TheState.com: Tigers

Clemson recruit Jake Nicolopulos is overcoming a stroke

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:58 EST

ATLANTA

IT WAS DARK in the room; she remembers that as though it were yesterday. There were many questions and not a lot else.

Anne Nicolopulos was alone with her worries in an outpatient apartment next to the Shepherd Center where her son Jake had been moved after the stroke he suffered on Dec. 9 dropped him to his knees in his Anderson home and changed his life forever.

She couldn't understand why her policy for attending to her children suddenly wasn't working. It had always worked: the times her oldest, Gina, a sophomore at Clemson, had gone out on first dates; the times Jake went out and Anne worried about drinking and driving; the times Jake suited up to play football, a sport of violent collisions.

It might have been Christmas, maybe Christmas eve, she thinks, but the date on the calendar seems so insignificant now, it isn't worth a moment's thought.

Tigers are nearing must-win territory

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:05 EST

CLEMSON - Oliver Purnell was asked Tuesday if he has had to resist leaning on the Tigers' hot hand in hopes of thawing the offense's deep freeze.

The Clemson coach was perplexed. "Well, who would that be?" he asked.

Clemson (16-6, 4-5 ACC) has lost four of its past five games due to widespread offensive failings.

The Clemson offense - second to last in field-goal percentage and scoring in ACC play - meets the league's best defense tonight at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Florida State is tops in blocked shots (6.7 per game), field-goal defense (36.8 percent) and second in scoring defense (61.1 ppg.) in conference play. The Tigers have shot below 32 percent in their past two games.

Men's pregame: Clemson Tigers vs. FSU Seminoles

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:58 EST

WHEN: 7 p.m.

WHERE: Littlejohn Coliseum

TV: ESPN2 (TWC 27/DTV 209/DISH 144)

RADIO: ESPN 93.1 FM

RECORDS: Clemson 16-7, 4-5 ACC; FSU 17-6, 5-4

No. 21 Georgia Tech reaches 20 wins beats Clemson

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:58 EST

MaChelle Joseph was glad her Georgia Tech seniors got to enjoy another milestone in her program's rise the past seven seasons.

And the Yellow Jackets coach thinks there could be more special moments ahead this winter.

"Like we talked about the last few weeks, we're either contenders or pretenders and we've got some great opportunities," Joseph said.

No. 21 Georgia Tech reached 20 wins for the fourth straight season with a 68-53 victory over Clemson on Monday night.

Brigitte Ardossi, a senior who's been a key part of the Yellow Jackets' Atlantic Coast Conference rise, had her fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Recruiting: Compare and contrast never ends

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:38 EST

IN THE FINAL analysis, Clemson and USC both signed top 25 classes Wednesday. The Tigers' haul was regarded as slightly better than the Gamecocks' on a national level.

The four major Internet recruiting services - Rivals, Scout, ESPN and The Sporting News - each had Clemson's group rated higher than USC:

Rivals rated Clemson 18th and USC 25th. Scout had Clemson 23rd and USC 34th. ESPN ranked Clemson 19th and USC 23rd. The Sporting News ranked Clemson 18th and USC 23rd.

How do these numbers compare with the past five recruiting seasons? Here is a breakdown of the highest ranking for each using the Rivals and Scout rankings.

2009: USC 9; Clemson 37

Florida State vacates 12 wins in scandal

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:56 EST

Florida State announced Sunday it will vacate 12 football victories and a 2007 men's track national championship in an academic cheating scandal, along with dozens more victories and placings across 10 men's and women's sports.

The NCAA stripped the school of wins in which 61 athletes implicated in the scandal contributed. The college sports governing body upheld the decision last month after Florida State appealed the sanctions as "excessive."

The men's basketball team lost all 22 wins from 2006-07, and women's basketball lost 16 victories that year, including two in the NCAA tournament.

Bobby Bowden, who retired after this season as the second all-time winningest coach in major college football behind Penn State's Joe Paterno, has now won a few less. Bowden finished with 389 before subtracting the five wins from the 2006-07 season, including the Emerald Bowl, and seven regular-season victories in 2007-08.

Florida State was allowed to keep placings in sports like track, cross country, golf and swimming if they still had enough points to win after subtracting contributions from the implicated athletes.

Clemson's Holden closer to making debut in England

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:29 EST

U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden, a former Clemson player, is set to resume light training as he recovers from a thigh injury sustained after joining Bolton. Bolton needs Holden to helps its battle against relegation.

Holden accepted that it was a "risk" joining Bolton on a deal until the end of the season.

"I could have taken the easy route, spent six months playing every game at Houston," he said. "And if I'd been playing the way I had, then I would have probably been going to the World Cup.

"But in terms of my career, I didn't want to make a decision based solely on one World Cup. It's a decision that affects the next few years of my life. It's the next step and I'll never look back and have any regrets." ...

American midfielder Jose Francisco Torres has an injured right hamstring and could be sidelined for a few weeks with his Mexican club team, Pachuca. Torres is expected to be in the mix for a spot on the U.S. team for this year's tournament in South Africa.

Virginia Tech beats Clemson with free throws

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:01 EST

Malcolm Delaney tied the Virginia Tech single-game record for free throws by scoring 20 of his 30 points from the line and the Hokies used a huge advantage at the stripe to post a 70-59 victory over Clemson on Saturday.

Delaney, the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading scorer coming into the game (19.8 points) and an 85-percent free throw shooter, was 20-for-23 from the line to equal the mark set by Dorenzo Hudson against Seton Hall earlier this season and Terry Penn against The Citadel in 1957. Delaney also scored at least 30 points in a game for the third time this season.

The Hokies (18-4, 5-3) made 38 of 46 foul shots, season highs in both categories. Clemson went 14-for-21 from the line.

"We win ugly games. That's our team," Delaney said. "I'm pretty sure if you look at the stats in the ACC, we're not at the top of the offensive stuff. But we're a scrappy team and we like playing. We also play good defense and we hit some free throws. Good teams win these types of games."

Both teams shot the ball poorly from the floor. The Hokies, playing less than 48 hours after beating North Carolina on Thursday night, missed their first 10 shots and hit just 30.6 percent for the game (15-for-49). Clemson shot a season-worst 30.6 percent, hitting 19-for-62.

Tigers start key late-season stretch with Hokies

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:38 EST

CLEMSON - Clemson traveled to Blacksburg, Va., on Thursday night - a day earlier than scheduled - to avoid the blizzard that slammed into the mid-Atlantic on Friday.

Clemson has another storm to weather in the coming weeks as it tries to secure its third straight NCAA berth.

The Tigers begin the second half of ACC play today against Virginia Tech (17-4, 4-3), the first of Clemson's remaining four road opponents - each with a conference record of .500 or better.

The Tigers (16-6, 4-4) might be forced to begin the stretch without Demontez Stitt, whose mid-foot sprain has improved. But the junior point guard remains questionable, and he has missed the past two games.

Stitt was able make it through three-quarters of practice Thursday, but Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said the Tigers will be fortunate to get 20 minutes today from Stitt, the team's second-leading scorer.

Men's pregame: Clemson vs. Virginia Tech

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:38 EST

When: 4 p.m.

Where: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Va.

TV: WOLO-25

Radio: ESPN 93.1

Records: Clemson 16-6, 4-4 ACC. Virginia Tech 17-4, 4-3

Tough road ahead for Clemson

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:49 EST

CLEMSON - A day after raving about his signing class, Dabo Swinney was not as enthusiastic about Clemson's 2010 schedule, which was released Thursday.

The Tigers travel to play four bowl teams from last season, including Auburn on Sept. 18, which should be exciting for Swinney considering his ties to the state of Alabama. The ACC's recent dominant team, Virginia Tech, is not on the schedule, but neither is Duke nor Virginia.

The Tigers open with North Texas on Sept. 4 at Death Valley and follow with a home tune-up against Presbyterian on Sept. 11 before traveling to Auburn.

"This is a difficult schedule, especially when you see that we have to play four bowl teams in our five road games," Swinney said.

The Tigers have an early bye, on Sept. 25, and then dive into ACC play with a home date against Miami on Oct. 2, followed by their first trip to North Carolina since 2002, on Oct. 9.

Tigers boost cost of season tickets

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:30 EST

Mike Brierton understands there could be backlash to a $10 increase for the seven-game Clemson football season-ticket package announced by the school Thursday. But he's convinced the program is on solid footing and that there is a price for success in the college game.

"I think there will be a minor reaction," Brierton said, "but I think people will be ready to ante up.

"In order to compete, you have to pay for it. I'd like to see a small increase every year, because I think we're heading in the right direction."

The bump, from $299 to $309, was the first since 2006, when tickets went from $225 to $299.

Clemson has been one of the few major universities that has not operated its athletic department at a deficit, based on figures published by the NCAA.

Korn chooses the Marshall plan

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:36 EST

CLEMSON - Willy Korn said Thursday he would be OK with being a backup - in the NFL.

Unwilling to accept second-string status at Clemson, Korn said he will transfer to Marshall to compete for the stating quarterback job.

Meeting with reporters a day after National Signing Day, it was a reminder of how "savior" labels are often prematurely attached in February. Korn, who arrived as a heralded recruit at Clemson three years ago, said he has done his best to "rip off the rear-view mirror" and not think about what could have been as a Tiger.

"I feel like things would have been a lot different if I hadn't been hurt in back-to-back years," Korn said.

Korn announced his intention to transfer in December after playing time at Clemson seemed unlikely with a freshman All-American ahead of him in Kyle Parker and a heralded redshirt freshman behind him in Tajh Boyd.

Tigers go deep for top-25 class

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:43 EST

CLEMSON - Jeff Scott prefers cutting-edge technology. Upon becoming Clemson's recruiting coordinator last February, he required staff members to replace their cell phones with iPhones.

Yet on National Signing Day, Scott found himself anxiously hovering over a fax machine, the only day this year Scott plans to spend with the archaic relic.

Scott did not wait or worry long Wednesday as the Tigers received letters of intent from all their commitments by early afternoon. Clemson also reeled in four-star linebacker Justin Parker of Beaufort and running back D.J. Howard.

The 23-member class did not contain a five-star recruit, but thanks to quality depth it ranked 17th according to ESPN. Rivals.com ranked the class 18th, and Scout.com ranked it 23rd.

Dabo Swinney's first class with a full year to recruit trailed only Florida State in ACC rankings.

[Bios] Clemson's 2010 signing class

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:43 EST

Tavaris Barnes

DE | 6-5, 250

First Coast HS (Jacksonville, Fla.)

Had 25 tackles for loss and nine sacks in 2009 ... 4-star rating from Scout.com and Rivals.com ... rated No. 29 defensive tackle in nation and 47th best player in Florida by Rivals.com ... No. 73 DE in nation by Scout.com.

David Beasley

A 'glorious' day for one Tigers recruit

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:43 EST

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney's biggest thrill Wednesday came as he watched the national letter of intent roll in from a linebacker who'll likely never make a tackle for the Tigers.

Swinney's group of 23 signees included Jake Nicolopulos of Anderson, whose dream of playing college football ended in December when he suffered a stroke.

Nicolopulos couldn't talk, walk or write after major surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. Nearly two months later, he improved enough to sign his letter and speak with Swinney.

"When I saw that fax come through, it brought a smile to my face," Swinney said.

Nicolopulos' father, Craig, told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday that his son has finished his first stage of rehab and began the next one at the Pathways Center in Atlanta.

Family feel helps Parker make choice

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:43 EST

BEAUFORT - After a seven-month struggle where more than a dozen of the top Division I schools competed for his commitment, Beaufort High's Justin Parker signed a letter of intent to play for Clemson on Wednesday.

The linebacker announced his decision before about 50 family members and friends at Beaufort High.

With Clemson, LSU and South Carolina hats resting on the table and his parents at his side, Parker quickly reached for the Clemson hat, only to place it on his father's head. Then, he snagged the USC cap before giving it to his mother. But instead of grabbing the LSU hat that remained, Parker reached under the table and pulled out a black Clemson hat along with a wide grin.

Parker gave his verbal commitment to Clemson coach Dabo Swinney about two weeks ago.

Class ranks: Where USC, Clemson fall

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:43 EST

Rivals.com

1. Florida

2. Southern Cal

3. Texas

4. Auburn

Ranking the ACC signing classes

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:43 EST

National rankings are based on an average by Rivals.com and Scout.com.

1. FLORIDA STATE

NATIONAL RANK: 10

STAR OF CLASS: CB Lamarcus Joyner, Miami

THE BUZZ: The Seminoles finished strong, and while new coach Jimbo Fisher is an offensive guy, his first class is heavy on defense.

Breaking down the Clemson signing class

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:43 EST

IMMEDIATE HELP

Martavis Bryant, WR

Tall, runs in long strides and should be an immediate deep threat for the Tigers. He's got speed and good hands. Could make fans forget about Jacoby Ford.

Corey Crawford, DE

Played linebacker as a junior in high school, so he's still learning to play defensive end. He's got great size and potential. Could join players trying to replace Ricky Sapp.