Wednesday, Oct. 08, 2008

Purnell pushes goals higher for Tigers

CLEMSON — Only one ACC men’s basketball team has improved its winning percentage each of the past four seasons.

That tells how low Clemson’s program had dipped prior to coach Oliver Purnell’s arrival five years ago — and how far it appears to have come since.

Last season, the Tigers ended a 10-year NCAA tournament drought and advanced to the ACC tournament final for the first time since 1962.

This year, the bar is set higher, Purnell said.

“What that means is being the second or third best team in the ACC,” Purnell said. “What that means is not just participating in the national tournament, but going deep in the national tournament with a chance to win it.

“That’s a tall order, as we all know, in the league we play in. But those are our goals, and we feel our program has progressed to the point where those are reasonable goals.”

Where the Tigers want to go seems obvious. How they plan to get there from here is a question even Purnell is not yet ready to answer.

Clemson begins practice Oct. 18 in preparation for its Nov. 14 opener against Hofstra in the Charleston Classic.

Purnell, speaking at his annual media golf outing Tuesday, admitted uncertainty as to what they possess on the defensive end, especially as it relates to the full-court traps that define the Tigers’ style of play.

Clemson must replace a trio of seniors who fit the system well. Forward James Mays starred as the disruptive force at the front of the press; guard Cliff Hammonds was the team’s unabashed leader and top individual defender; and swingman Sam Perry excelled at filling the passing lanes.

Senior wing K.C. Rivers (14.7 points per game last season), junior center Trevor Booker (11.0) and sophomore guard Terrence Oglesby (10.5) provide an offensive punch that on paper, Purnell said, should lend to a more up-tempo pace and increased scoring.

Booker has expanded his game to the perimeter, while Oglesby spent part of his summer in Houston with former NBA guard John Lucas learning how to dribble to the basket aggressively.

However, none of the three is regarded as defensive stalwarts.

Purnell said he is convinced the Tigers will remain a pressure team, but the next month will sort out what personnel groupings and schematic tweaks should allow them to do so.

“We’ve got to look at what we do best and put the pieces together,” Rivers said.

Purnell said he would not be able to employ the defensive identity without a nine- to 11-member rotation, making it imperative Clemson gets immediate contributions from most of its freshmen.

At a minimum, Purnell said the newcomers give him dimensions the Tigers otherwise had lacked.

The most game-ready freshman is 5-foot-9 point guard Andre Young, whom Purnell hopes to occasionally team in the same backcourt with starting point Demontez Stitt for defensive purposes.

On the flip side, skinny 7-1 center Catalin Baciu might get pushed around in the paint, but Purnell said he already runs the floor as well as any of Clemson’s other bigs. Plus there is wing Tanner Smith, whom Rivers likened to a typical Duke player because of his advanced hoops IQ.

“We’re not sneaking up on anybody,” Purnell said.

“People have respect for our style of play. When they speak about Clemson, certain things come to their mind, and it’s not what it used to be.”