 2003 Record: 15-13, 5-11 ACC
2003
Round-Up:
The fact that coach Larry Shyatt was still around
to coach in 2003 spoke more to the instability that a new athletic director brought to
Clemson rather than any particular faith that he might be able to pull off a miracle. The Tigers have shown some slight increments of
progress in the last couple of years, but the combination of missing out on postseason
play and terrible recruiting spelled the end for Shyatt.
It's a shame, because the man had to absorb a serious financial penalty to
escape from his Wyoming job just to come back to Clemson to coach a group of kids that
apparently really liked him. He simply
couldn't get the job done with the talent he had at hand.
Clemson started out the year on a long hot streak,
winning their first nine games and ten of eleven. While
a number of those wins came against the likes of Wofford, High Point, and Gardner-Webb,
the Tigers did manage to pull off a huge victory over a physical Cincinnati club. Less momentous but still important wins came
against Penn State and Winthrop, a low-major power that had beaten the Tigers in the past. After a thrashing against Duke and a pick-me-up
win versus Morris Brown, the Tigers went into Chapel Hill and were so very close to
finally breaking their long losing streak against UNC, but instead fell 68-66. Instead of moping, Clemson came home and nipped
Virginia 78-77, thanks to a couple of Olu Babaloa free throws. The basketball gods laughed at the Tigers as they
lost to Florida State in their next game when a Seminole hit 2 free throws with .4 seconds
left to get a 1-point win. After that loss,
things got painful in a hurry for CU.
 After
an 11-2 start, Clemson finished 4-13. There
were narrow losses to good teams like Maryland (52-47) and NC State (63-60). There were plenty of blowouts, the worst being a
76-59 beating at the hands of archrival South Carolina.
Most of the losses came on the road, where the Tigers were a pathetic 2-8
(and one of the wins was against High Point). Clemson
did have a small oasis of hope in mid-February. They
suddenly won three games in a row to go 15-8 on the year.
That included a tight win against UNC in Littlejohn, a stunning road win to
complete a sweep of Virginia, and a blowout of FSU. Suddenly,
the Tigers were in the running for an NIT bid. Then
reality set in, as they lost to NCAA teams Wake Forest, Maryland and NC State. A bad loss to FSU in the first round of the ACC
Tournament scuttled what tiny NIT hopes they were still harboring.
It didn't help that Clemson had to play the early
part of the season away from Littlejohn thanks to renovations, nor did the general apathy
that surrounded the program encourage anyone to play well.
Regardless, things had run their course with Shyatt and it was time for a
new approach. The fact that a football-mad
school was able to hire a coach of Oliver Purnell's quality is shocking, and something
that might invigorate the program.
So what went wrong with the Tigers in 2003? A better question (or at least one guaranteed to
provoke a shorter answer) would be to ask what went right.
Answer: point guard and power forward.
That's about it. Ed Scott was
absolutely heroic as the team's scoring leader, hitting 37% of his threes and somehow
managing a 2:1 assist/turnover ratio for a team that only scored 68 ppg. His play kept them in a lot of games, even as he
had to play an absurd 38.5 minutes per game. Chris
Hobbs did a decent job as an undersized (6-7) post player, but his scoring difficulties
would prove difficult for the team to overcome. The
Tigers were 8th in the league in scoring, 8th in score differential, 7th in field goal %,
last in free throw percentage, 7th in three point %, and last in blocked shots. The only
player who could score down low a little was Sharrod Ford, and that still wasn't for a
whole lot. As a team, the Tigers lacked
athletes, scorers and especially depth at all positions.
Shyatt could cobble together a reasonable starting lineup, but had to turn
to guys like Tomas Nagys and Julian Betko for bench help.
With Scott using up his eligibility, Oliver Purnell will have his work cut
out for him.
Team MVP: Edward Scott
Best Wins: UNC, @ Virginia
Worst Loss: @ South Carolina
2004
Scouting Report:
Who's Leaving: G Edward Scott (17.7 ppg, 161
assists), F Ray Henderson (5.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg), F Tomas Nagys (6.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg), G Jermel
Douglas, G Walker Holt, G Geoff Shyatt
Who's Coming Back: G Shawan Robinson (4.9
ppg), G Chey Christie (11.5 ppg), F Julian Betko (1.9 ppg), F Sharrod Ford (7.5 ppg, 6.8
rpg), F Beau Shay (0 ppg), F Olu Babaloa (7.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg), F Akin Akingbala (1.1 ppg), F
Chris Hobbs (6.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
Who's New: G Vernon Hamilton (#120), G Jimmy
Hudson (#186), F Lamar Rice (JuCo), C Steve Allen (redshirt freshman)
The biggest loss is first team All-ACC Edward
Scott, who was also the third leading scorer and #5 assist man in the league. Soph Robinson will
have to step into his starter's role right away and improve on his rather weak overall
numbers. Robinson did manage to shoot an
impressive 48% from three on 59 attempts, but will certainly get many fewer open looks
this year. Frosh guard Hamilton will be the
only real backup at point.
Clemson did take a couple of hits in the
frontcourt, but fortunately didn't lose their most important contributors. The lanky but aggressive Nagys will be missed for
his timely rebounds and some big shots, though rarely on a regular basis. Big Ray Henderson never really developed into the
kind of player he could have been, his weight slowing him down and a lack of polish
further limiting him. The team's best
athlete remains Babaloa, the player most likely to have a breakout year for the Tigers. He
became an adequate long-range shooter in 2003 (33%), can rebound, play defense and score a
bit. He will need to work on getting to the
foul line more often. Also up front is Ford,
the very essence of solid but unspectacular. He
shot 56% from the floor and led the team in rebounding, but also must show that he's ready
to assume a bigger role. Gaining 15 pounds of
muscle could definitely help him along. Hobbs is a lunchbucket kind of player with limited
mobility but a lot of toughness. Like the
rest of his frontcourt mates, he has to improve his production, especially after a junior
year where his scoring average dropped nearly 5 ppg.
He looked like he was headed for a great career after his sophomore season,
but he clearly regressed. In a league
desperate for size, this is a decent three-man rotation.
A potential fourth contributor is JuCo Lamar Rice, a 6-7 player who can fill
in at either forward slot. Rice will be an
upgrade in team athleticism and could really help in a lot of areas if he's ready to
contribute. There isn't much behind them,
with 6-10 Steve Allen a big question and Akingbala coming off a less-than-impressive first
year. Still, there's no question that
Clemson's strengths reside in its frontcourt.
 The backcourt isn't completely devoid of talent,
however. Chey Christie had a decent sophomore
year, leading the team in steals. He will
need to greatly improve his three point shooting (just 29%), because he will get all the
opportunities he wants. Christie and Babaloa
will most likely be Clemson's best players and top scorers.
In order for them to have a chance in the league, they will need young
players like Julian Betko to step up as a soph, and for frosh Hudson and Hamilton to have
some kind of impact. Robinson will have to
keep up with the absurd point guard talent in the league, and Hamilton will need to play
some crucial minutes as his backup. While
not a great shooter, Hamilton is tough and can drive; that toughness is something that
Clemson will need a lot of. Hudson can shoot
and handle the ball but may struggle with the league's better athletes. There's plenty of
room for everybody on this squad. Clemson is
a team without much top-shelf talent, and so Purnell would be well-advised to develop his
team's depth as much as possible. The real
victories for the Tigers this year might not be on the hardwood, but rather on the
recruiting trail. Purnell will have at least
three scholarships to work with, and must use them wisely.
Luckily for Tigers fans, they have a coach who is used to challenges and how
to meet them.
Projected Starting Lineup: C Hobbs, F Ford,
F Babaloa, G Christie, PG Robinson
Strength of Schedule: 0.9
Marquee Matchups: @ Purdue, Georgia, @ Cincinnati
Mid-Majors: South Carolina, Boston College
Low-Majors: South Carolina State, East Tennessee
State
Tune-Ups: Gardner Webb, High Point, Wofford,
Radford
Comments: Clemson has actually put together a very nice
schedule, especially for a team that isn't expected to be a true league contender. Purdue
will be a good Big 10 matchup with their physical defensive and methodical offense. Georgia won't be as good as they were last year
but at least will be a more ethically sound program now that Jim Harrick is gone. Jarvis Hayes went pro early but there are still
several good players left. Going to
Cincinnati will be a big challenge, especially since forward Jason Maxiell is coming back. Future ACC foe Boston College will have huge
forward Craig Smith as a formidable challenge for Clemson's frontcourt, while arch-rival
South Carolina may have Dave Odom's best team yet in his tenure there. SC State is a great MEAC program coming off an
NCAA bid, while ETSU returns all five starters from an NCAA team that scared Wake Forest
to death. Neither of these games are gimmees
for Clemson. While the Tigers probably won't
have any top-ten caliber opponents on their nonconference slate, it's still a schedule
that will be plenty challenging. If they can
come through it with a decent record, they'll certainly be ready for the ACC.
Other Links:
Clemson Official 2003-2004 Team
Preview
2003 Stats
Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu
Rob's Archive
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