01/08/07 - Huge Week for the Program …

First, I want to thank everyone who came to the game on Saturday for all of their support, what a great crowd and atmosphere! Having Littlejohn full and loud really makes a difference for our team as well as with recruits who we have attending the games. I hope that everyone will be back in Littlejohn throughout the season as we continue on in ACC play. Once again, thank you for all of your continued support.

Obviously, last week was a huge week for our program. The road win at Florida State was a great win in a tough environment. It is very difficult to win on the road in the ACC, and I was really pleased with our poise down the stretch in Tallahassee. Saturday’s home win over Georgia Tech was an exciting game as well that will be a feather in our cap come March. In the ACC, you need to protect your home court and that is exactly what we did on Saturday. By doing so, we are the last undefeated team in college basketball which is a great accomplishment for our players.

Free Throws were a key to the win against Georgia Tech. We have been working hard at free throws all season, and our work is beginning to pay off. Over the Christmas break, we held numerous free throw only practices during the morning. This has really helped our players’ fine tune their routines and step to the line with confidence. We are going to continue to shoot a lot of free throws as a team and individually, as many ACC games this season will come down to the line and we want to be prepared.

This week is another tough week in conference play with 2 road games. Our game at NC State on Tuesday will be another tough road contest as will our game Saturday at Maryland. We are looking forward to and embracing the challenges that lie ahead as we continue our march toward the NCAA tournament.

Go Tigers!

-- Coach P