Clemson Tigers Reach Midway Point in Their ACC Campaign

This is officially the midway point in the ACC season for the Clemson Tigers, and they’re batting .500.

Parity in the ACC is a new thing.  What it means is that Clemson is well within shouting distance of a good finish in the conference and an all important first round bye in the tournament.

There are a few things that these Tigers have done exceptionally well. 

For the most part, Trevor Booker has been an absolute beast.  He’s virtually unstoppable when he gets the ball in the low post.  His rebounding, and especially offensive rebounding, has been solid.  Perhaps most surprisingly, he has stayed out of foul trouble and is able to finish games.

The conditioning of this Clemson team is exceptional.  It has to be as they lack productive, scoring depth.  The trap-and-sprint defense they are using burns a lot of calories.  Whatever the formula they use to put so much gas in the tank, it worked.

Jerai Grant is finally starting to come onto his own as a scoring threat, in addition to being a big body.  He was effective against Boston College and a star against Maryland.  That can only mean good things for Booker down the stretch.

Of course, there are areas for improvement as well.

The guards have to stay aggressive, especially on offense.  Tanner Smith is capable of making plays if he commits to them.  Several times against Maryland his split-second hesitations let to turnovers.  He is not quick enough to be a playmaker without being fearless.  Aggression may lead to fouls, but it will continue to create turnovers and transition buckets as well.

As much as Clemson likes to press, they have to learn to deal with the press as well.  There are enough decent ball handlers on this team to create transition buckets when other teams apply full court pressure.  For a team that plays defense this way, giving up turnovers to the same system when they have the ball is unacceptable.

The victory over Maryland will hopefully set the tone for the remainder of the season.  This was the first game where Clemson was truly able to overcome the injury to Demontez Stitt.  Andre Young was solid and effective.  Clemson won ugly, but a win is a win.

The Tigers have almost a week off before they travel to Virginia Tech.  After that, the next three are at home in Littlejohn.  If Stitt is able to get healthy during the break, the next four are definitely winnable games.

The key is to make it to March in top form.  Then anything can happen.  There is still a hill to climb, but the stated goal of winning games in the NCAA tournament is still well within reach.