Stanley Hunter Interview

This will hopefully be a more consistent feature here on Clembentigermax. We are very pleased to have Stanley Hunter on the blog. He is certainly one of the most inspirational players to play on the team and we hope to continue to get updates from him throughout the years. We asked a few basic questions that we hope readers will enjoy...

1) What is your favorite all time football moment, so far as a Clemson Tiger? My favorite moment as a Tiger on the football field I would have to say would be my first tackle against Alabama...After all that I had been through at that time, it just felt so good to finally make a play as a Tiger!

2) What is your favorite locker room memory that you have, something fun the readers may not have heard before?? A funny locker room moment: Haha there are so many but one that stands out is after fall camp '08, the upper classmen throw all the freshmen in the cold pool lol...its always fun to watch but definitely not fun to endure!

3) What is your spot to eat in Clemson? The best place to eat in Clemson...hmmm I'm going with Mac's! It's awesome and I can never get enough of it!

Again we want to thank Stanley for all his work as a Tiger (player and now as a coach) and wish him the best in the future. God Bless Stanley!!

Bring On Some Football

We are less than a hundred days away!!

Keith Law Lays Down The Proverbial 'Law' On Kyle Parker

Dinich talks Kyle Parker with someone who knows his stuff, Keith Law. He says what we have been saying on the blog (scroll down for TigerMax's recent blurb) that KP is a second to fourth round draft pick and not a first round grade. KP would play first base and some LF in the MLB--those are positions usually reserved for non-athletes. I think KP is a better football athlete than he is a baseball one, which sounds strange but as Law says he isn't "the typical two-sport guy who's fast and flexible." Statistically 1st base and LF aren't your high value positions in baseball, but wait--he can hit you say...

For you, Law finishes with this gem, "He's also more of a mistake hitter whose power is more evident in BP than in games." Ouch. Still he is putting up good numbers, so the hope is that once the scouts start spreading this around and do some deeper analysis his stock will drop. Not that I want him to fail, I just want him to play football in the spring and have the team succeed over the individual--yeah I am that selfish...


(photo courtesy of the Anderson Independent Mail--yeah, this isn't a myspace picture, its from a newspaper...haha)

The real question Kyle and his family will ask is what is best for his future...will he be able to be drafted as a QB? Then you have to ask, will his baseball draft stock ever get higher than it currently is?? And then finally--do you risk it all to play another year of Clemson football???(yes, three question marks) They actually are tough questions when it all boils down...

Emerson says Holloway Denied Clemson Transfer

I hate to send people to his twitter feed but Seth Emerson had it first. Holloway has been denied a transfer to the Coots and Clemson. A kid from Alabama, who is a senior just went to UNC--give me a break Ole Miss. Holloway, get a lawyer and appeal it to the NCAA and they will fold. Its not right and it won't stand up in court.

This was really the reason why we couldn't hold Marcus Thornton to his LOI because if kids take it to court they win hands down. Any lawyers out there want to volunteer? Its a slam dunk case (awful pun intended)...

So yeah...Kyle Parker

I've been too busy with work to write much lately. But I've been following baseball and yeah, Kyle Parker currently sports a slash line of .391/.519/.751. 169 at bats is still a small sample size for projecting future performance in baseball, but that's still a mighty impressive line for a third-year player in the ACC. His batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is .412 which seems a bit high and could imply that some regression is coming. For reference sake, average BABIP in the big leagues is around .290. On the other hand, the average ACC BABIP is undoubtedly higher and this stat can mislead at the college level if players consistently square up on pitchers from weak out-of-conference competition.

It's not just the numbers, most of the scouting sites I've read are now pretty much sold on his power and approach at the plate. No one is willing to go out on a limb and say he'll hit for good average in the pros, but now everyone seems to acknowledge it as a distinct possibility. He is still rated as raw on the defensive skills side. The stupid errors are down this season, but that's something that's not really that important and can be improved through repetition. What scouts are looking for is range, jump as the ball comes off the bat, and route-running (in roughly that order). Arm strength then comes in as a pretty distant fourth, although Parker has plenty of arm. To me he still seems to get poor jumps and take pretty lousy routes, but his range might have improved a bit from years past. The routes can be fixed with experience, but jump is more instinctive. Good range will make up for below-average jump, though.

I have always felt that Parker's defense would keep him from getting drafted high enough to tempt him away from another season of football. My reasoning: there isn't a lot of demand right now for all bat, no glove players--even at a corner outfield position. If your ceiling includes the DH position, that automatically cuts the number of interested teams in half and recently even the DH slot has been used by American League teams for purposes other than stashing away a slugger. Ultimately, however, I think Parker's overall athleticism (bolstered in part by a strong showing on the football field last season?) is causing concerns about his defense to fade, at least somewhat. Coupled with an improved plate approach, his stock has really been rising. There was always the danger that a team with a lot of money to burn on the draft (Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Tigers, etc.) would select him trying to snag higher-level talent later in the draft. At this point, he seems likely to get a good offer from whatever team drafts him.

I'm curious what others think about his defensive play this season. My eye doesn't have the best training in the world, but if we can get a few opinions we'll have a better idea--a wisdom of crowds kind of thing. At any rate, it's going to be a tenser summer for Clemson football fans than I previously anticipated.

Let Murphy Holloway Come To Clemson

This is seriously outrageous. Ole Miss has decided to deny Murphy Holloway from transferring to Clemson. Of course they have every right to not allow him to transfer to another in conference, SEC school but there is no merit in denying him his ability to transfer to be closer to home. Did Duke reject the transfer to Memphis? Will Roy deny the transfer of the Wear brothers(which makes NC's frontline look even thinner next year) to a non-ACC school?

This is just some petty, weak sauce from Ole Miss but they aren't entirely to blame. I think we should send some serious disgruntled letters to the State to perhaps rein in Korncoot a little. His poor journalism is partly the reason we are in this predicament. He said the transfer was "a done deal", so much so that it was even picked up by ESPN. The fact that ESPN took Korncoot's story is laughable and a poor reflection on their own level of journalistic integrity. It's like quoting me for crying out loud.

In summary, Holloway better be released to Clemson after his appeal. Its juvenile and I am sick of Clemson always getting the short end of these sticks. Did we man up and release Marcus Thornton?? Yes, and this isn't even in that same league--Ole Miss, do the right thing.

Murphy Holloway Come On Home

So the report is out that Ole Miss player Murphy Holloway is transferring to be closer to his daughter and family. He could either go to Clemson or USC but because Ole Miss let some player go to LSU last year, the 2008 South Carolina Gatorade player of the year is most likely coming to Clemson. He had us in his final four with Tenn, USC, and Ole Miss and to sweeten the deal was recruited by Earl Grant at the time for Wichita State so we already have a good relationship with him.

The kid is 6'7" and is still somewhat raw with his offensive game. He averaged 10 points and 7 boards this past season but he is a pretty good rebounder, especially on the offensive end of the court. He is a pretty tough kid, good athleticism and would instantly help our front line--lessening the blow of missing out on Marcus Thornton. He would have been excellent in Purnell's system, averages 1.5 steals a game, pretty good defensively overall. He already has a lot of game experience and his rebounding would really be a bonus in Brownell's system. This is definitely some good news for our basketball team. Take a look below...