Rough draft for Tigers?
posted by LW, Tuesday, June 09, 2009
We might not get the official answer for a while, but it already looks like freshman LHP Chris Dwyer and junior 1B Ben Paulsen are likely gone.
Dwyer, who at 21 years old is already draft eligible, is an interesting case.
I spoke with pitching coach Kyle Bunn about Dwyer last week, and at that time Bunn seemed genuinely in the dark as to Dwyer's intentions.
Dwyer undoubtedly has the tools to support a case of one-and-done, and Bunn doesn't dispute that. But Bunn does think recent developments present a compelling case for why Dwyer should return.
Physically, the kid is impeccably developed and induces salivation from scouts with his velocity and command of off-speed pitches.
But mentally, he could stand another year of college ball. He just didn't seem to react well this season when confronted with jams, and Sunday's showing seemed to represent a perfect cross-section of his strengths and weaknesses.
It'd be quite a shock if Dwyer put on a Clemson uniform again, but this kid was adamant about coming to college to begin with. And maybe something resonated with him after the exhilarating experience of last week's regional performance (he came one strike from a complete game in a win over Oklahoma State) coupled with the sour taste of coming two victories from Omaha.
The Post and Courier has more on Dwyer and the draft here.
Dwyer, a 21-year-old draft-eligible freshman, and Paulsen are both expected to be selected in the early rounds. Baseball America's Aaron Fitt believes Dwyer could go as early as the first supplemental round, which falls between the first and second rounds.
Last year, those supplemental picks received signing bonuses ranging from $1.1 million to $700,000.
"People have seen great stuff from (Dwyer),'' Fitt said "He can be 90-94 (mph).''
They saw some of that great stuff Sunday night, as Dwyer blanked the Sun Devils through four innings before being battered in the fifth, following a leg injury.
Dwyer's fastball hit 92 mph and Arizona State struggled with his sharp curve, fanning seven times in the first four innings. Such stuff coming from a 6-2 lefty is rare and no doubt intrigues major league teams.
Clemson pitching coach Kyle Bunn said he had a discussion earlier this season with Dwyer where the possibility of a one-and-done at Clemson was noted as a real possibility. Bunn went as far to say: "I think he is ready in some areas.''
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail says the Tigers will retain a solid core from the 2009 team regardless of what happens in the draft.
And another story from The State, which has five questions for the Tigers.
Fascinating piece here by Dan Le Batard on Jimmy Johnson, who's setting a refreshing example not only to obsessed coaches, but also to anyone who's married to his or her job.
A laugh. The former Hurricanes and Dolphins coach does that a lot these days. Laughs and dances shirtless and drinks Heineken Lights and throws parties and hugs friends and calls his wife Rhonda ''Honeybun'' and worries not at all. Look at those photos, and you will see Johnson age right before your eyes into the trim and tan grandfather he is today, the bloated and maniacal dictator replaced by a lean 190 pounds of life-is-good. He is so happy. Happier than he ever was while conquering strong men and holding up trophies. And, not coincidentally, the light started pouring into his life just about the moment he left behind football for good.
The sun-soaked Atlantic Ocean is right outside, glistening for as far as the eye can see, and he's on it as early as 5 a.m. most days chasing wahoo. He usually goes by himself because ''it's meditation as much as fishing.'' You can see God from there, staring at the sun 20 miles off shore on flat water with a cooler full of beer. Of all the photos on all the walls in this guest house, there is only one Johnson points out and wants to talk about. And it isn't any of the ones that depict his power or leadership or greatness in staged poses of strength. It is one of him frolicking underwater with porpoises.
''Wayne Huizenga and I are always talking about QTL,'' he says. ``Quality Time Left.''
I guess it's a lot easier to not have a care in the world and avoid sweating the small stuff when you're filthy rich, but this is a philosophy a lot of us can and should learn from.
Here's an explanation for why Texas A&M football has fallen off the map, and I think part of the reasoning is relevant to the situation at Clemson.
Easy majors.
Whether "communications," "education" or any name they wanted to slap on those majors -- "Bengal Tiger Grooming?" -- athletes could enroll more easily, take general studies-type courses and an abundance of easy electives.
Since a major could be declared, degree plans also could be groomed with easier courses and heavy electives, all the way through a player's junior years.
Most important, they could stay eligible.
Seriously, now. Even the staunchest Longhorn out there has to wonder how some of their greatest players managed to stay on the field. That was how. And it still is.
At the same time, most A&M football players who could not get into business school, or education, or anything, found the easiest degree plan to be in the Ag College.
Show me an inner-city athlete who dreams of someday getting an Ag degree, and I'll show you something more rare than Paris Hilton going stag.
The Aggies have since rectified this problem. Degree plans now are more realistic and workable for special admission students or GPAs not strong enough to get into other colleges.
Not saying these situations are mirror images of each other. At last check, Clemson's football players were doing a pretty good job of remaining eligible.
But there are similarities, mainly because of the university's elimination of electives and majors in the pursuit of more academic rigor. The absence of these electives and majors makes it more difficult on athletes.
The good news for the Tigers: The ACC Atlantic isn't the Big 12 South, and probably never will be.
Good piece here from ESPN.com's Pat Forde, who explores the marked decrease in attractive non-conference matchups in college football.
Everyone at the high end of the sport has taken their ball and their competitiveness and gone home -- to play Directional Tech and count their cash.
Big-time intersectional games have gone the way of the wishbone.
I asked ESPN's estimable Stats & Information group to run some numbers for this story. I wanted to compare the number of nonconference games between ranked teams from 1978, '88, '98 and 2008 -- to confirm or refute the theory that there's been a drop-off in ambitious scheduling.
The results: There were 11 games matching Top 20* teams in 1978, 15 in '88, eight in '98 and just four in '08. In other words: over the past two decades, the number of Top 20 nonconference matchups has decreased by half every 10 years. And the Top 10 matchups have virtually disappeared, going from five in '78 to seven in '88 to two in '98 and one in '08.
Forde's prime reasons for this phenomenon: The BCS, conference expansion, more bowl games, and (of course) money.
Mike Huguenin of Rivals takes a look at 2009 schedules.
Looks like Dwayne Collins is returning for his senior season at Miami.
And the Oakland Raiders don't have many nice things to say about that Lane Kiffin guy.
LW
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The big question today is just how much damage the MLB Draft will inflict on Clemson's baseball team.
We might not get the official answer for a while, but it already looks like freshman LHP Chris Dwyer and junior 1B Ben Paulsen are likely gone.
Dwyer, who at 21 years old is already draft eligible, is an interesting case.
I spoke with pitching coach Kyle Bunn about Dwyer last week, and at that time Bunn seemed genuinely in the dark as to Dwyer's intentions.
Dwyer undoubtedly has the tools to support a case of one-and-done, and Bunn doesn't dispute that. But Bunn does think recent developments present a compelling case for why Dwyer should return.
Physically, the kid is impeccably developed and induces salivation from scouts with his velocity and command of off-speed pitches.
But mentally, he could stand another year of college ball. He just didn't seem to react well this season when confronted with jams, and Sunday's showing seemed to represent a perfect cross-section of his strengths and weaknesses.
It'd be quite a shock if Dwyer put on a Clemson uniform again, but this kid was adamant about coming to college to begin with. And maybe something resonated with him after the exhilarating experience of last week's regional performance (he came one strike from a complete game in a win over Oklahoma State) coupled with the sour taste of coming two victories from Omaha.
The Post and Courier has more on Dwyer and the draft here.
Dwyer, a 21-year-old draft-eligible freshman, and Paulsen are both expected to be selected in the early rounds. Baseball America's Aaron Fitt believes Dwyer could go as early as the first supplemental round, which falls between the first and second rounds.
Last year, those supplemental picks received signing bonuses ranging from $1.1 million to $700,000.
"People have seen great stuff from (Dwyer),'' Fitt said "He can be 90-94 (mph).''
They saw some of that great stuff Sunday night, as Dwyer blanked the Sun Devils through four innings before being battered in the fifth, following a leg injury.
Dwyer's fastball hit 92 mph and Arizona State struggled with his sharp curve, fanning seven times in the first four innings. Such stuff coming from a 6-2 lefty is rare and no doubt intrigues major league teams.
Clemson pitching coach Kyle Bunn said he had a discussion earlier this season with Dwyer where the possibility of a one-and-done at Clemson was noted as a real possibility. Bunn went as far to say: "I think he is ready in some areas.''
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail says the Tigers will retain a solid core from the 2009 team regardless of what happens in the draft.
And another story from The State, which has five questions for the Tigers.
Fascinating piece here by Dan Le Batard on Jimmy Johnson, who's setting a refreshing example not only to obsessed coaches, but also to anyone who's married to his or her job.
A laugh. The former Hurricanes and Dolphins coach does that a lot these days. Laughs and dances shirtless and drinks Heineken Lights and throws parties and hugs friends and calls his wife Rhonda ''Honeybun'' and worries not at all. Look at those photos, and you will see Johnson age right before your eyes into the trim and tan grandfather he is today, the bloated and maniacal dictator replaced by a lean 190 pounds of life-is-good. He is so happy. Happier than he ever was while conquering strong men and holding up trophies. And, not coincidentally, the light started pouring into his life just about the moment he left behind football for good.
The sun-soaked Atlantic Ocean is right outside, glistening for as far as the eye can see, and he's on it as early as 5 a.m. most days chasing wahoo. He usually goes by himself because ''it's meditation as much as fishing.'' You can see God from there, staring at the sun 20 miles off shore on flat water with a cooler full of beer. Of all the photos on all the walls in this guest house, there is only one Johnson points out and wants to talk about. And it isn't any of the ones that depict his power or leadership or greatness in staged poses of strength. It is one of him frolicking underwater with porpoises.
''Wayne Huizenga and I are always talking about QTL,'' he says. ``Quality Time Left.''
I guess it's a lot easier to not have a care in the world and avoid sweating the small stuff when you're filthy rich, but this is a philosophy a lot of us can and should learn from.
Here's an explanation for why Texas A&M football has fallen off the map, and I think part of the reasoning is relevant to the situation at Clemson.
Easy majors.
Whether "communications," "education" or any name they wanted to slap on those majors -- "Bengal Tiger Grooming?" -- athletes could enroll more easily, take general studies-type courses and an abundance of easy electives.
Since a major could be declared, degree plans also could be groomed with easier courses and heavy electives, all the way through a player's junior years.
Most important, they could stay eligible.
Seriously, now. Even the staunchest Longhorn out there has to wonder how some of their greatest players managed to stay on the field. That was how. And it still is.
At the same time, most A&M football players who could not get into business school, or education, or anything, found the easiest degree plan to be in the Ag College.
Show me an inner-city athlete who dreams of someday getting an Ag degree, and I'll show you something more rare than Paris Hilton going stag.
The Aggies have since rectified this problem. Degree plans now are more realistic and workable for special admission students or GPAs not strong enough to get into other colleges.
Not saying these situations are mirror images of each other. At last check, Clemson's football players were doing a pretty good job of remaining eligible.
But there are similarities, mainly because of the university's elimination of electives and majors in the pursuit of more academic rigor. The absence of these electives and majors makes it more difficult on athletes.
The good news for the Tigers: The ACC Atlantic isn't the Big 12 South, and probably never will be.
Good piece here from ESPN.com's Pat Forde, who explores the marked decrease in attractive non-conference matchups in college football.
Everyone at the high end of the sport has taken their ball and their competitiveness and gone home -- to play Directional Tech and count their cash.
Big-time intersectional games have gone the way of the wishbone.
I asked ESPN's estimable Stats & Information group to run some numbers for this story. I wanted to compare the number of nonconference games between ranked teams from 1978, '88, '98 and 2008 -- to confirm or refute the theory that there's been a drop-off in ambitious scheduling.
The results: There were 11 games matching Top 20* teams in 1978, 15 in '88, eight in '98 and just four in '08. In other words: over the past two decades, the number of Top 20 nonconference matchups has decreased by half every 10 years. And the Top 10 matchups have virtually disappeared, going from five in '78 to seven in '88 to two in '98 and one in '08.
Forde's prime reasons for this phenomenon: The BCS, conference expansion, more bowl games, and (of course) money.
Mike Huguenin of Rivals takes a look at 2009 schedules.
Looks like Dwayne Collins is returning for his senior season at Miami.
And the Oakland Raiders don't have many nice things to say about that Lane Kiffin guy.
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 @.