Thursday links
posted by LW, Thursday, February 26, 2009
I went into the game thinking it was going to be hard for Clemson to win.
Certainly not bragging, because I've been colossally wrong about this team on occasion (picking them to win at North Carolina tends to stand out).
But you just had a feeling Clemson was going to have to play really well to dispatch the Hokies.
The Tigers were feeling good about themselves after two lights-out second-half performances against Maryland and Georgia Tech. And Virginia Tech was a talented team that had to win this game.
It's not as though Clemson was caught off guard. Oliver Purnell and his players knew they were going to be in for quite a challenge, particularly against the team that came close to blowing them out of the gym on Jan. 29 in Blacksburg before the Tigers came from 15 down to win.
Obviously, Clemson missed way too many shots in the second half. When Trevor Booker misses seven of nine in the second half, that's going to be difficult to overcome.
But I thought Virginia Tech showed more fight and more intensity. Booker outplayed Jeff Allen in the first half, but it really seemed like Booker began to lag emotionally when the Hokies made it more difficult for him to get the ball in the second half.
I thought this quote from Booker was quite telling:
"We tend to make a mistake or two in a game, and then our intensity slows down after that."
One of the great benefits of sitting on the floor is you're able to get an excellent read on teams' emotions by looking at their expressions. I thought Booker's demeanor changed quite a bit from the first half to the second. He looked like a lion moving in for the kill before halftime; thereafter, he looked casual and lethargic. He was frustrated.
Of course, none of this matters if a few more of those shots go down instead of rimming out. Good gosh, it really seemed like there was a lid on the basket in the second half for not only Booker, but Demontez Stitt.
But clearly, the Hokies took Booker out of his game. The way they did it was conventional -- sag on Booker in the post, daring Raymond Sykes and Jerai Grant to take a jump shot -- but it worked because Booker seemed to take plays off in the second half. It really looked to me like they got in Booker's head.
Maybe that's not an accurate analysis. Just the way I saw it.
Bart Wright concludes Virginia Tech was the better team because it was the more desperate team, and I agree with that assessment.
Virginia Tech also won the game tactically. Seth Greenberg adjusted to the press by putting Hank Thorns at the point, and that freed up Malcolm Delaney and A.D. Vassallo to get open for those 3-point daggers in transition.
I really wish someone (including me) would've asked OP why he stayed with the press as the Hokies continued to victimize it. Remember, his backing off the press in the second half in Blacksburg ended up throwing the Hokies off their rhythm and facilitating the big comeback.
Here's some insight as to how the Hokies defended Terrence Oglesby on the final play.
Paul Strelow of The State says Sykes failed to foul Jeff Allen on the inbounds play after Booker's breakaway layup made it a one-point game with 20 seconds left.
It wasn't Sykes' only gaffe. Man, he had a miserable first half. Couldn't finish, and couldn't corral passes. That hurt.
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail called this a street fight, and that's standard fare in this series. The flow was disjointed because of all the fouls, but it was evident from the start that this was going to be a physical, exhausting affair.
In The Post and Courier, Travis Sawchik says the Tigers have been unable to consolidate their gains.
Duke took advantage of Clemson's slip-up, pulling out a hard-fought win at Maryland. And Gerald Henderson continued to make a strong case for first-team All-ACC honors.
On baseball, Paul Strelow has a look at freshman lefty Chris Dwyer. I spoke with Dwyer after his fine performance last Saturday against Charlotte, and we'll also have a piece on him later today. He's an interesting study.
LW
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Difficult loss last night for the Tigers.
I went into the game thinking it was going to be hard for Clemson to win.
Certainly not bragging, because I've been colossally wrong about this team on occasion (picking them to win at North Carolina tends to stand out).
But you just had a feeling Clemson was going to have to play really well to dispatch the Hokies.
The Tigers were feeling good about themselves after two lights-out second-half performances against Maryland and Georgia Tech. And Virginia Tech was a talented team that had to win this game.
It's not as though Clemson was caught off guard. Oliver Purnell and his players knew they were going to be in for quite a challenge, particularly against the team that came close to blowing them out of the gym on Jan. 29 in Blacksburg before the Tigers came from 15 down to win.
Obviously, Clemson missed way too many shots in the second half. When Trevor Booker misses seven of nine in the second half, that's going to be difficult to overcome.
But I thought Virginia Tech showed more fight and more intensity. Booker outplayed Jeff Allen in the first half, but it really seemed like Booker began to lag emotionally when the Hokies made it more difficult for him to get the ball in the second half.
I thought this quote from Booker was quite telling:
"We tend to make a mistake or two in a game, and then our intensity slows down after that."
One of the great benefits of sitting on the floor is you're able to get an excellent read on teams' emotions by looking at their expressions. I thought Booker's demeanor changed quite a bit from the first half to the second. He looked like a lion moving in for the kill before halftime; thereafter, he looked casual and lethargic. He was frustrated.
Of course, none of this matters if a few more of those shots go down instead of rimming out. Good gosh, it really seemed like there was a lid on the basket in the second half for not only Booker, but Demontez Stitt.
But clearly, the Hokies took Booker out of his game. The way they did it was conventional -- sag on Booker in the post, daring Raymond Sykes and Jerai Grant to take a jump shot -- but it worked because Booker seemed to take plays off in the second half. It really looked to me like they got in Booker's head.
Maybe that's not an accurate analysis. Just the way I saw it.
Bart Wright concludes Virginia Tech was the better team because it was the more desperate team, and I agree with that assessment.
Virginia Tech also won the game tactically. Seth Greenberg adjusted to the press by putting Hank Thorns at the point, and that freed up Malcolm Delaney and A.D. Vassallo to get open for those 3-point daggers in transition.
I really wish someone (including me) would've asked OP why he stayed with the press as the Hokies continued to victimize it. Remember, his backing off the press in the second half in Blacksburg ended up throwing the Hokies off their rhythm and facilitating the big comeback.
Here's some insight as to how the Hokies defended Terrence Oglesby on the final play.
Paul Strelow of The State says Sykes failed to foul Jeff Allen on the inbounds play after Booker's breakaway layup made it a one-point game with 20 seconds left.
It wasn't Sykes' only gaffe. Man, he had a miserable first half. Couldn't finish, and couldn't corral passes. That hurt.
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail called this a street fight, and that's standard fare in this series. The flow was disjointed because of all the fouls, but it was evident from the start that this was going to be a physical, exhausting affair.
In The Post and Courier, Travis Sawchik says the Tigers have been unable to consolidate their gains.
Duke took advantage of Clemson's slip-up, pulling out a hard-fought win at Maryland. And Gerald Henderson continued to make a strong case for first-team All-ACC honors.
On baseball, Paul Strelow has a look at freshman lefty Chris Dwyer. I spoke with Dwyer after his fine performance last Saturday against Charlotte, and we'll also have a piece on him later today. He's an interesting study.
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
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 @.