In Larry Shyatt's 5 years at Clemson he was never able to lead the Tigers into the NCAA tournament. As a result of that futility, he has been replaced by Oliver Purnell, who comes to Clemson by way of Dayton, where he led the Flyers to 4 straight 20 win seasons. Purnell is not a stranger to ACC basketball. He was an assistant at Maryland in the late 80's under Lefty Driesell and Bob Wade. He also interviewed for the Clemson job in 1998 before the Tigers hired Shyatt.

 

Purnell's task in rebuilding the Clemson basketball program will not be easy and it will take some time to build a program that can compete at the higher levels of the ACC. All-ACC performer Edward Scott, 3-year starter Ray Henderson, and valuable reserve Tomas Nagys have used up their eligibility. Scott, in particular, will be a big loss because he has been the heart and soul of Clemson basketball the last 2 years, and there is no clearcut replacement at PG ready to step in and fill his void.

 

However, there is still some talent returning to the Clemson roster. Chris Hobbs (6.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG), a 6-7 senior, returns in the frontcourt. He is big and strong, but he will definitely have to improve his scoring in the post for the Tigers to have any success this season. Sharrod Ford ( 7.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG) should start at center. He is a very athletic 6-9 junior who has good shot-blocking ability. The other frontcourt position should be manned by 6-6 senior Olu Babalola ( 7.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG). He has a decent mid-range game and has a strong body, but he needs to improve his ballhanding and his long-range shooting. Frontcourt depth will likely be a real problem for Purnell's 1st Clemson team. Akin Akingbala, a seldom used reserve last year, is the only other player with size that is likely to see much action this year. Julian Betko, a 6-5 junior, is a long-range shooting specialist who could see a lot of minutes at the wing forward spot.

 

The Clemson backcourt situation is even more uncertain than the frontcourt. Chey Christie (11.5 PPG) is the returning starter on the wing. However, he has limited ballhandling skills and must improve on his 28% three-point shooting. He likely will get plenty of opportunities to score on this team and should lead the Tigers in scoring this year. Jimmy Hudson is a 6-4 freshman who should provide some depth in the backcourt. Point guard is where the biggest question mark will be for Purnell's Tigers. Shawan Robinson (4.9 PPG) is the likely starter at the point. However, he is not noted as a playmaker and it wouldn't be too surprising to see Purnell turn the point over to 5-11 freshman Vernon Hamilton if Robinson doesn't work out early in the season.

 

Oliver Purnell inherits a team that went 15-13 and 5-11 in the ACC and lost it's leading scorer and playmaker in Edward Scott. Without a surefire quality replacement for Scott on the roster, it looks to be a long season ahead for Purnell in his 1st season as a head coach in the ACC. The Tigers may be able to pull a few surprises during the 2003-2004 season, but a date in the ACC tournament play-in game seems to be very likely.