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Quotables: Gregg Marshall Pre-Clemson
...what stands out about Clemson:
"They've got some good players. They're a very solid, well-coached, fundamentally-sound basketball team. They went to the [Sweet 16] last year and got a lot of guys back. Marcquise Reed is a tremendous talent as a guard. Elijah Thomas is probably the best big man that we will have faced on the block this year. They don't beat themselves. They were really close to being an (NCAA) tournament team, just like Furman. But this group, of their last five losses in (ACC play), four of them were of a combined six points. So, they lost some really close games to good teams and a couple too many losses to get in (the NCAA Tournament). But, you're right there. Coming off the [Sweet 16], they made noise in the tournament last year. Had they gotten into the (NCAA Tournament), who knows. They beat a good Wright State team (on Tuesday) and we know we'll have our hands full."
...what makes Clemson so good defensively:
"Just a great coach and great athletes. Brad's always been a good defensive coach, going back to his days at Wilmington and then Wright State and Clemson. They guard. They're in the right position. They're well schooled. They obviously pay attention to tips that the coaching staff can give them. I just know that you look, over the years, his teams have been great defensively."
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RH: Shockers Head to Clemson
The point of the NIT is to get to New York for the semifinals and finals. The larger point is to gain experiences that will help the Shockers avoid the NIT next season and return to the NCAA Tournament. In that light, every practice, every game, every decision, timeout and situation is an opportunity to bank-roll knowledge and confidence that might help in 2019-20.
Add in two wins in Memphis in the American Athletic Conference Tournament and the Shockers are 6-1 in their past seven games outside Wichita, the loss coming to eventual champion Cincinnati in the semifinals of the tournament. That stretch includes a win over NCAA Tournament team Temple in Memphis.
"They looked scared to death early in the year, because none of them had ever been in a college, away, atmosphere," coach Gregg Marshall said. "We've won a few. That breeds a little confidence."
The statistical markers for improvement are easy to see. In those six road or neutral-court wins, the Shockers held five opponents under 42 percent shooting and four of them under 40. They committed 10 or fewer turnovers in four of those six wins. They out-rebounded five of those six opponents and outscored five with second-chance points.
In video study, Marshall is reminding the Shockers of those comparisons to remind them of those important, and easy to over-look, improvements.
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SCOUTING CLEMSON:
***Clemson ranks No. 30 in KenPom – second-highest currently among the non-NCAA Tournament teams, trailing only Texas (28). The Tigers were No. 35 in the final NET rankings.
***The Tigers have reached the postseason five times in Brad Brownell's nine seasons, including a string of three-in-a-row. Last year Clemson reached the NCAA's Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed after posting wins over New Mexico State and Auburn. The Tigers fell to top-seed and eventual Final Four participant Kansas in Omaha, 80-76.
***This is Clemson's third NIT under Brownell. The Tigers reached the semifinal in 2014 and lost in the first round in 2017.
***This is Clemson's 17th NIT all-time. The Tigers have reached the semifinals three times with a pair of runner-up finishes but have never won the tournament. Only New Mexico (19) and Manhattan (18) have made more NIT appearances without winning a title.
***Clemson's first round victory was likely bittersweet for Brownell. It came over his former school, Wright State, over his former protégé, Billy Donlon. Brownell led the Raiders to four 20-wins seasons from 2006-10 before accepting the Clemson job.
***Clemson ranks 24th nationally in scoring defense (64.0) and 30th in field goal percentage defense (.406). KenPom ranks the Tigers No. 12 in defensive efficiency – tops among non-NCAA Tournament qualifiers.
***Clemson is 14-4 at home this year (8-1 vs. non-conference opponents). The Tigers' only non-conference home loss came against Nebraska on Nov. 26 (68-66).
***Marcquise Reed, a 6-foot-3 fifth-year senior leads the team in points (19.5), assists (3.1) and steals (63) while pulling down 5.7 rebounds-per-contest. Reed entered the weekend ranked 27th nationally in steals-per-game (2.1) and is the ACC's free throw percentage leader at .845.
***Elijah Thomas (13.0 ppg) is the team's leading rebounder (7.8) and shot-blocker (72). He ranks among the top-25 nationally in blocks and has nine double-doubles.
***Senior point guard Shelton Mitchell (11.5 ppg, 32.8 mpg, team-high 95 assists) did not play against Wright State.
MATCHUP MASHUP:
***For the 12th time in 35 games, WSU will face an opponent that ranks among the nation's top-40 in field goal percentage defense. Clemson foes are shooting just 40.6% for the year (30th nationally). The Shockers faced Cincinnati (No. 30) three times, Tulsa twice (40) and played once each against Houston (1), VCU (6), UCF (13), Oklahoma (24), Southern Miss (25) and Davidson (36).
***Marshall was born in Greenwood, S.C. (64 miles from Clemson) and spent nine years as head coach at Winthrop University in Rock Hill. As was the case in Charleston and Greenville, he'll have a large cheering section of friends and family for Sunday's game. Both of his parents were able to attend his 500th win at Furman.
***This is the Shockers' eighth trip (and 10th game) on the east coast this year. In addition to the NIT and opener at Furman and American Athletic Conference contests at USF (Tampa, Fla.), UConn (Storrs, Conn.) and ECU (Greenville, N.C.), WSU played three games at the Charleston Classic (Charleston, S.C.), a neutral site contest in Annapolis, Md., and a road game at VCU (Richmond, Va.).
***Shocker legend Xavier McDaniel attended Wednesday's win over Furman. The Columbia, S.C. native attended A.C. Flora High School before signing with Gene Smithson. In 1985 he became the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding.
***Both sides reached the 20-win plateau with first round NIT wins.
***WSU has lost its last five games against ACC schools, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament setbacks against Notre Dame (2015 Sweet 16) and Miami (2016 Round of 32). ***Their last win against an ACC foe came under similar circumstances – Mar. 20, 2011 -- in overtime at Virginia Tech in the second round of the NIT.
***Marshall is 1-3 in his career against Clemson. All four took place at Littlejohn Coliseum during his days at Winthrop. The teams met four-consecutive years from 1999-00 to 2002-03. Marshall led the Eagles a 66-61 upset on Dec. 18, 2001. It was Winthrop's first-ever victory over Clemson in seven tries.
***Brownell and Marshall's coaching trees share a common branch. Current College of Charleston head coach Earl Grant worked under Marshall for six years (2004-07 at Winthrop and 2007-10 at WSU) before joining Brownell's original Clemson staff (2010-14). In 2014, Grant was named head coach at C-of-C.
***Former Evansville head coach Marty Simmons is in his first year as an assistant coach at Clemson. Simmons and Marshall arrived at their respective stops in the same year (2007-08) and went head-to-head 21 times from 2007-17.
***WSU senior Samajae Haynes-Jones and Clemson redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Xavier Kelly were high school teammates at Wichita East High School. The pair helped lead the Aces to a state hoops title in Kansas' largest classification (6A) during Haynes-Jones' senior year (2015). The state tournament took place at WSU's Charles Koch Arena.
***Clemson coach Brad Brownell never coached in the Missouri Valley Conference but has ties to some names that might be familiar to long time Shocker fans. His first jobs as an assistant came under Jim Crews at Evansville (1991-92) and under Royce Waltman at the University of Indianapolis. Waltman went on to coach 10 years at Indiana State, where he eventually hired a young assistant named Lou Gudino. Crews helped Evansville transition to the MVC four years later.
https://goshockers.com/news/2019/3/2...t-clemson.aspxComment
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Yahoo sports have Clemson -7 .Comment
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I didn’t have a good feeling about the Furman game.
I have a good feeling about Clemson.
I don’t know what to think about that."It's amazing to watch Ron slide into that open area, Fred will find him and it's straight cash homie."--HCGMComment
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Funny. I started the season assuming we would loose every game. Now I assume we'll win every game. Who wudda thunk it?Originally posted by Rocky Mountain Shock View Post
This year has been quite the ride.
:bball_spin:Comment
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Wow, WSU grad now living in SC. Went to Furman game and looking forward to Clemson. Have 2 sons who graduated from Clemson but a little embarrassed to see that Clemson can't
even spell WICHITA STATE correctly on Tickets. It is not Witchita !!!!!Comment
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Shox by a lot!!Rip em up, Tear em up, Give em HELL Shockers!Comment
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Hey Pin, what day is it?
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IT'S GAMEDAY BITCHES !!!Comment
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