ACC Basketball Teams as Car Companies: Teams 1-6

I am planning to buy a new, or at least newish, car in the near future. As I was starting to do some research, I began to think about cars, brands, and now that it is November, my mind obviously turned to Basketball. And sure this is probably lame, but its given me something to think about until the season starts this weekend. There is no methodology, just a sustained metaphor, which might even be weak at times.

In alphabetical order:

Boston College- Toyota.
BC is always solid and dependable, and rarely flashy. For as long as Al Skinner has been in Chestnut Hill, the Eagles have found a way to win. While they might not always field the strongest players, they usually have at least one or two who can get it done. This year it looks like that job will have to fall to either Rakim Sanders or Joe Trapani, both of whom return what might be one of the most veteran teams in the ACC this year.

Clemson- Hyundai.
As much as it pains me to say it, I think this is about where the Tigers are. Think back to the laughable, but efficient Hyundai Excel to now. A lot has changed for Hyundai, they are competing with the bigger, more established car manufacturers. The same can be said for the Tigers, while they had some success 10-15 years ago, that was a blip on the Clemson Basketball radar. Now with Oliver Purnell and this year's strong recruiting class, the Tigers, with preseason All-ACC selection Trevor Booker, are poised to topple some of the more traditional, established basketball powers of the ACC.

Duke- Mercedes.
Expensive, subtle, but not always dependable and long lasting. A Mercedes is, well, a Mercedes. Their price alone separates them from the other German car manufacturers. Historically, they have had unreliable vehicles, but things shifted a bit in the past. Now, with the exception of the ill-conceived SMARt Car, which of course, it is not, Mercedes is making a comeback in this area. Duke, much like Mercedes, is ready to do the same. Coach K is undoubtedly a good coach, whether you like him or not, but...he hasn't been able to break through recently. He has achieved more with his players than any other coach could have with the same team; however, he now has the added luxury of a strong recruiting class of athletes- which Duke has lacked. It could be a big year for Duke if everything runs well with the position adjustment of returning players Singler and Scheyer.

Georgia Tech- Ford.
The metaphor almost seems too easy- big successes early, recent poor performing vehicles, strong innovation, lack of execution, marketing, and follow through. Sounds about like a Paul Hewitt coached basketball team. This year, we will see what Coach Hewitt can do with his prized recruit, Derrick Favors. Now, Georgia Tech, Paul Hewitt, and all the Ramblin' Wrecks, which incidentally is a Ford Model A, are set to make a return to NCAA tournament after many lean years. Hewitt has the pieces this year to make things happen. And even though the Yellow Jackets were 2-14 in conference play last year, expectations are high- NCAA and beyond- following the Carmelo blueprint.

Florida State- Nissan.
Nissan has tried different branding (beginning with Datsun), sleek new designs, sexier and sportier ad campaigns, but just can't hit their stride. And while a Nissan is not a bad car, far from it, they are always seem poised to do something well, but it always seems to be lacking. Much the same can be said for Florida State. Last year the Seminoles cracked into the NCAA tournament after being left out the previous year. They were on the precipice of solid improvement and a larger win total. However, the key losses of Toney Douglas and Uche Echefu will hurt them. FSU has some reason to be happy, as they have a - if not the- most dominating center in the ACC in Solomon Alabi. With Alabi and a possible starting line up with no one under 6'7", the Seminoles could be formidable and imposing.

Maryland- Chevrolet.
Oh Chevrolet. You have tried everything except the most logical options. Rather than downsizing all of your employees at every turn, how about downsizing the redundant car/truck offerings. How many different names can a Chevy Silverado, s-10, GMC whatever have. Pick a brand and a model and stick to it. Stop sucking. You have potential, but it is limited by your lack of a cohesive identity. If you could do this, you could legitimately say you have the bestselling truck, but you can't. Oh Maryland! Oh Gary Williams! Maryland has a wildly passionate fan base, a la Chevy truck people, but they cannot seem to find the accidental greatness they had with Lonnie Baxter and Juan Dixon. Instead, Gary Williams supposedly refuses to play the recruiting games- good for him, possibly bad for Maryland, and their teams hopes are pinned to incendiary guard Grevis Vasquez. If these two hotheads can hold it together throughout the season, they should reach at least the round of 32, if not 16 in the NCAA tournament.

Teams 7-12 tomorrow.

The ACC Tournament is over today

I've gone dark.

A deep malaise of woefully uninspired basketball has drifted my way. It is probably not healthy to care this much.

I didn't understand the starting lineup switch from the beginning and I didn't understand our inability to stop anything GT was doing.

I understand that playing in a dome can be difficult for shooters, but Booker's peripheral vision should not be much different when he is down low. Get him the ball. Play defense. Win.

Clemson Fail- I don't even know the score.

Go Tigers!

Tigers host Georgia Tech Tonight

Time: 7:45pm
Watch: Fox Sports
Listen: WCCP
Follow: SCACCHoops

The Tigers will be fighting to stay relevant in the ACC tonight. They will be playing against ACC 0-5 GT. The difference between a win and a loss is tied for fourth or sole possession of sixth. Should the Tigers tonight, they will be tied with UNC at 3-2.

The schedule works out well for the Tigers from here on out. Nonetheless, tonight's game could be huge. A win would be a fight against a slide similar to two years ago.

In the two consecutive losses, the Tigers have let the opponent play their game, rather than forcing them to play our game. This seems like an obvious observation, but it is something we are not doing. Generally, this year's team has played above the level of the competition. They couldn't keep up against UNC.

The Tarheels had too many open shots, as they were able to beat us off the dribble or catch us in transition. This could, of course, be rectified if we had hit our shots and had been able to set up most times down the floor.

In order to win tonight, we are going to need the following:

Booker and KC to show up
Stitt to make an assist- not just turn the ball over.
TO to let the shot come to him and not try to create it.
Establish an inside presence- on offense and defense.
Have a PG-Stitt or Young, or whoever- attack the basket.
Set the screen.

And most importantly, play like we care. Play with passion.

We cannot afford to be defeated this early in the season. This team is better than they played in Chapel Hill. However, if they play like they did against UNC, it is going to be a long season.

Here are some lazy links to get you caught up before tonight's game:
Clemson official game notes
Greenville News
The State
The State "blog"- Baicu in the mix?
Tigernet
Anderson Independent, 2

And some history:
The ACC- feature Clemson Mahaffey history

Go Tigers!

Georgia Tech is a losing Team, but we got Peacocked

We lost.
We didn't play well.
It is math.

GT, still, didn't deserve to win- mostly because they are GT. I don't know that we deserved to win either, though.

The best thing I can say is that Cliff Hammonds is the best player Clemson has had in a long time.

This is not hyperbole.

He has a broken wrist, he is missing teeth, he has a young son and wife, his major is Architecture, he has a higher GPA than most anyone who I know that graduated from Clemson, and still he scores 15, with 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.

I cannot blame him. I will not. He has exceeded all expectations.

Now, this game is dead to me. I am looking forward to the VT game at home- Senior night for James Mays, Sam Perry and Uncle Cliff.

I guess it was Tetris Brain.

Still, Go Tigers!

Clemson vs. Ga Tech and the painful metaphor of the ramblin wreck.

Tonight the Tigers look to avoid developing a case of Tetris Brain and doing the [clemson] collapse.

Hopefully we won't be lingering upon and replaying what OP says is the biggest comeback in Clemson history and what most Maryland fans say is their biggest collapse.

So Tiger fans, suit up!












We're going to city.

It is 9-5 vs. 5-9, 21-7 vs. 12-16 and certainly some mathematical correlation can be made here. However, don't do it.

Clemson can accomplish many things tonight, some for the first time, some for the first time in a long time- But I am wary.

Maybe I am developing a case of poormouth here, but I am afraid to get excited about the possibility of anything positive happening tonight, or next weekend.

(I still see the W. Michigan Broncos with the first round upset in my mind. I have replayed it nearly as many times as I have the 2OT sweet 16 loss to Minnesota and Bobby 'socks' Jackson.)

The game is on ESPN2, but probably not HD, as purple doesn't sell as well as shades of blue.

Listen online here
Gametracker here

Go Tigers!

Tigers move to 6-4 in the ACC

The OP Stat of the Game: 23-32 FT, that is 71.9%.



The Tigers were lead by Uncle Cliff Hammonds, that's him second to the end on the left, with 22 points as he is making the best of his final three home games as a Clemson Tiger. He continues to be one of the most talented, yet understated guards in the ACC.

It must be the goatee(s)- Look at them, six of them.

About last night, I thought the Tigers responded nicely. They didn't limp into the game with little direction, as they did against Charlotte. Good Work.

We did, however, concede 42 points in the paint. This will work as long as we are on with our guards.

Now we have to look forward to two away games- NCSU this saturday, then at FSU, before our penultimate revenge home game against Miami.

This weekend, the entire OP staff will be in Vegas.
I promise to bet on the Tigers against NCSU.

It may be a trap, as there is no way to know which State team will show up. Should we play like we have been the past four games, despite the game being in Raleigh, we should win handily.

This is our chance to go to 7-4, just one win shy of avoiding a losing ACC-season.

Go Tigers!

Clemson Tigers <3 GT

By now, we all know what happened; however it is explained.

And what happens next is more important than what already happened.

If you didn't know, we play Georgia Tech Thursday. GT is a much improved team, sitting at 4-4 in the ACC, a mere one game behind us at 5-4.

In January, GT lost to UNC by 1, 82-83, followed by a three game conference win streak against VT, NCSU, and UVA. They lost to Maryland by two, 86-88, and then beat Wake.

Overall, GT always plays us tough. And, they always have strong guard play. This year is no different.

Despite all of this, I am more interested in seeing how we respond to a second loss to UNC; hopefully, we will come out as a team with a chip on its shoulder rather than a hapless, defeated one.

Tigers, it would have been great to beat UNC. However, that is just one game. The bigger goal is still in reach.

It is time to take it and grab it.

Go Tigers!

Oliver Purnell: Thank You.

Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell argues with an unidentified referee after being charged with a technical foul and ejected from the game during the second half of a basketball game against Georgia Tech, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2007. Tech won 80-62. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Oliver Purnell ejected for the first time in 15 seasons. His ejection comes on the heels of several ACC official clock, personnel, and wardrobe malfunctions. While I think being able to rebound would have kept us in the game and possibly afforded us an opportunity to win, as Georgia Tech out-rebounded Clemson 44-28, OP sent a message to the team, the fans, and the ACC with his ejection.

"I apologized to our team for leaving them out there alone, but yet at the same time, enough is enough," Purnell said. "We had errors at Duke, an obvious no-call and walk that cost us the game against Virginia and now this game ... at some point you have to fight for your team."

And I am happy to see him do it.

Now, the team must move forward by re-learning how to box out, rebound, and protect the basketball. Yesterday, Clemson had 22 turnovers to Ga Tech's 16 in addition to 3 steals compared to GT's 17 steals. Our freethrow percentages have been improving, as we shot 68% yesterday. However, stronger inside play will lead to more FT opportunities which might or might not help our FT%.

More than anything, the Tigers, looked tired, out-played, and not as hungry as they should be. OP has got to get the Tigers in line before they take on the improving Seminoles. Remember, these were the two teams we beat with last second shots, and it seems they want(ed) to beat us more than we want(ed) to beat them.

Go Tigers!

Clemson Basketball: OP Represent!

Today, the Tigers look to make positive forward progression as they move into the second half of the ACC schedule. And while the Tigers finished 4-4, instead of the should-have-been 6-2, OP and the Tigers should be given at least some praise for finished at .500 or above for the first half for the first time since 1996-1997.

Concerning the recent heart-wrenching games, OP via Andy Katz

Oliver Purnell isn't panicking over Clemson's 4-4 ACC record after being the last team to lose. Purnell said the Tigers simply haven't closed out the last two games well -- at Duke and against Virginia. "Against Virginia in the last seven minutes, we didn't score a field goal, had eight shots, six good looks and missed two free throws and turned it over twice," Purnell said. "So, we can play better and we know we need to finish strong."

And remember, Clemson was on the other side of two last second (-ish) wins during the first half against FSU and GaTech. So, this means we were involved in four (too) close games. The difference between the wins and the losses points to only one thing: Rebounding, offensive and defensive. The necessity of rebounding should be obvious to anyone. Somewhere our toothy aggression and fight have cowled away. "There has been a little bit of a lull with Trevor as well," Purnell said. "We need him to get back to where he was. He's been in foul trouble in a couple of games, but the bottom line is that at the end of the day we need a solid game from Trevor Booker."

Despite the rebounding concern, "the only negative of late, for Purnell, is the blowout home loss to North Carolina. He said closing out games should be a solvable problem down the stretch."

(God I hope so.)

Because being able to close the deal is exactly what we need back for today's GT game. The game itself is in Atlanta at 1pm. I will not watch it live. I will listen, periodically, via the interweb or XM and check the gametracker. I will wish Julius Powell were not hurt. We need all of the help we can get to continue our OProgress.

I trust OP to get the team back on track, even in Atlanta against a team seemingly backed into a corner. We need to open the second half strong. Yes, it has been difficult these past weeks; hopefully having the long break will be a positive rather than a negative.

Go Tigers!

Clemson Tiger Basketball: GT Notes, Preview,

Today's game can be followed via Gametracker, Online Radio, and TV (RSN- Check Local Listings, however, Raycom lists the game as ESPNU, and Clemson lists the game as FSN). No matter from where the A/V comes, find it and watch it.

Also, I found an audio link to Thursday's OPress conference in which he discusses the win in Tally, GT, and 15-0. If you need the OP, get it here.

For the complete media guide to today's game from Clemson.


GT is the closest school with which we have a consistent, strong, competitive, two-way rivalry. The overall record between the Clemson and GT is 55-52, with GT having a slight lead. We don't even come close to that kind of parity with other, historic ACC Schools.

The game should be, as all the ACC games today will be, tough, deliberate, and exciting. This is a big test for the Tigers. Not only are they trying to keep a nearly unprecedented win streak alive, they are moving more deeply into the ACC-eason and the difficult game rotation. Though Clemson has a relatively less difficult rotation schedule this year, it would be inaccurate to say our ACC Schedule is easy; it isn't, just less difficult in parts.

GT is looking to get back into the top 25, where they started the season. They have been working with Clinch less and less, so his suspension should not affect them tremendously. Were they to win, I think OP could turn it into a positive. A loss would allow us to fly back under-the-radar and allow us to sneak a bit more. A win would place us at 2-0 in the ACC, 16-0 for the season, and squarely in the spotlight, as it is possible that we would be the only undefeated team left with UCLA playing the just defeated Oregonian Ducks.

I am looking forward to today's game.

Prediction:
Tigers 75- GT-70'

Believe It. Go Tigers!