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Friday February 22, 2008

Friday E-Mail Bag

Friday E-Mail Bag
Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.

Mickey,
I’ve read that DL Jock McKissic will move to the offensive line which, I believe, is a good move for him and the team.

However, how concerned should Tiger fans be regarding the losses of All American offensive tackle Barry Richardson and fellow linemen Christian Capote and Chris McDuffie? Given our inside (between the tackles) running game struggles against Ga Tech, VT, BC, and Auburn, I’m concerned about our OL depth of experienced personnel. I do realize that the addition of 2008 signees Dalton Freeman, Antoine McClain, Kenneth Page, and Matt Sanders will help. What are your thoughts?

Regards,
Stew

Stew,
The last time I talked to the staff they had not made a decision on McKissic but they were considering the move. I think anytime you lose three offensive linemen you need to be concerned but it is not like they are having to replace Art Shell and Gene Upshaw.

The key to the offensive line will be the red-shirt freshmen. If Mason Cloy can play center then Thomas Austin can move back to guard. Also David Smith is a key. Some of the staff feels like he is a potential star but they are not sure if he is a guard or a tackle. Chris Hairston appears to be set at one tackle and Corey Lambert, Landon Walker and Smith may battle at the other tackle. Barry Humphries seemed to be more comfortable at guard last season.

I think the red-shirt freshmen have a much better chance to help so I would not count on the true freshmen at this point.

Hey Mickey,
Whatever happened to the wide receiver we recruited last year who had to go to prep school? I
believe his name is Markish Jones. Did he ever get the grades to make it to Clemson or since he went to a prep school was he eligible to go somewhere else? I know he wanted to go to FSU but had already signed his LOI with Clemson and NCAA rules made him honor the
commitment to Clemson. I was hoping you could help me out!

Also, I believe the back to back road games plus the lack of atmosphere at FSU lulled Clemson to sleep the first half. The only atmosphere they had was the one fan that you could hear every annoying comment he made. I was ready to hit that guy, I don’t know why one of his own didn’t muzzle him shut by half time!

Thanks Mickey, enjoy the show!

Matt

Matt,
I wish I had a dime for every time I have been asked about Jones. He did not qualify and is at a JUCO playing football and running track. I doubt he will ever make it to Clemson.

The atmosphere in Tallahassee was bad but I hope it little to do with the loss.

Mickey,

I usually err on the side of caution when it comes to my expectations for either the football team or the basketball team; I have been disappointed so many times. However, I am going to give a Blue Vote for the team's performance on Tuesday night. My rationale is your comment, "This team had played three games in six days including two straight road games. We are late in the season so fatigue was a factor." I hope we learn from the experience, get some rest, and come back with the right mind set.

Kirk

Kirk,
I was surprised so many people were not more upset but I do understand the fatigue. One school of thought says that Clemson may get worn out at the end of the season because of playing so much full court pressure throughout the season. I am not sure that is the case but it is an interesting concept.

Mick,

Here's a thought Mick; the Tigers have played to the level of competition they face. Think about the number of over-time games this year. They have to learn how good they are (and they are good) and play hard with the UNC's and the Duke's and they have to ruin the Florida State's and Virginia's of the world. It's a pass only because you have given them a pass for the same thing all year.

Mickey, you can't change the rules on your kids and you can't change the standard at the end of the season.

Later,
Joey

Joey,
Sounds a little like football huh? I will say that Clemson played extremely well at Virginia this season. I am still not ready to give them a pass but Maryland, Duke and others played bad this week also.

Mickey,

Clemson is trying to prove they belong in the top of the league, therefore they have to go out with effort every night to have the best chance of winning.

The excuse of being tired, blah, blah. What happens when we get to the tournament and have to play games back to back days. Are we going to give up to start since we might get tired.

By the way, only criticize a player if it is constructive criticism. They work hard and deserve criticism only to help make them better not to bash them for just what they do wrong.

Thanks,
Chad

Chad,
I like what you said about criticism. It is hard to criticize student-athletes but you have to tell the truth also. Like you, I don’t buy the tired excuse. We have soldiers in Iraq that have a much better excuse when it comes to fatigue. We are talking about 18-22 year olds. Also the ACC tournament will hopefully feature three games in three days for the Tigers.

Mickey,
This is a big time red vote. The FSU's, Wake's, & VA's are the games you have to win because you are better than them. These are the games that get you in or keep you out of the NCAA. Taking the night off against this team was a huge mistake. Now, they are back on the bubble with MD & Miami as huge games. It's all on the line against better teams when you could have sealed the deal against a scrub team. I agree with you that you could be soft on a guy that had a bad night. This is not the case here. The entire team didn't show up.

Mark

Mark,
Unfortunately Clemson is back on the bubble. The Miami game is now huge. If the Tigers drop the Miami contest then they may lose four in a row because the next two games are at Maryland and at Georgia Tech. Too often we confuse shooting percentage and performance. My point was about effort.

Mickey,
Do you have the same power of the Sports Illustrated Cover?
What about the cover of the Madden game?
Did you break a mirror, cross a black cat ... walk under a ladder?

Did your glowing article about Coach P's successes tempt fate tonight?
No matter what happens tonight at FSU... if Clemson loses that is, the loss should sit squarely on Oliver Purnell's bald head.

Now I am not a baldist, seeing as how I am of the same clan.
But if Clemson loses, Coach should step to the microphone and take 100% of the blame because he....

1. failed to bring his team to FSU ready, energized and focused
2. failed to motivate and wake his team up
3. failed to shock this team with a good timeout tongue lashing after 10 minutes of the FIRST HALF
4. failed to notice that James Mays looks as if he wants to be anywhere else but Tallahassee(more turnovers, failed defense or missed layups than productive minutes)
5. failed to coach and lead his team to get after the last five minutes of the half
6. allowed the game to get away from Clemson so easily
7. was simply out coached, out prepared and out fought for 20 minutes

If he wins, I will sing his praises. If he wins, he should walk around as if he is a basketball guru, a saint, a mystic... a hero. But something tells me that Clemson will fight, but this hill is way too high to climb over.

No matter if we lose by one or 100, I will be watching and listening to the true leader of this basketball team and program.
Go coach and lead, Mr. Purnell.
Go Tigers.

Stuart
Clemson alum who hates to see his teams fail to show up.

Stuart,

I hope there is no “Blog Curse.” You make good points and hopefully we will not look back to this game as the catalyst for the collapse. Hopefully we will look back as this game being the eye-opener and the wake-up call. Ask me again after the Miami game because hindsight is the only thing that will work here.

Mickey,
Love the blog. It is a daily lunch routine I never miss.

Yes today’s blog had some ugly facts but facts are facts and it puts the job OP and co have done the last few years into perspective. If the season ends today this team has already had one of the best seasons in Clemson history. But I have a feeling we will see more great wins tonight and in the coming weeks. This March may mean a little more to us Tiger. I haven’t had this much fun watching tiger b-ball since my senior year in 90. Oh what a heart breaking loss to UCON in the sweet 16!!!

Question: what team went the farthest in the NCAA? I am thinking Foster had a team that went to the final 8 but not sure.

I congratulate the coaching staff on an awesome job. I hop TDP recognizes this with something that will keep OP here for many more years.

Scott

Scott,
The 1979-80 Clemson team went to the Final Eight before losing to UCLA. I agree with you in thinking that bigger and better are on the way.

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Posted by Mickey Plyler @ 10:27 AM EST [ Comments [4] ]