 Signing day and expectations
 To a lot of folks out there, this is like Christmas morning.
To me, it's just another day.
Never been a huge fan of the recruiting game. My preference is to wait and see what they look like when they get to campus, and then form an opinion of who these guys are and what they should do.
That said, I'm not sure I understand how some folks think the obsession with recruiting is some sinister cancer that must be eradicated.
The acquisition of talent is far and away the most important element in football or whatever sport. So it makes some sense to follow that process -- particularly in a sport that's followed more rabidly than any other and only lasts three months.
Bart Wright typically gets on his anti-recruiting soapbox once every few months, and today he again climbs aboard while offering a dispatch from Marcus Lattimore's announcement in Spartanburg.
Look: I'll admit I wasn't 100 percent comfortable with all this fanfare occuring in a church, complete with that "Sandstorm" bit rattling the pews after Lattimore announced for South Carolina.
I'll also admit I'll never completely reconcile high school recruits who have yet to play a down of college football making such a spectacle of where they'll attend school -- and often dissing the schools that came in second for the kids' services.
But college football, which has always been a big deal (especially in the South), is a much bigger deal than it's ever been. And there are a lot of negative trappings that come with the elevated profile and higher stakes.
Isn't putting more than 90,000 fans in your stadium for a meaningless exercise like the spring game a bit strange? Alabama has done that, and will do it again this year.
Isn't it insane when a head coach makes $5 million a year? Used to be, $2 million was a gargantuan amount of money to pay a coach. Now, Mack Brown got a raise of $2 million after Texas secured a spot in the BCS title game.
How about the mushrooming salaries for assistant coaches? At the turn of the century, N.C. State's Chuck Amato made big headlines by making his coaches the first million-dollar staff. Now, some assistants are making a million by themselves.
How about an NCAA basketball tournament that takes kids away from class for weeks at a time?
How about the so-called "arms race," in which athletics departments go into debt building lavish new facilities to attract recruits?
How about the SEC's $3 billion television deal with ESPN and CBS, an agreement that threatens to make a second class of everyone else?
I could go on.
The point is, there's a lot of stuff in big-time college athletics that's not easily reconciled in the context of higher education. The obsession with recruiting is merely one item on a very long list.
Back to the specifics of Bart's column: I don't have big problems with his premise, but he seems to overreach in several cases.
Baseball may still be called the national pastime but football is the national obsession, the guilty pleasure we can’t let go.
How else to explain more than 100 adults showing up in one place to learn where a high school kid wants to go to college?
Not the next brain surgeon or the next one to try to cure cancer, not someone entering law school, or a brilliant student who can make the lessons of history come alive and have meaning in the real world for the next generation of students, we showed up because Marcus Lattimore was going to announce where he’d go to school to play football.
There's a bit of a conflict here, stemming from the fact that Bart happens to be a sportswriter. His business is writing about guys who play and coach games, not guys who are trying to cure cancer or trying to "make the lessons of history come alive." So he's part of this hype machine, albeit to a lesser degree.
It felt like the end of innocence for Lattimore, who has been a hometown football hero for a few years now, an object of excessive and unnecessary celebrity in the church he attends with a collection of media types and a production staged, according to handout, by EvVee Marketing, apparently a firm hired by someone to make a grand presentation.
When marketing firms are hired to help deliver the choice of college from a high school kids, something has gone wrong.
Can't disagree on the marketing thing. But Bart goes too far on the "end of innocence" thing.
There was a picture of Lattimore on the handout and words attributed to Nelson Mandela that said, in part, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?”
Let’s hope that doesn’t get circulated among his future teammates at South Carolina, because it will be a whole new world for him in college as the home state hero with more expectations on his shoulders than anyone on the team. Derek Watson was once going to be the Gamecocks’ savior, and then there was Demetris Summers.
That the program is still a picture of mediocrity tells you how successful those two were at turning things around.
Fair point. Watson and Summers provided classic examples of what recruiting rankings and hype do not account for, and that's character. Both were problem kids, and neither completed his eligibility in Columbia.
I will point out, though, that Watson actually did play a significant role in the Gamecocks winning 17 games in 2000 and 2001. He didn't "turn the program" around, because their program slid back to mediocrity thereafter. But it's ignorant to suggest that a good bit of the hype that accompanied his signing with South Carolina was not legit.
In his haste to support his premise by recalling instances of busts (including Willy Korn), Bart ignores instances of the hype being justified.
Was it an "end of innocence" for C.J. Spiller when he shocked everyone by spurning home-state Florida and picking Clemson?
How about for Alshon Jeffery, who jilted Southern Cal while signing with the Gamecocks ... then proved every bit worth the hype in his freshman season?
Does the consumption with the NFL Draft contribute to a similar end of innocence for college kids who haven't done squat on an NFL field?
You're telling me Kentucky basketball fans weren't justified in going ga-ga over the addition of John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins?
Speaking of Spiller, his signing-day drama remains one of the memorable moments among coaches who were on Clemson's staff back then.
Twenty or thirty people crammed into the small office of Dabo Swinney, who was then Clemson's receivers coach and the man most responsible for Spiller's recruitment.
Listening to Spiller's announcement via radio, the folks in that office hung on every word as if it were the last minute of a tie football game. When he chose Clemson, the room erupted.
Until it stops being that important to the coaches doing the recruiting, it's going to be that important to fans who follow the recruiting -- and thus, to those of us whose business is largely tied to providing information about that recruiting.
The recruiting obsession might not be realistic or proportional or savory, but what part of big-time college football is?
Moving right along...
In The Post and Courier, Travis Sawchik says Clemson's class could use a shot of star power.
The second paragraph appears a bit dated:
On National Signing Day today, Clemson is hoping to make a similar splash by signing five-star Greensboro safety/receiver Keenan Allen. Allen is rated as the fifth overall prospect in the country by Rivals.com and 33rd by ESPN.
In The State/Spartanburg Herald-Journal, a piece on Darius Robinson.
Also in the Greenville News, Billy Napier talks about the recruiting process.
“Predicting whether or not a guy’s going to be successful is not science,” said offensive coordinator Billy Napier, who preceded Jeff Scott as Clemson recruiting coordinator. “You’ve got to be efficient. There are only so many hours in a day, so many days in a year. Fight the battles you think you can win. Don’t waste your time chasing a ghost.
“Sometimes I think we can get caught up in chasing guys we have no chance to get.”
In the Independent-Mail, Greg Wallace writes about the hard work Dabo Swinney's staff put into this class.
“The thing that stood out to me when I looked at the class was that so many kids in the class were committed a considerable amount of time,” said ESPN/Scouts Inc. national recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill. “That gives an indication of the strength not only of the school but what’s alluring about the school and the relationship established, which remains intact for a long period of time.
“Recruiting is a marathon, not a sprint. Until ink goes to paper, it can change in the blink of an eye. But we’ve seen that happen rarely, if at all, with Clemson.”
Also in the Independent-Mail, an update on Jake Nicolopulos.
In ACC basketball, it's hard to keep everyone happy while determining the TV schedule. J.P. Giglio of the Raleigh News & Observer has a good story on the issue.
"Turnaround" games, with only one day between games, lead the list of gripes among the coaches, from Duke's Mike Krzyzewski to Maryland's Gary Williams. But there are other quirks, such as the order of the conference games and open dates, which make life harder on Hicks and the ACC.
"We're doing the best we can do," Hicks said. "Without a true [round-robin] schedule, there are going to be problems."
Wake Forest battled itself as much as Miami in last night's win over the Hurricanes in Winston-Salem. Man, sloppy game.
Really looking forward to Boise State-Virginia Tech on Labor Day.
LW
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Marching to madness
 The above photo is a fairly close approximation of what our brackets would look like if the NCAA has its way and increases the NCAA Tournament field to 265 teams.
That's a bit of an exaggeration. According to this report in the Sports Business Journal, the NCAA has interest in increasing the field from 65 to 96 teams.
What a silly, stupid idea. Leave it to the NCAA to take a good thing -- make that a fantastic thing -- and risk screwing it up.
Maybe the tournament ends up just fine with 96 teams.
But maybe not.
If there's a significant risk that the tournament's appeal is diminished with a new format -- and I strongly believe there is -- then the NCAA needs to scrap any plans for incorporating that new format.
The current format is perfect, like a family recipe for spaghetti sauce that's been passed down from generation to generation. Like the atmosphere at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. Like tradition at Clemson of rubbing Howard's Rock and running down the hill.
Why mess with it?
Naturally, plenty of coaches are in favor of it. Most of them face pressure to make the NCAA Tournament, and making the NCAA Tournament isn't easy.
Expanding the field to 96 teams makes it easier for them to say they were successful.
But it also significantly dilutes the accomplishment. Kind of like making one of the innumerable bowls in college football.
Tommy Bowden often mentioned the streak of however many years in a row his teams were bowl eligible, but was it really a significant achievement?
When Clemson finally made the NCAA Tournament two years ago after a decade-long hiatus, it meant something. And it meant something when they made it again last year.
What, exactly, will it mean when a 6-10 ACC team is squaring off with a 6-10 SEC team in the first round of the NCAAs?
And what, exactly, will compel us to pay attention to the ACC Tournament or other conference tournaments? The ACC's extravaganza is an institution whose importance and grandeur has already been diminished by the conference's expansion to 12 teams, and a 96-team NCAA Tournament would eliminate much of the suspense and drama that remains.
In this USA Today article, Big Ten commish Jim Delany says the NCAA isn't being transparent in its exploration of these radical changes.
"I think nobody would disagree that the 65-team, three-week event … has worked," says Delany, a former chairman of the NCAA committee that runs the men's tournament. "You have David vs. Goliath. You have all sorts of internal story lines year in and year out. It's compelling. It's one of the great sports properties in the world.
"I have no problem with looking at expansion, whether it's small or big. I only say that issue is one that must be managed openly and transparently, (and) I have concerns that it's not."
Stewart Mandel was on hand to witness Georgetown's laceration of Duke, and he says the Devils are afflicted with the same old problems.
They're still not that athletic. They're still limited up front. And, despite what that No. 8 ranking before their name would indicate, they're still not ready for a run to Indianapolis. Not after the Hoyas (16-4) -- five days removed from their own humbling blowout at Syracuse -- controlled Saturday's showdown from nearly the opening tip, outrunning, outshooting and generally outclassing their touted visitors in an 89-77 rout.
"They just did everything better than us," a forlorn Jon Scheyer lamented afterward. "They shot the ball better, made better passes, moved better on offense. Give them a lot of credit."
In front of a sold-out, revved-up crowd of 20,039 -- including two particularly notable courtside spectators, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden (they shared a bag of popcorn) -- the Hoyas shot a staggering 71.7 percent from the field, their highest mark in 30 years. Guards Chris Wright (8-of-9 for 21 points) and Austin Freeman (8-of-11 for 20 points) continually sliced the lane for uncontested layups and forward Greg Monroe (7-of-11 for 21 points) treated Blue Devils counterpart Kyle Singler like his own personal plaything.
Pretty much sums it up, no?
If Duke is the best team in the ACC -- and there is ample reason to believe that is the case -- then what does this say for the conference's chances of having a representative in the Final Four?
And if the Devils' "big three" of Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith look gassed at times in late January, what are they going to look like in March?
Barry Jacobs of the ACC Sports Journal wonders whether the current muddle is a sign of strength or weakness.
And here's the Journal's weekly power rankings, which have Georgia Tech at the top ahead of Duke.
The Jackets and Devils will settle it on the floor Thursday night in Durham.
Not sure I agree with placing North Carolina No. 10 behind Boston College. The Heels aren't good, but are they that bad?
In Chapel Hill, Roy talks about being at his wit's end.
More on the Devils' plight in the Post and Courier.
In The State/Greenville News, a piece on Jerai Grant.
Kid has come a long, long way. He might be exhibit A for this staff's ability to develop players.
Now if they can just get BoBo Baciu looking like he belongs on the floor.
Virginia Tech update: J.T. Thompson is finally giving the Hokies some much-needed production.
David Climer of the Nashville Tennesseean says the latest social networking devices have recruiting aficionados all atwitter.
Welcome to the brave new world of recruiting. It wasn't all that long ago that some enterprising souls like Max Emfinger and others made big money with subscription newsletters and magazines. The next generation of recruiting insight came via pay-per-call telephone lines with regularly updated recordings.
Then the Internet changed everything. One study suggests that about 25 percent of the Internet is dedicated to pornography. Sometimes I think the other 75 percent is about recruiting.
These days, we have instantaneous updates on the latest developments, one micro-blog at a time. What's next? Mental telepathy? Vulcan mind-meld?
Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News explores the expenses of recruiting.
Alabama reported to the NCAA spending $237,774 on football recruiting in 2005-06, accounting for 32 percent of the athletics department's recruiting expenses that year. Few SEC football teams listed lesser amounts that year than Alabama.
That was about to change as Alabama football, amid consecutive No. 1 classes under Nick Saban that helped produce last season's national title, entered a different financial level. By 2008-09, Alabama reported $750,045 in football recruiting expenses, meaning the sport spent 49 percent of the athletics department's recruiting dollars.
According to this report, looks like Cal is about to rake in a major haul from Greensboro.
A source said Monday that defensive end Gabe King of Eugene, Ore., will sign with Cal on Wednesday. King, rated as the 30th overall prospect in the country by rivals.com, will announce the decision at a news conference along with a handful of other top national recruits in North Carolina on Wednesday.
That news conference also will include Keenan Allen of Greensboro, N.C., regarded as the top safety in the country by scout.com. Allen took an official visit to Cal last weekend and is believed to be deciding among the Bears, Clemson and Alabama. Allen originally committed to Alabama but decided to explore other options.
Dabo Swinney tells Travis Sawchik of The Post and Courier that his staff doesn't rely on star ratings in its evaluations. It's a good philosophy, because plenty of staffs have experienced the perils of Internet recruiting. Florida State under Bobby Bowden comes to mind.
"What I challenge the staff on all the time is let's go through our evaluation process and not even worry about who else is recruiting or this and that," Swinney said. "Let's have something we believe in and if the kid meets the criteria he meets it. … If he doesn't have any offers, let's not be afraid to make the offer."
On the other hand, you don't want to go overboard with supposed diamonds in the rough no one else is interested in. For every Tyler Grisham, there's a Jeff Ogren or Drew Traylor or Andrew Diomande.
LW
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The Milton value menu
 You've probably heard about the person (or persons) who sued McDonald's for serving coffee that was too hot. Given the reactions to Milton Jennings' difficult freshman season, maybe some folks are pursuing action for their McDonald's All-American being too cold.
The Jennings situation seemed to reach a boil yesterday when Oliver Purnell heard boos that he believed to be directed toward Jennings.
I'm not convinced folks were indeed booing Jennings. There were plenty of boos yesterday in protest of officiating that was often questionable at best, so maybe OP got it wrong.
Then again, maybe he didn't. I didn't hear what he heard, and maybe he heard someone or some people yelling stuff that was specific to Jennings. Purnell always puts a good deal of thought into what he says and seldom delivers his opinions in a rash manner, so it would be reasonable to assume he heard enough to proceed with his post-game fan critique.
I felt bad for Jennings yesterday. The day before, he told me he was working hard on finishing strong. When he pilfered a pass at the top of the key and raced in for a fast-break slam at the 8:07 mark of the first half, you got the sense it was a huge confidence boost and a key moment as he tries to move past the deer-in-headlights tentativeness we've seen in games this season.
But three possessions later, Jennings got the ball in the low block with great position. The deer-in-headlights thing returned in full color. He fumbled away the ball -- I couldn't tell if it was an actual shot or just a turnover -- and OP laid into him during a timeout soon thereafter.
I could be wrong about what Purnell said, but pretty sure he yelled this:
"Attack the basket!!!"
In the second half, Clemson was up 11 and had a chance to build on that lead when Jennings got the ball in the post.
In our interview with him Saturday, Jennings said one of the most difficult parts of his adjustment from high school to college is playing power forward instead of small forward.
"I’m coming from high school playing the 3, moving to the 4. So I have to completely forget the game I learned in high school. … I’m having to back down the bigger guys. When I get in the post, I only have a couple of post moves.”
That was evident in this sequence. Jennings made a few indecisive moves, then attempted a fadeaway that missed.
Later, he threw up an airball on an open 3-point attempt and the air seemed to suck out of the building. Maryland was up two at that point, and I really thought the Tigers were done.
I think Purnell is right to call out folks who are (allegedly) ripping into Jennings during games. Even if OP got it wrong and fans were instead booing the officiating, it's important to send a message that this guy is giving his best and needs the support of the faithful. It's important to send a message that other high-profile recruits could be in the building, and Clemson needs all the help it can get in landing these guys.
In doing some research yesterday for the story on Jennings, it was interesting charting the progress of the 24 guys who made the 2009 McDonald's All-America team.
Here's a look at what each of those guys had done heading into yesterday's games. I put an asterisk beside the guys who are regular starters.
EAST TEAM
*Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati: 29.2 mpg 12.2 ppg 4.8 rpg
*Kenny Boynton, Florida: 32.7 mpg 15 ppg, 3.1 rpg
Dominic Cheek, Villanova: 15 mpg, 5.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg
*DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky: 21 mpg, 16.2 ppg, 9.7 rpg
*Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech: 26.1 mpg, 11.5 pg, 8.6 rpg
Ryan Kelly, Duke: 8.3 mpg, 1.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg
*Alex Oriakhi, UConn: 27.5 mpg, 5.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg
Peyton Siva, Louisville: 11.2 mpg, 4.1 ppg, 0.7 rpg
Dexter Strickland, North Carolina: 16.5 mpg, 6.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg
Dante Taylor, Pittsburgh: 15.7 mpg, 4.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Maalik Wayns, Villanova: 17.2 mpg, 8.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg
Milton Jennings, Clemson: 11.8 mpg, 3.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg
WEST TEAM
*Avery Bradley, Texas: 27.6 mpg, 12.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg
*Abdul Gaddy, Washington: 20.2 mpg, 5 ppg, 1.5 rpg
*Tiny Gallon, Oklahoma: 23.6 mpg, 10.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg
*Xavier Henry, Kansas: 27 mpg, 13.9 ppg, 4 rpg
John Henson, North Carolina: 10.8 mpg; 3.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg
Wally Judge, Kansas State: 11.6 mpg, 3.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg
*Tommy Mason-Griffin, Oklahoma: 34.1 mpg, 12.7 ppg, 3 rpg
Mason Plumlee, Duke, 14.2 mpg, 4.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg
Renardo Sidney, Mississippi State: Ineligible
Michael Snaer, Florida State: 21.2 mpg, 8.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg
David Wear, North Carolina: 9.7 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg
Travis Wear, North Carolina: 11 mpg, 3.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg
Could these teams have been divided more evenly? Not only did five guys from each side go on to become regular starters, but take a look at the average minutes and points per game:
East: 19.3 mpg, 7.8 ppg
West: 19.1 mpg, 7.34 ppg
I'm far from a McDonald's All-American aficionado, so I was surprised to learn John Wall was not on last year's team. He spent five years in high school, and the team does not allow guys who have done the fifth-year thing.
In the Greenville News, Bart Wright says wins don't get much bigger than yesterday's when you're on the precipice of a 3-5 conference record.
This was one of those ACC home games even a serious follower of Clemson basketball might not have underlined prior to the start of the season, for good reason. It followed home games against Duke and North Carolina and it preceded three in a row in the middle of the month that will impact the seeding for the conference tournament.
But without this 62-53 win against Maryland, the rest of the schedule wouldn’t have been the same. It would have been like a trip through the graveyard at midnight on a moonless night.
“Oh man,” said Clemson center Jerai Grant, after contributing 18 points and 12 rebounds, “I don’t want to think about it. This league is tough enough when you have everybody, but without (Demontez Stitt), it would be awful tough.”
Here are the game stories from the Post and Courier, Independent-Mail and Seneca paper.
I suspected Maryland's 4-1 ACC start was more the result of front-loaded scheduling than on-court excellence, and yesterday's ugliness by the Terps supported that notion.
Maryland was due a bad game at some point, but this team looked awful yesterday. Greivis Vasquez is a one-man roller coaster who alternates between scintillating and stupefying, and he was bad against the Tigers.
Don't pick this team to go far in the NCAA Tournament. Vasquez's reckless play doesn't make a lengthy run likely.
More from Maryland's side of things in the Baltimore Sun.
Normally I'd link to the Washington Times and their excellent beat man Patrick Stevens, but the Washington Times recently scrapped its entire sports section.
Refreshing.
Apparently North Carolina was so bad in last night's loss to Virginia that Roy Williams was holding back tears after the game.
David Teel of the Newport News Daily Press says go ahead and name Tony Bennett ACC coach of the year.
Just goes to show there's never a sure thing either way with this coaching-search thing. Who out there thought Bennett was the right guy in Charlottesville?
Better yet, who was endorsing the Mark Fox hire at Georgia?
In this column, Bennett played it cool through and after his program's rare win in Chapel Hill.
More on Virginia's win in the Washington Post.
Back to Teel's blog post fora moment, a note of interest to Clemson heading into its trip to Blacksburg:
Since making his first two 3-point attempts against Boston College last Saturday, Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney has missed 16 consecutive shots from beyond the arc.
Delaney, the ACC's leading scorer, was 0-for-5 in this afternoon's 82-75 loss at Miami. This on the heels of an 0-for-6 at Virginia and 0-for-his-last-5 against BC.
Rumor has it that some high schoolers will be signing letters of intent Wednesday.
The Post and Courier has a look at the booms and busts, underscoring the inexact science of it all.
And Greg Wallace takes a look at what's shaping up to be a nice class for Dat Boy.
LW
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Friday links
 No theme really stands out today, presenting me with an ideal opportunity to get this thing done a lot more quickly than normal.
Ed McGranahan of The Greenville News speaks with Kyle Parker, and the two-sport star says he doesn't anticipate missing much time with either the baseball or football teams during the spring overlap.
Also in the GN, Scott Keepfer does a story on Greivis Vasquez. And Vasquez plays the race card ... sort of.
“It’s weird,” Vasquez said. “I think (some fans) they doubt me. I think they say, ‘I can’t believe that Spanish guy is actually good.’ ”
Vasquez is a native of Caracas, Venezuela, but moved to Maryland to attend high school, where he was a teammate of current NBA player Kevin Durant. Vasquez said his heritage hasn’t gone unnoticed by fans, particularly those at Duke, and again that brings a smile to his face.
“They’re talking to me in Spanish,” Vasquez said. “They do their research. Everything that’s going on in my country right now, they will know it and they will make fun of it and will tell me about it during the game. I love that.
“They actually care about me because they take their time to do research about my country. I think that’s funny.”
Here's a story on Maryland's Jordan Williams, one of the ACC's more impressive newcomers this season.
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail takes a look at Noel Johnson's journey to Clemson.
In his most recent blog post, Travis Sawchik laments the laying-off of The State's Paul Strelow and assesses the place of newspapers in the 21st century.
Newspapers have made plenty of mistakes. We failed to create Craigslist before Craigslist. We elected to give our product away for free, in hopes of attracting as many Web clicks as possible. (Though that might be changing nytimes to charge for content)
We are still struggling with a transition to the Web, where our future will lie entirely, I think. Maybe Steve Jobs can bail us out with the Ipad (though what does an Ipad offer newspapers that PC's and mobile devices do not?).
I don’t think you want us to go away.
You’ll be left with a blogosphere without stories to comment on, cable-network talking heads, and an ESPN without the ability to “confirm” newspaper reports.
Agreed. Though I'm quite skeptical about newspapers possessing the progressive mindset to come up with a way to remain profitable.
Going to a pay model is far from a slam dunk, as evidenced by Newsday's dreadful experience.
In late October, Newsday, the Long Island daily that the Dolans bought for $650 million, put its web site, newsday.com, behind a pay wall. The paper was one of the first non-business newspapers to take the plunge by putting up a pay wall, so in media circles it has been followed with interest. Could its fate be a sign of what others, including The New York Times, might expect?
So, three months later, how many people have signed up to pay $5 a week, or $260 a year, to get unfettered access to newsday.com?
The answer: 35 people. As in fewer than three dozen. As in a decent-sized elementary-school class.
Nice game by Georgia Tech last night in a win over Wake Forest.
And helluva game in Charlottesville between Virginia Tech and Virginia.
My man Dave Teel of the Newport News Daily Press walked away impressed.
It was, without question, the most memorable encounter between the state rivals since January 1989 at Richmond Coliseum, when the Cavaliers prevailed 113-106 in overtime despite 43 points by Hokies guard Bimbo Coles.
North Carolina's spring game will be televised by ESPN.
They're expected to surpass last year's sterling attendance mark of 3,000.
LW
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The Jacoby buzz continues
 This Jacoby Ford thing is picking up some serious speed. Pun intended.
Judging from the reports that followed Day 3 of Senior Bowl practices, Ford's stock continues to rise.
Here's a take from The Sporting News' Russ Lande:
Clemson WR Jacoby Ford clearly has established himself as the most polished receiver on the North roster. He runs precise routes and shows the acceleration to separate out of cuts. We also were impressed with his ability to escape jams, using his quickness to get cornerbacks to open their hips early.
This article says the Packers are taking a close look at Ford.
And Dolphins coach Tony Sparano discusses the merits of going small and fast.
"Finding a returner in this league, is a major, major plus, it really is," Sparano said. "When you find a player like that, he turns a game around like that.
"For a smaller player, the returnability, the amount of jobs he can do, maybe as a receiver in the Wildcat package, some flexibility that way, you can start to count touches in your head and say, 'I can get this guy X amount of plays and X amount of touches per game.'"
Ford even makes a guarantee to the Chicago Tribune.
"I don't want to say any times because then if I don't, then someone might be upset. I don't want to jinx myself."
When the conversation turned to a time Ford was comfortable with, then he was able to commit to a number.
"A 4.2?" Ford said. "I can guarantee a 4.2."
More on Ford in the Detroit Free Press:
Clemson wide receiver Jacoby Ford: The quarterbacks seem most comfortable going to Ford, who has caught more passes than anyone else in practice. He’s a slot receiver who also returns kicks and punts – all needs for the Lions. He’s speedy, though Jefferson said he needs to show it more.
At this point it's probably time for me to admit I was wrong about Duke. During the offseason, I took issue with folks who thought they'd be the best team in the ACC. Now they look like ... the best team in the ACC.
Leonard Hamilton of Florida State said going into last night's loss in Durham that he thought the Blue Devils were the best because they're getting the most out of what they have. The man has a point; Coach K is doing a helluva job if he's winning with Brian Zoubek playing major minutes, and to a lesser extent Lance Thomas.
More on the Blue Devils' win in The Charlotte Observer.
Apparently some Florida State fans ended up in some coveted front-row seats last night but were nowhere to be found after halftime.
Good story here on Ish Smith, who I believe has been the best player in the ACC thus far.
But given my errant preseason take on the Devils, what the heck do I know.
Should be an entertaining game tonight between the Deacons and Yellow Jackets. More on that in the Winston-Salem Journal.
The Fayetteville Observer has a breakdown of North Carolina's win over N.C. State.
The ACC Sports Journal has a piece on the state of football recruiting in North Carolina.
And speaking of recruiting in North Carolina, Travis Sawchik of The Post and Courier has an interesting piece on Clemson's regional emphasis.
In aspiring to better those lofty heights, Swinney is moving away from the Tommy Bowden recruiting doctrine and toward Ford's talent-acquisition philosophy -- the four-hour rule.
Ford's recruiting strategy was simple: the shorter the distance, the more time for developing relationships and learning the character of prospects.
"What we did is look at everything within four hours," Ford said. "Clemson was our home base. The (four-hour radius) took us up to around Greensboro and to the Alabama line."
In a blog post, Sawchik also diagnoses some of the woes afflicting the basketball team.
The Tampa Tribune does some good reporting on the coaches who expressed interest in the South Florida job that was given to Skip Holtz.
No Bowden on that list, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a candidate (I heard he was, for what it's worth).
And apparently Craig James threatened to sue Texas Tech if it didn't investigate the actions of Mike Leach.
“The threat did not appear to be an idle threat as the parent expressed genuine concern for the health and well-being of his injured child, as well as other student-athletes,” Tech’s letter says.
The "other student athletes" part is interesting, given that all we've heard from those "other student athletes" is utter silence.
LW
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Shooting blanks
 They say statistics are for losers, and Clemson has been doing a lot of losing lately.
The statistic that tells the story for what right now feels like a disappointing season is the Tigers' futility from beyond the 3-point arc.
In seven conference games, Clemson has attempted 117 3-pointers and missed 87 of them.
The 25.6-percent clip ranks 11th in the ACC.
Last year, the Tigers shot 38.5 percent in conference games.
So there's your problem, and it goes deeper than guys just missing shots. It's also about guys not getting many open shots from beyond the arc.
Lack of open shots is the result of the lack of penetration we've seen in the last three games with Demontez Stitt injured or out. And beyond Stitt, there just aren't many guys on this team who can do work off the bounce.
And we'll make the obligatory reference to Terrence Oglesby and K.C. Rivers. The Tigers miss those guys. Badly.
I'd argue they miss Rivers a good bit more than Oglesby. But I'd also argue that the coaches miss Oglesby a heck of a lot more than they thought they would.
In conference games this year, Clemson is attempting 16.7 3-pointers per game and making 4.2.
Last year, the Tigers attempted 22.2 per game and made 8.5.
By themselves, Oglesby and Rivers made 5.5 3-pointers per game in ACC play last year while compiling a 42.3-percent clip.
Here are this year's individual 3-point numbers in ACC play:
Young: 10-28
Stitt: 5-14
Johnson: 6-20
Smith: 6-22
Potter: 3-20
Jennings: 0-5
Booker: 0-6
Young has proven to be the best shooter on the team, and in my mind he's not getting up enough shots. Maybe they should do more to free him up (i.e., run him off of more screens).
The Tigers might also help their overall production if Potter's minutes were reduced. He played just 16 minutes last night to Johnson's 25, and that's a step in the right direction.
Yet Potter still managed to singlehandedly rob his team of some great momentum early in the second half. The Tigers were rolling, having sliced a 17-point margin to seven in less than four minutes.
Then Potter gets the ball and is determined not to give it up. He turns it over on a pointless back-to-the basket dribble, and B.C. scores on the other end.
Next trip down the floor, Potter jacks a quick 3 that misses. He's summarily yanked.
But hey, at least Potter managed to make a 3-pointer. He had missed 30 of his previous 35 heading into last night.
Brian MacPherson of ESPN.com writes about Al Skinner's decision to apply pressure to the Stitt-less Tigers.
"That's something they like to do," forward Corey Raji said. "We felt like we should do it to them. They got a dose of their own medicine. They didn't like it. We didn't like it, either, but it won us the game."
Rarely this season has Boston College (12-9, 3-4 in the ACC) forced turnovers as well as it did against Clemson (15-6, 3-4). The Eagles rank at the bottom of the ACC both in steals (4.6 per game) and opponents' turnovers (11.6 per game, including a woeful 9.7 per game in ACC play). Entering Tuesday, only six times all season had the Eagles forced more turnovers than they'd committed.
A little bit of early pressure, though, threw Clemson off its game.
Raji also talks about his posterization of Milton Jennings.
I mean, wow.
With just less than six minutes to go in the first half, Trapani pulled down a rebound and threw a pass to Sanders up the left sideline. Sanders took just one dribble before throwing up a lob to Raji, who was charging hard down the left side. Clemson's Milton Jennings went up with Raji to try to get a hand on the ball, but that only made the alley-oop more emphatic.
"I haven't got one of those in a while," Raji said. "Rakim threw a good pass, and I was able to finish it."
"I wasn't even worried about him finishing the play," Jackson said. "He's done it before. I was more worried about his landing."
Raji hit the floor hard but got right up. The highlight-reel dunk, meanwhile, sent the Conte Forum crowd into a frenzy -- and that hasn't happened often over the last six weeks.
Mark Blaudschun of The Boston Globe writes about the Eagles continuing their redemption tour.
I don't know if it qualifies as a tour just yet, but no doubt B.C. is playing a lot better.
Reading this account in The Boston Herald reminds me of another telling statistic: points off turnovers.
The Tigers were outscored 15-8 in that category last night and have lost the P.O.T. battle in the past three games.
Boston College committed 15 turnovers, but I can't think of one forced by the full-court press in the last eight minutes.
In the Greenville News, Trevor Booker says the Tigers are "pretty desperate right now."
Looks like North Carolina found its bearings last night at N.C. State.
Haven't watched the game yet, but looking at the stat sheet you wonder why in the world Roy Williams continues giving Marcus Ginyard such extensive minutes.
Ginyard was held scoreless in 28 minutes. Reserve guard Dexter Strickland had 14 points in 17 minutes.
You do the math.
Caulton Tudor says Larry Drew II looked pretty good, too.
Maryland will enter Sunday's trip to Clemson red hot after last night's win over Miami.
Here's some analysis from that game by the Baltimore Sun, and the following developments can't make Clemson fans too optimistic:
Consider that this was was the sixth game in the last seven in which the Terps have won by double digits. Like so many of the others, the victory was keyed by early pressure defense (14 first-half turnovers by Miami) and inside-outside balance.
The Terps are consistently disrupting their opponents' offensive flow. Shooting comes and goes, but defense isn't as prone to slumps. That's a big reason why Maryland is more consistent than most other ACC teams this season -- defense.
Should be a fun game tonight in Durham between two really good defensive teams (Duke and FSU).
Another good day at Senior Bowl practices for Jacoby Ford, according to the accounts here and here.
3. For the second straight day, Clemson wide receiver Jacoby Ford was the most targeted wideout at the North team’s practice. Ford has made a living in the short-passing game, creating separation on short curls and out patterns. All three North quarterbacks (Tony Pike, Sean Canfield, Dan LeFevour) are consistently looking in Ford’s direction.
This dude has a different take:
Jacoby Ford (WR - Clem) is lowering his stock so far. Ford is an NCAA track champion but lacks that kind of speed in pads. Ford will likely wow at the Combine, but he has not fared well in full pads.
Looks like Willy Korn's visit to Marshall went well.
Looks like Mike Leach has steered his pirate ship to Key West.
From Lubbock to Key West. Not a bad trade, matey.
LW
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Jacoby Ford's trip to the meat market
 At the meat market otherwise known as Senior Bowl practices, some folks have stood out for the wrong reasons.
The above picture is of Alabama's Terrence Cody, who checked in at 370 pounds.
Three hundred and seventy pounds.
And in this article, NFL draft analyst Mike Mayock dispenses the following astute analysis:
"And it wasn't a clean 370."
If anyone has any examples of a clean 370, I'd like to see them.
Former Clemson star Jacoby Ford, the only representative from his alma mater at the Senior Bowl, can take comfort in knowing he's turning heads for the right reasons.
The National Football Post led yesterday's coverage with an item on Ford, who ran a 4.38 in the 40.
1. Clemson wideout Jacoby Ford was impressive today. He was explosive off the snap, ate up the cushion quickly and consistently separated all afternoon vs. man coverage. On a day in which the North quarterbacks struggled with their accuracy, Ford repeatedly found ways to make the tough catch. When we asked him after practice where he feels most comfortable playing at the next level, Ford responded, “Both ways [in the slot or outside] are fine with me. I just want to get out there and make plays.”
More on Ford from CBSsports.com:
Pike's teammate, Mardy Gilyard, and Clemson's Jacoby Ford took advantage of the lack of accuracy by their quarterbacks to show scouts their ability to snatch the ball away from their bodies.
Ford in particular showed outstanding hands most of the day, dropping only a couple of passes in drills when he allowed the ball to get too far into his chest. When matched up against a corner, however, he created separation with good foot quickness in his routes and caught wildly inaccurate throws from all three quarterbacks. He stands only 5-feet-9 and 180 pounds, but he's a prototypical slot receiver with a lot of potential as a return man.
No C.J. Spiller or Ricky Sapp in Mobile this week. This article from the Palm Beach Post explains why.
Arguably the draft’s top running back (Clemson’s C.J. Spiller), two best offensive linemen (Oklahoma State tackle Russell Okung and Oklahoma tackle Trent Williams) and outside linebacker (Texas’ Sergio Kindle) also exhausted their college eligibility.
None of them will in Mobile this week.
They really have nothing to prove to land in the top 20 of the NFL draft. No need to risk injury - or even a bad week of practice with all 32 teams watching.
Sapp is producing a weekly diary for the Orangeburg newspaper.
Interesting excerpt No. 1:
I wake up every morning around 9 (a.m.) and turn on the song that gets me going, “Looking for you” by Kirk Franklin.
Interesting excerpt No. 2:
After workouts I usually just chill with Crezdon and Kavell, go to the mall or just sit around my room watching movies and playing video games. I must admit I have watched “The Hangover” a couple times, one of my new favorite movies!
Noted antagonist Paul Finebaum opines on the waffle king.
Moving on to basketball, the ACC is wide open approaching the halfway point.
Travis Sawchik of The Post and Courier says veteran point guard play is huge. And Clemson's veteran point guard is on the shelf for tonight's game at Boston College.
Sawchik also writes that Saturday's loss to Duke highlighted just how much Clemson misses Terrence Oglesby.
The Tigers are shooting 41.6 percent from the field, down from 44.6 against the conference last season.
Most striking is the 3-point shooting.
Against the ACC last season, the Tigers shot 38.5 percent from behind the arc and took
22 3s per game. This season the Tigers are shooting 26.7 percent from 3 and are taking 16.8 3s per game.
Clemson made just 2 of 13 3-point attempts against Duke.
After Oglesby's early departure, I was one of the folks who were skeptical that Oglesby's loss would be addition by subtraction.
But there are some other factors at work here as well.
First off, K.C. Rivers was a fairly monstrous loss.
And when Clemson's coaches expressed confidence that they'd be OK on the offensive end without Oglesby's long-range shooting prowess, I'm sure they anticipated something more than a complete no-show from senior starter David Potter.
Hard to be very good from outside when one of your starters has missed 30 of his last 35 attempts from 3.
In the Independent-Mail, Greg Wallace says Andre Young better be ready tonight.
“There’ll be no splitting of (point guard duties),” Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. “Andre’s got to be prepared to go wire-to-wire.”
Walk-on Xavier Anderson, who has played 17 total minutes in nine games this season, will be available to spell Young, at least momentarily. But replacing Stitt will be primarily Young’s job, with some help from his teammates.
“It’s a big loss for us,” Purnell said. “It’s a situation where your team has to close ranks even tighter. Everyone’s got to pitch in a little more to make up for that loss.”
Purnell thought Duke's star players looked tired in the second half Saturday night. Not so fast, sayeth Coach K.
Caulton Tudor says North Carolina is feeling extraordinary pressure entering tonight's game at N.C. State.
Interesting take on Monte Kiffin in the AJC.
Monte Kiffin has been very persistent. He’s probably been in here more than is legal. Of course they don’t pay attention to the rules.”
LW
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Agony of de foot
 Demontez Stitt was the picture of deflation as he met with a few of us reporters after Saturday night's loss to Duke.
It was more than just a loss to Duke. Stitt was in figurative and literal mourning over the loss of his health and the loss of his game.
Seven days ago, Oliver Purnell told us he wasn't concerned about this being a long-term injury while also saying there was no danger of Stitt's mid-foot sprain becoming worse. Stitt said at the time that he was optimistic, expressing seemingly legitimate hope of being fine by the end of the week.
Now contrast that with Saturday night...
“The first half, it was all right – a little bit of pain,” Stitt said. “It just seemed like we went upstairs (at halftime) and we sat down for a little bit. When we came back down, in warm-ups it was hurting. I tried to play through it. I could really feel it, as far as not being able to attack like I wanted to.”
It looks as if Stitt will be on the bench for tomorrow's game at Boston College. And it seems completely reasonable to wonder why Stitt not only played 36 minutes six days ago at Georgia Tech, but played at all.
Had Stitt sat against Georgia Tech, he’d have been able to spend six days getting healthy leading up to the visit from Duke.
Now, his foot is no better after the loss to Duke. In fact, it's probably worse.
Maybe Stitt's absence can be a blessing for this team and its growth in Purnell's seventh season. It's time for some guys to man up and start producing, and maybe this period will allow for it to happen.
As much as we talk about this team missing Terrence Oglesby and K.C. Rivers -- it certainly does on the offensive end -- right now it's missing two guys who are still on the roster.
Stitt basically called out David Potter and Tanner Smith after Duke's 60-47 win:
“We’ve just got to get players to step up and play with confidence. Potter and Tanner, they’re big keys to our team. If we can get those guys playing with confidence like they were towards the beginning of the season, we’ll be a tough team to beat. But right now, it seems like most of the scoring is coming from me and Trevor.”
You know what? Good for Stitt for doing that. At this point, somebody had to do it.
Potter, the starting small forward, has been a major disappointment as a senior. In the past 11 games, he has taken 35 3-pointers and missed 30.
Smith was a no-show in both losses to Duke. In 50 minutes, he scored a total of six points on 1-of-12 shooting.
Booker and Stitt have combined for 49 percent of the team’s scoring in ACC play. Saturday, they totaled 32 of the Tigers’ 47 points.
In the Independent-Mail, Greg Wallace says Booker can't carry the load by himself.
Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com was at the game and made pretty much the same observation in this story:
With point guard Demontez Stitt hobbling with a sprained left foot, the Tigers have become a one-man show. Senior forward Trevor Booker scored 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. Stitt scored 10 points and the rest of the Tigers combined for 15.
If you're a Clemson fan, you have to feel good about this observation Nolan Smith offered in Schlabach's story:
"Outside of Cameron, this is the second-toughest place to play in the ACC."
Speaking of the atmosphere at Littlejohn, Bob Gillespie of The State came up and did a story on the GameDay scene.
Speaking of Gillespie, the longtime writer accepted a buyout and will soon be done. Sad.
Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer was at the game and noticed a truly great sign:
"Brian Zoubek cries while reading 'Twilight.' "
Florida State won the battle of NBA frontcourts yesterday, beating Georgia Tech by two.
The Seminoles and Jackets combined to make 27 of 49 free throws, by the way.
A budget sheet filled with red gives Tennessee fans another reason to see red when they think of Lane Kiffin ... or Mike Hamilton.
Mr. Kiffin was paid $2 million in his first year and Mr. Fulmer was paid $2.8 million in his last year of coaching in 2008, according to associate athletic director Bill Myers.
Under Mr. Kiffin, Tennessee's football program collectively paid assistant coaches $3.3 million last year and was on pace to pay them $3.5 million this year, Mr. Myers said. That was the highest of any school in the country for assistant coaches, according to a survey by USA Today.
Speaking of Tennessee, another Kiffin minion staying classy.
Willie Mack Garza, who coached the Vols' secondary last season under Lane Kiffin, packed up his office and left town sometime in the last 24 hours and apparently didn't notify anybody on the current staff that he was leaving.
Gary Williams tells John Feinstein about all his good memories over 1,000 games.
Here's an update on Boston College, which lost a close one at Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Think you know recruiting rules? Take this test and see how you fare.
LW
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The Gaines I never knew
 When a reporter from Chicago called last Sunday to get some insight into Gaines Adams the person, I was almost embarrassed to reveal that I didn't really have a whole lot of insight to share.
He was always a nice guy and a warm presence in the three years I covered him at Clemson, but beyond that I couldn't offer much else.
In the five days that have unfolded since Adams' tragic death, we've heard lots of tributes and anecdotes from folks who knew him well.
It really makes me wish I'd taken time to get to know him when he was at Clemson. And I could be wrong here, but I'm betting most of the reporters who covered him here feel the same way.
When you're in the business of reporting on sports -- or anything, for that matter -- you tend to gravitate toward the people who have the most to say. And you tend to gravitate away from those who have the least to say.
It's a form of intellectual laziness, really. It's natural to reflexively flock to the guys who are more likely to fill up your notebook because it makes your job easier. It's more difficult to dig deeper into the personality of someone who is more reserved and less willing to reveal what makes him or her tick.
Gaines Adams was far from a recluse. As I said, he was always accessible, always a nice guy, and always quick with that now-famous smile. But he was also guarded to folks who did not know him well. He was engaging, but only to an extent. That's the way I remember it, at least.
As folks who knew Adams well prepare to say goodbye to him today in Easley, those of us who didn't know him as well wish we'd have made more of an effort.
Here's a photo gallery from the Chicago Tribune, which was in Greenwood to document Adams' wake.
Adams' longtime girlfriend tries to come to grips with his passing.
Listening to the one-minute clip only brought back the horrific memories of Adams' death at the age of 26. Slappy remained on the phone with the dispatcher for nearly 15 minutes, hoping to bring Adams back to life.
"I tried,'' she said, voice quivering. "You know what hurts so bad? Any time and every time I needed him, he was there. And when he needed me, I couldn't help him. I tried, but I couldn't help him.''
Slappy hopes the next few days will be a celebration of Adams' life rather than people simply rehashing his death.
The Chicago Bears will have a 60-member contingent at today's funeral.
Same with the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Cambridge Academy in Greenwood is retiring Adams' No. 22.
Adams, the team's go-to receiver and a two-way standout, led Cambridge to a 12-1 record and state title in 2000 while playing eight-man football. After one year of prep school, Adams went on to be an All-American at Clemson and become the fourth-overall draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the '07 draft.
Tackett said the school is considering naming its football field after Adams.
A Clemson official said the university might consider retiring Adams' number 93 jersey, although nothing is imminent.
In this article, Rod Marinelli salutes Adams.
The morning after the 2009 season finale in Detroit, Bears defensive line coach Rod Marinelli conducted an exit interview with defensive end Gaines Adams in his office at Halas Hall.
Adams was quiet, as usual, mostly listening as Marinelli outlined the expectations for his young defensive end during the offseason.
Hit the weights immediately, Marinelli told his player, and focus on the big picture.
''I could see just the smile on his face,'' Marinelli said. ''He was leaning forward in his chair, and he was really listening. You could feel this guy was hungry. He was excited. I could feel it.
''He wanted to help this organization, and he wanted to prove -- not to anybody else but to himself -- how good he could be."
Good article on Adams in the Sumter Item.
Roosevelt Nelson, who played with Gaines from 2002-03, was one of the first Clemson players to meet the Chicago Bears defensive end. While Adams was on his official visit, his host was Roosevelt’s roommate, Charles Bennett.
When Adams walked into the room, Roosevelt recalled a real quiet guy.
“He was wearing some minature baseball hat and I told him that if he was going to be hanging out with us, he couldn’t wear that,” laughed Roosevelt. “I gave him one of mine to wear and we’ve hit it off since then.
And later...
Roosevelt remembers always joking around with Adams about his high school playing days. Adams played at Cambridge Academy in Greenwood, which sponsored an 8-man football team.
Adams went on to Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia before signing on with Clemson.
“We’ asked him where he played high school and he said Cambridge Academy,” recalled Roosevelt. “We were like, ‘What’s that? Is that a private school?’ He said they played 8-man football.
“We’d never heard of 8-man football, so we always joked with him that he played flag football in high school, “ he added with a laugh.
David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune says better heart testing is needed in the NFL.
The autopsy on Adams detected abnormalities in his heart that would have been apparent in an echocardiogram, a source familiar with the results said.
The question isn't whether NFL teams can afford to require echocardiograms annually for players - a relative pittance at an estimated cost of $180,000 per team. The question may be whether they can afford not to given teams' access and means to the best in sophisticated health-care prevention.
Bart Wright has a good column on Dick Vitale, who will be at Littlejohn on Saturday for the Duke-Clemson showcase.
Full disclosure: When Dickie V. is working a game, I tend to change the channel or turn down the volume. His hyperventilating, hyperbolic style just ain't my bag.
But even his most ardent critics cannot refute that he's been great for college basketball. Hard not to like the guy after reading stuff like this:
It's one of the most underrated places in America,” Vitale said of Littlejohn in a telephone conversation Thursday. “We've pounded people with the Cameron Crazies (at Duke), and the other places we go, but not enough know about Littlejohn; it's always been a great place to watch basketball, but (Clemson coach) Oliver Purnell has taken it to a whole new level.”
And later...
You hear people sometimes question if Vitale's passion is real or some staged act just for television. Let me assure you this guy feels the rhythms of the game deep inside. He was coaching the Detroit Pistons in 1979 when they came to Seattle to play a late-season game against the Sonics in the Kingdome.
That was 30 years ago. The building they played in has been leveled; the franchise has been moved to Oklahoma City, but I still remember being in a small group of reporters who interviewed Vitale after the game. It was one of those things you don't forget.
The Pistons kept it close in the first half. then the Sonics blew them out in the last two quarters, just another one of those defeats in a long NBA season, but it wasn't just another game for Vitale, who addressed reporters with tears streaking down his cheeks.
Losing coaches don't cry in the NBA. Vitale was crying.
“That's why I couldn't survive as a coach,” Vitale said. “It took too much out of me. That wasn't the only time my emotions got the best of me; I was just too wrapped up in it."
In The State, a good piece on the football staff's increased emphasis on recruiting the Peach State.
Ken Tysiac of The Charlotte Observer says Russell Wilson is skipping spring football practice to devote his focus to baseball.
As we told you the day after the bowl game, Kyle Parker could be facing the same questions.
I'd be surprised if Parker is a complete no-show at spring practice, but all signs point to the majority of his focus being on baseball.
Also from Tysiac: How rare is it for Duke and North Carolina to lose on the same day?
Very.
How rare is it for them to dose by double digits on the same day?
Very, very.
Mark Bradley of the AJC gives his early Top 25 for 2010.
Three aspects of Bradley's forecast are certain to irk Clemson fans:
1) Georgia Tech No. 15
2) South Carolina No. 19
3) Clemson nowhere
Check out this positively riotous video on the Wizard of Odds of a crazed Southern Cal fan begging Pete Carroll not to leave for Seattle.
Say what you will about Carroll, but he has a great sense of humor. How many coaches would agree to do something like that?
So how much did it take for Bud Foster to turn down Georgia and remain in Blacksburg?
Doubling your earnings ain't too shabby.
LW
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Paging the Booker brothers
 I'm guessing Trevor Booker and Devin Booker became quite hungry, in a figurative sense, while watching last night's game between Duke and N.C. State.
They want them some Zoubek.
How could they not?
Seriously, when is the last time we've seen a Duke player as inept and helpless as Blue Devils center Brian Zoubek was last night?
The talented and athletic Tracy Smith was often matched up against the decidedly untalented and unathletic Zoubek last night, and it invariably went something like this:
Smith scored 23 on 10-of-12 shooting, and this story says he was the difference.
"I felt like they couldn't stop me," Smith said. "Every chance I had, I wanted it. I had the hot hand."
I was a Duke skeptic before the season. And even though they're better than I thought they'd be (largely because of Nolan Smith's improvement), I still have my doubts.
Much of that doubt stems from the fact that two players with limited ability, Zoubek and Lance Thomas, are playing such prominent roles.
To his credit, Zoubek is a productive rebounder. He's averaging 7.1 while playing 16 minutes per game, and that's pretty good.
But good luck when he's matched up against a skilled, athletic post player like Smith.
Or Trevor Booker.
Or Devin Booker.
Smith provided the blueprint last night, making Zoubek flail and fall all over himself in a futile effort to play defense.
A lot of Smith's production came off of penetration and deft passes from point guards Farnold Degand and Javier Gonzalez.
Can Clemson have the same success off the dribble? Demontez Stitt's injured foot could still be an issue, and you have to think Mike Krzyzewski is breathing fire to his guards for their defense last night.
K didn't hold back in his assessment after the game.
"Our defense was the worst it's been all year," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "It was never, ever good tonight."
The Blue Devils held Clemson to 12 points in the first half, didn't allow Connecticut a 3-point basket for an entire game and limited Gonzaga to 41 points. All those teams were ranked when Duke played them.
N.C. State hasn't been ranked since November of 2007 and was held to 66 points by Austin Peay earlier this season. But the Wolfpack displayed the same precision on offense that helped them win three games to reach the ACC Tournament final in 2007 under coach Sidney Lowe.
Led by forward Tracy Smith, who was 10-for-12 from the field, N.C. State shot 58.2 percent from the floor. No previous Duke opponent has shot better than 51 percent this season.
North Carolina lost by 13 at home to Wake Forest last night, and the most surprising thing is that you're not surprised at all.
Caulton Tudor says it's going to be hard for the Tar Heels to get better this year.
Coach Roy Williams has cited a loss of confidence, but the team's problems are not confined to its mental state.
That much is apparent in the lack of defensive effort. Smith (20 points, six assists) sliced through North Carolina's defense with such ease that the Tar Heels at times resembled a summer AAU team.
John Henson was awfully decorated coming out of high school, but relative afterthoughts C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart look a lot better at this point.
And by the way: Ish Smith might be the best player in the ACC right now. Seriously.
Looks like the chair Bobby Cremins used for his team's upset of the Tar Heels fetched $1,100 yesterday.
After last night's loss, the value is now $600.
Kevin Steele talks with Post and Courier writer Travis Sawchik and says his remaining at Clemson wasn't about the money.
As we told you yesterday, Steele will receive a big pay bump. Sawchik reports that it's a $200,000 increase to $575,000, and that's right in the neighborhood of what our sources are telling us.
Steele tells Heather Dinich that players were the main factor in his decision to remain at Clemson.
"I've chased career dreams before," he said. "That's when I just said, 'You know what? I like doing what I'm doing where I'm doing it right now.'
“There’s been a lot of things talked about and said about my future in coaching and where that would be in lines of being offered jobs, how much jobs paid, along those lines. The bottom line is this: Coaches are always involved in possibilities of being one of many candidates and sometimes a strong candidate to be somewhere. That happens to coaches all the time. This happened to become public. I wish it hadn’t, but it did. The bottom line is, at the end of the day, I’m excited about the kind of players we have at Clemson, the progress we’re making, and the direction things are headed. I just felt like the best place for me to do what I do was at Clemson. At the end of the day, it’s about the players. And at the end of the day that’s why I’m at Clemson.”
In another post, Dinich proudly notes that the SEC struck out twice in attempts to nab coaches from the ACC (including David Cutcliffe).
I think she's going a little overboard here. It's not as though Steele isn't getting a fat raise to remain at Clemson. And it hasn't been established that Cutcliffe turned down Tennessee. More accurately, according to what I've heard, he backed out because the Volunteers couldn't tell him he was their No. 1 guy.
And Dinich doesn't mention the fact that John Chavis, who was thought to be in the bag as Clemson's defensive coordinator in December of 2008, instead went to LSU for some serious coin that Clemson couldn't come close to matching.
Not saying the loyalty shown by Steele and Cutcliffe isn't a real feather in the ACC's cap. But methinks Dinich is romanticizing that loyalty a bit too much.
For all you soccer nuts out there -- both of you -- here's some news on former Clemson player Stuart Holden.
In The ACC Sports Journal, Paul Strelow has an update on recruiting in South Carolina.
And more on Steele in the Greenville News, if you can stomach the excruciatingly annoying new Bank of America ads.
LW
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Part of the deal with Steele
 Kevin Steele was known as a coaching nomad when he arrived at Clemson.
Some folks, including me, thought there was a chance he could defy that reputation in his new digs. He was back in his home state and close to his family, and family means a ton to the Dillon native who lost his father in the summer of 2008. He was running his own show with the Tigers after spending the previous six years working under Nick Saban at Alabama and Mickey Andrews at Florida State.
Yesterday's drama showed it's hard for this Tiger to change his stripes.
Early in the day and into the afternoon, a number of folks at Clemson and Tennessee thought he was gone. One of these folks was Tigers coach Dabo Swinney, who was telling people he was gone to Knoxville.
But if you've followed Steele for a while, you know he can be unpredictable. Kinda like one of his blitzes.
After his first season at Alabama, he was thought to be the front-runner for the head-coaching job at South Alabama. Among the number of candidates, he was the only one who went for a second interview and met with the president and board of trustees.
Then, in a flash, he stunned the South Alabama officials by suddenly deciding to pull out and remain at Alabama.
Though I'm sure Swinney wouldn't have been sending Steele many Christmas cards had he followed through and bolted after just one year with the Tigers, it'd have been hard to fault Steele jumping at the opportunity to join his alma mater -- and double his salary in the process.
Swinney has to be happy Steele changed his mind, particularly given the damage control that would've been necessary this close to signing day.
But you have to think Swinney is going to be fully prepared for the next time Steele gets wandering eyes.
According to the Post and Courier and Independent-Mail, Steele received a counteroffer from Clemson.
Not so, sayeth the Greenville News.
Swinney said he did not offer Steele a raise to remain at Clemson.
“He likes being here. He likes the staff. He loves the players,” Swinney said.
Here's The State's account.
Tough basketball loss last night at Georgia Tech, but I don't think it was a bad loss.
During the Yellow Jackets' dunk parade in the first half, you wondered if the Tigers could stay within 20.
The Tigers persevered and battled through a number of adverse circumstances:
-- Demontez Stitt's injured foot. He looked limited early but still had some burst on drives late. Who thought the kid would play 36 minutes three days after suffering a mid-foot sprain at N.C. State?
-- Andre Young's stomach bug. It was bothering him so much that Oliver Purnell had to take him out during a second-half stretch.
-- Jerai Grant's absence. He was limited to 16 minutes because of foul trouble, and that's a recipe for disaster against Georgia Tech's imposing front line.
Oliver Purnell was disappointed after the game, because his team was in great position to steal one. But listening to his postgame interview, you could tell he was far from devastated.
Bart Wright was so impressed with what he saw last night that he joined the OP fan club.
But it wasn't the lack of an official's whistle on the last play that stood out, it was the coaching throughout the game that Clemson got from Oliver Purnell that made this as close as it turned out to be.
If that sounds like cheerleading, paint me orange and hand me a pom-pom.
The fact is that Clemson had no business being in this game, not against one of the hottest teams in the ACC, one that brings a load of talent to the floor that few teams in the country can match.
Travis Sawchik of the P&C leads with the latest holding call when the Tigers are facing Georgia Tech.
Another Georgia Tech- Clemson meeting, another critical holding call.
In September, Thomas Austin was flagged for a hold late against the Yellow Jackets, ending Clemson's chances for a come-from-behind win against Paul Johnson's football team.
Five months later, with No. 17 Clemson at No. 19 Georgia Tech on the basketball court, it was Trevor Booker drawing a critical holding call with 3.2 seconds to play, leading to the Tigers' 66-64 loss Tuesday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
n an inbounds play with 5 seconds left and the score tied, Booker was called for holding Zachery Peacock, who converted both free throws. Clemson failed to get off a shot on its final possession.
Tigers head coach Oliver Purnell wouldn't comment on the call.
Said Booker: "It wasn't a foul."
More on the game in The State.
"It really is a shame we didn't win," coach Oliver Purnell said. "They were physically handling us - and that's not a surprise, they can handle most teams - but we played through that.
"Our guys don't have anything to hang their heads about. They came on the road against a hot team and put ourselves in position to win. It just didn't happen."
In the Independent-Mail, Stitt talks about his late turnover.
“It was a flat screen, we set a pick and they squeezed it,” Stitt said. “I made the right choice, and got fouled, definitely. They grabbed my arm and didn’t call it. But you’ve got to play through.”
Jeff Schultz of the AJC says last night was a big step forward for Georgia Tech.
Everybody was looking for direction, but in the past four games all Georgia Tech had given us was a spinning compass. Lose to Georgia, beat Duke. Lose to Virginia, win at North Carolina.
Next home game: Dramamine to the first 2,500 in attendance?
Well, maybe the Jackets finally established some general direction Tuesday night. With an opportunity to fall flat again, they didn’t. Yes, there were turnovers. There were missed shots. There were just enough of those what-are-you-thinking kind of moments that left you wondering if this season would be one long tease.
But in the end, Tech won. Again. Over a ranked team. Again.
Had to cover my eyes watching Miami squander a 17-point lead in last night's loss to Boston College.
The Raleigh News & Observer takes a look at how Duke and North Carolina match up.
I stopped reading at "Tim Brando."
LW
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Boom-or-bust mentality
 Eighteen games into Milton Jennings' career at Clemson, people are wondering what's wrong with Milton Jennings.
I'll admit I expected more, based on coaches' belief that he could instantly be a mid-range and long-range shooting threat.
But is Jennings' lack of production a huge surprise? I don't think so. It's just way too early to judge a kid who, despite all the accolades earned in high school, is still adjusting to the speed and size of big-time college basketball.
There have been a few recent stories on how McDonald's All-Americans are faring in the ACC this season, and Milton's statistics aren't all that out of whack with those who received the same distinction last year.
Travis Sawchik of The Post and Courier explores the issue in this article.
Of the conference's nine McDonald's All-Americans, only Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors is averaging more than 10 points per game.
"If you look at the so-called McDonald's All-Americans in our league, other than one or two of them, none are making a huge impact in the first semester of their freshman year," Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. "I think it is pretty standard … Particularly in high- echelon leagues where it takes a while to establish yourself."
Over at North Carolina, I'm sure North Carolina fans are wondering what in the heck is wrong with John Henson. The dude was all-everything when he arrived at Chapel Hill, and when you look at him you wonder if a stiff wind would whisk him away.
Henson's stats are strikingly similar to Jennings': Less than four points and three rebounds per game.
Roy Williams said incoming freshmen are typically ranked for their long-term potential, not immediate college impact.
"It's such a physical game," Williams said. "At 6-10, 185 you can't (play inside) against (Georgia Tech's) Gani Lawal … People said John would be one-and-done, the greatest thing since sliced bread. That's not fair to him. That just wasn't going to happen.
"I still think John is going to be a big-time player. But it's hard to be successful in the ACC as a freshman unless you are really exceptional."
Favors is one of those exceptions, and it's unfair to compare Jennings to a guy who's NBA-ready right now.
Jennings has missed 17 of 20 shots from 3-point range, and no doubt that's a disappointment. I think a lot of folks expected more in that area.
So much of his problems seem to stem from tentativeness. When he gets the ball, it appears he's trying to get rid of it as soon as possible.
Jennings could end up being a bust. Could end up being another Lance Thomas, who has not proven worthy of his McDonald's All-America status.
But 18 games into his college career is way too early to label him a bust. He still has plenty of time to show us the boom that was anticipated when he signed with the Tigers.
Good quote from Paul Hewitt in Sawchik's story:
"Any coach wouldn't be surprised. Freshmen are freshmen … speed of the game, so many different things. Unfortunately, our voices are drowned out by experts who say these kids are supposed to be getting 20 and 20."
In his ACC notebook, Sawchik says this is the week we could learn whether Clemson is a contender or pretender.
He also makes an observation N.C. State fans never thought they'd hear:
They're longing for Herb Sendek and Engin Atsur in Raleigh.
Ouch.
In The State, a look at the Tigers' point-guard situation.
More on that in the Greenville News.
If you hate North Carolina, you'll love this column by Lenox Rawlings of the Winston-Salem Journal. Rawlings picks apart the Tar Heels with surgical precision in his column from Saturday's home loss to Georgia Tech.
Deer season ended New Year's Day, but Tar Heel season has only just begun.
Georgia Tech became North Carolina's sixth conqueror yesterday, blowing a 20-point lead yet still surviving 73-71 for two elemental reasons. The Yellow Jackets put better players on the floor, and they made better plays with the game on the line.
Carolina committed 26 turnovers during a 19-point fiasco at Clemson and 17 against softer Georgia Tech pressure, some at the worst possible moments. It took the performance of Will Graves' lifetime -- 24 points on 5 3-pointers -- to rescue a low-voltage offense and remove a lifeless crowd from a dome-sized ventilator.
Georgia Tech is always the Ramblin' Wreck, but right now Carolina looks like a train wreck. Coach Roy Williams, wearing a blue mood under his pink shirt, sped through a litany of shortcomings and put exhausted confidence at the top.
But wait, it gets worse for the Tar Heels: Larry Drew II and Ed Davis didn't practice Monday because of injuries.
Duke has a much more favorable injury report: Kyle Singler and Mason Plumlee appear OK after suffering nasty falls in Sunday night's brutal affair against Wake Forest.
The Chicago Sun-Times tackles a topic that's been at the forefront of everyone's minds since Gaines Adams' tragic death Sunday morning: Why was his heart condition not detected?
Adams underwent a battery of tests before he was drafted in 2007. And you'd think the Chicago Bears subjected him to some pretty rigorous testing after trading for him.
And going back even further, you have to think the medical staff at Clemson is mystified and wondering why they didn't spot what apparently killed Adams.
Good information here:
The NFL, NBA and NHL long have required an electrocardiography, more commonly known as an EKG, a non-invasive recording that provides the electrical signals of the heart.
But Beshai said EKGs only ''suggest abnormalities'' while an echocardiogram can provide more conclusive information. An ECHO is a cardiac ultrasound that can demonstrate the size and shape of the heart, as well as its pumping capacity.
Both doctors said athletes can be particularly tricky to diagnose.
Like their muscles, athletes can develop hearts that are bigger and thicker than normal.
''Athletes' hearts are bigger and have more voltage than regular people,'' Beshai said.
But the challenge for doctors is determining which bigger hearts are healthy or sickly.
Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HOCM) have heart muscles that have thickened, which can decrease the blood flow in the heart, and the fibers are in disarray.
''Like electric circuitry, they should be in line,'' Beshai said. ''But if they're crisscrossed, it can cause a trip or a short circuit, which can cause an abnormal heartbeat.''
Physical exertion can lead to athletes passing out or even dying.
Four years ago, Estes helped develop the NBA's heart-testing policy to include echocardiograms for all incoming players, and the NFL and NHL started to require them at their respective scouting combines in the last couple of years.
But it's unclear if Gaines, who attended the 2007 NFL combine, underwent an echocardiogram.
Melissa Isaacson of ESPN.com has more on the issue.
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail has a column remembering Gaines.
Bob Gillespie of the rapidly-depleting sports staff of The State spoke with Steve Taneyhill about Adams' life.
In the hours after Adams' death, I didn't think of Da'Quan Bowers as one who'd have been close with Adams. But sure enough, Adams and Bowers shared a bond beyond No. 93.
"Gaines was like my mentor," Bowers said. "He was my friend, but really, he was more like a brother to me than anything. He kind of took me in when I was being recruited, told me what to expect out of all these schools ... explained how I should come up with a decision."
On the field, Bowers is Clemson's 6-4, 280-pound wrecking machine. It takes a lot to slow him down, even more to bring him to tears. But, losing a mentor, a friend, a brother -- that is a blow that Bowers was struggling mightily to deal with a day later. Sunday morning, Adams, 26, a former All-American defensive end at Clemson, died at Self Regional Hospital after going into cardiac arrest an hour earlier at his family home in Greenwood.
"I was coming back from Pennsylvania with my family, and I got a text that said, 'did you hear what happened to Gaines?' " Bowers said Monday evening. "I was thinking that it was something dealing with the Bears, football ... something. Then, they said, 'he died about 9 a.m.'
"I just started crying. I cried from Maryland all the way to North Carolina, and I have just been trying to deal with it."
And later...
"I talked to Gaines just about every week," Bowers added. "Right before the games, he would always send me a text that said, 'alright big boy, let's go! You have to do it!' "
LW
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Donnie Patterson. Donnie Patterson is the founder of Patterson Tax Service, located in Easley, S.C. He has been active in tax preparation since 1970, and offers a full range of tax and bookkeeping services.
Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.