Friday 01/05/2001
Jan. 5, 2001
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Clemson at Duke Sunday, January 7 1:30 p.m. Durham, N.C. Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot TV
Clemson vs. Duke Series
Duke has beaten Clemson nine consecutive games, including five in a row by double digits. Duke defeated Clemson three times in 1999-00 and twice in 1998-99. Duke won three from Clemson in 1997-98, Rick Barnes final year, but those three losses were by a combined seven points. Clemson nearly overcame a 24-point deficit in the second half before falling at Duke in 1997-98, 81-80. Clemson had a pair of shots to win inside the last five seconds against the #2 ranked Blue Devils. Duke won on a last second shot in the ACC Tournament 66-64, that year.
Duke has a 87-27 lead in the series, including a 49-4 margin in Durham. Coach K has a 18-2 record against Clemson in games at Duke and is 33-9 against the Tigers overall. Clemson has won at Duke just twice since 1978, the 1983-84 season and the 1994-95 season. The Tigers do have 11 wins over top 20 Duke teams, more than any other opponent. Clemson’s last win over a top 20 Duke team came on 1-7-97, an 86-82 overtime victory at Clemson. Duke was 10th in the AP poll heading into the game.
Clemson defeated Duke three years in a row in the 1988-89-90 era. All the wins over those eventual Final Four Duke teams came at Littlejohn Coliseum, including a 97-93 Tiger win in 1990 that clinched the ACC regular season championship for Clemson. Clemson’s 70-49 victory over a sixth ranked Duke team is Clemson’s largest margin of victory ever over a ranked team.
Clemson vs. Duke in 1999-00 Duke 93, Clemson 59 (at Duke, Jan. 29, 2000)
Duke exploded for a 58-16 lead at intermission and went on to a 34-point victory over Clemson on Jan. 29 in Durham. The Blue Devils fullcourt pressure forced 19 Clemson turnovers in the first half and held the Tigers to 7-28 shooting. Duke hit 8-18 three-point shots in scoring the most points in a half against a Larry Shyatt coached team. Clemson executed much better in the second half and outscored the Blue Devils 43-35 in the second 20 minutes. Will Solomon scored 19 points in the second half and made 4-6 three-point goals. He was Clemson’s only double figure scorer for the afternoon, but four other Tigers had eight points apiece. Andrius Jurkunas was one of those players and the senior also added five rebounds. Chucky Gilmore added eight rebounds. Freshman Tomas Nagys had eight rebounds and eight points in his finest all-around game against an ACC team that year. Walk-on Walker Holt had eight points in just 14 minutes.
Duke was led by Chris Carrawell with 20 points, while Shane Battier added 17. Jason Williams had 17 points, six assists and four steals. Duke shot 52.4 percent from the field for the game, highest against Clemson all year. Turnovers were the story. The Tigers committed 30, while Duke committed just 10. Points off turnovers just about equaled the scoring differential. Duke outscored Clemson 36-4 in terms of points off turnovers. Clemson won the rebound battle 42-30.
Clemson was forced to play all but six minutes of the game without Adam Allenspach, who collapsed six minutes into the game with a bulging disk problem. He did not return to the contest.
Second Meeting in 1999-00 Duke 92, Clemson 78 (at Clemson, March 1, 2000)
Shane Battier scored 26 points, including 20 in the first half thanks to six three-point goals, leading Duke to a 92-78 victory over Clemson on March 1. Duke, ranked fourth in the nation in both polls coming in, ran its recrd to 23-4 with the win. The Blue Devils outrebounded Clemson 40-36, just the fifth time Clemson had been outrebounded this year.
Will Solomon led Clemson with 26 points, six rebounds and a career-high nine assists. He played all 40 minutes. Solomon received support as three Tigers scored in double figures. Freshman Edward Scott had 11 points on 4-5 shooting, while Adam Allenspach added 11 points and six rebounds. Freshman Ray Henderson scored 10 and led the Tigers in rebounding with seven in a productive 19 minutes.
Clemson was much improved in many areas since the 34-point loss at Duke earlier in the year. Clemson shot 46 percent from the field for the game, including 18-36 in the second half. The Tigers shot 9-22 from three-point range, 40.9 percent. Clemson’s 9-19 free throw shooting was a disappointment.
Battier was on fire in the first half. The junior made six consecutive three-point shots at one juncture and scored all 20 of his first half points in an 11-minute span. He led Duke to a 45-29 lead at halftime.
The Blue Devils advanced the lead to 20 points in the second half and still had an 18-point lead with five minutes to go. But, Clemson shot the ball well down the stretch and cut the lead to eight points four times. But, Duke made its last 11 free throws of the game, and Andre Buckner made a key steal with a minute left as the Tigers were striving to cut the margin to six points.
Solomon Plays Well vs. Duke
Last year Clemson guard Will Solomon has played his best basketball against Duke. Solomon had 19 points in 36 minutes against Duke on Jan. 20, 1999, his first career start. Duke was ranked #2 in the nation entering the game. He hit 8-15 shots from the field and made a pair of three-point goals in the game at Littlejohn Coliseum.
In the game at Clemson his freshman year he was even more efficient on a per minute basis. Solomon scored 17 points in 23 minutes on 7-12 shooting against Duke, ranked #1 in the nation at the time. He made 3-5 three-point goals, had three rebounds and a season high tying four steals.
In two regular season games against the Blue Devils in 1999-00, Solomon scored 45 points. He had 19 points, all in the second half at Duke, then had 26 in the game at Clemson. He also added a career high nine assists and six rebounds against the #4 ranked Blue Devils. He had 15 points in the ACC Tournament game last year against the Blue Devils and has a 19-point average in five games against the Blue Devils.
Clemson Has 11 Wins over Ranked Duke Teams
Clemson has defeated a top 20 Duke team 11 times in its history, more than any other school. Clemson has 10 ranked wins over Maryland and nine apiece over N.C. State and North Carolina. The list includes a win over 21st ranked N.C. State in 1999-00.
Clemson has upset a top 20 Duke team six times in the last13 years, with the last victory coming in 1996-97 at Clemson, an 86-82 overtime win over a 10th-ranked Duke team. That was the third year in a row that Clemson defeated a top 20 Duke team. Larry Shyatt was Rick Barnes’s top assistant for all three of those wins, including a 75-70 win in Durham in 1995. Clemson also defeated a top 10 Duke team three years in a row between 1988-90. Dale Davis and Elden Campbell were common denominators on those teams. The 1990 victory clinched the ACC regular season championship for the Tigers.
Clemson’s first ever win over a top 20 Duke team took place in the 1962 ACC Tournament. Duke was ranked 8th in the nation entering the game and Clemson had 10-14 record and had lost to Duke twice in the regular season by a total of 31 points. But, Clemson won the ACC Tournament game in Raleigh 77-72 behind 34 points by Jim Brennan.
Clemson has defeated at least one top 25 team 14 years in a row.
Last Game Maryland 104, Clemson 92 (at Clemson, Jan. 2, 2001)
Terence Morris, Lonny Baxter and Juan Dixon all scored at least 22 points to counteract a 32-point performance by Will Solomon and lead 17th-ranked Maryland to a 104-92 win over Clemson on Jan. 2 at Littlejohn Coliseum. It was the ACC opener for both teams.
Solomon hit 7-11 three-point goals and 10-18 overall in leading Clemson. He also added five rebounds and three assists. Tony Stockman and Chris Hobbs, a pair of freshmen, also scored in double figures for the Tigers. Stockman made four of eight three-point goals and scored 12, while Hobbs had his third double-double of the season, 11 points and 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes. Adam Allenspach played 20 minutes and had nine points and seven rebounds.
Maryland was led by Terence Morris, who had 26 points and eight rebounds, 18 points came in the second half. Lonny Baxter had 24 points in only 20 minutes. A 57 percent free throw shooter entering the game, Baxter hit 8-8 against Clemson, part of the 30-36 free throw shooting by Maryland. Juan Dixon had 18 in the first half, just four after intermission and finished with 22. Byron Mouton added 17 points as the four Maryland starters combined for all but 15 of Maryland’s points.
The game was played at a high level on offense throughout, but the offensive numbers in the first half were mind-boggling. Maryland led 59-56 at intermission, the first time since December of 1990 (Clemson vs. UNCC) that both teams scored at least 55 points in the first half of a Clemson game. The Tigers made 19-35 field goals in the first half, including 6-12 three-pointers. Maryland hit 21-34 shots from the field, including 6-10 three-pointers.
Baxter got Maryland off on the right foot offensively with 15 of their first 21 points in just 5:46 off the clock. Clemson trailed by 10, 24-14 when Danny Miller hit a three-pointer from the right wing. But, Clemson battled back and trailed by just one 29-28 at the 10:10 mark on a three-pointer by Solomon.
The two teams continued to execute their offense in the first half, seemingly scoring six points at a time. Clemson tied the score at 56 with 54 seconds left on a layup by Dustin Braddick. Clemson played well to open the second half, scoring 17 points in the first six minutes to take a 73-72 lead on another three-pointer by Solomon. But, Maryland scored eight straight points to take a 79-71 lead behind Morris, who hit 3-6 from behind the arc.
Solomon hit a three-pointer at the 9:26 mark to bring Clemson to 83-82. That gave him 32 points in just 28 minutes of play. But, those were his last points of the game, as he got just three shots the rest of the game. Clemson still stayed with the Terps. A Stockman three-pointer from the deep corner made the count 96-92 with two minutes left. But, Maryland scored the last eight points of the game, as the Terps converted free throws while Clemson missed long field goal attempts.
Former Tiger Saves Nearly 400 Lives
Former Clemson forward Clarke Bynum was in the national news on Dec. 30. The native of Sumter, SC saved the lives of 379 passengers on a British Airways flight from London to Nairobi, Kenya. Bynum, asleep two rows from the cockpit, was jolted awake when the plane went into a nosedive. The pilots were screaming for help and Bynum came to the rescue.
He wrestled a madman to the floor, allowing the pilots to straighten out the plane. The man apparently wanted to kill himself and everyone in the plane. Later, the pilots told Bynum the plane was just three seconds from crashing. Bynum, 39, is an insurance agent and was traveling to Uganda with a small interdenominational organization called the African Christian Trust Service.
Bynum’s heroics were documented in USA Today and other national news agencies and he was interviewed by Good Morning America and the Today Show.
Bynum lettered four seasons for the Tigers from 1980-84. He started 23 games and played in 92 games overall for his career. He averaged 5.0 points and 2.1 rebounds, shot 73 percent from the foul line and 45 percent from the field. He started the first nine games of the 1980-81 season, a Clemson team that finished the year with 20 wins and an NIT bid. He was named ACC Rookie of the Week for the last week of the regular season that year, then scored 14 points in the NIT game against Temple. He had his best game as a Tiger against Austin Peay on Dec. 2, 1981 when he had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Bynum played his best basketball for Clemson during the team’s eight-games in the FIBA International World Cup in Spain in the summer of 1981. He averaged a team best 20 points per game and shot 58 percent from the field for the tournament. He scored 30 points against tournament champion Real Madrid.
It is interesting to note that Bynum’s host on his recruiting visit to Clemson the fall of 1979 was Bobby Conrad. Conrad, Clemson’s senior point guard that year, has also been in the news in the last year, serving as Chief of the United States Department Financing Task Force, an appointment made by Attorney General Janet Reno.
Hobbs Returns to the Triangle
Clemson forward Chris Hobbs is a native of Chapel HIll, NC and a graduate of East Chapel Hill High. He will return to his old stomping ground twice in a 10-day period as Clemson will play at Duke on Jan. 7 and at North Carolina on Jan. 17. Hobbs was one of the top players in North Carolina as a junior averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds per game. But, he suffered a torn ACL as a senior and played just two games.
Larry Shyatt stayed with the youngster and the faith in Hobbs is paying dividends. So far this year, Hobbs has averaged 6.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He has already had three double-doubles, including his first conference game against Maryland on Jan. 2 when he had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Hobbs had 11 points and 15 rebounds in a victory over The Citadel on Nov. 25 and had13 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Northwestern on Nov. 28. Hobbs has three double doubles and has not played over 28 minutes in any of the games.
His first double-double came in just the third game of Hobbs career, the shortest time it has taken a Clemson freshman to record a double-double since Devin Gray had 26 points and 10 rebounds in his second career game in 1991-92. Tree Rollins and Elden Campbell actually had double-doubles in their first game at Clemson. In fact, Rollins, one of two Tigers to have his number retired, had 22 points, 20 rebounds and nine blocked shots against St. John’s in his first game, nearly a triple double. Rollins holds the school record for career double-doubles with 62. Dale Davis had 52.
Hobbs is shooting 57 percent from the field so far this year, second best on the Clemson team. His 76.7 percent free throw shooting accuracy is third behind guards Will Solomon and Tony Stockman, and his 5.8 rebound figure is second to starting center Adam Allenspach’s 8.1 per game.
This will not be the first time Hobbs has been to a game at Duke. His father, Greg Hobbs, is a videographer for Duke Medical Center. In his spare time, he has served as a videographer for Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s television show. Many times Chris tagged a long to watch the game. Greg Hobbs will be at the game this weekend, but will not be shooting for Coach K’s show.
Solomon Moving up Career Lists
Will Solomon needs just two three-point goals to move into second place on Clemson’s career list. The Tiger junior has 166 for his career, including a league best 47 this year. His first three at Duke will tie him with Chris Whitney for second place on the Clemson career list. When he makes his second, only Terrell McIntyre (259) will have more.
Solomon has made 47-112 three-point goals this year, 42 percent. He is now hitting 37.3 for his Clemson career in that area and has made at least three three-point goals in 11 of his 13 games so far this season. He had a season high seven three-point goals against Maryland in the ACC opener, one off the Clemson single game record. That is a record is he co-holds with Terrell McIntyre, Chris Whitney and David Young.
Solomon now has 1127 career points, 20th best in school history. He needs just five points at Duke to pass Choppy Patterson and move into 19th place. If Solomon averages 20 points a game over the course of the rest of the regular season he will move into the top 10 in Clemson history. With his recent streak of 20-point games, he now has 24 for his career, tied for ninth in Clemson history with all-time great Dale Davis. Seven of those 24 games he has scored at least 30, including three times this year. His career high is 43 against Virginia at Littlejohn Coliseum last year.
Solomon on Hot Streak
Clemson guard Will Solomon has scored at least 20 points in six consecutive games. The junior from East Hartford, CT has averaged 26.2 points a game during the six games. He has talled 32 points in two of the games, both against ranked opponents. He had 32 in an eight-point loss to 20th ranked Cincinnati and also had 32 in Clemson’s 12-point loss to 17th-ranked Maryland. Playing well against top opposition is nothing new for Solomon. Last year he had a higher scoring average in ACC games than in non-conference contests.
Solomon’s streak of six consecutive 20-point games is the longest since Horace Grant had six straight during the 1986-87 season, the year he became Clemson’s only ACC MVP. Grant’s streak was stopped by North Carolina when he scored 19. The last time a Clemson player had seven straight was in 1968-69 when Butzh Zatezalo scored at least 20 in each of the last seven games of that season. Zatezalo averaged 32.7 points a game during his seven game streak.
The Clemson record for consecutive 20-point games is 19, held by the late Bill Yarborough. He scored at least 20 in the last three games of 1953-54 and the first 16 of the 1954-55 season. Yarborough averaged 28.3 points a game in 1954-55 and scored at least 20 in every game. His only non-20 point game was an 18-point outing.
Solomon has already established one Clemson streak record this year. He has scored in double figures in 44 straight games, every game last year and all 14 games so far this season. The previous mark was by Vince Yockel, who had 36 in a row over two seasons in the 1950s.
Solomon’s current 44-game streak is the longest active streak in the ACC. The ACC record book does not have a listing for consecutive games of double figure scoring. North Carolina’s Larry Miller had a 64-game streak in the 1960s.
Solomon Named to All-Tournament Team
Junior guard Will Solomon scored 82 points in the three games in San Juan to be named to the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team. Solomon had 26 points in the Tigers lone win of the classic, a 94-81 decision over Florida Atlantic. He followed it up with a season-best 32 points in the 88-80 loss to #20 Cincinnati and 24 in the loss to Washington.
Solomon averaged 27.3 points per game, he shot 25-56 from the field, including 14-32 on three-point shots. He was 18 of 21 from the charity stripe (85.7 percent). Solomon also had nine assists, six steals and two blocks (both against Washington) in the three games.
Stockman Scores 23, Nets ACC Honors
Freshman guard Tony Stockman scored a season best 23 points in his first collegiate start on Dec. 16 against Wofford. The effort, which also included three rebounds, three assists and three steals, earned Stockman ACC Rookie of the Week honors on Dec. 18. Stockman connected on 9 of 17 shots from the field, including a 4 of 7 mark from long range. The 23 points were the most points by a Clemson freshman since Terrell McIntyre scored 29 points in a home win over Florida State on Feb. 17, 1996.
Stockman is second on the team in scoring with a 12.7 average, behind Will Solomon’s league leading 22.1. Stockman has scored in double figures in all but three games this season and has averaged 15.3 points a game over his last three outings. He has improved his three-point percentage to .372 and is 24-29 from the foul line. His 20 steals rank second on the Clemson team.
The native of Ohio was impressive in his first ACC game. He scored 12 points, all on three-point goals, many in keys stretches. He also had three assists and no turnovers in 24 minutes against Maryland’s trapping defense.
Stockman has shown an ability to score in the clutch. Against Charleston Southern, he scored 14 of the Tigers final 23 points, including six points in the final five minutes of play.
Stockman leads Clemson in that stat. In games decided by 10 points or less, he has scored a total of 17 points in the final five minutes of those games. That is even better than Will Solomon who leads the team in scoring and is often viewed as the go-to guy for the Tigers.
Solomon has scored 13 points in the final five minutes of games decided by 10 points or less. In total, Clemson has played six games decided by that margin.
Allenspach Has Six Double-Doubles
Senior Adam Allenspach watched as his streak of four double-doubles came to an end Dec. 21 against Cincinnati. The Tigers lone senior scored only one point to go with five rebounds in that game. The streak reached four on Wednesday in the win over Florida Atlantic. He had 13 points and 13 rebounds against the Owls. For the season, he has six double-doubles, the same total he had all of last season.
Allenspach had scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds vs. Wofford Dec. 16 and had 15 points and15 rebounds at South Carolina, then 20 points and 10 rebounds vs. Winthrop. The last Tiger to post four consecutive double-doubles was Sharone Wright, who last did it his sophomore year in 1992-93. Dale Davis once had double-doubles six games in a row his senior year in 1990-91.
During the recent streak, Allenspach was clearly playing his best basketball of his Clemson career. Allenspach ranks third on the Clemson team in scoring with a 11.4 average )and is first in rebounding with an 8.1 figure. He is shooting 50 percent from the field and had been shooting 67.8 percent from the foul line. An unusual 1-8 performance against Florida Atlantic has put him under 70 percent for the year. He made 74 percent from the line last year, best by a Clemson center since the 1956-57 season.
Allenspach has been slowed by back spasms of late. He has played just 31 minutes over the last three games combined. He did play 20 minutes against Maryland and had nine points and seven rebounds.
Clemson has Shown Comeback Ability
Clemson has shown an ability to comeback from large deficits so far this year. In fact, in consecutive victories on Dec. 28-30, Clemson overcame deficits of at least 15 points to gain victory. That is the first time in history Clemson has been down 15 at some point, then gained victory in consecutive games.
The Tigers trailed Charleston Southern 24-9 on Dec. 28, then rallied for an 87-77 win. Two days later at Coastal Carolina, Clemson trailed 37-19 in the first half, and 41-28 at intermission. Clemson won that contest 81-68. Clemson has play-by-plays on a consistent basis back to the 1977-78 season. That was the third best Clemson comeback on record, topped only by a 20-point comeback against The Citadel in 1978-79 and a 19-point comeback in the NCAA Tournament against LaSalle in 1990.
Seven times since the 1977-78 season Clemson has overcome a 15-point deficit to gain victory. Two of the seven have taken place this season, and they were executed just 48 hours apart.
In four other games this year Clemson has trailed by double digits, then rallied to take the lead or come within two points late in the game before losing.
In the second game of the year Clemson trailed a top 10 SetonHall team 61-50 with 11:18 left, then took a 76-74 lead with3:04remaining before losing 79-78. Clemson trailed a 20th rankedCincinnati team 58-40 with 13:08 left, then cut the margin to 71-69with 4:38 left. Clemson trailed Washington by 13 points, 56-43 with13:00 left, then rallied to take a 68-64 lead before losing inovertime. Clemson trailed 17th ranked Maryland 24-14 in the firstseven minutes, rallied to take a 73-71 lead in the second halfbefore losing 104-92.
Clemson in Durham
Clemson has a 4-49 lifetime record at Duke. Clemson lost its first 28 games at Duke before finally breaking through during the 1975-76 season, Bill Foster’s first year. Clemson won that game 90-89. After the game Foster noticed that sports information director Bob Bradley was especially excited after the victory. “I didn’t understand why Bob Bradley was hugging me until he said we had never won at Duke,” said Foster years later. “He had seen a lot of those losses. I really didn’t know it until after the game.” Clemson made it two in a row in Durham under Bill Foster in Tree Rollins’ senior year, 1976-77, a 80-73 Tiger victory.
Foster has three of Clemson’s four wins at Duke and his third was one of the more unlikely Clemson victories in history. Playing a game on Feb. 29 is unlikely enough since the date only occurs every four years, but Clemson entered the game on an 11-game ACC losing streak.
Clemson had not won a league game since Jan. 11 and Duke was ranked 15th in the nation and was a lock for the NCAA Tournament. On top of that, it was senior night at Duke.
Clemson played as well as it could play and had a 76-61 lead with six minutes left. A young freshman named Horace Grant had a perfect game, 6-6 from the field and 4-4 from the foul line. But, Johnny Dawkins led a furious comeback and outscored Clemson 15-1 down the stretch. Clemson’s only score was a Mike Eppley free throw.
Duke had a final shot in the final moments, but Dawkins shot from the right corner missed and Clemson had the victory. It would be the last ACC game for Foster, who went to restart the University of Miami’s basketball program the following year.
Clemson Looks for Top 5 Win
Clemson has had a history of upsetting top teams over the years, there have been 14 wins over team who have been ranked in the top five in the nation entering the game.
Clemson last defeated a top five team in 1996-97, a 79-71 overtime win over Kentucky in the Hoosier Dome in the season opener. Clemson has two wins over sixth ranked teams at home since 1995-96. Duke is ranked third in the nation entering this weekend’s play.
Clemson’s first win over a top five team in Littlejohn Coliseum took place in 1974-75 when a Clemson team led by Skip Wise defeated Maryland, 83-82. Maryland was ranked third in AP and fourth by UPI entering that contest. Clemson also downed a fifth ranked Maryland team in 1979-80 by a 90-81 score. Three Tigers, Larry Nance, Horace Wyatt and Billy Williams, all had over 20 points in that Tiger victory.
Clemson has three top five wins on the opponents home court in history, one of those was at Maryland, 82-77 over #2 Terps in 1975-76. Clemson has five top five wins away from home altogether with the last coming against Kentucky in 1996-97. Clemson has defeated a top five Duke team twice, in 1979-80 when Duke was ranked first and in 1990 when Clemson needed the win to gain its only ACC championship. The win over Duke in 1980 is still Clemson’s only win in history over the #1 ranked team.
Winning in the Triangle
Over the years Clemson’s basketball team has viewed traveling to the North Carolina Triangle like sailors view boating through the Bermuda Triangle. Clemson had won just nine regular season games in 135 contests at North Carolina, N.C. State and Duke heading into the 1994-95 season. Since that year Clemson has a 5-12 record at Duke, N.C. State and North Carolina combined, so the mark is now 14-136 at those three sites combined.
The 1994-95 season was the first time in Clemson history that the Tigers had won their first two games in the Triangle and it was just the second time Clemson had won at least two games in the Triangle in the same year. Clemson also won at Duke and N.C. State in 1976-77, Tree Rollins’ senior season. Clemson has never won at North Carolina and obviously has never swept all three games in the North Carolina Triangle.
Clemson’s overall record in the North Carolina Triangle, including conference tournments (ACC or Southern) is now is 23-156. Cliff Ellis won in the Triangle just twice in 30 games, both at N.C. State (1986-87 and 1993-94, his last appearance in the triangle). Bill Foster has five of the 14 regular season Clemson wins in the Triangle. Rick Barnes had four triangle wins in his four years as head coach. Larry Shyatt defeated N.C. State in Raleigh last year.
Clemson has a lifetime record of 10-41 at N.C. State, 4-49 at Duke and 0-46 at North Carolina in regular season play. The list below does not count ACC or Southern Conference Tournament games played in Raleigh. Clemson has won nine games in conference tournaments in Raleigh, including its most successful Southern Conference and ACC Tournaments in history. Clemson won the Southern Conference Tournament in Raleigh in 1939, its only conference tournament championship in history. In 1962 the Tigers advanced to the finals of the ACC Tournament at the Reynolds Coliseum with victories over N.C. State and Duke. It is Clemson’s only appearance in the ACC Tournament Championship game.
Ranked Road Wins for Tigers
Clemson has 10 wins over ranked ACC teams in its history. Duke is ranked third in both polls this week. Clemson has three wins over ranked teams on the road in the last seven years with the last coming four seasons ago at Maryland and at Virginia.
Clemson never beat a ranked ACC team on the road until the 1975-76 season, Bill Foster’s first year at Clemson. He actually defeated two top five ACC teams on the road in his first two ACC road games, winning at fifth-ranked Wake Forest and second-ranked Maryland. Foster has five of Clemson’s 10 wins over ranked ACC teams on the road in school history.
Non-Conference Wrapup
After 12 non-ACC games a year ago, Clemson was 6-6 heading into league action. This year, the Tigers are a much healthier team and thus a much deeper team and have played a more competitive schedule. Clemson went 9-4 in the non-conference portion of the schedule having prepared for the ACC race by facing teams from the Big East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Pac-10 and the Southeastern Conference.
Clemson opened with a win over Hartford (86-67) and then played a 10th-ranked Seton Hall team to a one-point loss (79-78). The Tigers rebounded with four consecutive wins against The Citadel (84-76), Northwestern (57-44) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Western Carolina (87-52) and Winthrop (69-59). Clemson had not won more than two games in a row all of last year and that happened just one time.
South Carolina halted the brief streak with a 76-62 victory that ended its six-game losing streak against Clemson. The Tigers then beat Wofford78-74 before finished fifth in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic with a win against Florida Atlantic (94-81) and losses to 20th-ranked Cincinnati (88-80) and Washington (77-76). Clemson had pulled within two points of Cincinnati with 4 1/2 minutes to play and the loss to Washington came in overtime on a buzzer shot.
The Tigers beatCharleston Southern 87-77 Dec. 30 at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, and won 81-68 at Coastal Carolina in a game played at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on the final day of the Beach Ball Classic.
Clemson Fifth in Puerto Rico
Clemson finished fifth in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic Dec. 20-22 after going 1-2 in the three games played at American University’s Eugene Guerra Sports Complex in Bayamon. Clemson opened the tournament with a 94-81 win over Florida Atlantic, then lost 88-80 to #20 Cincinnati in the semifinal and 77-76 in overtime to Washington in the third-place game.
Newcomers Lead Bench
Larry Shyatt has gotten some strong play off the bench this season. The newcomers have made significant contributions off the bench. Most notable is Tony Stockman who is second on the team with 12.7 points per game. The freshman from Medina, OH, has scored in double figures in all but three games this season, including a best 23 points against Wofford, a game in which he made his first collegiate start.
He also had a 22-point game in the win over Charleston Southern. Against South Carolina, he had 12 points, eight of which came late in the first half to help the Tigers pull within seven points of the Gamecocks at the half. He is second on the team in three-pointers made with 32. He is averaging the most playing time of all the freshmen.
Chris Hobbs is also turning heads as a rookie. The freshman from Chapel Hill, NC is averaging 6.2 points per game, which is sixth on the team. He has scored in double figures in four games and actually has posted double-doubles in three times, including a 15 rebound, 11 point game against The Citadel.
Against Western Carolina junior transfer Jamar McKnight scored 12 points. It was his first game at Clemson after an injury to a finger on his shooting hand limited his practice time and delayed his debut in a Tiger uniform after transferring from Northwest Community College (MS). Likewise against the Catamounts Dwon Clifton scored his first points. The freshman from Louisburg, NC had not scored in limited action in the first four games. He had only played 18 minutes in the first four contests but played 14 against Western Carolina and scored 14 points. Clifton was in the starting lineup for the Maryland game and had seven points to his season high. He was impressive against Washington with six points and 12 rebounds, including five offensive.
Clemson Offensive Numbers Up
The Tigers are trying to run a more up-tempo offense this season, are averaging 79.5 points per game this year, up from the 64.4 scoring average of last year. The 94 points Clemson posted against Florida Atlantic were the most scored in the Larry Shyatt era at Clemson, besting the 92 points the team scored against Georgia Tech in 1999. The 94 points against Florida Atlantic were the most scored by the Tigers since Clemson won 102-67 against Western Carolina in 1998. Clemson added a 92-point outing against Maryland in the first ACC game.
Clemson has scored at least 80 points in eight games this year, including three in a row. Clemson reached the 80 point mark just twice all of last year and just eight times in 35 games Shyatt’s first season at Clemson.
So far this year Clemson has three players averaging in double figures. Clemson had just two games all of last year in which they had four players score in double figures. Will Solomon and Adam Allenspach were Clemson’s only two players to average in double figures last year. Solomon and Allenspach are joined by freshman Tony Stockman in double figures this season. The Tigers had at least three players score in double digits in every game this season up until the Washington game when only Solomon and Allenspach scored more than 10 points. The Tigers got back on track vs. Charleston Southern with four players in double figures. Clemson has had six games in which four players have scored in double figures. That happened just twice all of last year.
Clemson’s shooting percentage is 44.8 percent, up from 40.4 last year. What is most impressive is the team’s free throw shooting. The Tigers have made 70.3 percent so far this year, up from 67.1 last year. No Clemson team has shot better than 70 percent from the foul line over the course of a season since the 1986-87, Horace Grant’s senior year.
Shyatt to Coach in Maccabiah Games
Clemson Head Coach Larry Shyatt has been selected to coach the United States team in the 2001 Maccabiah Games in Israel. The games will be held next July 7-27. Shyatt has already started his preparation for the Games and had an August camp in New York for prospective players, who will mainly be players of Jewish heritage from college programs at all NCAA levels. The team will hold a pre-tournament camp at Clemson this summer prior to going to Israel. For more information on the team and the tournament, contact Andy Solomon at The Citadel. He will be the press officer for the team for the event.
Shyatt is in his third year as Clemson’s head coach, his fourth as a Division I head coach overall. He led Wyoming to a 19-9 record and the NIT in 1997-98. In his first year at Clemson he took the Tigers to the NIT Championship game, a first in Clemson history. The Tigers won 20 games that year and Shyatt became just the fourth coach in ACC history to win 20 games in his first year at a league school. Last year Clemson had a 10-20 record. Six players missed a combined 26 games due to injury during last year.
Shyatt has coached the ACC scoring champion each of his two years at Clemson. Terrell McIntyre led the league with a 17.9 average in 1998-99, then Will Solomon paced the conference with a 20.9 mark last year. Solomon continues to lead the league this year.
Shyatt is in his second tour of duty at Clemson. He was Rick Barnes top assistant from 1994-95 through the 1996-97 season. His last year he helped the Tigers to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and a #8 final national ranking in the USA Today poll, the highest final ranking in Clemson history.
Phillips Ranks In Vitale’s “Sweet 16”
Clemson Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim Phillips received yet another award for his expertise behind the microphone. He was recognized by Dick Vitale on his web site as one of his top 16 broadcasters around the country “The All-Cawood Ledford Team,” in honor of the legendary Kentucky broadcaster.
“They are the radio voices for their respective universities, and they know everything about those teams inside and out,” Vitale said.
“They certainly follow the national scene too. Whenever I want a bit of information, I make sure I chat with many of these people.”
The Youngstown, OH native is in his 33rd season behind the mic for the Clemson basketball team, a span that covers nearly 1,000 games. He has broadcast 387 Clemson football games and 953 basketball games.
Phillips is past president of the Atlantic Coast Conference Sportswriters Association. He is a five-time winner of the Sportscaster of the Year award in South Carolina. Six years ago, he was given the highest award a broadcaster in the state of South Carolina can receive. He was just the third recipient of the Master Broadcaster Award given by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association. Phillips did not make the trip to San Juan last week, but rejoined the team Thursday vs. Charleston Southern at Littlejohn Coliseum, where he extended his streak of 482 consecutive home games. His streak now stands at 483 in a row in the facility.
Gilmore Has Torn ACL, Will Miss Season
Starting Clemson forward Chucky Gilmore sustained a torn ACL on his right knee during a workout on Aug. 28. Examination by Clemson physicians revealed that Gilmore must have surgery to repair the injury. It is the second injury sustained by Gilmore since the end of last season. He sprained his medial collateral ligament on his left knee in May while playing in a pickup game in his hometown of Fayetteville, NC.
Gilmore, a 6-8 forward, started 23 games and played in 27 of Clemson’s 30 contests a year ago. He averaged 3.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last year. The rebound average was second best on the Clemson team.
Clemson Announces Four Men’s Basketball Signees
Clemson Head Coach Larry Shyatt announced the signing of four players to national letters of intent during the early signing period. The Clemson newcomers for the 2001-02 season include Sharrod Ford, a 6-9, 210-pound forward from Accokeek, MD, Olu Babalola, a 6-6, 245-pound forward from London England, Chey Christie, a 6-4, 170-pound wing player from Biloxi, MS, and 6-10 Steve Allen, a center from Fort Lauderdale, FL.
“We are excited to add these quality players to our program,” said Shyatt, who is in his third year as Clemson’s Head Coach. “We covered some important needs. It is a balanced class with one player at each area of the team. This gives us back-to back top 20 recruiting classes and gives us some depth as we look to the future.” Hoop Scoop currently ranks Clemson’s class as #11 in the country.
Christie is the brother of former Clemson starting forward Tony Christie. One of the top scorers in the state of Mississippi, he is currently at Biloxi High School in Biloxi, MS. He opened his senior season with a 30-point game. Last year as a junior, Christie averaged 25.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. He shot 55 percent from the field and 78 percent from the foul line. He is ranked as the 37th best player in the nation according to Hoop Scoop.
Babalola is a native of London, England, but is playing at St. Augustine Prep in Richland, NJ this year. Last year he averaged 18.8 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. He shot 58 percent from the field and averaged 2.8 rebounds a game. He was a third-team All-State selection in New Jersey last year.
Ford is an inside player at Hargrave Military academy in Chatham, VA. He played his previous four years at Gwynn Park High in Brandywine, MD. Last year he shot 58 percent from the field, averaged 15.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. He also blocked 6.6 shots per game, including a season high of 11 in one game. He was named a first-team All-Metro selection by the Washington Post.
Allen averaged 12.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots a game at Dillard High School. He was a first-team all-county and all-conference player. He shot 59 percent from the field and 72 percent from the foul line as a junior.
Five Former Tigers in the NBA
Five former Clemson players are currently on NBA rosters. Three of the five would be considered starters for their respective teams. The list of former Tigers in the pros is led by Horace Grant, who is in his 14th year in the league. He is a starting forward with the Los Angeles Lakers and is the only former Tiger to win an NBA Championship ring. He did that with the Chicago Bulls 1991-92-93. Dale Davis and Elden Campbell led Clemson to the ACC regular season championship in 1990 and they are both still starters in the NBA.
Davis, who was inducted into the Clemson Ring of Honor in September, is averaging 7.1 points and 7.9 rebounds a game with the Portland Trailbazers this year. He was named to the NBA All-Star team last year when he was playing for the Pacers.
Campbell, who was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame last year, is the starting center with the Charlotte Hornets. He is averaging 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds a game this year for the Hornets.
Chris Whitney and Greg Buckner, who both came to Clemson from Hopkinsville, KY, are both in the NBA. Whitney has been starting of late with the Washington team and has scored in double figures in four straight games. He had 14 points and 13 assists in a recent victory over Minnesota. Buckner was an off and on starter for the Dallas Mavericks until he was injured in December. He is averaging 7.2 points and 5.7 rebounds a game so far for Don Nelson’s Mavericks.
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