Clemson Fails Again

Well that was a crap way to end the season, a season I consider a horrible disappointment. We should win the first game in the tourney, and we should get a bye in the ACC tourney. Those are what the standards should be if we are going to be a legit team.

After the way Booker almost won last year's game against Michigan single-handedly I had big expectations but in this game Booker looked sluggish and almost chunky. Lethargic is the word I kept thinking of. His inside game turned into a sissy pout fest when he wasn't getting any calls. And he was getting fouled, make no mistake about it but the whole tourney they have let it be a physical game. OP should have prepared the team better for this game. At the 8 minute mark the guys were self destructing and going into blame mode rather than giving their all.

We should have won, here are my thoughts on why and what to think about going forward.

• Len Elmore was finally right about something, Tanner Smith is not athletic enough--he can't shoot the three and he turns the ball over a whole lot. He should not be a major part of the strategy moving forward. Even his defense was suspect in this game.
• Potter always sucked. Glad he is gone.
• Booker started the year trying to become an NBA player and ended up forgetting how to play college ball.
  
• The freshman class disappointed me. Johnson has shown flashes, along with Booker but its going to take awhile. Milt was a big disappointment, not ready for the physicality of the college game.
• Stitt is still prone to turning the ball over, dribbles loosely (no handles), and no one can pass into the post.
• Booker Jr. was a better post player at the beginning of the season--OP can't teach offense.
• In the game our offense consisted of standing around. We didn't even try to screen or run any sets. The inbounds plays consisted of throwing it to the corner so that the player could get trapped. We need a complete overhaul on our offensive philosophy.
  
• We lack toughness.
• We have one recruit coming in Marcus Thornton. We missed out on tons of recruits like Eric Smith and Jason Morris. We have no one coming in to save the team--we actually have no one coming in..

So the future looks somewhat bleak. Grant has improved but isn't a great post presence as a go to guy. Young is the lone bright spot, and I think Bobo deserves a legitimate chance to develop. What I am really frustrated about is the lack of player development on offense. We regress in a lot of areas and I want legit improvement. It seems that Shaka Smart was the offense and player development guy, as well as a recruiter. I think Purnell should shake up his staff...