Monday February 22, 2010

Pollock; Basketball; Baseball

Another Lost Legend
On the court and field Clemson’s teams had a nice weekend by beating teams that the Tigers simply outmanned. Off of the field and court, it was a tough weekend. We lost another great one. In terms of ACC championships, we lost the best ever. When Bob Pollock passed away this weekend we lost a great man.

I am working on a blog tomorrow honoring Coach Pollock. So check back in Tuesday for more on another Tiger gone.

Clemson Blasts Cavs
Clemson was a heavy favored Saturday and had every advantage you could ask for. The Tigers had a week off and Virginia was playing for the fourth time in eight days. Clemson was playing well coming in and the Cavs were reeling. The Tigers also had the home court advantage.

On paper Clemson had every advantage but the Tigers still had to go out and perform and that is exactly what they did. I know it was against an inferior opponent but Clemson played perhaps its most complete game of the season.

The good news from Saturday included:

*The half court offense was very efficient because the Tigers were able to pound the ball inside.

*Jerai Grant had one of his finest games. Then junior was 8-9 from the field and scored a game-high 18 points. For Grant it is a matter of staying out of foul trouble and staying on the floor. He has 10 games when he has scored double digits and eight of those he played at least 20 minutes. Grant has been in double digits in five of his last six games and in all five he played at least 20 minutes. In the one game in his last six where did not play 20 minutes, FSU held him to just two points. In the 12 ACC games this year Grant has played at least 20 minutes eight times. In those eight games he has been in double digits seven times. North Carolina is the only ACC game where Grant played more than 20 minutes but was held under 10 points. In the eight games where he has played at least 20 minutes per game in the ACC Grant has averaged 12.6 points. In the ACC games where he has played less than 20 minutes he has averaged 3.2 points per game.

*Grant is a big part of the Tigers recent success. Clemson has won four of its last five games. In that stretch, Grant has averaged 12.4 points and 9.2 rebounds a game.

*It was refreshing to see Milton Jennings play so well. The freshman looks more confident in the past two or three games. I am not sure many of us ever thought we would see Jennings go 4-4 from the field, 2-2 from the free throw line and 1-1 from three.

*The Tigers free throw shooting continues to improve. Saturday Clemson was 12-13 from the line which is 92%.

*Clemson shot 52% from the field. This is a result of so many chances in the paint.

*Clemson was whistled for only six fouls the entire game.

*The Tigers held Virginia under 30 points in both halves.

*Saturday was another example of a team effort. The Tigers got solid efforts from Trevor Booker, Jerai Grant Milton Jennings and Andre Young on the offensive end while David Potter and Grant should be commended for their work on the defensive end of the floor.

Opening Weekend Success
The baseball season got off to a good start with three wins this past weekend. I was only able to make it to Friday and Sunday’s games because of the Saturday game in Greenville conflicting with the start of the basketball game against Virginia.

Like many of you, I was encouraged by what we saw from the opening weekend. I know the opponents were not ACC caliber but Clemson did outscore the three opponents 29-7 and the Tigers batted .324 for the three game set.

I think most of us knew what we had with veterans like Mike Freeman, Brad Miller, Jason Stolz, Jeff Schaus, Wilson Boyd, John Nester, Will Lamb, Chris Epps, Kyle Parker and Phil Pohl. I was interested to see the newcomers’ debut.

Richie Shaffer did not start the season opener because he was banged up but he did play in all three games and hit .429 this weekend. The Charlotte native went 3-7 with a double and an RBI. He also played solid defense.

The pitching was good this weekend and I was also encouraged by some of the newcomers from the pitching staff. Jonathan Meyer is a freshman that appeared in two games and threw three scoreless innings. Dominic Leone and Scott Firth saw their first action as a Tiger and did not yield a run.

I was really impressed with Alex Frederick’s 2.2 innings Sunday. Frederick pitched a little last season but really looked good in the eight batters he faced.

I thought the starting pitchers got off to solid starts for the year. Casey Harman allowed only one hit and one walk in his five innings of shutout work Friday. I only listened to Saturday’s game but Scott Weismann was solid in his 4.2 innings of his start which featured six hits but he also registered six strikeouts.

Kevin Brady went 3.1 innings against Furman on Sunday and was OK. He got behind in the count a few times but battled to allow one earned run.

One minor concern coming from this weekend was base running. The Tigers got picked off three times. Also Clemson allowed five stolen bases in six attempts Sunday against Furman.

On a final note, the ball park looked fantastic. The new sections in the outfield give the appearance of a big-time venue. The weather was spectacular as well so a good time was had by all for the opening weekend.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Bob Pollock, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Mike Kingsmore,Perrin Seigler, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, Steve Cato, the Nicolopulos family, Cason Palmer, Candace Fallaw, Scott Jackson, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims, the Coyle familty, Ryleigh Tedder.