North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Clemson
1/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DATE: Tuesday, January 9, 2007 @ RBC Center, Raleigh, NC (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network
AIRTIME: 6:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: FSN South
OPPONENT-- Clemson’s James Mays continued his winning ways Saturday. Mays had 16 points, including the game-winning layup with 2.2 seconds to play, to give the Tigers a 74-73 win over Georgia Tech and their best start in 20-years.Mays is 27-0 in his last 27 games over the past two years, but that mark was in serious jeopardy when Jarvis Crittenton scored with 6.5 seconds left to put the Yellow Jackets up 74-73. Following a Clemson time-out, Mays caught the inbounds pass near midcourt and drove the rest of the way to the basket. He maneuvered down left side of the lane and past two defenders before scoring.
The Tigers opened 11-0 a year ago when Mays, a Garner, NC native, was declared academically ineligible and did not play again. Currently, Mays is the Tigers No.2 scorer (12.7) and leads the team in rebounding (7.4) and steals (2.2).
Clemson’s victory, coupled with UCLA’s upset loss to Oregon, left the Tigers as the lone undefeated team in Division I and just one win away from matching the school record for the best start set by the 1986-87 team.
With 8:22 to play Georgia Tech led 63-58 after a jumper and a 3-point basket by Anthony Morrow, but Clemson countered with an 11-2 run to move in front. Mays tied the game with two free throws and also scored on a slam dunk during the spurt.
Tech’s Jeremis Smith answered with two foul shots to put the Yellow Jackets up 72-71 with 33 seconds left. After Cliff Hammonds' driving shot regained the lead for the Clemson, Crittenton looked like he had won the game for Georgia Tech with soft running basket until Mays sealed the Jackets fate.
It was the second straight nail-biting victory for Clemson. Hammonds' layup with 3 seconds left at Florida State gave the Tigers a 68-66 victory on January 3, in their ACC opener.
K.C. Rivers led Clemson with 20 points off the bench while Hammonds added 17. Crittenton scored a career-high 22 points for Georgia Tech (11-4, 0-2) which has lost its last 14 road games.
The Tigers are athletic, extremely deep and their defense can be very stingy. Clemson has nine players averaging at least 11 minutes a game led by Hammonds (30.5) and point guard Vernon Hamilton (29.9). That duo defends the perimeter very well and combines for nearly 4 of Clemson’s 9 steals a game.
Defensively, the Tigers are allowing opponents an average of only 60.4 points and 41 percent shooting from the field. Their pressure defense in the half court (and sometimes full court) has been very effective, causing an average of 19 turnovers a game. Rookie Trevor Booker and Mays have combined to average 3.2 blocked shots per game.
Clemson is balanced offensively. Five players are averaging in double figures led by Rivers (14.9) who has scored in double digits in 16 straight games coming off the bench. The Tigers aren’t a great three-point shooting team, but they make enough shots from the arc (seven per game) to keep defenses honest and they can be tough to defend because of their ability to drive the ball to the hoop.
When shots won’t go down, the Tigers do a terrific job crashing the offensive glass. Clemson gets back nearly 47 percent of its misses and averages 15.4 offensive rebounds a game. Booker and Mays are the Tigers top offensive glass eaters. Clemson is outrebounding its opponents by nearly eight a game.
As in past seasons, the Tigers aren’t very good at the foul line (.625), but Hammonds, Rivers and Booker all shoot at least 70 percent from the stripe.
NC State has won 8 of the last 9 games in the series including last season’s only meeting 94-85 at Littlejohn Coliseum. Due to ACC expansion, this will be the only regular season game between the two teams in 2007.
PROBABLE CLEMSON STARTERSNo. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG
03 Vernon Hamilton G 6'0 Sr. 11.1 2.8 4.1
25 Cliff Hammonds G 6’3 Jr. 10.6 3.1 3.5
35 Trevor Booker C 6'7 Sr. 10.1 6.9 1.9*
32 Sam Perry F 6'5 Jr. 4.8 3.3 1.3
40 James Mays F 6'7 Jr. 12.7 7.4 1.3*
TOP RESERVES:42 Julius Powell F 6’7 S0. 3.9 1.8 --
01 K.C. Rivers F 6'5 So. 14.9 4.4 2.4
15 David Potter G/F 6'6 Fr. 2.9 1.4 0.9
12 Raymond Sykes C/F 6'9 So. 2.5 2.4 1.3*
* Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would be the Wolfpack's fourth in the last five games and its first ACC victory of the season, improving NC State to 11-5 overall and 1-2 in the ACC. The Pack would earn its 9th victory in the last 10 games over Clemson in the series and win its 11th game at home this season against only 2 losses. State would hand Clemson its first loss of the season –meaning there are no more unbeaten teams in Division-1 college basketball. The Tigers would drop to 16-1 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. This game will be the only regular season meeting between the Wolfpack and Tigers.
A LOSS--Would be the Wolfpack's second straight, marking its third two-game losing streak of the season. State would drop to 10-6 overall and 0-3 in the ACC. Clemson would remain the only unbeaten team in Division-1 basketball, improving to 17-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC. The Tigers would tie the school record for their best-ever season start and record their first win in the series with NC State since beating the Pack 60-55 in 2004 at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Wolfpack would lose its third game at home this season, dropping to 10-3 in Raleigh. This game will be the only regular season meeting between the Wolfpack and Tigers.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME--The Pack’s loss to Boston College on Tuesday was only its second at home this season and its first ACC home loss. State is 10-2 at the RBC Center this season.
DEFENSIVE DIALOG –The Wolfpack is still looking for a complete 40-minute defensive effort this season. State’s last two opponents have averaged 83.5 points and shot 43 percent from the arc (24-56).
BIG BEN --The most improved player on the NC State team is Ben McCauley. The sophomore center leads the Wolfpack in shooting (.607), scoring (16.9) and steals (1.3) while running second in rebounding (6.7) and total assists (52). Not bad for a guy who saw very little playing time a year ago. McCauley averaged 5.5 minutes in 13 ACC games last season.
MAKING HACKERS PAY--State is once again a good free throw shooting team. The Pack is shooting .706 from the foul line (226-320). Last season, the Wolfpack shot .751 from the stripe.
DON’T GIVE ME LONG DISTANCE --State no longer relies as much on three-point shooting as much as in past seasons. The Pack is an inside-out team and that’s reflected in the stats. State averages 17 attempts and 5.3 made three-point field goals a game. Last season nearly 46 percent of State’s shots came from the bonusphere. This season that number is down to 32 percent.
THE OLD MAN—Guard Engin Atsur is the Wolfpack only senior and its only point guard. The native of Istanbul, Turkey, was off to a great start this season when a pulled hamstring muscle six minutes into the Michigan game on November 27th knocked him out of action for 9 straight games. The Pack managed a 5-4 record without him. When he returned on Jan. 6 against Boston College, Atsur dished out a career-high 10 assists.
AS THE BALL TURNS --With a few exceptions, the Wolfpack has done a better than average job taking care of the ball. State is averaging only 13.9 turnovers a game this season and had only 9 against Boston College on Jan 6.
GRANT REFUSED TO SURRENDER –Junior Gavin Grant was forced into a difficult spot when Engin Atsur was injured and missed 9-straight games. The slashing shooting guard was forced to play the point and did a good job. Grant has continued to score (15.1) and rebound (6.0) while leading the Wolfpack in assists (5.1).
BOARD BATTLE-- Rebounding has sometimes been a challenge for the Wolfpack this season. The Pack has won or tied the rebounding battle with its opponents 8 times this season and has a 6-2 record to show for it. When the Pack has lost the rebounding battle, State is 4-3.
COSTNER IS CONNECTING--Redshirt freshman Brandon Costner played in only five games before an injury ended his 2005-06 season. This season, Costner is showing the potential that made him a Parade and McDonalds High School All-American. He leads the Pack in rebounding (7.7) and is the team’s No.2 scorer (16.8) while shooting 51 percent from the field. He also leads the Pack with 25 three-point field goals.
