Clemson Basketball: 2008-2009 slide show

No, I didn't abandon the Tigers. I just needed to cool jets. Now, I think I have.

It was a long, sine wave of a season. Though some fans may be disappointed, I think for the most part, they are proud of this year's seniors- KC Rivers, Raymond Sykes, and Jesse Yanutola. This year's seniors have accomplished things no other senior class has done.

Congratulations and Thank you for everything you did for Clemson Basketball and Clemson University. For the underclassmen, you are part of the Clemson family, for better and worse. And let's always hope for the best.

I took the pictures I posted this year on the blog and randomly placed them in a slide show. Most of the images appeared on the OP blog earlier this year. Some came from other sources. I am sure someone, somewhere could do a better job. Let me know if its you and I will post your video.

Here it is. Enjoy.

Go Tigers!

Tallahassee or Bust!

When: 2:00 pm, Sat. 2/28/09
Where: Tallahassee, USA
Listen: WCCP
Watch: Raycom split- that means maybe, maybe not, depending upon where you live.- Oh, our favorite gamecock/tarheel Eddie Fogler will be announcing- just listen online, it will be much more pleasant.
Follow: SCACCHoops

Tomorrow's game against FSU is -as all games are, but this one even more so- a must-win.

The following analysis comes from the tarheelfanblog:

Clemson still has not learned the most valuable lesson of all. If you want to be an ACC elite, you cannot lose a home game on the home stretch. The loss to Virginia Tech was damaging since Clemson owned the tiebreaker with Duke. It also hurt because they risk dropping to fourth since they play FSU in Tallahassee. A loss to the Seminoles puts them behind FSU by a de facto two games since FSU swept the Tigers. Clemson would need to beat Virginia and almost certainly knock off Wake Forest on the road to avoid dropping to fifth and playing in the ACC first round games.

I could not have been more succinct myself. It is time to win. Nothing good has come out of Tallahassee- well except maybe that FSU girl with the cowboy hat. And she is from Miami.

Nonetheless, it is time to win. The loss to FSU last game was unacceptable. We gave up 19 points. It would be easy to get on the negativity bandwagon, but its not that time. Plenty, well not plenty, but enough important, relevant basketball remains, especially given our current position in the ACC standings and the fact that our remaining three games are against team to which we have lost.

The Tigers have, for the most part, come back strong after a loss. Here's a video of the FSU players previewing tomorrow's game:

Read the official Clemson preview. Its not quite as sexy as the FSU, as it doesn't have video.

Essentially, it is time to win. Hit the shots, play defense, press, do whatever it takes.

I don't have anything more insightful to say than that.

Win.

Go Tigers!

Oliver Purnell Discusses Maryland Victory

Jerai Grant Dunks x 3 - from the Greenville News

Go Tigers!

Clemson Basketball: It's that time of year again.

What many people may look toward during the basketball season is now what many are trying to forget even before this basketball season starts. It seems our football team has not lived up to their potential and preseason hype. And so we all turn our attention to the consistent improvement of Oliver Purnell and the Men's basketball team.

And while last year's performance is being downplayed by the Tigers, as KC said, "Last year is last year." With three solid seniors not back from last year's team- Of course, Uncle Cliff, James Mays, and his fellow energy brother Sam "Sleeves" Perry will be missed- this year is going to be a challenge.

However, Oliver Purnell is carefully optimistic. The Tiger Men's Basketball team under Purnell has improved each year he has been coach, last year achieving a 24-10 record and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Though those bright hopes, were dashed by the Fighting Villanovans in the first round of the NCAA tournament, this year Purnell expects just as much and even more of the team.

"We want to make this year no exception," Purnell said. "What that means is being above the second- or third-best team in the ACC. And what that means is not just participating in the national tournament, but going deep in the national tournament with a chance to win it."
This year, our out-of-conference schedule is a bit more difficult and will hopefully help us prepare for the endgame in March.

Senior KC Rivers will be leading the charge this year with all other, non-senior key players returning: TO- Terrence "Thor" Oglesby, Raymond"Tiny Wine" Sykes, Demontez Stitt, David Potter, Jerai Grant, oh, and big Book, Trevor Booker in center. The addition of Big Ups "Bobo" Catalin Baicu also in the center, speedy Andre Young at point, and "Big Smoove" Bryan Narcisse and Tanner "The Gentle Ginger" Smith on the wing should help shore up some of the void left by the departing seniors. I'm getting excited just listing the players names. Replacing Cliff Hammonds, however, and not necessarily in terms of statistics, but of heart, dedication, and determination, will probably be the most difficult concern for this year's team.

It's time to get ready and time to get going. Read more about this year's team below:

Greenville News
Anderson Independent, 2
Charleston Post and Courier
The State
Spartanburg Herald-Journal

Next Friday, 10/17, practice officially begins and it will be time to "Rock the John" with festivities starting at 8:00 pm.

Go Tigers!

Clemson Basketball: Timekeeper guy needs to be fired.

From our seats, this image is right before things got bad.

This youtube video is when it got bad.

Never mind the added time at the end. The clock did not move when Vernon Hamilton took his shot. As I was at the game, I can assure you VH had the ball longer than .6 seconds. I hope to god OP files a formal complaint with the ACC officials/timekeepers/whoever for that. Yes, Duke would have still had an opportunity to shoot their final shot, but not 4.4 seconds.

Yes, I was in the belly of the whale, the death star. And I hated it.

Go Tigers!

Clemson Basketball: Video Highlights from Shoeless Works

The File is large, 27MB in wmv format, but worth it. The video covers FSU, GT, NCSU, MD, UNC, and BC. So, you get the good and the bad.

The video is also available from Youtube.

Go Tigers!

Clemson Basketball: OP on Cold Pizza Video

If you missed it, click here, or the picture above to watch OP's appearance on ESPN's Cold Pizza. As always, OP presents a positive image of Clemson. I want to invite him over for dinner.

alternate video link

Go Tigers!

Clemson Basketball vs. UNC: Preview Links

• Positive or Negative, inside or out, here is a video of Clemson students waiting for tickets for the UNC game tomorrow night.
• A preview of tomorrow's game: Clemson vs. UNC via, inside carolina.
• Link to UNC messageboard discussing the possibilities and ramifications of UNC losing to Clemson.
• Pro-Clemson Article from the New York Sun.

Go Tigers!