Jump to content

South Carolina College Sports

jfl25

By jfl25
in South Carolina

Recommended Posts

GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

Posted
Posted

This is pretty awesome:

The Greenville News

Ray Ray McElrathby, who you may remember was the football player for Clemson who took custody of his younger brother last year, will not play next year. He's graduating in August, which is only 3 years! Between juggling football, school, and being a parent-figure to his younger brother, I applaud his hard work and courage. This kid is going somewhere in life. :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 1.1k
  • Created
  • Last Reply
whitehourseview Burg

whitehourseview

Posted
Posted

^Wow thats impressive. Thats a great story if there ever was one.

In other news, Winthrop has made the Tourney for the 4th year in a row. They've been kind of low on my radar this year, so I had no idea how well they were doing.

Winthrop has had a nice year. Because the Big South is about as low a Division I conference as there is, they do tend to fall off the radar in January and February.

As a result, they have really two opportunities to make a name for the themselves during a season: during the non conference schedule and the Big South tournament.

There were a lot of questions about the Winthrop basketball team this year. They lost three seniors who played major roles on probably the best Winthrop team ever last season, plus losing tragically, a rising starting point guard. Added to that is the new regime of Coach Peele, an assistant under Greg Marshall, and there were some serious questions about the Winthrop team. They had some very nice OOC wins vs. Miami, Georgia Tech and Dayton, a long with finishing tied for first in the standings with UNC Asheville, probably a more experienced team. So after losing both regular season games to Asheville, coming back to beat them decisively on their home court was a huge deal for the Eagles. It's probably the most significant tournament championship since 2005, and certainly solidifies Coach Peele as the long term leader of that program, especially considering the Eagles have four solid recruits, for their level, coming in next year. I don't expect the Eagles to win a NCAA tournament game this year, but just having their named mentioned as a perennial tournament team again, means so much for the program and sends the four seniors off well, and again gets valuable experience for the younger guys.

Also, Clemson has clinched either a fourth or third place finish in the ACC, regardless of the outcome of tomorrows game vs. Virginia Tech. That is big for the Tigers, as that means they advance to Friday's round of the ACC tournament in Charlotte next week, and solidifies their first NCAA tournament in ten years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

Posted
Posted

Also, Clemson has clinched either a fourth or third place finish in the ACC, regardless of the outcome of tomorrows game vs. Virginia Tech. That is big for the Tigers, as that means they advance to Friday's round of the ACC tournament in Charlotte next week, and solidifies their first NCAA tournament in ten years.

I believe that FSU beating Miami gave Clemson the #3 slot in the conference despite the outcome of the VT game Sunday. It also ensure Clemson of a first round bye in the ACC Tournament. :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
teshadoh Burg

teshadoh

Posted
Posted

I got to see the Winthrop UNC-Asheville game too, it just didn't seem fair to have a player that can slam dunk without having to jump. But fortunately he wasn't very athletic. But congratulations Winthrop, I imagine a lot of people discounted them after the head coach left.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

Posted
Posted

Clemson beat Duke today in the ACC semifinals. It's the Tigers first appearance in the ACC tournament Finals in 46 years (and the only 2nd time in school history)!

I think it's safe to say Clemson has reached a new level in their basketball program! OP has done an amazing job with these guys!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
goodbye Metropolitan Area

goodbye

Posted
Posted

I hate Duke. Great game by the Tigers. Now if tomorrow they can play as well as they have both times against the Tar Heels this season, they should come away with the conference title and a much higher RPI ranking. That would be great a stat boost going into the NCAA selection later tomorrow. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

Posted
Posted

Looks like you were right about the #5 seed. Clemson still did very well against NC, though it was frustrating to see that loss. Fortunately with any Clemson-UNC match up, I'm satisfied with either team winning :)

The fact that Clemson 1) beat Duke, and 2) made it to the ACC championship is a sign that its program is improving. I think they will have to win one or two before Clemson will be recognized as an elite ACC team, but Purnell has shown slow but steady improvements each year.

Also, I learned a fun fact this weekend: USC has won more ACC basketball championships that Clemson with 1 way back in 1971 and was the runner up twice (1957, 1970). It makes me wonder what would have happened if USC had stayed in the ACC during its glory years of basketball in the 1970s.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

Posted
Posted

I'd love for some how Clemson and UNC met up again in the NCAA tournament. Unlikely, sure, but nothing is impossible! Clemson took the #1 Tar Heels into Overtime, double-overtime, and to the final minutes in all three match ups this season. The Tigers have shown that they can play with the elite. They just need to get a few more wins in those close games... Good effort. Now, onto bigger fish! The NCAA! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

Posted
Posted

Clemson University has signed Coach Oliver Purnell through 2014 :yahoo:

I'm so glad they're rewarding his continued success. Details will be released later, but it says that the deal will move him into the top third of ACC coaches. He has improved the Tigers' record each of his 5 years at Clemson. This year's team is 24-9.

Greenville News Article

Link to comment
Share on other sites
teshadoh Burg

teshadoh

Posted
Posted

Just as tommy bowden's achilles heel was special teams, Purnell's is clearly free throws. I really hope he makes that a priority for next season, but in his defense it seems poor free throwing has been a Clemson basketball tradition - even the last 2 great teams (late 80's & mid or late 90's) couldn't shoot well. But his contract extension is well deserved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
whitehourseview Burg

whitehourseview

Posted
Posted

Just as tommy bowden's achilles heel was special teams, Purnell's is clearly free throws. I really hope he makes that a priority for next season, but in his defense it seems poor free throwing has been a Clemson basketball tradition - even the last 2 great teams (late 80's & mid or late 90's) couldn't shoot well. But his contract extension is well deserved.

I really can't imagine that there is much more that Purnell can do regarding free throw shooting, or that he has not made it a priority to this point. Like special teams in football, it is really less a matter of practice and technique and more of a talent issue. Clemson has a very good team, in the best sense of the word, but they lack a lot of pure basketball players with some pure shooters. They are a very good collection of athletes, but not so much a collection of pure basketball players. That can only be changed by getting better talent and having access to better talent.

The best thing about this Clemson team is that have really played above their heads and ability.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
goodbye Metropolitan Area

goodbye

Posted
Posted

I really can't imagine that there is much more that Purnell can do regarding free throw shooting, or that he has not made it a priority to this point. Like special teams in football, it is really less a matter of practice and technique and more of a talent issue. Clemson has a very good team, in the best sense of the word, but they lack a lot of pure basketball players with some pure shooters. They are a very good collection of athletes, but not so much a collection of pure basketball players. That can only be changed by getting better talent and having access to better talent.

The best thing about this Clemson team is that have really played above their heads and ability.

That only compliments Coach Purnell's ability all the more. :)
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Greenville City

Greenville

Posted
Posted

The fact that Clemson 1) beat Duke, and 2) made it to the ACC championship is a sign that its program is improving. I think they will have to win one or two before Clemson will be recognized as an elite ACC team, but Purnell has shown slow but steady improvements each year.

I think I understand what you were saying, but I have to point out that the improvement has been anything but "slow" (that description seems more appropriate for Tommy Bowden). When Purnell arrived, the Clemson basketball program was in bad shape. Larry Shyatt had solidified the program as the worst in the ACC, and the cupboard was bare in terms of talent. Many people felt that many of the players on the team at that time were not even Division I caliber players.

Look at what Purnell has done in just five years:

2003-2004: 10-18 (3-13 ACC)

2004-2005: 16-16 (5-11 ACC)

2005-2006: 19-13 (7-9 ACC)

2006-2007: 25-11 (7-9 ACC)

2007-2008: 24-9 (10-6 ACC) thus far

The turnaround Purnell orchestrated has been nothing short of amazing. He has taken a struggling program and made it a contender capable of beating any team on any given night. The great thing about it is that he has built a program, and done so with class and integrity. I'm thrilled that Coach Purnell has signed a nice contract extension. He considers Clemson home and is happy to be a Tiger.

I will be very interested to see how the Tigers do tonight against Villanova. Although they are a #12 seed, Villanova is a quality opponent that can easily steal a victory tonight if we aren't careful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

Posted
Posted

What's wrong with South Carolina's teams in the tournament? Both Clemson and Winthrop just fell apart in the second halves of their games.

Well, it's another stepping stone in the road to improvement and the farthest the Tigers have come with OP. Let's do it better next year. :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
whitehourseview Burg

whitehourseview

Posted
Posted

This Winthrop loss might even be worse than the year we lost to Duke in the first round. Just awful. :(

Nah, Winthrop was never in that game vs. Duke in 2002. At least the Eagles played well for a half before wilting under Wash. St. pressure. The loss for Winthrop was not unexpected, like I said before, this was, in many ways a rebuilding year for them. I like the look of the recruits coming in next year.

Long term, Winthrop just has to have more booster club and sponsorship funding for its program, and perhaps look for a way to get out of the Big South conference. That conference affiliation is just dragging down the program like a heavy anchor. In a perfect world, I'd love for Winthrop to get invited to the Southern Conference, though they probably have enough non-football members. Another look would be the Colonial Athletic Association, but again, a major increase in funding would help there.

Clemson has made some nice improvements. The 18 point, second half collapse was similar to other events this season, awful but not unprecedented. Having Mays or Hammonds go missing for the much of the second half, along with Villanova just daring Clemson to shoot from outside was a killer. I'm not sure I expect as much from Clemson next season. Next year may be the step backward in a two steps forward, one step backward situation. But compared to the way that Larry Shyatt gut-bombed the program after Barnes left ten years ago, I'd think that a solid, top half of the ACC and regular NCAA tournament participant should be the norm. In that sense, the men's basketball program has finally reached the point where the baseball and football program are. Now if only the women's basketball program could finish with its gut-bombing process....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.