Tuesday March 02, 2010

Senior Night

lSenior Night
I can’t believe it is here already but tonight we celebrate another senior night. Clemson will try to win its sixth straight senior night games. Clemson is 5-1 on senior night under Oliver Purnell and it has been Purnell who has made the event so special. The past three years Purnell has gotten extremely emotional on senior night. In either pre-game or post game celebrations in each of the past three years Purnell has been brought to tears. This kind of raw emotion and love for his players has been a welcomed experience. I would encourage fans to get in their seats early to see the special ceremony tonight.

Two years ago we said goodbye to Cliff Hammond, James Mays and Sam Perry. It was my favorite senior night because Hammonds is my favorite Clemson basketball player ever. It was similar to seeing C.J. Spiller come down the hill this past November in his last game at Clemson.

Last year we gave a fitting farewell to K.C. Rivers and Raymond Sykes. It was another special night because Rivers broke the Clemson record for wins in his career on this special night.

Tonight we send off Trevor Booker and David Potter who enter the game as the winningest basketball players in Clemson history. The pair has played in 92 victories in their four seasons. They also broke the Clemson record for career ACC wins with 34. This is the third straight senior class to tie or break the school record for total wins.

I still remember the first time I saw Trevor Booker play. Coming into his freshman season I was worried about the four position but I sat down in Littlejohn to watch the Tigers in an exhibition and it took about two minutes to see Booker was different. He was physically a beast for a true freshman. He was athletic and he ran the floor well. Coming into the season I figured the four spot to be a weakness but it quickly turned into a strength. What followed was four magical seasons. Booker leaves his mark on this program as much as any other player in recent memory.

He is now one of just four players in ACC history with at least 200 blocked shots, 200 assists and 100 steals.

Booker has 209 career assists, a school record for a frontcourt player.

He now has 1028 rebounds for his career. He has 1670 points as well so he now has at least 1500 points and 1000 rebounds in his career. Dale Davis is the only other Clemson player to do that. Davis had 1650 points and 1216 rebounds.

There are only two members in the Clemson 40-40-40 club, that’s 40 steals, 40 blocks and 40 assists in a season. Elden Campbell and current Clemson forward Trevor Booker. Booker has 66 assists, 41 blocks and 41 steals so far this year and it is the second straight year he has been in the club. Last year as a junior he had 54 as¬sists, 63 blocks and 47 steals, so he nearly had a 50-50-50 club. The only other Tiger to accomplish the feat is Campbell, who had 44 assists, 97 blocks and 54 steals in 1989-90.

Booker is tenth in Clemson history in steals with 142.

He is ninth in school history in field goal percentage with a .560 mark.

He is eighth in Clemson history in minutes played with 3671.

Booker is seventh in Clemson history in scoring with 1670 points.

He is fourth in school history in double figure games with 91 and blocked shots with 245.

He is fifth in Clemson history in double-doubles with 31.

Booker is third in school history in rebounding with 1,028 and field goals with 665.

He is second in Clemson history in career starts with 130 and tied for first in school history with consecutive starts with 130. He will break the record for consecutive starts tonight.

He is just the sixth player in ACC history with 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds and 225 blocked shots in a career. Mike Gminski, Sheldon Williams, Sam Perkins, Ralph Sampson and Tim Duncan were the others.

Booker is in the top 10 in the ACC in five different statistical categories this season, including scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.

The only Clemson players who have had more career double-doubles are Tree Rollins, Dale Davis, Sharone Wright and Horace Grant.

The only players who have scored more points in Clemson history are Eldon Campbell, Terrell McIntyre, Butch Zatezalo, Greg Buckner, Horace Grant and K.C. Rivers.

The only players who have more rebounds in Clemson history are Tree Rollins and Dale Davis.

David Potter has not been the offensive star that Booker has been over the last four years but he has played a very important role. Potter has often drawn the toughest offensive wing player and is one of the best defenders. He also has had some big offensive nights especially this season.

So tonight we saw good bye to two seniors who have won 20 games in all four seasons. A win tonight should also get this group a third consecutive NCAA tournament bid.

There are two major concerns for the Tigers tonight. First is Tech’s sense of urgency. The Yellow Jackets enter tonight’s game 7-7 in the ACC and need to get to at least 8-8 to be considered for an NCAA bid. The have lost three of their last five and four of their seven so a win tonight and/or against Virginia Tech on Saturday is a key.

The other big concern tonight is the short turnaround. Tech played Saturday but Clemson played a road game Sunday night and has only a one day turnaround. Tuesday night games that follow Sunday night games are fairly rare. The Jackets are an extremely talented group with three or four future NBA players so an extra day to prepare would have been nice.

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Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Mike Kingsmore,Perrin Seigler, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, Steve Cato, the Nicolopulos family, Cason Palmer, Candace Fallaw, Scott Jackson, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims, the Coyle familty, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee.