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Tarred and feathered

After suggesting two posts ago that Clemson has to feel unlucky it doesn’t get the chance to end its dubious 54-game losing streak at UNC this year, here’s thinking I probably oughtta ride into the blog sunset on top.
Even then, though, can’t say I saw Wednesday night’s 83-64 thrashing coming, at least to that degree.
Adding [...]

Butler conspicuously absent from all-star circuit

Invites to the postseason college football all-star games and the NFL Combine are out.
And is it relates to Clemson, there appears one surprise, at least to me.
The lack of pre-draft activity for senior corner Crezdon Butler.
Four Tigers were invited to the Combine, three of whom were no-brainers: RB C.J. Spiller, DE Ricky Sapp, WR Jacoby [...]

Decades past and present

Surely it was no coincidence that on the football team’s biggest weekend in terms of recruiting – both in terms of volume and stature of prospects making official visits with their families – that the school honored the Atlantic Division champs at halftime of Saturday’s basketball game.
Dabo Swinney took the mic and told fans to [...]

The McDonald’s hoops value menu

One recurring theme swirling around Clemson basketball team, at least externally, is the contribution – or lack thereof – from its vaunted freshmen trio of Milton Jennings, Devin Booker and Noel Johnson.
Don’t think it’s been a stretch to suggest this team’s ceiling will parallel the development of that group considering the cast of complementary players surrounding Trevor Booker, [...]

Yo-ho-ho and a Bowden in the running

Generally when a coach is fired, it seems the team that axed said coach often looks for the opposite of what it had.
If you had a player’s coach, the fans want a disciplinarian, and vice versa. If you had a finesse offensive coach, you go for a physical, defensive guy, and vice versa.
If you had [...]

The Duke disaster

FROZEN TUNDRA OF ARCHDALE, N.C. — Oliver Purnell is right when he points out that in No. 21 Clemson’s wins, you can usually count 7-8 players at game’s end who have played well. That’s how his system works.
When you have 7-8 players who play pretty poorly – mainly on the offensive end – you have [...]

Basketball season really begins Sunday

On Christmas Eve, Clemson junior center Jerai Grant and family were visited at their home near Washington D.C. by Duke guard Nolan Smith, a close friend whom Grant competed with locally for years.
Sunday night’s ACC opener between the 21st-ranked Tigers (12-2) and 7th-ranked Blue Devils (11-1) was fast approaching, so conversation quickly steered to the [...]

Missing Marquan

It’s been 11 seasons since a Clemson receiver failed to log at least 50 catches (1998, Brian Wofford had 35).
Gotta wonder whether the Tigers will have any receiver get there next year.
If you’d have asked me who their “No. 1” guy in 2010 would be before this past year, I wouldn’t have paused.
Marquan Jones.
The same [...]

Coming of age

My goal next week is to produce a to-do wish list for Clemson’s offseason. And the more I’ve loosely brainstormed some ideas, the more one item has come front and center:
Show offensive coordinator Billy Napier some love.
That can obviously come in various forms – none more salient than a raise, of course.
With so much focus [...]

Music City mishmash

Few quick thoughts from Sunday night’s Music City Bowl, beyond the fact Clemson trumped my prediction.
Don’t know how much Clemson will really gain by the victory other than the chance to feel good about the season – which, actually, is pretty substantial.
But beating Kentucky was so important in the sense that the coaches and players [...]