N.C. State the division favorite?
posted by LW, Sunday, May 10, 2009
This time around, it's the team down the road in Raleigh.
J.P. Giglio of the News & Observer is on the N.C. State bandwagon, as evidenced by his prediction that the Wolfpack will win the Atlantic Division in 2009.
I don't think it's such an outrageous position, provided Russell Wilson stays healthy. There's just no clear favorite in that division, with everyone possessing some discouraging flaws ... and everyone also possessing something that makes you think it wouldn't be out of the question for them to win it.
Giglio has an interesting take on Clemson, by the way:
Let's face it, Clemson's broke. They had to buyout Tommy Bowden and they couldn't afford another coach. Hence, Dabo Swinney.
Given the fiscal environment, that's commendable but look at what has happened almost every time an ACC program has hired an inexperienced coach.
The ACC is not the place for on-the-job training. Look at how much further along UNC and N.C. State are with established head coaches who know how to manage a coaching staff and understand what it takes to build a program.
This is not going end well for Clemson. Maybe not 3-9 bad, or no-bowl bad but it's not going to end with a division title either.
This utterly dismissive take might be a tad harsh, but it's not totally unfair. I think most Clemson fans would tend to agree, to some degree, about the on-the-job training thing.
But Swinney is not the coach because Clemson couldn't afford an established one. One look at his contract tells you that the school will shell out big-time money at the first hint of big-time winning.
Swinney has this job because Terry Don Phillips thinks -- and has thought for a while now -- that Swinney is a rising star in the profession.
Wow ... Chuck Daly has left us. Anyone who followed the NBA during the late 80s and early 90s knows this guy was a hulluva coach.
Michael Wilbon offers an excellent column that paints the picture of Daly the person.
Really good piece here from the Independent-Mail's Greg Wallace, who hung out in the Cheap Seats in right field at Doug Kingsmore.
Good people out there.
Welcome to one of the most unique fan groups in the ACC and perhaps college baseball. From humble beginnings — a 1979 International 36-passenger school bus purchased six years ago from Laurens Academy for $450 — the 40-member Cheap Seats group has become Doug Kingsmore’s most raucous environment, one which must be experienced to be believed.
Interesting piece here by Paul Strelow on how recruiting is approached by Billy Napier and Kevin Steele.
New defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, Rivals.com’s national recruiter of the year in 2005, uses the same term — hobby — to describe his approach to recruiting.
Together they form a combo that appears to devote substantially more of their attention to recruiting than any other coordinator duo in the ACC, and perhaps most in the Southeast.
With coordinators becoming increasingly involved in the process, Rivals.com recruiting analyst Mike Farrell said, the Tigers figure to have upgraded their recruiting ability.
“As far as recruiting staffs in the country, you have to look at Tennessee, Florida, USC (Southern California), Alabama, and you have to look at Clemson’s staff,” Farrell said. “They’re all in the same category, just different situations for what they have to sell.”
Clemson has a fishing team? Who knew?
Here's an item about something we reported a while back: Clemson and USC playing baseball at Greenville's Fluor Field in 2010 and 2011.
Here's a recruiting roundtable with Rivals.com's coterie of experts.
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!
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
Last offseason, North Carolina was the trendy team in the ACC.
This time around, it's the team down the road in Raleigh.
J.P. Giglio of the News & Observer is on the N.C. State bandwagon, as evidenced by his prediction that the Wolfpack will win the Atlantic Division in 2009.
I don't think it's such an outrageous position, provided Russell Wilson stays healthy. There's just no clear favorite in that division, with everyone possessing some discouraging flaws ... and everyone also possessing something that makes you think it wouldn't be out of the question for them to win it.
Giglio has an interesting take on Clemson, by the way:
Let's face it, Clemson's broke. They had to buyout Tommy Bowden and they couldn't afford another coach. Hence, Dabo Swinney.
Given the fiscal environment, that's commendable but look at what has happened almost every time an ACC program has hired an inexperienced coach.
The ACC is not the place for on-the-job training. Look at how much further along UNC and N.C. State are with established head coaches who know how to manage a coaching staff and understand what it takes to build a program.
This is not going end well for Clemson. Maybe not 3-9 bad, or no-bowl bad but it's not going to end with a division title either.
This utterly dismissive take might be a tad harsh, but it's not totally unfair. I think most Clemson fans would tend to agree, to some degree, about the on-the-job training thing.
But Swinney is not the coach because Clemson couldn't afford an established one. One look at his contract tells you that the school will shell out big-time money at the first hint of big-time winning.
Swinney has this job because Terry Don Phillips thinks -- and has thought for a while now -- that Swinney is a rising star in the profession.
Wow ... Chuck Daly has left us. Anyone who followed the NBA during the late 80s and early 90s knows this guy was a hulluva coach.
Michael Wilbon offers an excellent column that paints the picture of Daly the person.
Really good piece here from the Independent-Mail's Greg Wallace, who hung out in the Cheap Seats in right field at Doug Kingsmore.
Good people out there.
Welcome to one of the most unique fan groups in the ACC and perhaps college baseball. From humble beginnings — a 1979 International 36-passenger school bus purchased six years ago from Laurens Academy for $450 — the 40-member Cheap Seats group has become Doug Kingsmore’s most raucous environment, one which must be experienced to be believed.
Interesting piece here by Paul Strelow on how recruiting is approached by Billy Napier and Kevin Steele.
New defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, Rivals.com’s national recruiter of the year in 2005, uses the same term — hobby — to describe his approach to recruiting.
Together they form a combo that appears to devote substantially more of their attention to recruiting than any other coordinator duo in the ACC, and perhaps most in the Southeast.
With coordinators becoming increasingly involved in the process, Rivals.com recruiting analyst Mike Farrell said, the Tigers figure to have upgraded their recruiting ability.
“As far as recruiting staffs in the country, you have to look at Tennessee, Florida, USC (Southern California), Alabama, and you have to look at Clemson’s staff,” Farrell said. “They’re all in the same category, just different situations for what they have to sell.”
Clemson has a fishing team? Who knew?
Here's an item about something we reported a while back: Clemson and USC playing baseball at Greenville's Fluor Field in 2010 and 2011.
Here's a recruiting roundtable with Rivals.com's coterie of experts.
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!
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
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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 @.