Archive for March, 2009

Purnell looks into his crystal ball

Oliver Purnell met with a surprisingly large gathering of media hacks this morning to close the book on Clemson’s 2008-09 season as well as provide some insight on what might be to come next year.
Junior forward Trevor Booker, who announced Friday that he’ll return for his senior season, also swung by.
Booker never even filled out [...]

Musings on the defense, plus grand Seth auto

Before getting to football – I know Clemson basketball coaches thought they had a shot to land Liberty transfer Seth Curry. And they also were aware the competition would be stiff.
N.C. State was in the picture, and Curry could shoot at will for the Wolfpack. Virginia Tech was the great unknown because of the family [...]

Scrimmage observations — offense

I’ve watched WR Taqiy Muhammad dominate a USC spring game and former Clemson RB Paul Macko post a resume worthy of a spring football lifetime achievement award.
So let me preface this by saying I’m making a concerted effort to not make too much out of a single spring scrimmage – especially Saturday morning’s being Clemson’s [...]

Recapping Clemson’s pro day

Relative to most pro-day workouts I’ve covered, there wasn’t much worth tracking at Clemson’s on Tuesday morning. As one scout for an AFC team told me, “We didn’t learn anything we didn’t already know.”
A few things we might not have known:
Finally, an admission
For the first time, I walked away from seeing Cullen Harper with the [...]

The Dan Brooks hiring finally happens

It took long enough, but Clemson has finally hired Dan Brooks to be its defensive line coach.
Actually, more specifically, Brooks has agreed to do the job. Clemson won’t literally hire him until after conducting a background check and putting him through the paperwork ringer, which could take a matter of days or even weeks.
This hire [...]

This round is on me

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Don’t believe there’s much left to dissect regarding Clemson’s NCAA first-round tourney game tonight with Michigan.
It’s not very often when the Xs and Os of a basketball game make for a compelling topic, but the fact Michigan’s offense and defense are both unconventional just explains why no one really seems to [...]

Unlucky sevens

Had the same reaction as junior forward Trevor Booker when Clemson flashed across the TV screen Sunday evening as a No. 7 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Yep, the Tigers’ first-round ACC tourney exodus could cost them dearly.
I’ve been of the mind that there’s vast separation between this year’s No. 2 and No. 3 seeds. [...]

Wondering if Clemson’s seed will matter

Gotta think that with the way Clemson’s defense has melted down toward season’s end (for a handful of reasons), the specifics of the Tigers’ first-round NCAA game are the least of Oliver Purnell’s concerns.
Have a story in Sunday’s paper going over some of the analysts/licensed bracketologists’ takes on where Clemson will be seeded; by and [...]

Hoops and football ramblings

Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago there was conjecture Oliver Purnell might be a candidate to replace Gary Williams at Maryland?
Now which team appears likeliest to make noise in the NCAA tournament?
In the wake of Clemson’s first-round ACC tournament exodus, I’m reminded of my stock answers every year when there are questions about what [...]

Tuesday practice observations

Sure I’ll have plenty of time to expand on so many of these topics later, but thought I’d pass along a few observations from Tuesday night’s spring football practice, which was open to the public.
It goes against my writing nature, but am going to try to make these quick so I can get at least [...]