Agony of de foot
posted by LW, Monday, January 25, 2010
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
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
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
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
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 @.