Be Nice.....no, seriously. BNice and Brownell: Clemson hoops 2010-2011

I can't resist.  I have to write about this team.  I have been a Clemson basketball fanatic since I started school there in 1995.  Over the years there have been a lot of ups and even more downs.  But through it all I have remained a fan - albeit sometimes a pessimistic (some might say realistic) fan.    

This year I brought my full arsenal of pessimism.  On December 2, 2010, I sent the following comment to some close friends that I "talk" Clemson sports with regularly: "I'll just go ahead and say it.  The Shyatt Era: Part Deux has begun." As some background information, the Shyatt Era was just brutal to observe.  From 1998 to 2003, Larry Shyatt successfully took a program that had been on the rise and promptly drove Clemson basketball into the ground (see 10-20 record of 1999-2000 as evidence).  The previous coach, Rick Barnes had been wildly popular with students and had taken us to the height of our program.  By January 21, 1997 (I was a sophomore in college), Clemson had been ranked as high as #2 - just behind Kansas.  Here is a link to a week by week look at the AP Top 25 polls for that year.  Just click on the "Start Motion" icon.  Watching this was like reliving the highs and lows of what that season was like.  It was epic.  The next year, Rick Barnes left (and I wept) for Texas and the new coach, former Barnes assistant Larry Shyatt, proved he was not meant to be a head coach in the ACC.  It has taken years for the basketball program to recover.  But I digress...back to my point about this new era of Clemson hoops, which I had anointed as the new Shyatt era.

Apparently, I was wrong.  While this year has definitely had its abundant share of downs, there have been a surprising number of ups for this team.  Amidst a change of coaching staffs, implementation of new offensive and defensive schema, the loss of a first-round draft pick, the defection of a former Top 30 recruit, and a slew of personality problems, a collection of guys who seemed to hate playing basketball together at the beginning of the season have rallied around each other to win twenty games, including a 9-7 conference record.  In fact, the Tigers earned a first-round bye in next weeks ACC tournament.  From what we saw at the beginning of the year, this outcome is almost unbelievable.

I am pretty sure that I was there when things started to come together.  On January 18th I had the privilege to watch Clemson play UNC in the "Dean Dome".  I had hoped that it would be the end of the futility that comes with owning the worst losing streak (0-54 at UNC) between two opponents in the history of college basketball.  Although the streak would continue something more important happened.  Brian Narcisse had the goggles knocked, literally, off of his head.  That is it.  Up to that point, I had criticized Narcisse pretty much every time he stepped on the floor.  He was an out-of-control type player that had seen only chump minutes in his prior years with the team.  But something happened to him when those nerdy goggles (a la Horace Grant) got knocked to the floor of the Dean Smith Center.  And when he put those goggles back he was a new man.  Suddenly I didn't cringe when he stepped on the floor.  Suddenly he could make shots.  Suddenly he didn't look like he thought he was playing on an eight foot goal.  Last night, his dunk on Virginia Tech was #4 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays list.  And the rest of the team seems to have fed off of his energy.  I am still shocked at his transformation.

But it is not just the players that are responsible for this.  Particularly in college sports, the coach makes a huge difference.  A good coach can mean the difference between mediocrity and success - even with, or despite, the quality of the players.  A friend recently told me that he thinks Brad Brownell should be the ACC coach-of-the-year (COY).  I must admit that, at first, I was skeptical.  I still question some of the game management strategies that Brownell employs, but I am coming around to the idea that he deserves some recognition.  He has led this team with only nine scholarship players - none of whom will likely make an NBA roster.  I mention this because a recent article in a local newspaper here in the Triangle was touting Roy Williams as the obvious choice for COY.  One of the arguments made was that you should not punish a coach for having great players.  The author asked why Williams should be punished just because his roster is loaded with McDonald's All-Americans.  I laughed.  And then I thought that perhaps a more appropriate question is why a coach should not be rewarded for doing a lot with less talent.  Is it better to win 24 games with a starting lineup that is made ENTIRELY of McDonald's All-Americans or to win 20 games with a starting lineup that is comprised of exactly ZERO McDonald's All-Americans?  Unless you live in Chapel Hill, this answer should be obvious.  Sadly, Williams will likely win the award.  Maybe it will be Leonard Hamilton of Florida State.  It will not be Brownell, though.  Sigh.

The season is not over.  Clemson still needs to win a game or two in the ACC tournament to secure a bid to the big dance.  Yet just the fact that they are in that conversation is nothing short of miraculous.  So a note to my beloved Clemson Tigers men's basketball team of 2010-2011: I am proud of you.  No matter what happens in the next week, you have earned my respect.  You have proven me wrong.  And I have never been so happy to admit that I was mistaken when I predicted a 5-11 finish for you.  Now go out there and prove me wrong a few more times.