A Different Clemson Team

They’ve seemingly flown under the radar in their 9-0 start but this year’s Clemson’s basketball team could be even better than the past two years, when they won a combined 49 games.

One reason is they seem to be as diverse a bunch offensively as Oliver Purnell has had in his six seasons on the job.

They entered Sunday afternoon’s game with five players averaging in double-figures scoring and four different players have led the team in scoring this season. On Sunday, it was K.C. Rivers, one of just two senior regulars, who turned-up the energy and scored 32 in a come from behind win over Liberty. Rivers had averaged what you could term a quiet 11.4 points per game heading into that one.

But their signature continues to be that they’re a team that forces offense with its defense. This mostly comes from their full-court pressure that often creates turnovers not far from the basket and leads to quick scores. Their half court defense has been almost as solid.

What’s made a huge impact is that junior center Trevor Booker, who was prone to foul trouble his first two seasons, has barely registered a blip on the radar screen in that category this season. Purnell is using Booker at the front of his press. In the past Booker was on the back end and often committed one or two fouls a game trying to deny a lay-up after a team broke the press. In his new role this season, Booker has nine personal fouls in as many games.

With their 9-0 start entering this weekend, and the very good chance that could be 11-0 when they open ACC play at Miami on December 21st, you would suppose that this is a group that can feel confident about getting 10 wins in the ACC and thus get to 22 or 23 overall. With non-home wins over Temple and Illinois and the wealth that ACC wins bring you within the RPI system, this is a team that should not only feel pretty good about its NCAA chances but one that, if given as high as a number five seed this year, should have earned the respect that will give it a better pairing than the one it faced last March when it went up against a 12th-seeded Villanova team, one that was much better than its seed in a match-up that felt more like an eighth seed playing a ninth seed.

The AP voters left this team from the Top 25 again this past Monday. If you watch them you can see why they’ll likely received such a ranking and stay in the poll for a while within the next few weeks.