Game Notes: Clemson vs. South Carolina

Dec. 7, 2001

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Game 9: Clemson vs. South Carolina Saturday, Dec. 8, 2001 8:00 PM (EST) Littlejohn Coliseum (10,020) Clemson, SC

TV: Fox Sports Net SouthPlay By Play: Mike Hogewood * Color Analyst: Dan Bonner

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

Clemson vs. South Carolina Series South Carolina holds an 83-68 lead in the series with Clemson, but the Tigers have won six of the last seven, and 26 of the last 37. Clemson has been especially successful in Littlejohn Coliseum, winning 17 of the 22 games played, including 17 of the last 18. South Carolina’s only win over Clemson in Littlejohn Coliseum since 1973 came in 1993-94, a 91-88 Gamecock victory. It came in Eddie Fogler’s first year. That game featured a 14-27 three-point shooting game for South Carolina, then a school record for three-point goals made against Clemson and one of the top 10 totals against Clemson in history.

Clemson and South Carolina have met at least once a year since the 1977-78 season. South Carolina and Clemson were both in the ACC between 1953-54 and 1971-72. South Carolina won the last 11 meetings when the two teams were in the ACC. Clemson has won 26 of 37 since the Gamecocks left the conference.

Clemson had its six-game winning streak in the series snapped last year in Columbia when the Gamecocks were victorious, 76-64. The six-game streak that ended last year was the longest Clemson streak in the series since the 1978-82 era when Clemson, under Bill Foster, won eight in a row. That is Clemson’s longest winning streak in history over the Gamecocks. Clemson has won some close games against the Gamecocks in recent years, including five of the last six that have been decided by five points or less, all within the last nine years. That includes the last time the game was played at Clemson in 1999-00.

Last Meeting at Clemson… Clemson 61, South Carolina 58 Dec. 16, 1999 Will Solomon scored 26 points and pulled in a career-high 11 rebounds, leading Clemson to a 61-58 win over South Carolina at Littlejohn Coliseum in the 1999-00 season. Solomon scored 17 points in the second half, including four three-point goals. He missed his first five three-point attempts, then made his last four. He received support from Adam Allenspach, who had 13 points and nine rebounds, including five off the offensive boards.

Andrius Jurkunas played 17 minutes in the second half with a broken thumb. He scored just two points, but had seven rebounds and four assists. His lone two points came on a tip-in to give Clemson a 57-49 lead with 1:21 left.

Ray Henderson also provided a boost off the bench with four points, four rebounds and four blocked shots in just 12 minutes. Edward Scott made two free throws with 20 seconds left to give Clemson a three-point lead. Of course, both Scott and Henderson are now junior leaders of the Clemson team.

Clemson trailed 27-26 at intermission, but took an eight-point lead at 51-43 with 4:45 left. Clemson still had an eight-point margin with 1:21 left, but the Tigers had trouble controlling the ball. South Carolina got the count to 57-56 with 54 seconds left. But, at the 45-second mark Damien Kinloch called timeout when he was trapped against the sidelines, a timeout South Carolina did not have. A technical was called and Clemson got the ball and two free throws. South Carolina still was within 59-58 on a bank shot by Aaron Lucas, but Scott made two critical free throws and the Gamecocks missed two three-point attempts in the closing seconds.

Clemson won the game despite shooting just 14-30 from the foul line and committing 25 turnovers. Clemson did win the rebound margin 45-32, including a 17-5 margin over the last 10 minutes. South Carolina shot just 37 percent from the field, 23 percent from three-point land.

Defense Key for Clemson vs. South Carolina Defense was the key to Clemson’s six-game winning streak over the Gamecocks from 1994-95 through 1999-00. In that six-game winning streak, Clemson held South Carolina to 37.6 percent from the field, including 24.2 percent from three-point range. South Carolina averaged just 56.5 points per game in those six games and scored more than 59 points just once.

Clemson had an average margin of victory of 11.2 points (67.7 to 56.5) and won the rebounding by +8.2 per game (a +49 total rebound margin for the six games combined). Clemson out-rebounded South Carolina in five of the last six games. South Carolina had a 54/86 assist to turnover ratio against Clemson in those six games.

A Year Ago… South Carolina scored 76 points last year against the Tigers to break Clemson’s six-game winning streak in a 76-64 Gamecock victory. The Gamecocks still had trouble from the outside, hitting just 5-20 on three-point shots, but scored 49 points in the second half to claim the victory. Tony Kitchings was strong on the inside with 23 points on 9-10 field goal shooting in just 21 minutes.

South Carolina also had a fine game from Aaron Lucas, who had 17 points and six assists, while Marius Petravicius had 11 points and five rebounds. Jamel Bradley scored just nine, but had six assists and eight rebounds.

The Gamecocks shot 42 percent overall, but took 47 free throws, compared to just 10 for Clemson. It was the greatest free throw margin differential in a Clemson game since January of 1995 when North Carolina had a 51-10 advantage in free throw attempts. South Carolina was 29-47 from the line in the game, while Clemson was 9-10. Clemson was charged with 33 fouls, while South Carolina committed 19. Adam Allenspach led the Tigers in scoring, rebounding and assists, a rarity for a center. He had 15 points, 15 rebounds and four assists for the Tigers, who shot just 24-70 from the field, 7-29 on three-point shots. Will Solomon was just 4-16 from the field and scored 13 points. Tony Stockman added 12. Chris Hobbs had 10 points and seven assists for the Tigers.

Clemson vs. the SEC Clemson has had some success against SEC teams the last few years. The Tigers have an 8-3 mark against the league since the 1994-95 season. That was the first year Larry Shyatt came to Clemson, he was an assistant under Rick Barnes at that time. Shyatt is 3-1 against the SEC as a head coach, two wins over South Carolina and an NIT victory over Georgia in 1998-99.

Clemson’s success against the SEC includes a victory over Kentucky in the BCA Classic in Indianapolis, IN in 1996-97. That was the season opener that year and Kentucky was the defending national champion and ranked third in the nation.

Clemson has not had great success vs. the SEC over the years. Clemson is 132-202 against the league lifetime. Clemson has a winning record against just one of the league teams (given a minimum of five games). The Tigers are 10-9 against Florida.

Clemson has won four in a row over SEC teams at Littlejohn Coliseum. South Carolina is the last SEC team to win at Clemson. That came in 1993-94 when the Gamecocks defeated the Tigers 91-88.

Clemson vs. Dave Odom Dave Odom will make his first appearance in Littlejohn Coliseum as the head coach at South Carolina, but it won’t be his first time bringing a team to Clemson. In fact, he has brought a team to Clemson each of the last 12 years.

Odom was the head coach at Wake Forest from the 1989-90 season through the 2000-01 campaign. He had success at Clemson, posting a 7-5 mark in Littlejohn Coliseum, including victories each of his last three tries. Overall, he is 19-8 against the Tigers, 11-1 in games played in Winston-Salem, 7-5 at Clemson and 1-2 at neutral site games. Clemson won two out of three in the ACC Tournament.

Odom had some memorable games against Clemson. The most memorable took place during the 1996-97 season when he brought a third ranked Wake Forest team led by Tim Duncan, to Clemson to face a second-ranked Clemson team, coached by Rick Barnes. Larry Shyatt was Barnes associate head coach that year.

Clemson students camped out in 141 tents around Littlejohn Coliseum the Sunday night prior to the Wednesday game. Nine satellite trucks covered the contest that featured the largest media turnout in Clemson history. Wake Forest came away with the 65-62 in a game that came down to the last possession.

Odom has had an ability to win the close games from the Tigers in recent years. From 1995-96 through the 2000-01 season, Clemson and Wake Forest played seven games decided by eight points or less. Odom’s team won all seven.

Tigers Beat App State by 10 Chris Hobbs scored 20 points to lead Clemson to a 76-66 win over Appalachian State Wednesday night 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 on Sunday.

Clemson built a nine-point lead just before an eight-point run by the Mountaineers made it a one-point game at intermission. Appalachian State opened the second half by scoring the first seven points. In all it was a 15-0 run that gave the Mountaineers a six-point lead two minutes into the second half. But the Tigers responded with an 18-4 run to retake control by eight.

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. In their last five games, the Tigers have made just 15-74 of their three-point tries.

In the first half, Clemson shot 41 percent, while Appalachian State shot just 38 percent. The Tigers again won the battle of the boards, 46-32, the sixth time this season the Tigers have had a double-digit advantage.

Bruise Brothers Leading Inside Game Clemson frontcourt players Ray Henderson and 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 tied for second with Edward Scott with a 10.9 average. They are the top two rebounders on the Tiger team, as Henderson has a 8.8 rebounding average and Hobbs is at 6.4 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 25.5 points and 15.2 rebounds per game in 47 minutes per game.

Henderson and Hobbs, both from the state of North Carolina, are the major reason Clemson is out-rebounding the opposition by +11.6 rebounds per game. The pace continued in the recent win over Appalachian State, as the Tigers won the rebound war 46-32. 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 his postgame reviews. 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.

Clemson Outscored 114-27 on Three-Point Shooting in Last Four Wins In Clemson’s last four wins – against Wofford, Penn State, Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State – the Tigers have been outscored 114-27 on three-point baskets.

The Tigers made just three of 20 attempts from beyond the three-point arc on Wednesday against App State. That was after making six threes at Duke last Sunday, the most since the Tigers connected to make eight in the second game of the year. Clemson made 17 threes (on 38 tries for 44.7 percent) in the first two games of the year, but has since only made 20 (in six games).

With the exception of the Duke game, Clemson has made no more than three three-pointers in its last five games. The team is shooting just 28.0 percent from long range this season.

Clemson made just six three pointers against Wofford, Penn State and Coastal Carolina, but have 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.

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, who was seeing his first action since knee surgery on Nov. 23.

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. Now, Clemson has won three in a row when failing to shoot 20 percent on three-point shooting. 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 180 of their 340 two-point attempts for their first eight games of the year. That is 52.9 percent.

Ray Henderson are definitely responsible since Clemson has gone cold from outside. Hobbs is shooting 61.2 percent from the floor this season, while Henderson is making 61.4 of this attempts. Clemson has never had two players shoot at least 60 percent from the field on the same team for an entire season.

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 Friday evening, Christie tallied nine points with three assists and three steals.

Clemson Cruises Past Coastal Carolina Ray Henderson tallied 10 as Clemson claimed an 83-54 victory against Coastal Carolina Friday at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Tigers improved to 5-1 on the year as 13 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. Through the first six games this season, Clemson has made more free throws (109) than its opponents have taken (106). The Tigers have never finished a season with more makes from the charity stripe than their opponents have had attempts.

Clemson out-rebounded Coastal Carolina 40-32, but the Chants had the game’s top rebounderas Anthony Susnjara grabbed eight. In all six games this season, the Tigers have equaled or bettered their opponents rebound total and are averaging 11.0 more rebounds per game than their opponents. Henderson was Clemson’s top rebounder with seven, but at least five Tigers had five boards.

After trailing at the half in the its last three games, including the last two by double-digit totals, Clemson sprinted to a 44-17 halftime lead on 53.3 percent field goal shooting while holding the Chants to just 26.7 percent from the floor.

After the Tigers increased their lead to 30 with 17:16 left to play, the Chanticleers put together a 10-0 run. But Coastal Carolina could get no closer than 20 points the rest of the way.

Coastal Carolina, which fell to 1-3 on the year, 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 Wednesday 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 Saturday, the comeback from the 10-point halftime deficit to Penn State on Wednesday 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.

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. Clemson has three players averaging in double figures with a fourth and fifth player scoring 9.8 and 9.3 points per game. No team in Clemson history has had five players average in double figures during the course of the season. In fact, the last Clemson team to have four players score in double figures for the course of the season was the 1971-72 team. That year David Angel led the way with a 13.9 average. Denny Odle averaged 13.2, followed by Mike Browning’s 11.9 average. Terrell Suit, a fourth starter, averaged 11.2.

Clemson Wins Rebound Margin by 24 Clemson won the battle of the boards against Penn State, 46-22. The Tigers were +12 in rebound margin in each half. That was the best rebound margin for a Clemson team in the Larry Shyatt era and the best since Clemson beat Wofford by 46-20 mark on Dec. 20, 1996. It was a balanced effort for the Tiger carom collectors as Chris Hobbs led the way with 10, followed by Tomas Nagys, who had nine. Nagys recorded that total in just 18 minutes. Point guard Edward Scott added seven. All eight Clemson players had at least two rebounds in the 13-point win.

The +24 rebound margin was the second best margin in Clemson history on an opponent’s home court. The only margin that is greater took place at Furman in 1975-76, Tree Rollins’s junior year. Clemson had a 62-34 advantage in that game.

Clemson now has a +11.6 rebound margin for the season and has had at least a double-digit margin in five of the eight games this season. Clemson has not been out-rebounded all year. LaSalle and the Tigers tied at 33 rebounds apiece in Clemson’s victory in the Virgin Islands. Clemson has been especially efficient in terms of offensive rebounds. Clemson has 53 more offensive rebounds than its opponents.

Ray Henderson has 70 rebounds, an average of 8.8 per game, to lead the way for the Tigers. He has 20 offensive rebounds. Chris Hobbs is second on the team with 51 or 6.4 per game. His 26 offensive rebounds is best on the team.

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 seven games he has 53 assists and just 25 turnovers.

That is a 2.12 assist/turnover ratio. Scott is second in the ACC in assists with 6.63 per game. Only Steve Blake from Maryland is averaging more assists per game (6.86 through seven 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 five of his last six 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 6.63 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 6.63 assists per game, he is also scoring 10.9 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.

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

Tigers Rally to Beat Wofford Ray Henderson scored 23 points and 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 added13 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.

There were just two ties the rest of the way as Clemson clawed its way to an eight-point advantage (79-71) with 1:39 to play. The Terriers pulled within two points with just under one minute in the game thanks to two three pointers and a layup by Mike Lenzly. After a pair of free throws by Scott, Nixon hit another three to pull within one point with 11 seconds to go. Christie converted two free throws and a Lenzly three-pointer fell short at the buzzer that would have tied 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 Chey Christie scored 24 points, while 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.

Clemson Tigers Sports Properties AffiliatesStation Location On the Dial WAJY Aiken 102.7 FM WBAW Barnwell 99.1 FM WCAM Camden 1590 AM WPUB Camden 102.7 FM WSC Charleston 730 AM WCCP Clemson 104.9 FM WZMJ Columbia 93.1 FM WJMX Florence 970 AM WAGI Gaffney 105.3 FM WGTN Georgetown 1400 AM WCRS Greenwood 94.1 FM WBHC Hampton 92.1 FM WWKT Kingstree 99.3 FM WLSC Loris/Myrtle Beach 1240 AM WRNN Myrtle Beach 99.5 FM WIGL Orangeburg 102.9 FM WRHI Rock Hill 1340 AM WIBZ Sumter 95.5 FM WGOG Walhalla 96.3 FM WLXN Lexington, NC 1440 AM