Friday 01/14/2000
Jan. 14, 2000
Clemson vs. Virginia Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday, January 15, 2000 (12:00 PM) Television: Fox Sports Net (Mike Goldberg, Dan Bonner) Clemson Tickets: 1-800-CLEMSON Student Gate: $5 ticket available for students high school age and under
Quick Facts Clemson will play five of its next seven games in Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson will never play consecutive ACC road games this year.
No opposing center has recorded a double-double against Clemson this year. Virginia center Travis Watson averages 10 pts and 12 rebs. vs. ACC so far this year.
Saturday’s game will be a matchup of the second highest scoring offense and the second best team in the league in field goal percentage, Virginia, against a Clemson defense that ranks first in the league in field goal percentage and allows just 64.5 points a game.
Will Solomon continues to lead the ACC in scoring with a 20.9 average. He has made at least one three-point goal in 19 straight games.
Andrius Jurkunas is finally playing without a bandage on his broken right thumb. He had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists at Florida State, his highest scoring game since he broke the thumb on Nov. 27.
Clemson has out-rebounded the opposition 13 of the 15 games so far this season. The Tigers are first in the ACC in rebounding and FG% defense.
Series Record: Virginia leads 54-43 at Clemson: Clemson leads 28-17 at Virginia: Virginia leads 32-14 at Littlejohn: Clemson leads 17-14 Last Year: Clemson won at Clemson, 88-65… Virginia won at Virginia, 65-58
Probable Starting LineupsNo Clemson (6-9, 0-3) Pos No Virginia (10-5, 1-2) 1 Will Solomon 6-1 170 So. G 13 Donald Hand 5-11 178 Jr. (20.9 PPG., 3.7 RPG) (15.4 PPG., 5.0 APG)10 Edward Scott 6-0 175 Fr. G 24 Willie Dersch 6-6 210 Sr. (5.8 PPG., 2.8 RPG) (5.6 PPG., 2.1 RPG)55 Adam Allenspach 7-1 265 Jr. C 35 Travis Watson 6-7 245 Fr. (11.5 PPG., 8.0 RPG) (11.1 PPG., 9.5 RPG) 3 Andrius Jurkunas 6-9 235 Sr. F 33 Chris Williams 6-6 198 So. (6.7 PPG., 5.7 RPG) (15.1 PPG., 5.5 RPG)42 Chucky Gilmore 6-8 260 So. F 31 Adam Hall 6-5 198 So. (3.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG) (9.7 PPG., 4.3 RPG)
Head Coach: Larry Shyatt Head Coach: Pete Gillen (College of Wooster ’73) 24-21 at Virginia (2nd year) 26-24 at Clemson, 2nd year 298-149 overall (15th year) 45-33 overall, 3rd year 1-1 vs. Clemson 1-1 vs. Virginia
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Upcoming Clemson Schedule: Jan. 15 Virginia, 12:00 Noon (RSN) Jan. 19 Appalachian State, 7:00 PM (No TV) Jan. 22 at Maryland, 4:00 PM (RJ) Jan. 26 NC State, 9:00 PM (RJ) Jan. 29 at Duke, 4:00 PM (RJ) Feb. 2 Georgia Tech, 7:00 PM (No TV) Feb. 6 North Carolina, 1:30 PM (RJ) Feb. 8 at Wake Forest, 7:00 PM (RSN)
Clemson Had 39-game Non-Conference Home Streak Clemson saw its 39-game home winning streak against non-conference teams end on November 21 when Wofford defeated the Tigers, 79-74. Clemson was 9-0 in 1998-99 in non-conference home games in Littlejohn Coliseum and had a 39-game winning streak in non-ACC games in the Littlejohn dating to the 1993-94 season.
The Tigers are 76-5 in non-conference games in Littlejohn Coliseum in the 1990s with the only other losses prior to this year coming to South Carolina in 1993-94, and to UNC Charlotte and Temple during the 1990-91 season. Wofford, South Carolina State and George Washington have beaten Clemson at home this year. The 1998-99 Clemson seniors were 29-0 in non-conference games at home and 50-10 in non-conference games regardless of site.
Clemson is 64-18 in non-conference games the last five years, regardless of site. The Tigers are now 343-118 in Littlejohn Coliseum overall (ACC and non-conference), a .745 winning percentage. That includes a 225-23 mark in non-conference games, a .908 winning percentage over 32 years.
Clemson’s last non-conference game of the year will be January 19 when Appalachian State comes to Clemson.
Jurkunas Sets Three-point goal Record Clemson senior Andrius Jurkunas became Clemson’s career three-point goal leader among forwards when he made a pair of three-point goals against Wofford on November 21. He has 118 for his career, breaking the mark of 106 set by former teammate and roommate Tony Christie, who is now playing professionally in England.
Jurkunas had 51 three-point goals as a freshman and as a junior. Injury problems on 1996-97 gave him shooting problems all year and he made just 3-38 from long range.
Overall, Jurkunas is sixth in Clemson history in career three-point goals. If he makes 50 his senior year, he will rank third in Clemson history trailing only Terrell McIntyre and Chris Whitney, both point guards.
Clemson Career Three-Point Goal Leaders Rk Name Yrs GP Att Gls 1. Terrell McIntyre 4 126 696 259 2. Chris Whitney 2 58 404 167 3. David Young 3 91 402 138 4. Bruce Martin 4 88 336 129 5. Merl Code 4 97 371 125 6. Andrius Jurkunas 4 100 345 118 7. Andre Bovain 4 108 326 107
Jurkunas Over 100 Three-Point Goals Clemson forward Andrius Jurkunas has 118 career three-point goals. The native of Lithuania made 51 three-point goals in 1998-99, the exact same number he scored as a freshman in 1995-96. Jurkunas has now made 118 of 345 career three-point goals, a .342 accuracy mark.
Jurkunas stands 6-9 and is an unusual player in that he is capable of defending on the inside, but he is also a capable scorer on the outside. Jurkunas is one of just four players in ACC history standing 6-9 or taller to make over 100 three-point goals in a career. The others to do it are Tom Gugliotta of NC St, Michael Maddox of Georgia Tech, and Danny Ferry of Duke.
Jurkunas has 69 blocked shots to go with his 118 career three-point goals. He entered 1999-2000 as one of just 10 players in ACC history with at least 100 three-point goals and at least 50 blocked shots. No player in ACC history has had at least 100 three-point goals and 100 blocked shots. Jurkunas would need 44 blocked shots his senior year to do it (he has 13 so far) Maddox of Georgia Tech came the closest with 133 three-point goals and 93 blocked shots.
ACC Players with 100 Career 3s and 50 Blocked Shots Player School Hgt 3pt Shooting BS Andrius Jurkunas Clem 6-9 118-345 69 Laron Profit MD 6-5 105-326 76 Michael Maddox GT 6-9 133-353 93 Johnny Rhodes MD 6-4 186-557 62 Harold Deane VA 6-1 237-693 61 Danny Ferry Duke 6-10 108-278 71 Quinn Snyder Duke 6-2 108-303 59 Dennis Scott GT 6-8 351-831 51 Walt Williams MD 6-8 154-429 81 Tom Gugliotta NCS 6-9 183-448 62
Head Coach Larry Shyatt Clemson Head Coach Larry Shyatt had a 20-15 record in his first year as Clemson Head Coach. He guided Clemson to the Championship of the NIT, a 61-60 loss to California. The 20 victories were a record for a Clemson coach in his first year and he was just the fourth coach in ACC history to win at least 20 in his rookie year with an ACC program.
Shyatt was the head coach at Wyoming in 1997-98 and posted a 19-9 ledger and berth in the NIT. Thus, he had a 39-24 record as a head coach entering this year. This is his 25th year in college coaching, his third as a head coach. In 15 of his last 16 years the team he has coached (head or assistant) has gone to the NIT of the NCAA.
Shyatt has also had assistant coaching stints at Utah, Cleveland State, New Mexico and Providence in addition to his three years as associate head coach at Clemson under Rick Barnes. Shyatt enters this game with a record of 26-24 at Clemson and he is 45-33 overall.
Three Walk-ons Join Team Three walk-ons have joined the Clemson roster for this year. The four players joined the program in mid-October and are members of the roster. The group is led by Larry Shyatt. Jeremy will become just the second ACC player to play at an ACC school for his father. Chucky Driesell played for his father Lefty at Maryland from 1981-85.
Two other walk-ons are J.D. Powell and Michael Crocker. Powell is in his second year as a walk-on. The 6-2 guard from Westminster, SC, connected on a three-point goal in the closing moments of the Georgia Tech game last year in the final home contest of the season. Crocker is a 6-6 forward from Newberry, SC. Both his parents are Clemson graduates. He was more noted for his abilities in soccer in high school. He set the Newberry High scoring record in soccer with 70 career goals. Chris Jones, a guard, joined the team for the S.C. State game on December 11.
Free Throw Shooting Differential One of the reasons for Clemson’s 0-3 record in the ACC is a large differential in terms of free throw shooting. and, we mean attempts, not percentage. Clemson is shooting 69 percent from the line in ACC play (20-29), while the opponents are hitting 60.5 percent.
The difference in in attempts. The opponents have taken 81 free throws to just 29 for the Tigers. Opponents have made 20 more free throws than Clemson has attempted. Clemson has been whistled for 69 fouls in ACC play compared to 46 for the opposition.
1999 Seniors All Playing Basketball Where have the seniors of 1998-99 gone? They are all doing well and are all still in the game of basketball. Tony Christie is playing professionally in England, while Terrell McIntyre is playing for a team in France. Tom Wideman and Harold Jamison are both playing in the United States. Wideman has landed a spot on the roster of the Fort Wayne Fury of the CBA, while Jamison started the year on the injured list of the Miami Heat of the NBA. He played in his first NBA game on December 3 in the Fleet Center and scored two points in six minutes.
Wideman already has his degree from Clemson and concluded his career as one of the most decorated student-athletes in Clemson history. A year ago he was the recipient of the Weaver-James-Corrigan Scholarship from the ACC. He was also an Academic All-District Choice and a recipient of an NCAA Scholarship. Through 24 games with the Fort Wayne Fury, Wideman was averaging 8 points and 6 rebounds a game. He was named to play in the CBA All-Star Rookie Game in South Dakota next week.
The four players led Clemson to 79 wins the last four years, the second highest victory total for one Clemson class in Clemson history. They were major reasons Clemson has been to three NCAAs and one NIT championship game the last four seasons.
Greg Buckner, a senior on Clemson’s 1997-98 team, was recently signed by the Dallas Mavericks and played his first NBA game on January 6. Devin Gray, a senior in 1994-95 played in three games for the Houston Rockets this year before being cut January 4th.
Altogether, seven former Tigers have been on NBA rosters this year. That is the most ever for one season. In addition to Jamison, Buckner and Gray, the other Tigers who have played in the NBA this year are Horace Grant (Seattle), Dale Davis (Indiana), Elden Campbell (Charlotte) and Chris Whitney (Washington).
Signees for Class of 2000 Clemson head men’s basketball coach Larry Shyatt announced on Wednesday that four players, including three from the state of North Carolina, signed with the Tiger program on the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period.
Dwon Clifton, De’on Dixon, Chris Hobbs, and Tony Stockman all made their commitments to the Clemson program official on Wednesday.
“These players come from four wonderful families,” stated Shyatt. “These are four young men who are very focused about working towards gaining degrees, as well as improving their basketball skills during their four years here at Clemson.
“I thought we really needed to get some experience and talent in the backcourt in particular where we had some key openings due to both graduation and losses of late,” added Shyatt.
“Tony Stockman could well be one of the most creative and exciting point guards in the country and Dwon Clifton gives us size in the backcourt which we haven’t had in years. What’s also exciting is the fact that De’on Dixon could someday make the switch from a 6-8 athletic wing to a backcourt player. Chris Hobbs gives us an impressive strength presence inside and he comes in as probably the strongest high school prospect to ever sign at Clemson at 6-7, 250 pounds.”
“Stockman is capable of playing both guard spots, but is a tremendous lead guard candidate,” Shyatt said. “Clifton has tremendous athleticism and scoring guard skills, but could also someday be a lead guard. So that potential is out there for both Stockman and Clifton.”
Clifton is a 6-4, 195 pound guard from High Point, NC. He has the ability to play both guard positions and is described as an excellent shooter. Clifton averaged 24 points per game as a junior at Westchester Academy and also pulled down 8.5 rebounds per game and dished out 5.0 assists per game for coach Pat Kahny. He is listed among the nation’s top-100 in several publications, including PrepStars Magazine which has him 40th and Bob Gibbons who tabbed him 52nd.
Dixon is a senior at 71st High School in Fayetteville, NC, the same high school that current Tiger forward Chucky Gilmore attended. Dixon is coached by Bernie Poole and averaged 12 points per game and seven rebounds per game as a junior. The 6-8, 185-pound forward also had 3.5 assists per game and 3.5 blocks per game last season.
Hobbs is a 6-7, 250-pound senior at East Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill, NC. As a junior, the power forward averaged 19.4 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game for coach Ray Hartsfield’s club. Those numbers helped Hobbs earn the Triad 3-A Player of the Year award. He was also a first-team all-state pick by the Associated Press. Bob Gibbons rated Hobbs as the number-eight junior in the country and he has been tabbed among the top-40 in several recruiting publications.
Stockman plays at Medina High School in Medina, OH for coach Jody Peters. Stockman is a 6-1, 165 pound guard who is described as a good shooter and ball handler. As a junior at Medina, he averaged 19 points, four assists, and two steals per game. This past summer, Stockman played at the Five Star Camp in Pittsburgh, PA.
“I am proud of our coaching staff, Scott Duncan, Darren Tillis, Matt Driscoll and Anthony Solomon. They worked hard on this class and recruited these young men with class and dignity,” said Shyatt.
Name Pos Hgt. Wgt. Ppg Rpg. HometownDwon Clifton G 6-4 195 24.0 8.5 High PointDe'on Dixon F 6-8 185 12.0 7.0 Fayetteville, NCChris Hobbs F 6-7 250 19.4 10.9 Chapel Hill, NCTony Stockman G 6-1 165 19.0 4.0 @ Medina, OHNote - Stats are from junior seasons @ - Denotes assists per game
Clemson 3-Pt Streak at 293 Consecutive Games Clemson has a streak of 293 consecutive games with at least a three-point goal. The streak dates to the 1990-91 season when the Tigers were 0-7 from long range in an 81-55 loss at Wake Forest. Clemson was also 0-17 that year in a home loss to UNC Charlotte.
Clemson has made at least two three-point goals this year in every game. Clemson had its best three-point shooting game against Penn State in State College, PA. The Tigers hit 8-19 from long range, 4 made three-point goals apiece by Will Solomon and Edward Scott. Clemson struggled on three-point shooting in the three games at the BiLo Center. Clemson was 8-53 from three-point range in those three games. Clemson also struggled at North Carolina, making just 3-24 and the .125 percentage was worst by a Clemson team since 1997-98 when the Tigers were 1-9 against Charleston Southern.
Will Solomon has 44 of Clemson’s 83 three-point goals, while Andrius Jurkunas has made 13. Pasha Bains, who was an outstanding three-point shooter in high school, has added seven in his first seven games.
Clemson Has Young Roster Clemson has one of the youngest teams in the nation with only one senior and one junior with previous Division I experience listed on its roster. This is the youngest Clemson team since the 1987-88 season when Grayson Marshall was the only senior and Jerry Pryor was the only junior among scholarship players. That Clemson team finished 14-15, but did qualify for the NIT.
This year’s Clemson team has one senior, Andrius Jurkunas, and two juniors, Adam Allenspach and Michael Crocker is a junior, but is in his first year with the program.
The young veteran Clemson players have been asked to step up their play considerably from last year. The five players returning from last year have made large jumps in terms of playing time and scoring. Will Solomon scoring average is triple what it was last year, from 6.3 points to 20.9.
Solomon Point total Most in 25 Years Clemson guard Will Solomon had quite a night at Penn State on December 1. The sophomore scored 37 points against the Nittany Lions, on 13-27 shooting from the field and 7-10 from the line. He was 4-9 from three-point land. Solomon’s point total was the most by any Clemson player in any game since 11-30-74 when Skip Wise scored 38 in a game at Clemson against Pennsylvania. It was a bit ironic in that Solomon’s scoring binge also came against a team from Pennsylvania and it happened almost on the 25-year anniversary of Wise’s scoring outburst.
Solomon’s point total was the 10th most in a single game in Clemson history, tying the 37 scored by Garry Helms against Georgia Tech in 1966. It was also the second highest point total in Clemson history on an opponent’s home court. The 37 points by Solomon exceeded Clemson’s entire team total of 35 in its previous game, a 53-35 loss to Oregon State.
Solomon scored just 11 points in the first half and was still at 13 points with nine minutes left in the game. Over the last nine minutes of the game, Solomon scored 24 points. He had a streak of six straight points for Clemson, then had another streak of 10 straight Tiger points. His two free throws cut Penn State’s 18-point lead to six at 75-69 with 1:26 left. He finished his scoring with three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt with 23 seconds left.
Clemson's Individual Highest Scoring Games No Name Site-Opponent Date 58 J.O. Erwin N-Butler Guards 2-9-12 46 Bill Yarborough H-South Carolina 1-18-55 46 Butch Zatezalo A-Wake Forest 2-18-69 43 Butch Zatezalo N-NC State 2-14-70 40 Bill Yarborough H-Virginia 12-17-54 39 Choppy Patterson H-The Citadel 12-17-60 38 Bill Yarborough H-Duke 1-11-56 38 Butch Zatezalo H-Wake Forest 2-27-69 38 Skip Wise H-Pennsylvania 11-30-74 37 Will Solomon A-Penn State 12-1-99 37 Garry Helms H-Georgia Tech 2-22-66
Clemson Defense Still Strong Clemson has struggled on offense, but the defense has been outstanding in all 15 games so far this season. So far this year, Clemson opponents are shooting just 37.8 percent from the field overall and are averaging just 64.5 points per game. Clemson held North Carolina to 43.4 percent shooting and 65 points. The fine defense continued at Florida State where the Seminoles shot 32 percent from the field.
No Clemson opponent has shot over 45 percent against the Tigers and just one has broken 43 percent (Penn State). In the three games at the SoCon Holiday Hoops, Clemson actually outshot the opposition, 36.7 percent to 35.4 percent, yet lost two of three games. Clemson scored just 45 points a game on offense in that tournament. Clemson has outshot the opposition for the season, 39.8 percent to 38.2 percent.
Defense has been a hallmark of Larry Shyatt coached teams. Clemson opponents scored just 64.7 points a game last year and shot just 41.1 percent from the field. The Tigers led the ACC and ranked in the top 20 in the nation in scoring defense last year. Shyatt’s Wyoming team was in the top five in the nation in field goal percentage defense and scoring defense in 1997-98.
As you can see by the charts below, Clemson is near a record pace in terms of field goal percentage defense and scoring defense this year, but it has not resulted in a winning record at this juncture of the season.
Clemson Top Scoring Defense Seasons (Last 50 years) Years GP PPG 1948-49 21 54.2 1949-50 20 59.4 1996-97 33 61.5 1950-51 18 62.4 1994-95 28 62.5 1995-96 29 63.0 1958-59 24 64.2 1999-00 15 64.5
Clemson top Field Goal % Defense Seasons (Last 40 Years) Year GP FG-FGA FG% 1958-59 24 565-1521 .371 1957-58 24 644-1618 .398 1962-63 25 637-1675 .404 1989-90 35 889-2170 .410 1998-99 35 769-1872 .411 1999-00 15 313-829 .378
Tigers Have made Improvement in Turnovers Clemson has a -74 turnover margin for the year, a problem for the Tigers. However, Clemson has made strides in protecting the ball in its last six games. Clemson has just 75 turnovers in the last six games combined, an average of 12.3 per game. In the three games prior to that, the Tigers committed 59 turnovers, nearly 20 per game.
Clemson had just 13 turnovers against Furman, including just one in the backcourt against Furman’s fullcourt pressure. Clemson had three straight games in which it has had more assists than turnovers prior to the UNC game. In the first nine games of the year, Clemson had just one game in which it had more assists than turnovers. Clemson had just nine turnovers against North Carolina, tying for its season low.
This will be a key statistic against Virginia. The Cavaliers have forced 20 turnovers per game so far this season.
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