Clemson A.c.c. basketball game preview:

#160 R.P.I. Clemson @ #89 R.P.I. Virginia Tech

TV coverage: 4pm, RSN
Vegas line: VT-4.5
o/u=124
$-line: TBA

This years Tiger hoops squad is 11-10 overall and 3-4 in A.c.c. play. Good for seventh best in Atlantic Coast terms. Clemson is not a bad hoops team any more than Clemson is not a good hoops team. At first blush they appear to be uneven at best, an offensively limited at worst.

That said, the Tigers have chalked up L’s of: 3 points, 1 point, 3 points, 2 points, 3 points and 4 points on the year. Or in other words they are about 7 odd shots away from being 17-4. Is it politically correct to type that these are some snakebite Tigers in this day-n-age? If ‘yes” that’s what’s going on in South Carolina –so close yet so far away; and these Tigers –just like Vah.Tech- are fighting to keep their post-season hopes alive; such that they are. Clemson needs a “dub-ah-u” or Win after having dropped 4 of their last 6; VT needs a “dub-ah-u” even worse having been beaten in 7 of their last 8 and just a ½ game outta 12^th place in a 12 team race in the A.c.c.

Obviously one A.c.c. hoops program gets well soon and one continues its descent down the A.c.c. tournament bracket and into what will likely be an unfavorable and possibly unmanageable first-round match-up.

 Clemson at a glance:

• 26^th best in scoring defense (59.9 ppg allowed)
• 58^th best in defensive rebounding
• 66^th in turnover margin (+2.1)
• 80^th in blocked shots per game (4.3)
• 236^th in scoring offense (64.9 ppg)

Clemson Frontcourt:

• N.B.A. pros= 1 remote next level player
• Injuries=none

  

Depth is the name of the game for a Tiger frontcourt that although it lacks individual star power it does enjoy some measure of a strength in numbers kinda game. Leading the G.N.C. charge upfront is junior year forward/center Devin Booker. Devin goes 6`8“ and a brutish 245 lbs. and that makes Devin a load down on the low blocks. Devin gives you a team leading 6.5 boards and 11 steady points on a second-best 48.6% from the floor and a team leading 68 FTA’s (71% on such) from the at the FT-line. Is Devin a great player? No, he is however a downright solid low-post player right now with a sneaking shot at being a good one come next year. Helping out upfront with Devin is Milton Jennings. Milt’ is another junior year forward who stands in at 6`9“ and tips the Toledo’s at 227 lbs. Milt’ scraps his way to 9 points, 5 rebounds and a team leading 1.1 blocks per game. Milt’s also tends to play better vs. bigger names, so it remains to be seen how much 1-6 A.c.c. Vah.Tech will do for his ego.

Standing a towering true-Center sized 7`3“ in height and 255 lbs. down in the pivot would be one #10, Catalin Baciu. Last year the Romanian born Catalin averaged 1.1 and 1.1 again (points and rebounds); and the joke around the A.c.c. was that he looked good in the Airport and nowhere else. This campaign Catalin is the leading frontcourt reserve for Coach Brad Brownell. Catalin is now getting you 4 and 2, while blocking a shot, and leading the team with nothing much beyond dunks, put-backs and bunnies at 61.3% from the field. That said, even if Catalin is and always will be limited on the offensive end in his final year of ball, he is a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end and a very large and in change match-up problem for the undersized and undermanned Vah.Tech frontline. Also contributing a few minutes per half are 6`6“ 190 lb. K.J. McDaniels and 6`7“ 225 lb. Brad Sullivan. K.J. is an exceptionally athletic freshman year wing who Lindy’s magazine compared favorable to our very own Deron Washington. K.J will dunk and he will dunk straight nasty on you if you let him. Right now he is at least a year away from being a major contributor, although 4 points and a couple of boards in only 9 minutes of p.t. (playing time) tells you just how freaky this guy can be. Sullivan like McDaniels is a rookie year combo-forward who turned down a buncha other big-name offers to attend Clemson. Sullivan’s defense is ahead of his offense (32%) right now, and he is only netting 1 and cleaning the glass for 1 as well. That’s just too low for a kid with fundamentally sound drop-steps, jump-hooks and left-handed range out to 18`. Such said, these two have the look and feel of a handsome forward combo come 2015.

READERs note: wanna be Rap-artist Bryan Narcisse started the last game and moved Bernard Sullivan to the bench in a non health related measure. The 6`6“ 223 lb. high-light reel dunker had been getting you 3 and 3 off the Clemson pine, though if his asthma (and God Bless on that)  has improved look out, this kid is a major vertical player who finishes well above the rim.

Clemson Backcourt:

• Association pros= 1 fringe overseas caliber baller
• Hurts=zero

Coach Brownell employs a 3-guard starting rotation with basically one backcourt sub’ off the Tigers bench.

Leading the way in scoring despite his Middle Earth 5`8“ Baggins D.N.A. inspired statue is one #11, Andre Young (no, not Dr. Dre either). On a points per foot basis I’d have to say that Mr. Young’s 13.6 ppg (points per game) and a team leading 87.7% from the FT-stripe is what you’d call getting your monies worth and than some. ‘dre’s range is pretty much the gym, as he will jack one up from anywhere inside thereof. Quantifiably speaking ‘dre goes 41% from the floor and 35% from 3-point land, so his shot selection does occasionally leave something to be desired; that said, he is a gunner and he could always get a job a Remington this summer as he never met a shot that he did not like or was afraid to take. On the other hand, ‘dre’s 3.4:1.1 assist to turnovers ratio is nothing short (pardon the pun) of phenomenal! Be clear, this is ‘dre’s team and this is his rock when he has the ball in his heads. ‘dre has worked and worked and worked some more, I’d say his 309% increase in scoring since his debut year attests to how much this pint-sized fan-favorite has worked himself up. Good for ‘dre, he sure is a fun baller to watch.

Tanner Smith is a 6`5“ 210 lb. senior 2-guard who is a reliable shooter who just like ‘dre Young has improved his game each and every year. Tanner is second team wide in scoring with 11.2 ppg, 5.4 boards, and a team pacing 4 assists per game. That’s what I call a quality all-‘round steady baller who does nothing to hurt you every bit as much as doing all the little things well in an attempt to help you. Rounding out the starting backcourt trifecta of guards would be T.J. Sapp who is intent on initializing a combo-guard well rounded four year starting career at Clemson. T.J. is a right-sized guard who can make shots and has nice enough handles alike. Right now the rookie Fort Lauderdale native is getting you 4 points and 2 rebounds; although he appears to have hit the rookie wall as he has zero points in 6 of his last 11 games.

Kicking in off the pine in the Tigers backcourt is Devin Coleman. Devin is a 6`3“ 175 lb. freshman who likewise has a reputation as a transition finisher at the lead-guard spot. Devin has broken into the playing rotation in the last handful of games, and although his vitals (stats) are not all that just yet (1 point and 1 board) this kid does look to have a very high ceiling going forward and if nothing else, his vertical-leap speaks to that. Receiving spot minutes off the bench is 6`2“ 215 lb. freshman season Rod Hall. Rod is a strong all-state caliber wide receiver who gave up football to pursue a surprising career in hoops. Rod is already up to 4.5 ppg and conjures up an assist and a rebound alike as his minutes continue to grow.

Conclusion(s), illation, OPT digits:
If 10-7 games in football or football scores in hoops are your thing, you Sir have come to the right place. Neither of these two clubs is anything remotely approaching an offensive juggernaut, and more to the point, I gotta tell you that I am a bit shy that the top-8 players combined would give you much more than a C+++ offensive team. That said, both clubs are mutually well above average on defense and both clubs must win right away to keep any measure of any post-season hopes alive and well.

We will find out tomorrow how it worked. Though that’s a page from Bulls and Lakers guru skull-jockey first and foremost and coach second one Phillip Jackson.

Public egos>>>private egos and therefore going out into the press and breaking the lockeroom taboo on silence can sometimes be more effective in the age of MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.

Let the 4th estate (media) do your head-game bidding.

Then let the media take the black-eye if attempts like this blow up in your face.

Though I will say that that was an all-in move by Seth –may have even a bit desperate as moves go as well.

Though you prolly (do) need to play with a sense of desperation when you are very much in danger of finishing <.5oo, a half game removed from 12th best in a league of 12, and entirely in danger of missing the post-season all together. Seth just put the remainder of the season on the line in one fell swoop. Perfect timing as well; as 3 of our next 4 may be the last 3 all year that appear pretty winnable on paper.

Now or never — fish or cut bait.

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“We are who we are because of who we were.”
-author unknown-

This VT hoops team has not been too good of late, at least not on offense and in the A.c.c. standings alike. This is a very youthful Virginia Tech hoops team that has once again been robbed of some measure of health. They are also mired in a 1-7 slump with only a single solitary win since last year. That’s not good and coach Seth Greenberg his very ownself just put everything at stake.

Clemson has not won a road start since November folks –though the Tigers have been playing their A.c.c. counterparts some scrappy contests as the visitor in recent weeks; having been dropped by 3.0 points on average and never by more than 2 baskets (or four points) during that time span. Curiously enough, Clemson does not travel all that poorly for a team that is only 28% on roadtrips. The Tigers are nearly precisely the same across all offensive metrics except FT-shooting which drops by a noticeable 4% as the guest, however even that is not an over the top or game-changing change in and of itself. The Clemson defensive metrics only soften by ~2% which again is nothing more than a systemic dispersion splatter patten in graphical statistical terms; or possibly even less than you would expect when visiting in A.c.c play.

Also of note is that Clemson has had +2 days and change worth of extra practice and/or extra rest with Virginia Tech playing on the oddball ~40 hour semi short-start turnaround from Thursday night in a game vs. #5 ranked Duke that had to expend some mental and physical orange and maroon bullets alike. The only thing I could truly find that was remarkable enough to be worthy of reporting is that the Clemson FG percentage defense has worsened by 3.9% from the floor and by 3.1% from beyond the arc in the Tigers last 5 games. That’s not enough to peg this game, much less enough to hang an OPT entry upon. Coach Brownell is a defensive coach by trade and I have to think that +4 days rest should clean most of that up. Ergo, in conclusion and on the balance, this one looks basically even to me.

Then we have the X-factor otherwise known as the above mentioned rant from Coach Seth Greenberg which clouds matters all the further. How will such a puerile Virginia Tech hoops team respond to all of that? Will they let go the rope or will they get a grip and straighten up and fly right? You tell me … in the space provided free of charge below. Love to hear some, no, make that any insight on that one. Please do if you can.

That said …  if Seth’s all-in ante does not work, those things you will be seeing roll right on by at about 7pm on Saturday night will be the wheels that just rolled off the little orange and maroon wagon that could(not). An apparently frustrated and possibly desperate Seth went all-in for this game as motivational ploys go so you can go ahead and flip a coin on this contest and if you don’t like the results flip it again and see how 2 outta 3 works for you. Best I can give you is that this one is gonna be a close one which has me out on the proverbial limb with must trusty techsidleine.com hacksaw firmly in hand a few feet above the likewise proverbial thin-ice. This one comes down to the last shot and he who makes last, laughs last as somebody wins 61-6o. I just gotta figure out who that would be, first.

Virginia Tech=61 Clemson=60

“LETS GO!”

“HOKIES!”

bourbonstreet**