Can the Clemson Tigers break through and capture their first ACC Tournament Championship?

Well it's that time of year... The time when Clemson basketball is usually about to go dormant and spring football and baseball become the main topic of discussion among Tiger fans. This has been standard operation procedure for the past 10 years until a veteran led unit led by seniors Cliff Hammonds, James Mays, and Sam Perry decided they wanted to dance.

No more bubbles in March, no more agonizing selection Sunday's, just hope. Hope that this Tiger team can do the unthinkable, beat Tobacco Road juggernauts Duke and UNC (most likely) to win the ACC Tournament and do some serious damage in the Big Dance.

After two crippling overtime losses to UNC, with the latter being a meltdown of epic proportions (losing an 11 point lead in Chapel Hill in just over three minutes) the Tigers seemed destined for yet another NIT. The same Tigers were back everyone thought at the time and rightfully so. I mean how could they overcome their best chance to ever win in Chapel Hill and come back to finish third in the league?

Well a funny thing happened along the way. This team, led by the always calm and confident Oliver Purnell, showed heart and never gave up like previous Tiger teams who had become notorious for folding like a cheap tent.

This Clemson team showed it could do unthinkable things, like the second half 20 point miracle comeback at Maryland on their Senior Night and the critical win over Virginia Tech a week later.

A pair of clutch freshman capped these two crucial games and left no doubt that this team was different than its predecessors. Terrence Oglesby hit the shot heard around the ACC against Maryland to cap the greatest comeback in Clemson basketball history. A week later, point guard Demontez Stitt swished two free throws with the Tigers trailing Virginia Tech by one point and only 3.1 seconds remaining.

This team has balance with Stitt and Hammonds running the point, K.C Rivers the do-it- all man, at the three position, and the ultra athletic James Mays paired with the powerful Trevor Booker down low. The balanced bench and an effective press has given almost every team Clemson has faced trouble all year.

Throw in Terrence Oglesby, who has already become somewhat of a cult figure around Tigertown, and this March and possibly April could give Tiger fans a chance to finally forget about Baseball and Spring Football for a while.

After ten years of agony who could have dreamed that?

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