1/14/09 - Above and Beyond...

The end of the holiday season means one thing to us – ACC conference basketball. The Tigers got off to a great start in conference play with a 91-72 win at the University of Miami. The win at Miami took us into our three-day holiday break. This short break gave our guys a chance to spend some hard-earned time off with their families.

Then it was back to work as we prepared for our game against in-state rival South Carolina. With a huge contribution from our bench, we were able to control the pace of the game and leave Columbia with an 11-point victory. Spirits on the bus were high as we headed back to Clemson for our final two non-conference games of the season. Our team continued to make strides as we took care of a scrappy East Carolina team and an extremely talented Alabama team. With the win over Alabama, we completed our non-conference season with a record of 14-0. This is a tremendous accomplishment for our young men as well as our program.

After Alabama, we prepared to move back into conference play with a Saturday afternoon battle against NC State. The students were back on campus and were in full force as the Tiger-nation packed into Littlejohn Coliseum. The atmosphere was electric and the Tigers were focused and ready to go. With the help of our bench and the raucous crowd we were able to pressure NC State into 18 turnovers and come away with our second conference victory. During the game, K.C. Rivers reached a milestone as he passed Tree Rollins for the 10th spot on Clemson’s all-time scoring list. It has been great watching K.C.’s progress over the last three and a half years as he has matured into the leader of our team. There is no doubt that K.C. is one of the best players in the country and is deserving of all the praise and recognition.

The NC State game was also our alumni game. Many of our past Clemson hoopsters were in attendance at Littlejohn. After the game I was able to catch up with several of our basketball alum at a small reception. As a coach, it is always a pleasure to connect with former players. I have no doubt that our program would not be where it is today without the contributions of all of our former athletes.

We will continue to rely on your support as we prepare to head into a tough stretch of our schedule. Over the next five games we will defend our #10 ranking against Wake Forest, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Duke. We look forward to the challenge and we hope that you will continue to help us go Above and Beyond!

Go Tigers!

-- Coach P