations. The NCAA has accepted our findings. This is now behind us. What is in front of us is a senior who needs just four hours in the spring semester to graduate with his class. He will have a very positive impact on our team on and off the floor this year.”

Nagys is a veteran of 83 games in his Clemson career, nine as a starter. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last year when he played in all 30 games as a reserve. One of three scholarship seniors on the Clemson team this year, he finished his junior season with an 18-point, nine-rebound performance against Florida State in the ACC Tournament in Charlotte.

Hamilton, Hudson Sign with Clemson November 13, 2002 Vernon Hamilton, a 5-11 guard from Richmond, VA and Jimmy Hudson, a 6-4 guard from Eustis, FL, have signed a national letter-of-intent with the Clemson men’s basketball program. Head Coach Larry Shyatt made the announcement November 13, the first day of the fall National signing period.

Hamilton, a senior at Benedictine High in Richmond, averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and eight assists per game last season. He was an all-state selection and is ranked among the top 100 players in the nation by Hoop Scoop and Prep Spotlight. He also was named all-regional as a junior and sophomore. He is also an outstanding football player at Benedictine High and has been ranked among the top receivers in the nation.

“Vernon Hamilton is a pure point guard, much in the same mold as Edward Scott,” said Shyatt, who will lose his four-year starter at point guard after this season. “We will have a lot of perimeter players back next year, but certainly will be looking for a replacement for Edward. He handles the ball well and we are looking forward to him joining our program.”

Hudson is a combination guard who averaged 13.9 points per game last year as a junior at Eustis High School. He had just 13 turnovers for the entire season, shot 81 percent from the foul line and 42 percent from three-point land. He was a second-team all-state choice as a sophomore and junior.

“Jimmy is a combination guard who will be able to handle both positions with experience. He caught our eye last spring at a tournament in Houston. All our coaches were impressed with the way he handles himself on the court, especially in pressure situations. He had just 13 turnovers all season and that says a lot about his game.”

Lindy’s Magazine Ranks Three Tigers Lindy’s preseason magazine must feel Clemson will have a good season in 2002-03. The publication ranked three different Clemson players among the top 20 players in the nation by position. Clemson was the only ACC team to have three different players in the rankings. The publication ranked 20 players at each of the five positions, meaning Clemson is the only ACC team with three top 100 players according to Lindy’s. None of the three were top 100 players coming out of high school.

Edward Scott, named the top playrmaker in the ACC by Lindy’s, is ranked as the eighth best point guard in the nation according to the publication, while teammate Ray Henderson is ranked 19th among centers. Chris Hobbs, a junior forward, is ranked 18th in the nation among power forwards. Scott was also named first-team All-ACC by Lindy’s and was a second-team preseason all-conference choice by the ACC media at Operation Basketball in November.

Lindy’s Magazine’s Nation’s Top Point Guards

Name Hgt Cl. School 1. JasonGardner 5-10 Sr. Arizona 2. Brandin Knight 6-0 Sr. Pittsburgh 3.Kirk Hinrich 6-4 Sr. Kansas 4. Hollis Price 6-1 Sr. Oklahoma 5.Luke Ridnour 6-2 Jr. Oregon 6. T.J. Ford 5-11 So. Texas 7. ChrisThomas 6-1 So. Notre Dame 8. Edward Scott 6-2 Sr. Clemson 9. ChrisDuhon 6-1 Jr. Duke 10. Derrick Zimmerman 6-2 Sr. Mississippi State

Family Affair The name Shyatt is prevalent in the Clemson program this year. Head Coach Larry Shyatt enjoys the presence of his son Geoff on the Clemson roster and son Jeremy, who played in 1999-00 as a freshman, is now a manager. We have never found an instance of two sons being affiliated with a Clemson sports program on a team coached by their father in Clemson history. It may be a first in ACC history.

We do have examples of coaches producing athletic sons at Clemson this year. Brad Scott’s son Jeff is a senior on the Clemson football team, while another son, John, is a freshman football player at Harvard. Line coach Ron West has a son who had over 70 tackles as a freshman linebacker at Appalachian State, while Jack Hines has a son who played quarterback this year at UT-Martin. Jack Leggett’s son will red-shirt this year as a member of the Clemson baseball team.

Historically, Clemson has had an instance of sons of head coaches being outstanding players. Press Maravich was the head coach at Clemson from 1956-62. His son was Pistol Pete Maravich, the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history. Unfortunately for the Clemson basketball history, he played for his dad at LSU, not Clemson.

Clemson Defeats Southeast Atlanta All Stars 81-54 November 13, 2002 The Clemson men’s basketball team opened its exhibition season on November 13 with an 81-54 victory over the Southeast Atlanta All Stars in Anderson, SC. Five Tigers scored in double figures, led by senior point guard Ed Scott, who tallied 15. Sophomore forward Sharrod Ford had 14 points and 12 rebounds and senior forward Ray Henderson had 10 points and 11 rebounds, as the Tigers dominated on the inside. The production was necessary as Clemson struggled from the perimeter, hitting only 1of 14 three-point attempts.

Sophomore guard Chey Christie scored 14, while junior Chris Hobbs chipped in 11 for Clemson, which played in the Anderson Civic Center for the first time.

“It’s a good feeling to finally get in here and get a workout,” said Scott of the Civic Center, which had an NBA three-point line as well as teal colored sidelines and three-second lanes. “We played well on defense and only gave up 22 points in the first half.”

The Tigers jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first six minutes behind Scott, who had 10 of his 15 points in the opening half. The All Stars then went on a 17-6 run to close to within 23-22 at the 3:52 mark. Clemson pulled away at the end of the half with a 9-0 run highlighted by consecutive tip-ins by Ray Henderson.

Dazzling plays by Scott and Christie got the Tigers off to a quick second-half start. Christie provided the game’s first dunk and was followed by an acrobatic reverse layup by Scott that pushed the lead to 16. The lead grew to 26 minutes later after Sharrod Ford converted on a post move, stole the ensuing inbounds pass and laid the ball in. The Tigers paced the Tigers with 12 second-half points as the lead grew to as many as 32 points.

But Shyatt was encouraged most by the Clemson defense and rebounding. The Tigers held Southeast Atlanta to 27 percent shooting while out-rebounding the All Stars 57-36.”It’s been a long time since a Clemson frontline has taken six charges,” said Shyatt.

Clemson Defeats EA Sports November 17, 2002 The Clemson defense held EA Sports scoreless for a 10:08 stretch and Chey Christie scored 24 points en route to a 79-62 victory in preseason men’s basketball action at the Civic Center of Anderson. The game was the final tune-up for Clemson.

“We must continue to focus on defense because we have to have stops when we go through scoring droughts,” said head coach Larry Shyatt. The defense kicked into gear at the end of the first half. The teams traded baskets for most of the half until the Tigers took a 32-27 lead after an NBA-range three-pointer by Ed Scott. EA sports would not go away, however, and cut the lead to 32-31. Clemson pulled away in the final 3:30 with eight straight points and went to the locker room at halftime with a 40-31 lead.

The Tigers continued their run in the second half, holding EA Sports scoreless for the first 7:38 of the second half. Clemson led 49-31 before Isaac Harmon hit a turnaround jumper with 13:23 left to get the All Stars on the board in the second session. The offensive effort was led by Christie, who made 11 of his 15 attempts, including 2-4 from three-point range. “He picked us up tonight,” said Shyatt. “He will always get a couple of dunks when we get out and run, but I was equally impressed with his defense tonight. He took a couple of charges and did a good job on their guards. He’s a guy that’s come a long way, not just on offense, but on defense as well.”

He provided the play of the preseason with just under seven minutes to go in the contest. The sophomore blocked a three-point attempt to trigger a three-on-one break. Julian Betko then dished it back to 6-4 guard, who dunked on the All Stars’ Billy Knight (previously of UCAL) to get the fans off their feet.

“I’ve always been able to jump,” said Christie, whose older brother Tony also played at Clemson. “My brother always told me if you’re able to dunk it, dunk it. That’s what I did.”

Clemson did receive a scare with 10:20 to go in the game. Junior forwards Chris Hobbs dove into the EA Sports bench to save a loose ball and was down for a few minutes. He was taken to the locker room where it was determined he had a strained back.

Hobbs, Henderson in Top 11 in Field Goal Percentage Clemson power forward Chris Hobbs has been consistent when it comes to field goal percentage over his career. He shot 56.6 percent as a freshman and is at 54.4 percent as a sophomore. For his career he has made 201 of 365 attempts, a .5507 figure.

Clemson’s all-time list for field goal percentage requires 200 made field goals, so he has just recently qualified. His .551 figure is sixth in Clemson history, just behind Elden Campbell and just ahead of Murray Jarman. The only other players ahead of Hobbs currently are Harold Jamison, Horace Grant, Dale Davis and John Campbell.

It is interesting to note that Ray Henderson should join the list when he gets just one more field goal. He is 199 for 369 for his career and that 53.93 percent is 11th best in school history.

Clemson Career Field Goal Percentage Leaders (Minimum 199 Made)

Yrs Yrs FGM FGA PctHarold Jamison 4 1995-99 454 746 .6086 Horace Grant 4 1983-87 6601104 .5978 Dale Davis 4 1987-91 633 1076 .5882 John Campbell 41977-80 283 501 .5649 Elden Campbell 4 1986-90 754 1342 .5618 ChrisHobbs 2 2000-Pr 201 365 .5507 Murray Jarman 4 1980-84 242 440 .5500Jerry Pryor 4 1985-89 452 825 .5479 Devin Gray 4 1991-95 542 993.5458 Tree Rollins 4 1973-77 643 1192 .5394 Ray Henderson 3 2000-Pr199 369 .5393

Scott Seventh Among Active Seniors in Assists/Game Clemson senior Edward Scott is seventh in the nation among active seniors in assists/game. He does not lead the ACC in that area, however, as Steven Blake of Maryland is tops in that category with a 7.0 average. Blake has 751 assists in 107 games, more total assists than any active player in Division I. Scott has 434 career assists entering this year in 84 career games. Scott is eighth in total assists and seventh in assists/game among active players in Division I.

Most Assists Per Game/Active Players

Player School GP Ast A/G1. Steven Blake Maryland 107 751 7.0 2. Elliott Prausse-FreemanHarvard 79 498 6.3 3. Brandin Knight Pittsburgh 94 576 6.1 4.Guilherme Da Luz Furman 89 519 5.8 5. Marquis Sykes Morehead St. 84442 5.3 6. Kirk Hinrich Kansas 104 538 5.2 7. Edward Scott Clemson84 434 5.2 8. David Bailey Loyola (IL) 86 422 4.9 9. Reggie KohnSouthFlorida 94 454 4.8 10. Ravii Givens Stetson 80 381 4.8

Scott Moves to Fourth on Clemson Assist List Clemson junior guard Edward Scott had five assists against N.C. State on Feb. 16 and moved into fourth place on the Clemson all-time assist list. He now has 434 for his career, ahead of Bobby Conrad, who had 401 between 1976-80. Scott had seven games of double figures in assists and 18 with eight or more as a junior, including nine of the last 13. That included the win over Wake Forest when he had a career-high 16 assists. That was one of the top five single game performances in the nation last year. That set a Clemson record for an ACC game and ranked in a tie for third best in Clemson history for a single game. It was the high total by a Tiger since the 1985-86 season when Grayson Marshall had a record 20 assists against Maryland-Eastern Shore.

It marked just the second game in ACC history a player had at least 30 points and 15 assists in the same game. Kenny Anderson had 32 points and 18 assists against Pittsburgh on Dec. 28, 1989.

Scott was improved in a number of areas last year, including scoring. He averaged 11.9 points a game for the year and had seven 20-point scoring nights, the first seven of his career. That included two 30-point games. He netted 20 points, including a career high five three-point goals, in a loss at #3 Maryland, then had 20 on 10 field goals against #1 Duke two weeks later. His top game was against Florida State when he scored 36 on Feb. 23.

“Edward Scott was terrific,” said Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski. “He really did a good job pushing the ball up. Obviously (Tony) Stockman made a lot of shots, but I really admire what Scott did tonight.” Scott had more turnovers than assists in just three games all season and had more assists than turnovers in 15 of the 16 ACC games. He had a streak of 14 straight games at one point this year. Ironcially, the streak was broken in his 36-point effort against Florida State on Feb. 23.

Scott had 25 points on 8-12 shooting in the win over LaSalle in The Virgin Islands in the second game of the year, and had 21 points and 11 assists in a victory over Elon. That was the first time since the 1998-99 season that any Clemson player had 20 points and double figures in assists in the same game. He had 17 against Virginia on January 8, his career high against an ACC opponent.

And, Scott’s rebound average of 4.9 was the best for a Clemson point guard since Choppy Patterson had a 5.0 average as the point guard in 1959-60. Scott ranked 19th in the ACC in rebounding, second best among guards behind NC State’s Anthony Grundy.

Eight times in 2001-02, Scott had at least six rebounds, assists and points in the same game, including the Maryland game of Jan. 20 when he had 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Clemson Career Leaders in Assists/Game

Name Yrs Years Ast GPA/G 1. Grayson Marshall 4 1984-88 857 122 7.02 2. ChrisWhitney 2 1991-93 354 58 6.10 3. Marion Cash 2 1988-90 335 64 5.234. Edward Scott 3 1999-02 434 84 5.17 5. Terrell McIntyre 4 1995-99577 126 4.58 6. Derrick Johnson 4 1975-79 476 111 4.29 7. LouRichie 2 1992-94 239 57 4.19 8. Chris Dodds 3 1979-82 325 83 3.929. Mike Eppley 4 1980-84 268 69 3.88 10. David Young 4 1988-92 33097 3.40

Clemson Career Leaders in Total Assists

Name Yrs Years GP A/GAst 1. Grayson Marshall 4 1984-88 122 7.02 857 2. TerrellMcIntyre 4 1995-99 126 4.58 577 3. Derrick Johnson 4 1975-79 1114.29 476 4. Edward Scott 3 1999-02 84 5.17 434 5. Bobby Conrad 41076-80 116 3.47 402 6. Marc Campbell 4 1980-84 106 3.43 364 7.Chris Whitney 2 1991-93 58 6.10 354 8. Vincent Hamilton 5 1980-85116 2.91 337 9. Marion Cash 2 1988-90 64 6.23 335

Tigers in the NBA in 2002-03 Clemson had five former players on NBA rosters in 2002-03, one of the top 20 figures in college basketball. Four of the five played on teams that participated in the NBA Playoffs.

Dale Davis (Portland Trailblazers) ranked fourth in the NBA in offensive rebounds and was 14th in overall in rebounding in 2001-02. The only Tiger basketball player in the Clemson Ring of Honor shot 70.8 percent from the foul line, a career best, and he went over 7000 points, 7000 rebounds and 1000 career blocked shots in 2001-02. He had 23 double-doubles in 2001-02, 28th best total in the NBA.

Horace Grant (Orlando Magic) finished his 14th NBA regular season in 2001-02. He has now played 1105 games, 1026 as a starter. He now has 12,747 career points and 9,202 career rebounds, more than any other former Clemson player in the NBA. He started 76 of the 82 games for Orlando last year and shot 51.3 percent from the field, the 12th time in his career he has shot at least 50 percent from the field. He is a .511 career field goal percentage shooter and owns four NBA World Championship Rings.

Elden Campbell (New Orleans Hornets) ranked 19th in the NBA in blocked shots in 2001-02. His 13.9 scoring average was his best since the 1996-97 season and his .484 field goal percentage was his best since shooting a career best .503 in 1995-96. He enters 2002-03 just 19 points short of 10,000 for his career. He shot .797 from the foul line, also a career best, and scored at least 20 points in 16 games and had 15 double-doubles.

Greg Buckner (Philadelphia Eagles) had an injury-plagued season and played just 44 games, including just one game in December and just two in February. He was in the starting lineup 16 times, however. The four-year Clemson starter shot a career-best .525 from the field and also hit nearly 70 percent from the foul line. He is now shooting 48 percent from the field and 70.3 percent from the foul line for his career.

Chris Whitney (Denver Nuggets) had his finest year as a professional, scoring a career best 10.2 points per game for the Washington Wizards. The former Clemson junior college transfer also shot 88 percent from the foul line, seventh best in the NBA. He was fourth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (3.69) and was 20th in total three-point goals made with 133. He is now a .878 career free throw shooter and needs just six three-point goals next year to reach 500 for his career.