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Posted: Tuesday October 15, 2002 2:30 PM Updated: Sunday October 27, 2002 3:05 PM Clemson Tigers
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis
Ask Larry Shyatt about his job security and the beleaguered Clemson coach just laughs. "I feel pressure, but I've always felt like that -- even as an assistant," Shyatt said, pointing out that his contract was just extended by two years (to a total of three years) over the summer. "Clearly, the school has stood by us. And clearly they've said we do need to get a few more wins and play in postseason." Shyatt's program has made some impressive gains in his four seasons at the school, especially in the field of academics. Last semester, the team's composite GPA was a school-record 2.8. He has five seniors on the roster, and all five are on track to graduate on time. Clemson's administrators have to like that progress. But it has been undercut by Shyatt's problems on the court. He inherited a veteran team from predecessor Rick Barnes -- one that had posted six straight winning seasons and made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Shyatt, who was Barnes' right-hand man at Clemson from 1995-97, promptly led his first Tiger team to 20 wins and the NIT final in 1999. But the new century has not been as kind to Shyatt. Clemson has floundered since Barnes' veterans departed, and the Tigers have fallen to the bottom reaches of the ACC standings. Despite that contract extension (and, remember, former Clemson football coach Tommy West was given a very public extension one year before he was fired), Shyatt's job is on the line this season. If the Tigers don't show marked improvement after last season's last-place finish in the ACC, Clemson officials will be hard-pressed to keep Shyatt -- no matter how well he runs the program off the court. The good news is that this Clemson team has at least a chance to work the same kind of job-saving magic that North Carolina State's youngsters pulled off for Herb Sendek's benefit a year ago. The Tigers return seven of the 10 players who averaged double-figure minutes, including a gifted point guard and four battle-tested big men.
"If this were a football franchise, you'd say we were building from the middle out," Shyatt said. He joked that his "four down linemen" are the foundation of the team. Indeed, he returns four post players who helped Clemson lead the ACC in rebounding last season. Ray Henderson (8.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg) is a burly 6-foot-8, 265-pound senior who grabbed more rebounds per minute than anybody in the league. "He was second in the league in rebounding, and he only averaged 24 minutes a game," Shyatt said. Henderson's minutes were limited by tender knees. He underwent knee surgery two years ago and was barely able to play in 2000-2001. His 23.6 minutes-per-game last season was actually a big improvement. As the knees get stronger, Henderson will be able to play longer, although Shyatt's depth in the post may limit his playing time more than his knees. There was a different reason that Chris Hobbs (11.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg) was not able to average more than 25.6 minutes a game. The 6-foot-7, 265-pound junior led the ACC in fouls last season and was disqualified from six games. That just baffles Shyatt. "Chris is not a bully," he said. "In fact, we're always after him to be even more aggressive. I'm not sure why he gets whistled for so many fouls. We're hoping that as he gets more experienced, he'll get caught less often." Hobbs, who lumbered through his freshman year out of shape while recovering from a serious ACL injury, was in fine shape last season and able to go far more minutes than he did previously. Shyatt could have used a few more minutes a game from his best all-around post player. The Chapel Hill, N.C., native had 25 points and nine rebounds at Duke, 25 points and 10 rebounds against Georgia Tech and 24 points and 17 rebounds in a triple-overtime victory over Wake Forest. Between them, the Henderson-Hobbs duo -- or the "Bruise Brothers" as Shyatt likes to call them -- combined for 11 double-doubles and averaged almost 19 points and 15 rebounds in ACC play. But Shyatt isn't sure the Bruise Brothers will continue to hold the starting post jobs at Clemson. He's projecting 6-foot-10 sophomore Sharrod Ford (4.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg) as a legitimate challenger for a starting job. "Sharrod is really blessed with innate ability," Shyatt said. "Now that his weight is up from 205 to 238 pounds, he should have the strength to hold his own." Senior Thomas Nagys (4.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg) isn't likely to be in the starting mix, but the 6-foot-10, 235-pound Lithuanian provides Shyatt with another proven post player. With so much depth, the Clemson coach is looking for 6-foot-10, 235-pound sophomore Steve Allen (1.2 ppg, 0.7 rpg) and 6-foot-9, 210-pound freshman Akin Akinbala (22.0 ppg, 13.0 rpg in prep school) as future contributors. "[Akinbala] and Steve Allen are in a position where they can work and learn this year, then be ready to step into the rotation next year when Henderson and Nagys graduate," Shyatt said, sounding very much like a coach who plans on being around more than just one more year. His chances of doing that may depend on the year he gets from 6-foot-0 senior point guard Edward Scott (11.9 ppg, 7.9 apg, 4.9 rpg), who came out of nowhere last season to establish himself as one of the ACC's premier guards. "I may have been part of the problem," Shyatt said when asked about Scott's relative obscurity. "I don't like to make excuses, and I probably didn't do as good a job as I should have in explaining what he went through as a freshman. I think people got the wrong picture of his athleticism." Scott played that season with a pin in his foot and with toenails removed from both big toes. As a sophomore, he was healthy, but deferred to high-scoring guard Will Solomon. Only last year, when he was healthy and Solomon was gone to the NBA, did Scott start opening eyes. It started with a 25-point outburst against LaSalle in Clemson's second game. It continued with a 20-point, 8-assist performance at national champion Maryland, followed by a carbon-copy 20-point, 8-assist game against No. 1 Duke. He added a 36-point, 7-assist game against Florida State, then topped it all with an incredible 30-point, 16-assist performance in a triple-overtime victory over Wake Forest. That was enough to earn Scott a place on the All-ACC third team. Scott needs to improve only his shooting percentage to finish his game. He hit just .405 percent from the field and a mediocre .306 from the 3-point line. But shooting was Clemson's biggest Achilles' heel last season. Despite all that inside strength, the Tigers shot just .439 from the field. That was the good news. Clemson was also an ACC-low .318 from 3-point range and a woeful .626 from the free-throw line. Can those numbers improve, despite the departure of the Tigers' top three wing shooters? "Sometimes shooting is not so much a product of shooting skill," Shyatt said. "Sometimes more shots are made as a product of maturity and intellect as to which shots are taken. We could end up taking fewer 3s and scoring more." The graduation of Jamar McKnight and the transfer of Tony Stockman and Dwon Clifton leaves Shyatt searching through a new set of wings. McKnight was the team's leading scorer a year ago (12.5 ppg) and Stockman led the team in shots taken, despite hitting just .351 from the floor. "He was a shooter," Shyatt said. "Sometimes he was a maker." The Clemson coach has high hopes that 6-foot-4 sophomore Chey Christie (5.3 ppg) can fulfill the promise he showed early last season at Duke when he came off the bench to score 21 points in 22 minutes, while hitting 7-of-8 shots from the floor. Alas, that scintillating performance wasn't repeated. Christie, the younger brother of former Clemson standout Tony Christie, hit double figures just twice more the rest of the season. After making 3-of-3 3-pointers at Duke, he hit just 6-of-47 in the Tigers' other 29 games. But, like his classmate Ford, Christie has reshaped his body in the offseason. "He's gone from 158 pounds to 178 pounds," Shyatt said. "I hope that helps him body on body. Chey got bullied a lot last year when people learned you could knock him off his game. That's shouldn't happen this year. He's got as much talent as anybody on our roster." Actually, 6-foot-6, 245-pound sophomore Olu Babalola (1.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg) might be Clemson's most physically gifted player. He doesn't have a lot of offensive skills and his ball handling is a bit suspect, but the London native packs amazing quickness and agility into his muscular frame. Shyatt could see Babalola's strengths improving Clemson's biggest weakness. "Our biggest improvement has to be on the defensive end," the Tiger coach said. "When we first got here, we hung our hat on defense and rebounding. Last year, we kind of let the defense slip. Olu Babalola was the only one we had in practice last year who did a good job defending Scott at the point. He could be our best defender in years." Shyatt is also hoping 6-foot-5 newcomer Ori Ichaki, a 21-year-old Israeli who was picked up late in the recruiting process, can help improve the Tigers at the defensive end. "We have not had the opportunity to see him play in person, but all indications we have are that he has a passion to play defense," Shyatt said. Ichaki, a veteran of the Israeli army, won't be able to play in approximately six games because of his pro experience in Israel. Lamar Rice won't be joining the Tigers until second semester. The 6-foot-7 wing from Mott (Mich.) Community College has a few more academic hurdles to clear. Clemson should get more immediate help from 6-foot-2 freshman guard Shawan Robinson (24.0 ppg at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, N.C.), who is coming off an outstanding summer as he helped his team (which also included UNC recruits Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants) to an AAU national title. "He's the son of a coach and should be ready to come in and play," Shyatt said. "I could see him in a rotation with [Scott and Christie]." Shyatt is not certain how much he'll get from 6-foot-5 freshman Julian Betko (22.7 ppg at Sharon High School in Sharon, Pa.) right away, but he knows one thing about the Slovokian wing player. "He makes a lot of shots," Shyatt said. The Tigers will have to make a lot of shots this season if they hope to climb out of the lower reaches of the ACC. And they'll have to do it despite a major disruption early in the season as Clemson remodels 34-year-old Littlejohn Coliseum. Construction work will force the Tigers to play their early-season home games at the 5,000-seat Anderson Civic Center, about 20 miles from campus. But Shyatt doesn't see the move as a negative. "I think we had greater disruption last year, when work [in Littlejohn] constantly interfered with our practice schedule," he said. "This year we have something we've never had before -- a new practice floor." Clemson basketball moved into the new Huckaby Gym in the offseason. The new facility is part of the $30 million project that includes the work on Littlejohn. In addition to the new practice floor, the new facility includes a new locker room, new film rooms, new offices and a new weight room. "That sort of makes you want to look to the future," Shyatt said, firmly convinced that he has a future at Clemson. The Tigers are scheduled to reopen Littlejohn Coliseum on Jan. 5, when Duke visits in a nationally televised showcase game. By that time, Shyatt's future should be in better focus. By that time, we'll know if Christie and/or one of the newcomers has developed enough on the wing to balance Clemson's strength up the middle. We'll know if Ford has tapped his immense potential. We'll know if the specter of Shyatt's dismissal has spurred his team to play harder for him or has distracted them from the job at hand. Clemson has a window of opportunity to move up in the ACC this season. The league is importing a lot of good talent, but many of the Tiger foes will be very young. Clemson, with a talented, experienced point guard and a bevy of proven big men, has as strong a core as almost any team in the league. The Clemson administration would love to see Shyatt have success this season. He loves the school, and he has done all the right things off the court. Now all he has to do is win.
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