The offensive quandary
posted by LW, Monday, January 04, 2010
That's the image that comes to mind when thinking back on Clemson's inept offensive, uh, performance in last night's humbling loss at Duke.
Let's put it this way: I didn't expect much, and the first half was about three times worse than I expected.
Of the 25 shots missed before halftime, which ended with Clemson feeling almost lucky to be down 18, about 20 had to be of the rushed/ill-advised variety.
It underscored a general aimlessness and lack of purpose in the Tigers' half-court offense. And given that the brunt of the Tigers' second-half offensive production came off of transition, it's not as though those problems were resolved after halftime.
I listened to the post-game press conference, and the part of Oliver Purnell's analysis that stood out was this:
"We just don't have many guys who can create off the dribble."
Other than Demontez Stitt, who is there?
Trevor Booker is pretty good off the bounce for a big man, but does he really need to be on the perimeter as much as he was last night? Seemed as though too many possessions consisted of him with the ball at the top of the key, spending several seconds sizing up his driving opportunities, then thinking better of it and passing the ball away.
To be fair, it's early. This team could end up getting better as the season progresses after its predecessors largely did the opposite. The four freshmen who generated so much acclaim frequently look lost, and you have to think they'll improve.
But how can anyone say losing Terrence Oglesby was addition by subtraction? Was he a defensive liability? Did he rush shots out of the framework of the offense? Affirmative on both counts.
Still, you can't tell me the Tigers have improved from his absence. You can't tell me they couldn't have benefited last night from someone stretching the floor and opening up opportunities inside.
The Tigers had plenty of bad halves before this season. But they also had halves in which they completely lit it up on the offensive end of the floor.
Hard to see the same firepower from this bunch.
In the Durham Herald-Sun, the Blue Devils talk about the revenge gained from last year's embarrassment in Clemson.
Duke's defense put the clamps on Clemson's transition game and put a virtual vice on the Tigers in the halfcourt, holding Clemson to 12 first-half points in a 74-53 triumph at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"Against a great team like Clemson, you wouldn't expect that," said Duke junior Nolan Smith, who scored 22 points to match backcourt mate Jon Scheyer for scoring honors. "To do that against a great team shows that we can defend against some of the best teams in the country.
"We came out from the jump ball and played great defense as a team."
You tend to doubt last night's win completely erases the sting from the 27-point defeat at Littlejohn last season, and that the Devils will remember it in future meetings.
In the Charlotte Observer, Kyle Singler says last year's defeat was in the back of his team's mind. He also recounts his encounter with Trevor Booker. It went better for Singler than last year, when Booker dunked on his head.
As Clemson forward Trevor Booker attempted a shot from the low post, Duke's Kyle Singler swatted the ball out of bounds from behind.
Then Singler briefly jawed at Booker, who shook his head and smiled.
Singler didn't remember what he said to Booker at the biggest moment of an incredible defensive first half by No.7-ranked Duke in a 74-53 win over No. 21 Clemson on Sunday as both teams opened ACC play.
Booker had a clearer memory of the exchange between two of the ACC's best players.
"He just told me to get (it) out of here," Booker said.
Here's the story from The State.
"You have to play more than one half in this building," Purnell said. "Duke's a pretty good basketball team and we obviously stunk it up offensively in the first half. Unforced turnovers, some non-execution - we showed our youth a little bit, but even our veterans didn't do a good job offensively."
In The Post and Courier, Demontez Stitt says this loss won't be forgotten.
"We are going to remember this loss," Stitt said. "And they have to come back to us."
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail has the ugly numbers from the freshman class:
Clemson’s freshman class combined for just seven points, five of those coming from guard Noel Johnson, an ominous but perhaps expected sign for the group’s first ACC game.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
That's the image that comes to mind when thinking back on Clemson's inept offensive, uh, performance in last night's humbling loss at Duke.
Let's put it this way: I didn't expect much, and the first half was about three times worse than I expected.
Of the 25 shots missed before halftime, which ended with Clemson feeling almost lucky to be down 18, about 20 had to be of the rushed/ill-advised variety.
It underscored a general aimlessness and lack of purpose in the Tigers' half-court offense. And given that the brunt of the Tigers' second-half offensive production came off of transition, it's not as though those problems were resolved after halftime.
I listened to the post-game press conference, and the part of Oliver Purnell's analysis that stood out was this:
"We just don't have many guys who can create off the dribble."
Other than Demontez Stitt, who is there?
Trevor Booker is pretty good off the bounce for a big man, but does he really need to be on the perimeter as much as he was last night? Seemed as though too many possessions consisted of him with the ball at the top of the key, spending several seconds sizing up his driving opportunities, then thinking better of it and passing the ball away.
To be fair, it's early. This team could end up getting better as the season progresses after its predecessors largely did the opposite. The four freshmen who generated so much acclaim frequently look lost, and you have to think they'll improve.
But how can anyone say losing Terrence Oglesby was addition by subtraction? Was he a defensive liability? Did he rush shots out of the framework of the offense? Affirmative on both counts.
Still, you can't tell me the Tigers have improved from his absence. You can't tell me they couldn't have benefited last night from someone stretching the floor and opening up opportunities inside.
The Tigers had plenty of bad halves before this season. But they also had halves in which they completely lit it up on the offensive end of the floor.
Hard to see the same firepower from this bunch.
In the Durham Herald-Sun, the Blue Devils talk about the revenge gained from last year's embarrassment in Clemson.
Duke's defense put the clamps on Clemson's transition game and put a virtual vice on the Tigers in the halfcourt, holding Clemson to 12 first-half points in a 74-53 triumph at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"Against a great team like Clemson, you wouldn't expect that," said Duke junior Nolan Smith, who scored 22 points to match backcourt mate Jon Scheyer for scoring honors. "To do that against a great team shows that we can defend against some of the best teams in the country.
"We came out from the jump ball and played great defense as a team."
You tend to doubt last night's win completely erases the sting from the 27-point defeat at Littlejohn last season, and that the Devils will remember it in future meetings.
In the Charlotte Observer, Kyle Singler says last year's defeat was in the back of his team's mind. He also recounts his encounter with Trevor Booker. It went better for Singler than last year, when Booker dunked on his head.
As Clemson forward Trevor Booker attempted a shot from the low post, Duke's Kyle Singler swatted the ball out of bounds from behind.
Then Singler briefly jawed at Booker, who shook his head and smiled.
Singler didn't remember what he said to Booker at the biggest moment of an incredible defensive first half by No.7-ranked Duke in a 74-53 win over No. 21 Clemson on Sunday as both teams opened ACC play.
Booker had a clearer memory of the exchange between two of the ACC's best players.
"He just told me to get (it) out of here," Booker said.
Here's the story from The State.
"You have to play more than one half in this building," Purnell said. "Duke's a pretty good basketball team and we obviously stunk it up offensively in the first half. Unforced turnovers, some non-execution - we showed our youth a little bit, but even our veterans didn't do a good job offensively."
In The Post and Courier, Demontez Stitt says this loss won't be forgotten.
"We are going to remember this loss," Stitt said. "And they have to come back to us."
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail has the ugly numbers from the freshman class:
Clemson’s freshman class combined for just seven points, five of those coming from guard Noel Johnson, an ominous but perhaps expected sign for the group’s first ACC game.
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 @.