Paging the Booker brothers
posted by LW, Thursday, January 21, 2010
I'm guessing Trevor Booker and Devin Booker became quite hungry, in a figurative sense, while watching last night's game between Duke and N.C. State.
They want them some Zoubek.
How could they not?
Seriously, when is the last time we've seen a Duke player as inept and helpless as Blue Devils center Brian Zoubek was last night?
The talented and athletic Tracy Smith was often matched up against the decidedly untalented and unathletic Zoubek last night, and it invariably went something like this:
Smith scored 23 on 10-of-12 shooting, and this story says he was the difference.
"I felt like they couldn't stop me," Smith said. "Every chance I had, I wanted it. I had the hot hand."
I was a Duke skeptic before the season. And even though they're better than I thought they'd be (largely because of Nolan Smith's improvement), I still have my doubts.
Much of that doubt stems from the fact that two players with limited ability, Zoubek and Lance Thomas, are playing such prominent roles.
To his credit, Zoubek is a productive rebounder. He's averaging 7.1 while playing 16 minutes per game, and that's pretty good.
But good luck when he's matched up against a skilled, athletic post player like Smith.
Or Trevor Booker.
Or Devin Booker.
Smith provided the blueprint last night, making Zoubek flail and fall all over himself in a futile effort to play defense.
A lot of Smith's production came off of penetration and deft passes from point guards Farnold Degand and Javier Gonzalez.
Can Clemson have the same success off the dribble? Demontez Stitt's injured foot could still be an issue, and you have to think Mike Krzyzewski is breathing fire to his guards for their defense last night.
K didn't hold back in his assessment after the game.
"Our defense was the worst it's been all year," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "It was never, ever good tonight."
The Blue Devils held Clemson to 12 points in the first half, didn't allow Connecticut a 3-point basket for an entire game and limited Gonzaga to 41 points. All those teams were ranked when Duke played them.
N.C. State hasn't been ranked since November of 2007 and was held to 66 points by Austin Peay earlier this season. But the Wolfpack displayed the same precision on offense that helped them win three games to reach the ACC Tournament final in 2007 under coach Sidney Lowe.
Led by forward Tracy Smith, who was 10-for-12 from the field, N.C. State shot 58.2 percent from the floor. No previous Duke opponent has shot better than 51 percent this season.
North Carolina lost by 13 at home to Wake Forest last night, and the most surprising thing is that you're not surprised at all.
Caulton Tudor says it's going to be hard for the Tar Heels to get better this year.
Coach Roy Williams has cited a loss of confidence, but the team's problems are not confined to its mental state.
That much is apparent in the lack of defensive effort. Smith (20 points, six assists) sliced through North Carolina's defense with such ease that the Tar Heels at times resembled a summer AAU team.
John Henson was awfully decorated coming out of high school, but relative afterthoughts C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart look a lot better at this point.
And by the way: Ish Smith might be the best player in the ACC right now. Seriously.
Looks like the chair Bobby Cremins used for his team's upset of the Tar Heels fetched $1,100 yesterday.
After last night's loss, the value is now $600.
Kevin Steele talks with Post and Courier writer Travis Sawchik and says his remaining at Clemson wasn't about the money.
As we told you yesterday, Steele will receive a big pay bump. Sawchik reports that it's a $200,000 increase to $575,000, and that's right in the neighborhood of what our sources are telling us.
Steele tells Heather Dinich that players were the main factor in his decision to remain at Clemson.
"I've chased career dreams before," he said. "That's when I just said, 'You know what? I like doing what I'm doing where I'm doing it right now.'
“There’s been a lot of things talked about and said about my future in coaching and where that would be in lines of being offered jobs, how much jobs paid, along those lines. The bottom line is this: Coaches are always involved in possibilities of being one of many candidates and sometimes a strong candidate to be somewhere. That happens to coaches all the time. This happened to become public. I wish it hadn’t, but it did. The bottom line is, at the end of the day, I’m excited about the kind of players we have at Clemson, the progress we’re making, and the direction things are headed. I just felt like the best place for me to do what I do was at Clemson. At the end of the day, it’s about the players. And at the end of the day that’s why I’m at Clemson.”
In another post, Dinich proudly notes that the SEC struck out twice in attempts to nab coaches from the ACC (including David Cutcliffe).
I think she's going a little overboard here. It's not as though Steele isn't getting a fat raise to remain at Clemson. And it hasn't been established that Cutcliffe turned down Tennessee. More accurately, according to what I've heard, he backed out because the Volunteers couldn't tell him he was their No. 1 guy.
And Dinich doesn't mention the fact that John Chavis, who was thought to be in the bag as Clemson's defensive coordinator in December of 2008, instead went to LSU for some serious coin that Clemson couldn't come close to matching.
Not saying the loyalty shown by Steele and Cutcliffe isn't a real feather in the ACC's cap. But methinks Dinich is romanticizing that loyalty a bit too much.
For all you soccer nuts out there -- both of you -- here's some news on former Clemson player Stuart Holden.
In The ACC Sports Journal, Paul Strelow has an update on recruiting in South Carolina.
And more on Steele in the Greenville News, if you can stomach the excruciatingly annoying new Bank of America ads.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
I'm guessing Trevor Booker and Devin Booker became quite hungry, in a figurative sense, while watching last night's game between Duke and N.C. State.
They want them some Zoubek.
How could they not?
Seriously, when is the last time we've seen a Duke player as inept and helpless as Blue Devils center Brian Zoubek was last night?
The talented and athletic Tracy Smith was often matched up against the decidedly untalented and unathletic Zoubek last night, and it invariably went something like this:
Smith scored 23 on 10-of-12 shooting, and this story says he was the difference.
"I felt like they couldn't stop me," Smith said. "Every chance I had, I wanted it. I had the hot hand."
I was a Duke skeptic before the season. And even though they're better than I thought they'd be (largely because of Nolan Smith's improvement), I still have my doubts.
Much of that doubt stems from the fact that two players with limited ability, Zoubek and Lance Thomas, are playing such prominent roles.
To his credit, Zoubek is a productive rebounder. He's averaging 7.1 while playing 16 minutes per game, and that's pretty good.
But good luck when he's matched up against a skilled, athletic post player like Smith.
Or Trevor Booker.
Or Devin Booker.
Smith provided the blueprint last night, making Zoubek flail and fall all over himself in a futile effort to play defense.
A lot of Smith's production came off of penetration and deft passes from point guards Farnold Degand and Javier Gonzalez.
Can Clemson have the same success off the dribble? Demontez Stitt's injured foot could still be an issue, and you have to think Mike Krzyzewski is breathing fire to his guards for their defense last night.
K didn't hold back in his assessment after the game.
"Our defense was the worst it's been all year," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "It was never, ever good tonight."
The Blue Devils held Clemson to 12 points in the first half, didn't allow Connecticut a 3-point basket for an entire game and limited Gonzaga to 41 points. All those teams were ranked when Duke played them.
N.C. State hasn't been ranked since November of 2007 and was held to 66 points by Austin Peay earlier this season. But the Wolfpack displayed the same precision on offense that helped them win three games to reach the ACC Tournament final in 2007 under coach Sidney Lowe.
Led by forward Tracy Smith, who was 10-for-12 from the field, N.C. State shot 58.2 percent from the floor. No previous Duke opponent has shot better than 51 percent this season.
North Carolina lost by 13 at home to Wake Forest last night, and the most surprising thing is that you're not surprised at all.
Caulton Tudor says it's going to be hard for the Tar Heels to get better this year.
Coach Roy Williams has cited a loss of confidence, but the team's problems are not confined to its mental state.
That much is apparent in the lack of defensive effort. Smith (20 points, six assists) sliced through North Carolina's defense with such ease that the Tar Heels at times resembled a summer AAU team.
John Henson was awfully decorated coming out of high school, but relative afterthoughts C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart look a lot better at this point.
And by the way: Ish Smith might be the best player in the ACC right now. Seriously.
Looks like the chair Bobby Cremins used for his team's upset of the Tar Heels fetched $1,100 yesterday.
After last night's loss, the value is now $600.
Kevin Steele talks with Post and Courier writer Travis Sawchik and says his remaining at Clemson wasn't about the money.
As we told you yesterday, Steele will receive a big pay bump. Sawchik reports that it's a $200,000 increase to $575,000, and that's right in the neighborhood of what our sources are telling us.
Steele tells Heather Dinich that players were the main factor in his decision to remain at Clemson.
"I've chased career dreams before," he said. "That's when I just said, 'You know what? I like doing what I'm doing where I'm doing it right now.'
“There’s been a lot of things talked about and said about my future in coaching and where that would be in lines of being offered jobs, how much jobs paid, along those lines. The bottom line is this: Coaches are always involved in possibilities of being one of many candidates and sometimes a strong candidate to be somewhere. That happens to coaches all the time. This happened to become public. I wish it hadn’t, but it did. The bottom line is, at the end of the day, I’m excited about the kind of players we have at Clemson, the progress we’re making, and the direction things are headed. I just felt like the best place for me to do what I do was at Clemson. At the end of the day, it’s about the players. And at the end of the day that’s why I’m at Clemson.”
In another post, Dinich proudly notes that the SEC struck out twice in attempts to nab coaches from the ACC (including David Cutcliffe).
I think she's going a little overboard here. It's not as though Steele isn't getting a fat raise to remain at Clemson. And it hasn't been established that Cutcliffe turned down Tennessee. More accurately, according to what I've heard, he backed out because the Volunteers couldn't tell him he was their No. 1 guy.
And Dinich doesn't mention the fact that John Chavis, who was thought to be in the bag as Clemson's defensive coordinator in December of 2008, instead went to LSU for some serious coin that Clemson couldn't come close to matching.
Not saying the loyalty shown by Steele and Cutcliffe isn't a real feather in the ACC's cap. But methinks Dinich is romanticizing that loyalty a bit too much.
For all you soccer nuts out there -- both of you -- here's some news on former Clemson player Stuart Holden.
In The ACC Sports Journal, Paul Strelow has an update on recruiting in South Carolina.
And more on Steele in the Greenville News, if you can stomach the excruciatingly annoying new Bank of America ads.
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 @.