Part of the deal with Steele
posted by LW, Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Kevin Steele was known as a coaching nomad when he arrived at Clemson.
Some folks, including me, thought there was a chance he could defy that reputation in his new digs. He was back in his home state and close to his family, and family means a ton to the Dillon native who lost his father in the summer of 2008. He was running his own show with the Tigers after spending the previous six years working under Nick Saban at Alabama and Mickey Andrews at Florida State.
Yesterday's drama showed it's hard for this Tiger to change his stripes.
Early in the day and into the afternoon, a number of folks at Clemson and Tennessee thought he was gone. One of these folks was Tigers coach Dabo Swinney, who was telling people he was gone to Knoxville.
But if you've followed Steele for a while, you know he can be unpredictable. Kinda like one of his blitzes.
After his first season at Alabama, he was thought to be the front-runner for the head-coaching job at South Alabama. Among the number of candidates, he was the only one who went for a second interview and met with the president and board of trustees.
Then, in a flash, he stunned the South Alabama officials by suddenly deciding to pull out and remain at Alabama.
Though I'm sure Swinney wouldn't have been sending Steele many Christmas cards had he followed through and bolted after just one year with the Tigers, it'd have been hard to fault Steele jumping at the opportunity to join his alma mater -- and double his salary in the process.
Swinney has to be happy Steele changed his mind, particularly given the damage control that would've been necessary this close to signing day.
But you have to think Swinney is going to be fully prepared for the next time Steele gets wandering eyes.
According to the Post and Courier and Independent-Mail, Steele received a counteroffer from Clemson.
Not so, sayeth the Greenville News.
Swinney said he did not offer Steele a raise to remain at Clemson.
“He likes being here. He likes the staff. He loves the players,” Swinney said.
Here's The State's account.
Tough basketball loss last night at Georgia Tech, but I don't think it was a bad loss.
During the Yellow Jackets' dunk parade in the first half, you wondered if the Tigers could stay within 20.
The Tigers persevered and battled through a number of adverse circumstances:
-- Demontez Stitt's injured foot. He looked limited early but still had some burst on drives late. Who thought the kid would play 36 minutes three days after suffering a mid-foot sprain at N.C. State?
-- Andre Young's stomach bug. It was bothering him so much that Oliver Purnell had to take him out during a second-half stretch.
-- Jerai Grant's absence. He was limited to 16 minutes because of foul trouble, and that's a recipe for disaster against Georgia Tech's imposing front line.
Oliver Purnell was disappointed after the game, because his team was in great position to steal one. But listening to his postgame interview, you could tell he was far from devastated.
Bart Wright was so impressed with what he saw last night that he joined the OP fan club.
But it wasn't the lack of an official's whistle on the last play that stood out, it was the coaching throughout the game that Clemson got from Oliver Purnell that made this as close as it turned out to be.
If that sounds like cheerleading, paint me orange and hand me a pom-pom.
The fact is that Clemson had no business being in this game, not against one of the hottest teams in the ACC, one that brings a load of talent to the floor that few teams in the country can match.
Travis Sawchik of the P&C leads with the latest holding call when the Tigers are facing Georgia Tech.
Another Georgia Tech- Clemson meeting, another critical holding call.
In September, Thomas Austin was flagged for a hold late against the Yellow Jackets, ending Clemson's chances for a come-from-behind win against Paul Johnson's football team.
Five months later, with No. 17 Clemson at No. 19 Georgia Tech on the basketball court, it was Trevor Booker drawing a critical holding call with 3.2 seconds to play, leading to the Tigers' 66-64 loss Tuesday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
n an inbounds play with 5 seconds left and the score tied, Booker was called for holding Zachery Peacock, who converted both free throws. Clemson failed to get off a shot on its final possession.
Tigers head coach Oliver Purnell wouldn't comment on the call.
Said Booker: "It wasn't a foul."
More on the game in The State.
"It really is a shame we didn't win," coach Oliver Purnell said. "They were physically handling us - and that's not a surprise, they can handle most teams - but we played through that.
"Our guys don't have anything to hang their heads about. They came on the road against a hot team and put ourselves in position to win. It just didn't happen."
In the Independent-Mail, Stitt talks about his late turnover.
“It was a flat screen, we set a pick and they squeezed it,” Stitt said. “I made the right choice, and got fouled, definitely. They grabbed my arm and didn’t call it. But you’ve got to play through.”
Jeff Schultz of the AJC says last night was a big step forward for Georgia Tech.
Everybody was looking for direction, but in the past four games all Georgia Tech had given us was a spinning compass. Lose to Georgia, beat Duke. Lose to Virginia, win at North Carolina.
Next home game: Dramamine to the first 2,500 in attendance?
Well, maybe the Jackets finally established some general direction Tuesday night. With an opportunity to fall flat again, they didn’t. Yes, there were turnovers. There were missed shots. There were just enough of those what-are-you-thinking kind of moments that left you wondering if this season would be one long tease.
But in the end, Tech won. Again. Over a ranked team. Again.
Had to cover my eyes watching Miami squander a 17-point lead in last night's loss to Boston College.
The Raleigh News & Observer takes a look at how Duke and North Carolina match up.
I stopped reading at "Tim Brando."
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Kevin Steele was known as a coaching nomad when he arrived at Clemson.
Some folks, including me, thought there was a chance he could defy that reputation in his new digs. He was back in his home state and close to his family, and family means a ton to the Dillon native who lost his father in the summer of 2008. He was running his own show with the Tigers after spending the previous six years working under Nick Saban at Alabama and Mickey Andrews at Florida State.
Yesterday's drama showed it's hard for this Tiger to change his stripes.
Early in the day and into the afternoon, a number of folks at Clemson and Tennessee thought he was gone. One of these folks was Tigers coach Dabo Swinney, who was telling people he was gone to Knoxville.
But if you've followed Steele for a while, you know he can be unpredictable. Kinda like one of his blitzes.
After his first season at Alabama, he was thought to be the front-runner for the head-coaching job at South Alabama. Among the number of candidates, he was the only one who went for a second interview and met with the president and board of trustees.
Then, in a flash, he stunned the South Alabama officials by suddenly deciding to pull out and remain at Alabama.
Though I'm sure Swinney wouldn't have been sending Steele many Christmas cards had he followed through and bolted after just one year with the Tigers, it'd have been hard to fault Steele jumping at the opportunity to join his alma mater -- and double his salary in the process.
Swinney has to be happy Steele changed his mind, particularly given the damage control that would've been necessary this close to signing day.
But you have to think Swinney is going to be fully prepared for the next time Steele gets wandering eyes.
According to the Post and Courier and Independent-Mail, Steele received a counteroffer from Clemson.
Not so, sayeth the Greenville News.
Swinney said he did not offer Steele a raise to remain at Clemson.
“He likes being here. He likes the staff. He loves the players,” Swinney said.
Here's The State's account.
Tough basketball loss last night at Georgia Tech, but I don't think it was a bad loss.
During the Yellow Jackets' dunk parade in the first half, you wondered if the Tigers could stay within 20.
The Tigers persevered and battled through a number of adverse circumstances:
-- Demontez Stitt's injured foot. He looked limited early but still had some burst on drives late. Who thought the kid would play 36 minutes three days after suffering a mid-foot sprain at N.C. State?
-- Andre Young's stomach bug. It was bothering him so much that Oliver Purnell had to take him out during a second-half stretch.
-- Jerai Grant's absence. He was limited to 16 minutes because of foul trouble, and that's a recipe for disaster against Georgia Tech's imposing front line.
Oliver Purnell was disappointed after the game, because his team was in great position to steal one. But listening to his postgame interview, you could tell he was far from devastated.
Bart Wright was so impressed with what he saw last night that he joined the OP fan club.
But it wasn't the lack of an official's whistle on the last play that stood out, it was the coaching throughout the game that Clemson got from Oliver Purnell that made this as close as it turned out to be.
If that sounds like cheerleading, paint me orange and hand me a pom-pom.
The fact is that Clemson had no business being in this game, not against one of the hottest teams in the ACC, one that brings a load of talent to the floor that few teams in the country can match.
Travis Sawchik of the P&C leads with the latest holding call when the Tigers are facing Georgia Tech.
Another Georgia Tech- Clemson meeting, another critical holding call.
In September, Thomas Austin was flagged for a hold late against the Yellow Jackets, ending Clemson's chances for a come-from-behind win against Paul Johnson's football team.
Five months later, with No. 17 Clemson at No. 19 Georgia Tech on the basketball court, it was Trevor Booker drawing a critical holding call with 3.2 seconds to play, leading to the Tigers' 66-64 loss Tuesday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
n an inbounds play with 5 seconds left and the score tied, Booker was called for holding Zachery Peacock, who converted both free throws. Clemson failed to get off a shot on its final possession.
Tigers head coach Oliver Purnell wouldn't comment on the call.
Said Booker: "It wasn't a foul."
More on the game in The State.
"It really is a shame we didn't win," coach Oliver Purnell said. "They were physically handling us - and that's not a surprise, they can handle most teams - but we played through that.
"Our guys don't have anything to hang their heads about. They came on the road against a hot team and put ourselves in position to win. It just didn't happen."
In the Independent-Mail, Stitt talks about his late turnover.
“It was a flat screen, we set a pick and they squeezed it,” Stitt said. “I made the right choice, and got fouled, definitely. They grabbed my arm and didn’t call it. But you’ve got to play through.”
Jeff Schultz of the AJC says last night was a big step forward for Georgia Tech.
Everybody was looking for direction, but in the past four games all Georgia Tech had given us was a spinning compass. Lose to Georgia, beat Duke. Lose to Virginia, win at North Carolina.
Next home game: Dramamine to the first 2,500 in attendance?
Well, maybe the Jackets finally established some general direction Tuesday night. With an opportunity to fall flat again, they didn’t. Yes, there were turnovers. There were missed shots. There were just enough of those what-are-you-thinking kind of moments that left you wondering if this season would be one long tease.
But in the end, Tech won. Again. Over a ranked team. Again.
Had to cover my eyes watching Miami squander a 17-point lead in last night's loss to Boston College.
The Raleigh News & Observer takes a look at how Duke and North Carolina match up.
I stopped reading at "Tim Brando."
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 @.