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Men’s Basketball Notes Vs. Florida State

Men’s Basketball Notes Vs. Florida State

Jan. 12, 2004

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Clemson vs. Florida State Series

This is the 41st meeting between Clemson and Florida State inmen’s basketball. The Seminoles hold a 23-17 lead. The two teamshave met three times each of the last three years and four of thelast five. Each of the previous five meetings between Clemson andFlorida State in the ACC Tournament, the team that won the mostrecent regular season game, lost the ACC Tournament game. Ithappened last year when Clemson won the last regular season game,then lost the ACC Tournament game. Florida State won in Tallahasseelast year in the first meeting of the season by a 60-59 score.Anthony Richardson scored two free throws 0.4 seconds left todefeat the Tigers. Clemson won the meeting at Clemson by 14 pointsbehind 29 points by Edward Scott. Seven of the last 12 meetingshave been decided by five points or less or in overtime. Three ofthose close games took place in the ACC Tournament. Clemson has a3-12 all-time record in Tallahassee, including 2-10 in the LeonCountry Civic Center. The wins came in 1961-62 (82-77), 1996-97(76-70) and 1997-98 (78-49). Florida State has beaten Clemson bysix points or less seven of the last nine games at the Leon CountyColiseum. In fact, seven of the 10 Clemson losses in Tallahasseehave been by six points or less and Florida State’s largest marginof victory over Clemson in the Leon Country Civic Center is 12points, (102-90) in 1991-92, Clemson’s first appearance in thebuilding. Leon County Civic Center was a house of horrors for LarryShyatt, who lost five games by 19 total points in Tallahassee inhis five trips to Tallahassee. All five losses were by six pointsor less, including the one-point loss last year. *Clemson’s 78-45win over Florida State at Littlejohn Coliseum in 1998-99 is thesecond largest margin of victory in Clemson history in an ACC game.Over the last 19 meetings, Florida State has won 10 times andClemson has won nine times. Florida State’s average margin ofvictory over that time is 5.3 points per game (53 points in 10wins) and Clemson’s is 16.4 points per game (148-point margin overnine wins.). Florida State has eight wins over Clemson by sevenpoints or less during that time, and Clemson has just two wins bysix points or less over Florida State during that time. Clemson andFSU first met in the 1952 Gator Bowl Tournament in Jacksonville,FL. The Tigers won 62-56 and in fact won the first three games ofthe series, one in Jacksonville, one in Charlotte and one inClemson. Since Florida State joined the ACC in 1991-92, theSeminoles have won 19 of the 29 meetings. Clemson’s top victory inthat time came in the 1993 ACC Tournament in Charlotte. Clemsondefeated a 10th-ranked Florida State team, 87-75. That victory, ledby Clemson future NBA players Sharone Wright, Chris Whitney andDevin Gray, broke a 27-game Clemson losing streak in the Tournamentas a lower seeded team. All three scored at least 20 points.Clemson is 2-3 against Florida State in the ACC Tournament. Each ofClemson’s two wins over Florida State in the ACC Tournament came inseasons the Tigers lost both regular season games to the Seminoles.

Kennedy and Maravich Coached at Midcourt One of the more unique games of the series took place before Florida State was in the ACC. On January 8, 1962, Clemson defeated FSU 75-69. In that game, both coaches, Bud Kennedy of Florida State, and Press Maravich of Clemson, sat side-by-side at mid-court while the game was in progress.

Both coaches, who were good friends, had dinner together the night before the game at Sports Information Director Bob Bradley’s home in Clemson and decided to watch the game together. During timeouts they huddled with their team, then returned to their chairs at mid-court. Clemson defeated a 15-8 Florida State team twice that season.

Clemson vs. Florida State in 2003-04Florida State Downs Clemson 60-59 Anthony Richardson converted two free throws with 0.4 seconds left to give Florida State a 60-59 victory over Clemson on Jan. 21. It was a difficult loss for the Tigers who trailed for only 1:08 of the 40 minutes.

Edward Scott had nine points and six assists in playing all 40 minutes for the eighth time this year.

Tim Pickett, who had made just 29 of his last 87 shots from the field, made 7-11 in this game and scored a game high 21 points for Florida State. Richardson, a high school teammate of Clemson’s Robinson, added 12 points. Trevor Harvey had 11 points in 24 minutes.

Clemson shot 46 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle 30-29, but the Tigers made just 9-17 free throws, including just 4-9 in the second half. The Tigers also had a season high 19 turnovers. Florida State won the points in the paint battle, 28-22, the first time all year Clemson had been outscored in terms of points in the paint.

The two teams battled to a 10-10 tie for the first seven minutes of the game. Clemson then went on a 6-0 run to take a 16-10 lead on two free throws by Chris Hobbs. Robinson entered the game with eight minutes left in the first half and made an immediate impact. He scored 11 points in the next five minutes and almost personally gave Clemson a 12-point lead at 35-23.

But, Florida State went on a 10-1 run the rest of the half and cut Clemson’s margin to 36-33 at intermission. Clemson shot 54.2 percent in the first half against a Florida State defense that had allowed just 37.6 percent shooting heading into the game.

Florida State then scored four straight to open the second half and took its first lead of the game at 37-36 with 18:55 left. The two teams struggled on offense for much of the second half. Clemson took a 44-39 lead with 14:29 left on a layup by Edward Scott. But, Clemson did not score a field goal for the next five minutes. The margin never got higher than four points for either team over the last 14 minutes of the game.

The last 30 seconds of the game were frantic. With 15 seconds left Harvey hit a jumper to give the Seminoles a 58-57 lead. Clemson then came back and scored on a jumper by Chris Hobbs with seven seconds left. Florida State called timeout.

The Seminoles then in-bounded the ball. Todd Galloway missed an off-balanced shot from the right side, but in the rebound action, Sharrod Ford was called for a foul. After looking at the monitor, the officials ruled the foul had taken place with 0.4 seconds left. Clemson coaches felt the foul had occurred after the buzzer had sounded. Richardson made the two free throws to take a 60-59 lead. Clemson’s long distance pass was intercepted and the game ended.

Clemson 74, Florida State 60Feb. 22, 2003 at Clemson, SC Edward Scott scored 29 points, while perimeter players Larry Shyatt cleared his bench.

It was a resume tape game for Scott who scored his 29 points on 9-16 shooting from the field. He was 2-3 on three-point shots and 9-11 from the foul line. He had six assists and just one turnover in his38 minutes of play. Defensively, he helped hold Florida State scoring leader Tim Pickett to just seven points on 1-5 shooting. It was the season low in terms of points for Pickett, who entered the game averaging 17 points per game.

Clemson’s perimeter game was outstanding as the three perimeter players scored 56 of Clemson’s 74 points. In fact, only six different players scored for the Tigers. Babalola’s total was a career high at the time, while Christie 12 points were right at his average. Christie hit 5-9 shots from the field. Shawan Robinson scored eight points apiece to key the reserves.

Clemson shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range and 74 percent from the foul line. Clemson’s 44 points in the first half were the most for a first half by the Tigers this year. The Tigers committed just nine turnovers on offense, the second straight game under 10 for the Clemson offense.

Clemson made six of its first nine shots from the field and took a 21-13 lead at the 12-minute mark of the first half. The Seminoles cut he margin back to 21-17, but the Tigers went on a 15-5 run to take a 36-22 lead with four minutes left in the first half. Clemson held a 15-point lead at intermission. Florida State shot 62.5 percent from the field (10-16), but trailed by 15 points at halftime. Rebounding had a lot to do with it as Clemson won the boards 12-7 in the first half. Edward Scott, Olu Babalola combined for 38 of Clemson’s 44 points in the first half.

Florida State rallied after halftime and cut the lead to 44-34 in the first two minutes, then cut the margin to eight at 50-42 with nine minutes gone. Clemson made just 3-11 shots from the field to open the half. But, a three-point goal by Robinson gave Clemson a 55-44 lead with 8:22 left. With 7:31 left, Scott drove for the hoop, scored and was fouled by Pickett, his fifth foul of the game.

His expulsion cut down on the Seminoles offensive options. The Tigers went on a 13-1 run to put the game out of reach. Clemson’s largest lead was 19 points at 73-54 with 2:41 left.

ACC Tournament meetingMarch 13, 2003 at Greensboro Coliseum Florida State 72, Clemson 61 Florida State outscored Clemson 44-25 in the second half and went on to a 72-61 victory in the 8 vs. 9 game of the 2003 ACC Tournament. The loss ended Clemson’s season at 15-13 and proved to be the final game in Larry Shyatt Clemson coaching career.

The Tigers took a 36-28 lead at intermission as Clemson made 14-31 shots from the field, including 6-12 on three-point attempts. Clemson held Florida State to 2-11 three-point shooting in the opening half.

But, Florida State’s Tim Pickett and Nate Johnson went on a scoring binge in the second half leading to the FSU victory. The Seminoles shot 62.5 percent in the second half, hitting on 15-24 shots from the field, while Clemson made just 8-27 from the field.

Edward Scott added a double-double in his final game as a Tiger, scoring 11 points and adding 10 assists. But the senior made just 3-18 shots from the field, including 0-6 on three-point attempts. Tim Pickett led Florida State with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Johnson scored 18, giving FSU 40 points from its starting backcourt.

Last Outing Wake Forest 78, Clemson 63January 10, 2004 At Winston-Salem, NC Wake Forest went on an 18-9 run over the last 5:46 of the game and defeated Clemson 78-63 on January 10 at Winston-Salem. It was Wake Forest’s 11th straight win of the season regardless of site and the Demon Deacons 24th straight home victory over two years. It was the 14th straight year that Wake Forest had beaten Clemson in Winston-Salem.

Clemson was led by Chey Christie. Hamilton led Clemson in scoring, rebounding and assists, the second time in the last three games he had recorded a “Triple Leadership”. Hamilton had 17 points, his second highest total of the year, six rebounds, all defensive, and five assists. Christie added 16 points on 5-10 shooting, including 2-3 on three-point shots.

Sharrod Ford was Clemson’s third double figure scorer with 10, but Clemson’s second leading scorer got just three field goal attempts. Chris Hobbs added eight points before he fouled out with seven minutes left.

Like Clemson, Wake Forest was led in scoring by a first-year freshman as Chris Paul scored 21 points on 8-14 shooting. Eric Williams, Wake Forest’s strong post player, had 17 points and six rebounds, including five offensive. Jamaal Levy added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Clemson defended Wake Forest’s perimeter, holding Wake Forest to 2-13 three-point shooting in their own arena. It was the fewest made three point goals and the worst three-point percentage by Wake Forest this year. Clemson made 46 percent of its field goal attempts this year, the third best shooting percentage against Wake Forest this year.

Clemson got off to a good start and held a 17-16 lead at the 7:46 mark of the first half on a jumper by Shawan Robinson. But Wake Forest went on a 16-2 run and took a 32-19 lead with 3:29 left in the first half on a jumper by reserve Todd Hendley. Clemson cut the margin back to nine at intermission. Turnovers were Clemson’s downfall in the first half as the Tigers had a 1/14 assist/turnover ratio in the first half. Williams had 12 points and Paul 10 in the first half to pace Wake Forest. Neither team made a three-point goal in the first half.

Clemson made its first four shots of the second half and immediately cut the margin to four at 35-31 with 18:11 left. The margin was between 3 and 6 points for the next 10 minutes. It was 54-48 with 8:37 left on a free throw by Eric Williams. It was still a six-point game at 60-54 with 5:46 left after a three-pointer by Hamilton.

Clemson shot just 2-6 from the field inside the last five minutes of the game, while Wake Forest was hitting 7-10 from the field in that same time frame. Wake Forest’s largest lead was the final score. The Demon Deacons scored 34 of their 46 second-half points in the paint.

Christie coming on Strong Clemson junior guard Chey Christie is the team’s leading scorer this year with a 12.2 average. He has shown considerable improvement in all three shooting areas so far this year, especially in field goal percentage and three-point shooting. The native of Hartford, CT is now shooting .472 from the field, up from .401 from the field in 2002-03. His three-point shooting is at .400 for the year, up from .287 last year as a sophomore. He shot .692 from the line last year and is at 72 percent this season.

Christie made 5-10 from the field, 2-3 on three-point shots and 4-4 from the foul line at fourth-ranked Wake Forest on January 10. Christie has now made at least 50 percent of his field goal attempts in five of his last six games and has made 26 of his last 50 shots (.520). As far as three-point attempts, Christie is 8 for his last 15 and from the foul line he has made 16 of his last 18. Christie has scored in double figures in each of his last four games and has averaged 16.5 points per game during that time.

Clemson Defense Improved over 2003-04 Clemson has shown improvement in terms of field goal percentage this year under Oliver Purnell. Clemson opponents are shooting just .412 from the field against the Tigers this year, compared to a .433 figure for last season. That is also the case in three-point shooting as Clemson has held opponents to .313 three-point shooting this year, compared with a .344 figure last year.

In two ACC games against top five teams, Clemson has held Duke and Wake Forest to 9-35 three-point shooting, a .257 figure. Last year Clemson allowed ACC opponents to shoot .365 from three-point range. Clemson held Wake Forest to 2-13 three-point shooting on January 10, the fewest three-point goals and lowest percentage by Wake Forest this year.

A more of an intimidating presence on the inside has had something to do with the improved defense. Clemson has 65 blocked shots in 13 games this year. The Tigers had just 74 in 28 games all of last season. Sharrod Ford is a big reason for that with 35 blocks in 13 games. He had just 19 all of last year.

No team has shot at least 50 percent against Clemson this year and only three teams, Cincinnati, Wake Forest and Duke (all ranked in the top 10) have bettered the 46 percent mark. One of Clemson’s best defensive performances was against Boston College, a team ranked in the top 20 of the RPI this week. Clemson held the Eagles to 33 percent field goal shooting for the game.

Tigers Schedule Among Nation’s Best Clemson has played its toughest non-conference schedule in history during the 2003-04 season. With five ACC teams in the top 20, four in the top 15 for much of the season, it will be Clemson’s toughest all-around schedule ever.

So far this year the Tigers are 7-6 and the six losses have come to teams that are a combined 67-12 (.848) through games of January 11. Clemson has lost to Wake Forest (11-0), Cincinnati (11-0), Duke (12-1), South Carolina (14-2), Purdue (11-4), and Georgia (8-5). Among Clemson’s victories is a win over Boston College, who is 11-3 and ranked 11th in the nation in the latest RPI rankings.

In terms of the national rankings by AP and USA Today/Coach’s polls, Clemson has already played four games against top 20 teams in Cincinnati, Purdue, Duke and Wake Forest. Clemson could play as many as 12 games against ranked teams this year during the regular season if the current rankings hold. The Clemson record for ranked (top 25 in AP or USA Today) teams played in a season is 13, set by the 2000-01 Clemson team. Only five teams in Clemson history have played as many as 10 top 25 teams in one season.

A look to the January 12 RPI rankings shows that Clemson will play 18 games this year against teams currently ranked in the RPI top 50. The top 50 teams Clemson will play include two games apiece with #4 North Carolina, #9 Duke, #12 Wake Forest, #22 Georgia Tech, #32 NC State, #36 Virginia, #38 Maryland and #50 Florida State. Clemson has also played #11 Boston College and #21 Cincinnati outside the league. It is interesting to note that Clemson’s RPI of #56 is currently better than #73 Purdue, who defeated the Tigers early in the season.

Clemson’s schedule is ranked 17th toughest in the nation by RPI this week.

Clemson in Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson will return to Littlejohn Coliseum for its Tuesday evening contest with Florida State. The Tigers are 7-2 so far at home this season, losing only to second-ranked Duke and a 14-2 South Carolina team.

Clemson is 374-145 all-time at Littlejohn Coliseum, a .721 winning percentage. The Tigers are 243-29 in non-conference games at home and 130-116 in home ACC games. Clemson has beaten Florida State in Littlejohn Coliseum each of the last two years and five of the last six years. Clemson has had a losing record at home just twice in 35 previous seasons in the facility.

So far this year Clemson has averaged 77.3 points per game and shot 49.4 percent from the field at Littlejohn. The Tigers have a +8.5 rebound margin at home. Five Tigers are averaging in double figures in home games this year, led by a 12.9 figure by Sharrod Ford. Ford is shooting 61.1 percent from the field at home this year. Akin Akingbala leads the way in field goal percentage at home with a 65 percent mark.

Tigers Look For Rare Double over Seminoles If Clemson defeats Florida State on Tuesday it would mark the first time Clemson has beaten the Seminoles in football and men’s basketball in the same academic year since the 1976-77 academic year. That year Clemson won at Tallahassee on the gridiron by a 15-12 score and won a non-conference men’s basketball game at Littlejohn Coliseum by a 108-92 score later that academic year.

Earlier this year Clemson defeated Florida State in football, 26-10. The Seminoles were ranked third in the nation entering the game at Clemson and the victory was the highest ranked team Clemson has ever beaten in football.

Purnell Familiar with Waleskowski Family Clemson coach Oliver Purnell has not coached against Florida State in his coaching career, but he probably has a good scouting report on one of the Florida State players. Seminoles forward Adam Waleskowski is the brother of current Dayton forward Keith Waleskowski, who was recruited by and played for Purnell at the Ohio based school.

Keith Waleskowski is a senior on Dayton’s team this year and played three years for Purnell at Dayton. Adam is a junior on Florida State’s team this season. Both of the Waleskowski’s are from Kettering, OH, the same town that produced the Paxson brothers, Jim and John, who are both currently in NBA administration.

Robinson, Richardson former High School Teammates Shawan Robinson, Clemson reserve guard, and Florida State starting forward Anthony Richardson were teammates at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh three years ago. Robinson is a sophomore at Clemson and Richardson a junior at Florida State. They were teammates at Leesville Road during the 2000-01 and 1999-00 academic years.

We are not sure if that individual rivalry is a motivation or not, but Robinson played his best basketball against Florida State during his freshman year. In three games against the Seminoles last year Robinson made 12-18 shots from the field, including 5-6 three-point shots. He had 34 points in just 46 minutes in the three games, an average of 11.3 per game. That includes a 14-point effort in just 20 minutes against the Seminoles in the ACC Tournament. He had 11 points in just 14 minutes in the game in Tallahassee.

Hamilton Achieves Triple Leadership…again Vernon Hamilton led Clemson in scoring and assists and tied for the team lead in rebounding against Wake Forest on January 10, his first ACC road game as Tiger. That was quite a performance, especially considering he was going head-to-head against Wake Forest freshman guard Chris Paul, one of the top freshmen in the country so far this year. Hamilton had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists to pace the Tigers in all three areas. He also led the team in steals with two.

That was the second time in the last three games that Hamilton had led the Tigers in all three of those areas. In the win over Boston College, Hamilton tied for the team lead in scoring with 13 points, and led the way in rebounding (11) and assists (9). He was obviously just one assist shy of a triple double.

Leading the Tigers in all three of those areas is something we call a “Triple Leadership”. While Hamilton has done this twice in his first 13 games as a college player, it is an unusual accomplishment. It had been done just 13 times in the previous 33 years by a Clemson men’s player, or since assists were kept on a game-by-game basis.

Last year Edward Scott accomplished a “Triple Leadership” three times, the first time a Clemson player had done that three times in the same year. He did it both games against NC State and in the win at Virginia. Terrell McIntyre did it twice, two years apart, in1997 and 1999. As you can see by the list below, another guard named Hamilton pulled it off, as Vincent Hamilton did it against South Alabama in 1984-85, his senior year.

Hamilton has been amazing so far this year in terms of rebounding. The 6-0 guard from Richmond has led or tied for the team lead in rebounding in each of the last three games and four of the last six games. For the year, Hamilton has led Clemson in scoring twice, in rebounding four times, in assists in six times and in steals seven times. He leads Clemson in assists and steals and his 4.5 rebound average is fourth best on the team.

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