January 17, 2024 • 49 mins
The Tigers gear up to face down the Yellow Jackets in today's matchup! As always, John and Rich preview today's game, and set the scene with interviews, clips from the players, and more!
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(00:00):
W E S E F M.Greenville, Spartanburg, Anders And time for
the Ingles Countdown to tip Off Show, brought to you pie Ingles Markets,
Low Prices, Love the Savings,Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, Harley Davidson of
Greenville, Rare Flooring Center, theSurgery Center at Pella McGhee, Eating in
Air and by Palla Meadow State Armory. Now Here are your hosts sehn Alism,
(00:26):
Richmond Weaver, Whenson Tiger's coming offa big win, stepping at three
game losing streak, starting the weekoff right with another big game coming up
tonight against Georgia Tech, another bigACC game. It's the Ingles count Down
to tip Off Show. I'm JohnElist, that's Richmond Weaver. Got to
start the show real quick by thinkingour friends at Ingles low Prices, love
(00:48):
the savings. And also let's justsay a word for Richmond Weavers Dallas Campbell,
which I am sorry. Okay,we got to get it out the
way early so we can focus onbasketball. We do great season twelve wins,
but as we've seen in tournament timein the NCAA, the big Dance,
these things happen. They just seemto be happening to Dallas a little
too much lately, way too much. Three consecutive seasons of winning twelve or
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more games and not advancing in theplayoffs. That's the first time in NFL
history. So there is history beingmade with the Dallas Cowboys, and it's
bad. Yes, it is oneof those things where maybe you do put
a banner up. I don't know. I thought there was going to be
an opportunity where Jerry Jones and JimmyJohnson reconciled and Jimmy Johnson was inducted into
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you know, the Ring of Honorthere with the Dallas Cowboys, and maybe
that was going to lift the cursevery similar to the Red Sox and the
curse of the Bambino Babe Bruce DamnPackers show up with a new quarterback and
it's like old times and this iswhat's crazy. And again we are going
to get to basketball because we havea big game tonight for the Clemson Tigers
take it on the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets. But it's interesting in at and T
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Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play,they've won two playoff games in that stadium.
Let me pick what they are Lionsright twenty fourteen. I think that
was one of them. Okay,I think what was the other one?
I you know what, of allthings, I do not have that off
the top of my head because whereI'm going with this, this is even
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embarrassing that they've won two games,two playoff games in AT and T Stadium.
The Green Bay Packers in that stadiumhave won three Bad Jones is gonna
go get Jim Harball or Bill Belichickand the rich will beget richer. And
look, speaking of teams that needhelp, my Carolina Panthers, I shed
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you no tears, two wins thisyear. They need a lot of help
too. But let's shift our attentionto the hardwood. We're Clemson, you
know, three game losing streak.Yeah, that's tough. And Brad Brunella
talked about it. You know,he went back and looked at some of
the tape. You'll hear from himlater in this segment. Had a lot
of great comments this week, butyou know, the scouting of back and
look at what happened against Miami NorthCarolina. He said he was really proud
of that effort, and obviously therewere some ups and downs defensively, that's
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not Brad Burnel type of basketball.But to get a big win against a
very good team again Boston College,no slouch, and now you're back in
business in the ACC, my friend. Yeah, And I think it's one
of those scenarios where you have tobe very careful as far as what we've
talked about, just even from aperspective of making conclusions versus observations. And
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obviously we've talked about it several timesthat you don't want to be in a
scenario too early making conclusions. Youcan make some observations. And I think
also now that you're getting at thispoint of the season that sometimes if you
do struggle, then all of asudden you're back to making a conclusion.
Well, here we go. That'sthe Clemson Tigers. That's what we've seen
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in the past three game losing streak. Season's over. Nope, not so
fast, not so fast. Andthat's why you have to make sure that
you just keep things and especially withthis Clemson team, because I do believe
this is a different Clemson team interms of how they are much more structured
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to be able to handle storms.And I say that because they've got veteran
guys on their team. Obviously PJ. Hall, You've got Chase Hunter,
You've got Joe Girard, the thirdwho transferred in. Don't forget Boz Lydy
who transferred in from UNC Greensboro.I know he only plays a few minutes
each game, but he's a veterantype of guy also. And then so
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you have that core group of guysthat they've been through some of the difficult
times. And when you have thattype of guys who can serve as leaders,
then you have an opportunity to weathersome of these storms. And it's
even better when you have some ofthese guys who are veterans but are also
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are really good players, like PJ. Hall, like Joe Girard third,
who can get hot. And obviouslywe have seen PJ. Hall, he
can play at an All American typeof level. And Joe Gerard now is
fourth in the ACC in career threepointers made. So this guy's no slouch.
So you just have to keep itinto perspective from that standpoint. And
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I also, as I contended onour sister station one oh four nine Fox
Sports Upstate, as we have ourshows, the Richmond Weaver Show, each
weekday from three to four in Gameone with John Ellis from four to six
each weekday, I talked specifically aboutthe three game losing streak. It's Miami,
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who just went to the Final fourlast year, Jim Aaronnega, it's
on the road. And then alsoit's North Carolina. And if you look
at what I look at just froma stat perspective, Ken Palm is one
of the resources that I go toa lot of college basketball analysts go to
because you can dive into his advancedstack, turn me onto this whole Ken
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Pomp thing a couple of years ago, and now I stopped looking at the
AP Top twenty five. You don'tneed to go to the advanced metrics.
To the advanced metrics, and itdoesn't always calculate out to the exact results,
but it gives you a great idea, gives you a great gauge.
And so when you look at adjustedoffense efficiency and adjusted defense efficiency, the
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teams that are typically in the topforty of both of those, those are
the teams that are going to benational contenders. Well, guess what,
North Carolina is one of those.And so that's a tough game against North
Carolina, and you lose by tenbecause you go one of eighteen from beyond
the three point line. That's likea fluco most you know, because you
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haven't seen that from that against NorthCarolina, or you can do it against
North Carolina Tech for all that Icare. Three pointer is a three pointer
and that's right. You just don'thave a cold hand that night. Things
can go south in a hurry,and there's something to be said. I
get it. It's North Carolina,and maybe mentally you come out there a
little bit different. Maybe you're pressinga little time, maybe because it's Little
John, it's at noon, youknow, even though it is a home
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game obviously, and then you havean opportunity, you know, there for
your fan base. But sometimes theseguys are nineteen twenty twenty one years old,
and maybe they put a little bittoo much pressure on themselves. Sure
in those type of big games,knowing that, hey, we could really
use this win, especially coming offof that loss at Miami, and can
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we play better defensively? And theydid, they just didn't play better offensively.
And then I don't care what anybodysays. Going to Blacksburg, that
is a tough place to play,and Mike Young crew. Yeah, and
Mike Young is one of the bestcoaches in college basketball. We've seen the
success he had at Wofford, andeven with a ragtag type of crew there
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at Virginia Tech, he still getsthe most out of that team. And
that's why Virginia Tech is a teamthat can be one of those spoilers.
Not necessarily a team that's going tocontend for an ACC championship, you'll come
tournament time, but they can makea little bit of a run. We've
seen that previously won the AC championship. Just knowing that, also they can
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serve as that spoiler, So Ithink you have to view it from that
perspective. But all of that said, it was a great win for the
Tigers against Boston College at home,one of those games where they needed to
get right, get back in thatwin column and push that to the side,
that three game losing streak, andit was a great opportunity for to
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see some offense and some defense therefrom the Tigers goes. Boston College also
is not a team that is tobe taken lightly. Does a great job
every night in the ACC is adifficult challenge, and that's why we've talked
about how important. Conference schedule iscompletely different than the non conference schedule,
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and we've talked about it from theanalogy standpoint, we know there's a difference.
We'll go back to the NFL regularseason NFL and playoff NFL. It
is different, and I'm not sayingthe jump as the same in college basketball
from non conference to conference games,but there is something to be said that
it is different come conference time becausethese teams are much more familiar with you.
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They know your tendency, They've gota lot of film on you.
They've seen you obviously twice each yearand sometimes three times depending if you meet
up in the ACC tournament. Sothere is that aspect that it just gets
a little bit harder. But niceeighty nine to seventy eight victory there for
the Tigers against Boston College. Yeah, you love to see that eighty nine
on the board, that offensive mojogoing in the right direction, and defensively,
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obviously a much better performance than whatthey've seen before twelve and four.
Right now, coming up in thenext segment, we got a ton of
audio from Brad Burnell. He shareda lot of interesting thoughts and I found
it curious in a good way thatBrunell. He always offers insight. I
love listening to him talk about histeam. We've got some like one to
two minute sound bites for you aboutthis team and about some of the human
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element of coaching these guys. You'vegot a story like Josh Beadle coming back
from an accident, and he talkedabout working his way back, practicing better,
and what he thinks about his postplayers and how you know PJ.
Hall. Maybe you know he's notnecessarily in the post all the time,
but that helps matchups for guys likeChefood the chef who. By the way,
I gotta say again, my sonwatched the Clemson game for the first
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time this year. He said,Dad, Will Ferrell could play this guy.
He's gotta play. This is Jackiemoon Man. He's got the Jennick
yes, but he is a warriorout there. I want to remind you
were brought to you by Ingles LowPrices, love the savings Ingles dashmarkets dot
Com. As Richmand mentioned, we'reinto acc play right now, and just
some stats to look at what happenedin this game. PJ Hall back on
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track offensively twenty six points in thisgame, matching that of Joe Girard.
You go Joe or Joseph. Whereare we at with that? Oh?
We go full name Joseph. Iges know he does. Obviously his full
name is Joseph Gerard the third,which I just said. But what do
I call him? Does he getmad if I call him Joe? Or
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no? You call him? Yes? I have talked with Joe several times
and calling him by Joe is perfectlyfine. I'm going with Joe. I
like Joe Girard. Get a confusewith Joe Girardi, the old manager for
the Yankees. Let's get back tobasketball. So this game, obviously Clemson
was in control. The biggest leaguewas nineteen. Uh you know, BC
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had an early lead of five points. But again you got production from your
bench. Points in the paint onceagain had been missing against those couple of
acc losses. They had forty fourpoints in the paint and again they didn't
have one of those halves where theykind of stumbled defensively. But a big
part of that and you got togive this its proper due. The scholarship
players that were available were few andfar between for this team, because some
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of the best players were missing inthis game, for Boston College. That's
certainly put them back a little bitin the game. Yeah, and that's
one of the things that you can'tcontrol is injuries, and we've seen that
even from Clemson's perspective. You've gotJack Clark that's been out, You've got
Alex Himanway obviously out still battling thatPlanner fasci itis. So there's all these
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type of things where you can't control. But Clemson was able to somewhat you
know, circle the wagons as wego cliche coach speak here and be able
to just get some things going offensively. It's not like they were, you
know, in a scenario with thethree point shot seven of twenty. It
wasn't you know, completely lights out, but obviously a selection, yes,
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a goot selection. And we've talkedabout it several times that Clemson is at
their best when they're shooting eighteen totwenty five three pointers in a game.
When they start getting into an aspectof when all of a sudden they're checking
up thirty thirty five, that's nota good scenario for Clemson because it just
affects their efficiency. It's like anNFL team, and it's not meant to
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throw the ball forty times exact inthat weather something like that. You want
to play to your strengths. AndI'm going to say Boston College, we
mention what they went through this game. Obviously, Quinton Post was out of
this game, and Brenew talked aboutthis that, hey, you know,
you think he's an advantage, butwe plan for him all week, and
all of a sudden he's not outthere. We're having a plan for new
guys. As a former coach,that's an adjustment. Even though you're losing
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a key player on your opponent's team, you still got to adjust. You
do have to adjust, and alot of that has to go just from
the different defensive standpoint and especially whatevercoach is responsible for the defensive assignments that
particular night, and guys are ingrainedto be looking for a particular guy out
on the floor, and then nowall of a sudden, you're having to
make sure everybody's got their match upcorrectly. And so it comes down to
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that communications standpoint and how important thatis, and then obviously the communication,
but you also then have to executethe game plan. Even with that adjustment,
no doubt, out at Clemson dida good job of that, and
we are well into college hoop season. Rich. I know you're excited.
Man. This is your bread andbutter. You got the NFL playoffs behind
you. You can now move forwardto March madness. It's here. Basically,
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as John Rostein says, who doesa great job. I love him.
If you want to do we getsome great content. Uh, he's
there with CBS Sports. We sleepin May. And that is the reality
of it. Yes, when's basketballseason starts? Yes, and there's also
the aspect. But I love hegets asked that he was getting asked the
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question who do you think is goingto win between Michigan and Washington? Boy,
and they were talking about football.Yeah, and he's like, oh,
no, I think you're mistaken.Michigan doesn't play Washington next year when
they're in the Big Ten together.Yeah. So it's amat right there.
It is. I love it,John, I love the basketball season.
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He's one of the goats. Hey, you got some great college basketball coming
your way. Tonight the Georgia Techyellow Jackets at eight and eight. They're
hosting the Clemson Tigers. They aretwelve and four. All the action right
here on ninety two point five WeSCcoming up next to closer look at this
Clemson roster so far, some ofthe key performers, including PJ. Hall
and some of the guys maybe theyneed a little more attention. An update
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on Jack Clark and some sound fromBrad Burnell. Always great audio. This
is the Ingles Countdown to tip OffShow ninety two point five WeSC ninety two
point five w E S is theUpstate's new home with a Clemson Tigers Welcome
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back to the Ingles Countdown to tipOff Show. That's Richmond Weaver. I'm
John Ellis. We got Trey Falcoback in the house and he is a
brand new father again. Hey Treck, turn that mic on and say hello
to our Ingles count Down a tipOff Show fail. Hello, Hello,
rigulations Dad. How you sleeping?How's everybody sleep good? We're fine.
Everything's great. It's it's weird havingan baby again because we have a four
(16:00):
year old, so going back todiapers and everything after we've already potty trained
and had to get away from that. It's a little different, but we're
managing. It's great. That's awesome, man. Congrats to you and the
entire Falco household. It's gonna bejust great fun. And we can't do
this show with that. I tryto do it the other day with that.
You know, I'm sitting there justflying by the seat of my pants
and Richmond and I are glad tohave you back as always good look in
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terms of what's going on here withthis Clemson team. Obviously it's the story
of PJ. Hall, but there'sso much more to this team than just
PJ. And I think to yourpoint earlier, that's what makes them so
dangerous and you can overcome a threegame losing streak to three great teams.
Brad Brunell after the game after thewin this past week, took a few
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minutes and spoke about some of hisearly impressions from that win. Happy for
our team, I thought we playedvery well offensively tonight. Obviously went inside.
I thought we had some advantages there. I thought our guys did a
really good job of having a mixbut primarily playing through the post and showing
good poise and getting ball reversal.Missed a bunch of early shots, but
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once we kind of felt like itwas ten to nine US and then from
then on, I thought we playedreally really well on the offensive end,
it was kind of a you know, a difficult game for Boston College.
Obviously not having Post is a bigloss for them, but I do think,
you know, it presented some otherchallenges. We obviously planned on guarding
him and doing a lot with him, and then all of a sudden they
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got four guards out there, andwe didn't practice that too much. And
I thought we did okay defensively forabout twenty five minutes, had a few
breakdowns. Really we turned it overa couple times for points, and then
they made some tough shots. Givetheir kids credit. Obviously a happy coach
Brad Burnell. You don't want togo four in a row with the losses
there, so you get off theschneid. You're back on the winning ways
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and look, PJ. Hall.A lot was made about shots selection with
PJ Hall. Well, I thoughtan interesting take came from coach Brenell talking,
But yeah, you know, wewant to work on that. But
some of the matchups they are createdby where PJ. Hole is on the
court. You know, I thinksometimes media fans at times like PJ obviously
has shot probably a couple too manythrees here recently. You know, I
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think some of that is we getbehind, and man, I really want
to help our team, and youknow, he can get a shot off,
and so he's he probably should passon one or two and stick with
it and reverse it to the nextside. And and but it's you know,
it's a guy who's wanting to helpand has confidence in himself. I
think the thing that we sometimes missis that, you know, or RJ
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and Ian sometimes have really good matchups. And so Ian scoring fifteen points or
fifteen and sixteen against Carolina and VirginiaTech, some of that is because PJ
is not down there right, andso Pj's feeding We're feeding Ian, and
Ian is scoring around the basket.RJ's scoring around a basket. So just
having PJ away from the basket isgood for us sometimes not just when he's
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making threes. You know, RJhad eleven and all around the rim today,
and you know it's because there's nottwo guys down there all the time.
And you hear it Coach Bronell talkabout just the importance of PJ Hall
shot selection. And sometimes this iswhat can happen when you have such high
expectations and that you want to bethat guy because you have been that guy
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and PJ. Hall sometimes he mighttry to do too much and not in
a way that's necessarily going to negativelyimpact the team, you know, so
bad. But it's those little thingsthat add up. Could it be one
more rotation of the ball that coachBronell is talking about and be able to
get somebody open, because once youare able to move the ball with that
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rotation, that gets the defense toshift. And when that happens, sometimes
even just getting one extra shift ofthe defense can bring PJ. Hall open
because he can pass and then hecan cut to the basket. It might
be so there's so many different thingsthat coach Brownew understands and PJ Hall needs
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to do the same. But forthe most part, and we've seen PJ
Hall have really good shot selection.Yeah, really is part of his game
there, as well as Joe Girardnow that we can call him Joe Rich
has given me the seal of approvalthere. They've got some good backcourt players
there for Clemson. And one thingBrunelle had talked about this week was how
Joe Girard does not like to lose. What makes him think he's fun to
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be around any other times? Yeah, I mean I pulled, you know,
I pulled Chase and PJ and Joeinto the office. I think it
was after we lost to Miami andmet with those three one you know together
and just said, guys, like, I hope you appreciate what you have
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here, because you guys are threeplayers that have the ball in your hands
the most, take the most shots, and everybody in our program's okay with
that. And I said, forexample, Chase, your brother Dylan,
he plays twenty minutes and takes twoor three shots a game, and like
never complaints. He knows I'm justfighting defensively, do my thing. If
I got an open chat, I'llshoot it. But like, my job
is to play through these guys,And I said, other guys like RJ,
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Chauncey, all these guys. Andso I said, but and that's
fun. And you guys get interviewedall the time and go to media day
and press writes great things about you. But when you guys play poorly,
we probably are going to lose.And so there's responsibility with being the best
players. Like they know that.It's not any earth shattering thing. But
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my point was, like, youguys need to work together, like you
three guys on the court, likeyou're even more connected than everybody. Like,
you guys are out there the most, you're taking the most shots,
the balls in your hands. Youshould be communicating the most you should be
And there are times, and thisis the hard part with Joe being new
and Chase being a little quiet,is getting them to do all of that
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because I said, everybody's watching youthree, like the coaching staff, the
other players. We're reading your bodylanguage. How excited are you, how
nervous are you? Where's your poise, where's your fight? Where's your And
that just goes with the territory ofbeing a good player, and it goes
with the territory of being the headcoach. Everybody's watching me too. So
clearly, Richmond, Joe Girard hasbeen a shot in the arm for this
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offensive output. And you got otherguards in that back court that contribute as
well. And I think one ofthe things that Joseph Gerard the full name,
it just sounds bad, and especiallywhen I'm going to give him his
flowers right here. Oh yes,So he brings so much to this team
outside of just his outside shot,and we know how important that is.
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But it's that leadership and it's thatcompetitive edge. And guess what happens.
You see that obviously in the game, but this is what happens where you
don't see it. It's in practice, and he's pushing these guys to an
extra type of effort each and everypractice. And that's why it's so important
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when you have these guys that justget so frustrated to lose. And you
could see it when he had hispoor shooting night, especially against North Carolina.
He was not happy whatsoever. Butand you've got to have those type
of guys if you want your programto get better, you do, and
they got the right mindset. CoachBrenell obviously has been praising a lot of
his guys here, including his collectionof post players, and I think that's
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kind of how you can look atit. You've got some guys that are
still on the bench looking for playingtime, that have some size, and
Coach Brunell addressed that after the game. You know, he and Ian are
different players. He's a little morebouncy, athletic runs well Ian, you
know, just I mean they're bothtough guys or both warriors. He is
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probably a little more skilled, butman, they're really good. You know,
those guys are good players. Yougot to have three four good players
in the post. And you know, between PJ, RJ and Ian,
those guys do a nice job forus. And because they're good players,
we run an inside out, highlow offense. If they weren't as good,
we wouldn't be doing that. We'verun a lot of different things over
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the years. We ran a littlebit of this last year at times.
We're running more of it now becauseof our J's development, Ian's development.
Pj's obviously always been a good player, but that speaks to us changing some
things because of those guys being goodplayers. And you know, Ooz,
I know he only plays three orfour minutes, but unbelievable attitude, great
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energy giver every day in practice andreally he's a nice change up. There
are probably some games that I shouldplay him, you know, eight or
ten minutes instead of three or four, and sometimes I make a mistake with
that. So obviously the usual suspectsfor Brad Brunel's and obviously Boz Leita a
name that you have helped me withhere the last couple of minutes, thank
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you, because six' ten he'sgoing to be a guy we're gonna have
to call his name a lot inthe future. Yeah, well, he's
one of those guys, a veterantype of guy that transferred from UNC Greensboro.
As I talked about, and whatbrad Burnell had talked about, why
he's so valuable is the effort thathe puts out there and again does he
make a mistake at time not givenhim more playing time based on his effort
(25:18):
out there. And Boz wants tobe a coach one day. So he's
a guy that's also basketball high IQand making sure he understands the game plan.
So he's almost a teacher and acoach at times. Now that he
understands brad Burnell's system, well,when he plays, he needs to be
an iron eagle game so we canhear lighty light him up. That's rank
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you. Ian checks in the mail. Another player we've been waiting to see
a little bit as Jack Clark.Brad Burnell addressed this after the game.
His status obviously he's been dealing withhis injuries and what the timetable is right
now. He was available today forthe first time. You know, he's
he just he practiced the last twodays, he's he's he's spot practiced.
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This was the first day that thetrainer came to me this morning and said
he can play. And you know, he really hasn't practiced very much,
so there's a lot that he doesn'tknow. And so you know, I
wish maybe I've thrown him out theretwo or three minutes, but it's going
to be a process, and Idon't know what that means after practicing a
couple of days, Like again,you know, he could have a backstep.
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So you know, we just werejust going to kind of wait and
see. And then as you heardBrad Burnell talking about Jack Clark and just
that there are positive signs now happeningwith Jack Clark that could he be coming
back and we might see him fora few minutes tonight against Georgia Tech.
If not, then maybe it's thenext game. But the key for Jack
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Clark, it's all about you've gotto be able to get back into the
rhythm that you were in before youhad to exit out with the nagging injury.
And that's the importance of being therein practice. And it's one thing
you can be there obviously in attendanceof practice, but it's not the same
when you're not in actual practice andbeing in the flow, and so you're
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learning the system while you're actually doingthe system, so to speak. And
that's a big part of Jack Clarkwhere he might struggle a little bit coming
back just because he's a little bitrusty in terms of being part of the
rhythm of the offense and even defense, because we know how important defense is
for Brad Burnell. Brenell also talkedabout Josh Beetle. We know the story
there. He's been through some strugglesand he talked about how Beatle he's been
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dedicating himself to the practice element ofthe game, which is a former coach
Richmond, I know you love that. Here's Brunelle on Josh Beatle's recovery and
practice habits. I thought Josh playedwell today, you know, and Josh
has The biggest thing is Josh hasand I've talked to him about this.
He has to practice well, youhave to practice well. You know.
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He's he's a good kid. He'sa very happy, gold lucky kid.
He likes to have a good time, and you know, he has great
burst, he has good speed,but every once in a while he's a
little too aggressive, Like he needsto understand that we have a big three,
if you will that, like,make sure those guys are touching the
ball even when they're out there.You're out there with him. But I
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like what Josh brings. He bringsspeed, he brings a little energy for
us. When he practices well,that's when he usually gets to play a
little as long as he plays wellthe first time he goes in and he
usually gets to play a little moreright. And uh, he's been practicing
better, you know. I'm Joshhad a hard fall because he was playing
well and then got in the caraccident and then he wasn't right for a
(28:45):
while, and he's trying to playwith a mask and he was frustrated,
and it I mean, it affectedhim, you know, and it's it
would affect most people, especially unlessyou're like a starter who knows I'm going
right back in them. I'm tryingto fight for my life for the jobs
to get some minutes and convinced coach, and I'm playing really well and then
I get in this car accident.I'm out three weeks, miss everything.
(29:07):
Now I got to catch back up, and I'm wearing a mask and I'm
behind and I'm putting pressure on myself. It's hard, and it's taking him
a while, and I think hegot frustrated for a little while and probably
had a bad couple of weeks.And now I think he's back on an
uptick in the last couple of weeks. He's practiced better and it's really good
for our team. Yeah, asas Brad Brunnell mentioned right there, I
(29:30):
can't even imagine what it's like tohave to come back wearing a mask and
you're already behind, and you're acompetitor also, and you're fighting for playing
minutes. So it's the pressure thatyou put on yourself can be extreme at
times. But I do believe JoshBeetle, once he really gets back in
the rhythm, he's going to bea guy that the Tigers will be able
to lean on down the stretch ofthis season. Big one tonight for Brad
(29:52):
Brunelle and his Clemson Tigers. GeorgiaTech hosting Clemson Tonight. You've got it
locked and loaded here on WeSC forthe Ingles Countdown to tip Off show coming
up next to look around the toptwenty five around the ACC and key matchups
against Georgia Tech keeping locked here onw E s C ninety two point five.
W E s E is the Upstate'snew home for a Clemson Tigers living
(30:27):
in When it is time that Iwas born, man, my father was
again down in Georgia around once inGeorgia Tech Tip it off tonight nine pm
(30:52):
right here on ninety two point fivew E s C. It's the English
Countdown to tip Off Show. That'sRichmond Weaver. I'm John Ellis. Thanks
for being with us once again foranother day of Clemson men's basketball. And
certainly you know I talked with DonMunson last week. Richmond. You were
on assignment doing some television for theSoCon. My friend you look good.
Yes, I was doing a littlebit TV for SoCon down in Birmingham.
(31:15):
Looked good, you sounded good.I appreciate that I had Don Munson on
the show in your place the otherday, and Don talked about this story
down there in Clemson. How aboutthe gymnastics team and the crowd they brought
in. When it's Clemson, youknow they're going to draw crowd, whether
it's lacrosse, soccer, that footballteam. I think they get a few
people in that Death Valley that's right. You love to see this program expanding.
(31:36):
Gymnastics is nineteenth in the country.And one of the things I didn't
know they did rankings for gymnastics programs. Obviously I knew they were called gymnastics,
So committee do they hope not?Why wouldn't you think that there would
be rankings? Yes, of courseif there's teams competing, we have to
have ranking. So absolutely fantastic jobfor Clemson. And the turnout of people
there to support the Clemson gymnastic team, so fantastic job. And again just
(32:01):
showcasing that that the field of dreams. If you build it, they will
come. And that's part of itright now for Clemson athletics. Say one
of the great things about that campus, and I know you have fond memories
as your time as a student there. Not only that is a part of
the basketball program. And I metmy wife down there, she was a
student back in ninety nine about inBowl one was our first date. You
(32:22):
know, you're down there and there'snot a whole lot else to do.
So when something like any sport itall comes to town. Again, you're
gonna get seven thousand plus there nomatter what it is. In gymnastics certainly
right up there with the best ofthem. There. Back to college basketball
here, Richmond Weaver was going totake you through what's been a wild week
and a half maybe or so ofTop twenty five ups and downs, and
(32:45):
we'll get to some scores and updateson what's happening today in the rest of
the week. But Richmond, Iwas asking during break, who is the
best team in college basketball right now? And for once you were speechless.
Well, I don't know. Yeah, we don't know yet. We don't
know, And we talk about againseveral times. And I won't be a
dead horse here, but conclusions versusobservations. Don't get caught too early making
(33:07):
conclusions until you're able to observe enoughto really understand what your conclusion might be
in your opinion, and I thinkit's still so early right now in college
basketball to make a conclusion as faras who is the best team. Seems
like nobody wants it. And Ithink we saw some of this last year.
And obviously then how the NCAA Tournament, I should say, played out
(33:29):
when you have Yukon winning, butyou've got San Diego State, FDU got
Furman obviously with their big victory overVirginia with that shot by JP Pegeese,
who will that will go down inLore here in the Upstate, And it
is even more difficult to once youhave the target on your back. And
(33:52):
I think that's what we see alot of times in sports, and I
think that's what you're seeing also inthe top twenty five. Nobody wants to
be there. I mean, we'vehad so many different changes in the top
twenty five as now. The newTop twenty five is out in Yukon has
been able to jump into that topspot. But this is just what's interesting.
(34:13):
Twenty four of the twenty five teamsin this week's ap pole are in
a different position than they were inlast week's pot twenty four. Twenty four
of the twenty five. That's crazy. It's ever happened. It's insane,
not that I can remember. Andthat's why I truly believe that we're seeing
(34:34):
the ultimate parody in college athletics rightnow. It's in college basketball. And
we've always seen some parody in collegebasketball relative to what we see in college
football, but even more so witha transfer portal and how now you have
teams that can get older pretty quicklyby bringing in grad transfers, bringing in
(34:54):
guys that are a senior that arelooking to transfer. But this is what
was interesting over the past week.These are the teams that lost in the
top twenty five. You had numberone per Due, they lost, number
two, Houston they lost twice,and now they play tomorrow night, and
so they could be on the doorstepsof losing a third one, number three,
(35:17):
Kansas loss number five, Tennessee lossnumber six, Kentucky loss number eight,
Arizona loss number nine, Oklahoma losttwice, number eleven, Marquette lost
number seventeen, Colorado State lost numbereighteen, BYU lost number nineteen, San
Diego State lost number twenty one,Clemson lost number twenty three, Gonzaga lost,
(35:38):
and number twenty five Texas lost.And now when you look at it
from that perspective, out of thoselosses for all of those teams, this
is what's crazy is that eighty eightpercent of those losses for those teams came
from unranked opponents. So this wasnot ranked on ranked losses. This is
(36:00):
the majority of these losses were comingfrom unranked opponents. And that's why I
feel right now there is just reallyno idea as far as who the best
team is, Yes, we knowYukon is a really good team. They're
a national contender. Purdue, theyshould be a national contender, but we
saw how they got upset in thefirst round of NCAA tournament last year.
(36:22):
To your point, you're kind ofin that thinking now, after what happened
last year, that the cream won'talways rise through the top as they have
in the past. You go throughstumbles and you assume that, yeah,
the blue bloods will be there atthe end. We saw that a couple
of years ago with that great Finalfour North Carolina and Kansas and Duke is
Well and Villanova I believe was inthat one. That's what you come to
expect in this world of college basketball. But maybe it's a new era where
(36:45):
you're going to get these you knowprograms that you know teeter around sort of
the mid major and they work theirway up into the Power five. And
in the football way of looking atit, I'll say this about what you
just mentioned. As a football guy, I want to see one week in
college football or that happens what youjust said, twenty four of the twenty
five teams just all lose and thenBukrgan's just like freaking out. We got
(37:07):
to have such to do, yes, and nobody would know what to I
don't even I mean the world wouldseem in college football it ray teams,
Yes, it would be the assirdif we saw that type of disruption and
that type of chaos. And Idid mention Gonzaga. So this is also
interesting stat that Gonzaga fell out ofthe rankings entirely after dropping their game on
(37:30):
the road to Santa Clara. They'reeleven and five on the season, which
that's crazy when you think about itfrom that perspective, But also even crazier
is that this is the first timesince the twenty fifteen twenty sixteen season that
Gonzaga is not in the AP polls, snapping a streak of one hundred and
forty three poles of being ranked.So that's been some sustained consistency and success
(37:57):
there with Mark Fu and the GonzagaBulldogs there. But also just even from
a perspective that with Connecticut being inthe top twenty five, how about this
the Huskies being ranked number one forthe first time since two thousand and nine.
What yes, And now this iswhat's crazy. You think wait a
(38:20):
second, Connecticut just won the nationalchampionship, so they had to be ranked
number one. Friends, Well,the AP does not rank after the nc
DOUAA tournaments, so they rank goinginto the NCAA tournament. So there's a
technicality there that that's why it worksfor the stat I like it in the
regular season. That's the first timesince two thousand and nine that Connecticut is
(38:43):
back in the top spot. Couldbe a year where, like you mentioned
the Zags, now they find themselvesout of the top twenty five. Maybe
it's one of those NFL stories wherea team sneaks in the wild card and
that's the year they make a runwhen they're least expected to. Obviously,
we've had a lot to figure outwhat these teams in the ACC. Well,
I go back to satur Obviously,Clemson getting the big win. That
was an interesting day in the ACC. How about the whooping that North Carolina
(39:05):
put on Syracuse. I mean,look, you give North Carolina credit here.
One hundred and three is sixty sevenagainst an always dangerous Syracuse team at
the Dean Dome. It's pretty goodoffensive output coming off that big win against
Clemson. That's why I'm telling you, North Carolina is a legitimate team,
and they seem to be playing ata completely different level. Obviously, when
you're able to win with that typeof ease against Syracuse, and I know
(39:29):
Syracuse is a different team. Youdon't have Jim Beeheim and you know,
first year head coach there. Iget all of that. But still at
North Carolina. One hundred and threepoints sixty seven for Syracuse. So North
Carolina is definitely the team right nowin the ACC But obviously we've got a
lot to be played. Duke rightthere at four and one in the conference,
(39:51):
thirteen and three overall, they've woneight straight NC State Watch out for
them. I think they're a littlebit of surprise. Way Forrest is also
a surprise you like, of courseyou've talked about. Yes, I think
wake Forest is a team that youcan get behind in terms of they're exciting,
and I think Steve Forbes does agreat job getting a lot out of
(40:14):
his team that you might not expect. And then also there's Florida State four
and one in the conference. Hamilton, he's a Benjamin Button, he's aging
the reversing. Watch out again,when you've got a guy like Jamiir Watkins
right now. How he's been playing, averaging twelve and a half points and
(40:36):
went twenty two of twenty five fromthe free throw line over the past couple
of games. So this guy's scoringat the free throw line in bunches.
Yeah, they are. You lookat the standings obviously, like you said
the mantra here, it's early.We don't fall into the bracketology trap.
It's it's a bit of a clickbaitworld out there. I saw the articles,
and I respect the writers, butit's sort of like, I guess
(40:59):
we do this on game on onFox Sports Upstate about week two. We
do. Let's do our playoff predictionsin week two. Now you do them
preseason and then you wait till aboutweek fifteen to handicap it. Much is
the same in the world of collegehoops. But I'll tell you this,
one team that you said was hot, lookout for Florida State. See Duke
eight wins in a row. Rightnow. You look at the full standings
there, You've got a bevy ofteams at four and one right now that'll
(41:22):
be battling the next couple of days. Right behind you and c FSU,
Duke, NC State, Wake Forestyou got that three and two Miami team,
Virginia, Virginia Tech, Clemson,Syracuse, all dangerous teams. Of
course, Clemson I think is themost talented of that group and has the
most stability to rise above that level. All at two and three. Boston
College falls to two and four,and then you got the teams trying to
(41:43):
find their way with Notre Dame PittGeorgia Tech, who Clemson plays to night
in Louisville, all at one andfour right now, And I can't wait
to pick your brain and him inabout this Georgia Tech team, because look,
not a lot of expectations, buttheir head coach is a guy I
remember vividly in the ninety t watchingplay for Arizona as a great play,
and I want to get your takeon his ability to lead this team down
there in Atlanta. Much more tocome as we continue here on we SC
(42:07):
It's the Ingles Countdown to tip OffShow. We are brought to you by
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(42:30):
w d S is the Upstate's newhome with a Clemson Tigers locked and loaded
and ready to start. Getting readyfor another night at Clinton Basketball traveling to
(42:51):
Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech.That's Richmond Weaver. I'm John Ellis.
We are wrapping up the Ingles Countdownto tip Off show ninety two point five
w EESC. Get your prime andready for another big ACC game, Richmond.
I say big because unlike some othersports, every one of these games
is huge. Anybody can beat anybodyon any given night. This ain't like
college football where you know, sabinghey, look great job in Alabama,
(43:13):
by the way, but you canschedule those cupcakes early on and you're gonna
get mad about a sixty one tonine win. Everybody can beat anybody.
That's why I love college hoops.Man. Oh well, that's why you
look at this Georgia Tech team.And I know Damon Stotdmeyer coming in first
year head coach for the Yellowjackets,but this is a proven winner, as
you mentioned right, before we wentto break just watching him in the nineties
(43:35):
for Arizona and then also the successthat he had in the NBA. And
I had a chance to sit downwith him at the ACC media tip off
in Charlotte there right before the seasonstarted, and you could just he's that
guy. He just oozes of confidenceand that it factor. Now, I'm
not saying that all of a suddenit's going to translate over for this first
(43:58):
season for Georgia Tech, but youcould start seeing some building blocks there for
Damon Stdommeier and Georgia Tech. Now. I know they were on a five
game losing streak and that's difficult,but this is a team that beat Mississippi
State, they beat Duke earlier inDecember, but they also beat Penn State,
you know, out of the BigTen. Now they lost to U
(44:19):
mass loll and of all things,that's one of my good friends, Pat
Duquett is the head coach at Umass Lowell. So watch out there.
They're from the American East. Theydo have an opportunity, I think,
to make the NCAA tournament this year. But this is a team you can't
take lightly just because they do havesome talented guys, and one of those
is a freshman by in Doongo.He's been named ACC Freshman of the Year,
(44:39):
a freshman of the Week, Ishould say three times already this season,
and is number two nationally when youlook at just freshman ranks from an
offensive production standpoint. So this guycan play. And then Tafara Gapari,
he's another guy that's averaging almost twelvepoints a game, so he can light
it up. But it's Miles Kellyis their leading score here, and so
(45:02):
you've got to be able to containhim. And it's going to be a
collective effort for the Tigers here againstyellow Jackets here at nine o'clock. And
I wish these games were a littlebit early. I have to get on
my soapbox about these games and startedat nine o'clock. Look, we complained
about the noon games on the footballside, this is like the equivalent,
(45:22):
especially with a couple of us guysthat are older than our buddy Trey Falco
here. It's tough to stay upfor these on late night games. Man,
it is really tough. Well,and here's the aspect of you know,
there's been several times we've done theshow and then I get in the
car and get down to Little Johnreal quick and be able to watch the
game. That's dedication, right,that is dedication. I missed a little
(45:43):
bit obviously, but I still getto be there little John, get to
have the environment, the atmosphere behindDave O'Brien screaming like a madman in the
North game. I was not.That was great down and I was wish
all of the students went back.There were some students and those are the
ones that were captured there close onthat audio. But tonight I just can't
(46:09):
because that means games not at nineo'clock at night. I just I can't,
you know, complaining, And Ishould not be the guy complaining.
We believe me. If it wasDuke, you'd be going and no defense
in Georgia Tech. But if thisis Duke, well, and also my
son, my son is a seniorthere at Clemson, so is uh it's
(46:31):
it's every game, Hey dad,Can I have the tickets? Hey dad?
Can I have the tickets? Soyes, I do have that a
little bit of the easy way tosay, oh yes, at least I
know the tickets are being used,and so I don't have to get there.
But going back to actual game.As we'll wrap up hearing turn things
(46:52):
over to mister Don Munson and TimBray who will be on the call and
you can listen to it right hereon ninety two point five w E s
C. But this is a teamthat can be dangerous and it's very similar
to what we've seen from some ofthese other teams. Remember Louisville last year.
I know it was on the road. What I thought about just now,
you have to be prepared, andespecially when a team is in a
(47:15):
five game losing streak or a longlosing streak. We also beat Duke and
almost beat him again. Been competitive. There's almost this aspect of okay,
has their confidence been shot? Andnow you know they're in a tail spin?
Or is it They're going to comeout like a caged animal and just
(47:37):
they want another opportunity to get avictory and having a victory on the road,
could that be the momentum that theyneed to somewhat salvage their season.
But I'm telling you, Georgia Techis not a team that you need to
take lightly. On paper, Clemsonis a better team, their roster is
better, and I think just froma perspective of this is a veteran team.
(48:00):
We saw that they were able toshoot better collectively. Now can they
play even some better defense? Ithink there were some lapses even in that
Boston College game from that standpoint,So can they play better collectively as a
unit, which we've seen from BradVernell obviously historically. And if they can
(48:20):
do that, then this should bean easy victory for the Tigers tonight.
He should be, but the matchupsare in their favor. You got PJ.
Hall, the chefy and Shefflin Cookinghas always in a very talented roster.
And to that point, Richmond quicklyon this. It feels like Clemson's
the kind of team that's gonna havethat target on them now get teams like
yes for a sect, maybe nota couple of years ago, but now
Clemson is viewed as a juggernaut ofa team with their talent level, they're
(48:45):
gonna get everybody's best shot right now. Bracketology, yes, I do look
at bracketology. Right now Clemson isright hovering around that number four five seed
in NCAA tournament. Yeah, sothat is where you want to be if
you're a Clemson Now, can yougo win an ACC Tournament Championship, that
would be obviously even better. Butthere is that scenario that, yes,
(49:07):
Clemson's going to have a target ontheir back, and these teams want to
beat Clemson, can't wait to seehow they respond, and we'll see what
happens to night. Don Munson TimBerey on the call, They're coming your
way right now on ninety two pointfive WSC for Trey Falco for Richmond Weaver.
I'm John Ellis. This has beenthe Eagles Countdown to tip Off show
right here on ninety two point five, weesc enjoy tonight's game.
W E S E F M.Greenville, Spartanburg, Anders And time for
the Ingles Countdown to tip Off Show, brought to you pie Ingles Markets,
Low Prices, Love the Savings,Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, Harley Davidson of
Greenville, Rare Flooring Center, theSurgery Center at Pella McGhee, Eating in
Air and by Palla Meadow State Armory. Now Here are your hosts sehn Alism,
(00:26):
Richmond Weaver, Whenson Tiger's coming offa big win, stepping at three
game losing streak, starting the weekoff right with another big game coming up
tonight against Georgia Tech, another bigACC game. It's the Ingles count Down
to tip Off Show. I'm JohnElist, that's Richmond Weaver. Got to
start the show real quick by thinkingour friends at Ingles low Prices, love
(00:48):
the savings. And also let's justsay a word for Richmond Weavers Dallas Campbell,
which I am sorry. Okay,we got to get it out the
way early so we can focus onbasketball. We do great season twelve wins,
but as we've seen in tournament timein the NCAA, the big Dance,
these things happen. They just seemto be happening to Dallas a little
too much lately, way too much. Three consecutive seasons of winning twelve or
(01:10):
more games and not advancing in theplayoffs. That's the first time in NFL
history. So there is history beingmade with the Dallas Cowboys, and it's
bad. Yes, it is oneof those things where maybe you do put
a banner up. I don't know. I thought there was going to be
an opportunity where Jerry Jones and JimmyJohnson reconciled and Jimmy Johnson was inducted into
(01:34):
you know, the Ring of Honorthere with the Dallas Cowboys, and maybe
that was going to lift the cursevery similar to the Red Sox and the
curse of the Bambino Babe Bruce DamnPackers show up with a new quarterback and
it's like old times and this iswhat's crazy. And again we are going
to get to basketball because we havea big game tonight for the Clemson Tigers
take it on the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets. But it's interesting in at and T
(01:59):
Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play,they've won two playoff games in that stadium.
Let me pick what they are Lionsright twenty fourteen. I think that
was one of them. Okay,I think what was the other one?
I you know what, of allthings, I do not have that off
the top of my head because whereI'm going with this, this is even
(02:19):
embarrassing that they've won two games,two playoff games in AT and T Stadium.
The Green Bay Packers in that stadiumhave won three Bad Jones is gonna
go get Jim Harball or Bill Belichickand the rich will beget richer. And
look, speaking of teams that needhelp, my Carolina Panthers, I shed
(02:43):
you no tears, two wins thisyear. They need a lot of help
too. But let's shift our attentionto the hardwood. We're Clemson, you
know, three game losing streak.Yeah, that's tough. And Brad Brunella
talked about it. You know,he went back and looked at some of
the tape. You'll hear from himlater in this segment. Had a lot
of great comments this week, butyou know, the scouting of back and
look at what happened against Miami NorthCarolina. He said he was really proud
of that effort, and obviously therewere some ups and downs defensively, that's
(03:06):
not Brad Burnel type of basketball.But to get a big win against a
very good team again Boston College,no slouch, and now you're back in
business in the ACC, my friend. Yeah, And I think it's one
of those scenarios where you have tobe very careful as far as what we've
talked about, just even from aperspective of making conclusions versus observations. And
(03:27):
obviously we've talked about it several timesthat you don't want to be in a
scenario too early making conclusions. Youcan make some observations. And I think
also now that you're getting at thispoint of the season that sometimes if you
do struggle, then all of asudden you're back to making a conclusion.
Well, here we go. That'sthe Clemson Tigers. That's what we've seen
(03:47):
in the past three game losing streak. Season's over. Nope, not so
fast, not so fast. Andthat's why you have to make sure that
you just keep things and especially withthis Clemson team, because I do believe
this is a different Clemson team interms of how they are much more structured
(04:11):
to be able to handle storms.And I say that because they've got veteran
guys on their team. Obviously PJ. Hall, You've got Chase Hunter,
You've got Joe Girard, the thirdwho transferred in. Don't forget Boz Lydy
who transferred in from UNC Greensboro.I know he only plays a few minutes
each game, but he's a veterantype of guy also. And then so
(04:34):
you have that core group of guysthat they've been through some of the difficult
times. And when you have thattype of guys who can serve as leaders,
then you have an opportunity to weathersome of these storms. And it's
even better when you have some ofthese guys who are veterans but are also
(04:55):
are really good players, like PJ. Hall, like Joe Girard third,
who can get hot. And obviouslywe have seen PJ. Hall, he
can play at an All American typeof level. And Joe Gerard now is
fourth in the ACC in career threepointers made. So this guy's no slouch.
So you just have to keep itinto perspective from that standpoint. And
(05:16):
I also, as I contended onour sister station one oh four nine Fox
Sports Upstate, as we have ourshows, the Richmond Weaver Show, each
weekday from three to four in Gameone with John Ellis from four to six
each weekday, I talked specifically aboutthe three game losing streak. It's Miami,
(05:40):
who just went to the Final fourlast year, Jim Aaronnega, it's
on the road. And then alsoit's North Carolina. And if you look
at what I look at just froma stat perspective, Ken Palm is one
of the resources that I go toa lot of college basketball analysts go to
because you can dive into his advancedstack, turn me onto this whole Ken
(06:02):
Pomp thing a couple of years ago, and now I stopped looking at the
AP Top twenty five. You don'tneed to go to the advanced metrics.
To the advanced metrics, and itdoesn't always calculate out to the exact results,
but it gives you a great idea, gives you a great gauge.
And so when you look at adjustedoffense efficiency and adjusted defense efficiency, the
(06:23):
teams that are typically in the topforty of both of those, those are
the teams that are going to benational contenders. Well, guess what,
North Carolina is one of those.And so that's a tough game against North
Carolina, and you lose by tenbecause you go one of eighteen from beyond
the three point line. That's likea fluco most you know, because you
(06:44):
haven't seen that from that against NorthCarolina, or you can do it against
North Carolina Tech for all that Icare. Three pointer is a three pointer
and that's right. You just don'thave a cold hand that night. Things
can go south in a hurry,and there's something to be said. I
get it. It's North Carolina,and maybe mentally you come out there a
little bit different. Maybe you're pressinga little time, maybe because it's Little
John, it's at noon, youknow, even though it is a home
(07:06):
game obviously, and then you havean opportunity, you know, there for
your fan base. But sometimes theseguys are nineteen twenty twenty one years old,
and maybe they put a little bittoo much pressure on themselves. Sure
in those type of big games,knowing that, hey, we could really
use this win, especially coming offof that loss at Miami, and can
(07:26):
we play better defensively? And theydid, they just didn't play better offensively.
And then I don't care what anybodysays. Going to Blacksburg, that
is a tough place to play,and Mike Young crew. Yeah, and
Mike Young is one of the bestcoaches in college basketball. We've seen the
success he had at Wofford, andeven with a ragtag type of crew there
(07:49):
at Virginia Tech, he still getsthe most out of that team. And
that's why Virginia Tech is a teamthat can be one of those spoilers.
Not necessarily a team that's going tocontend for an ACC championship, you'll come
tournament time, but they can makea little bit of a run. We've
seen that previously won the AC championship. Just knowing that, also they can
(08:15):
serve as that spoiler, So Ithink you have to view it from that
perspective. But all of that said, it was a great win for the
Tigers against Boston College at home,one of those games where they needed to
get right, get back in thatwin column and push that to the side,
that three game losing streak, andit was a great opportunity for to
(08:37):
see some offense and some defense therefrom the Tigers goes. Boston College also
is not a team that is tobe taken lightly. Does a great job
every night in the ACC is adifficult challenge, and that's why we've talked
about how important. Conference schedule iscompletely different than the non conference schedule,
(09:00):
and we've talked about it from theanalogy standpoint, we know there's a difference.
We'll go back to the NFL regularseason NFL and playoff NFL. It
is different, and I'm not sayingthe jump as the same in college basketball
from non conference to conference games,but there is something to be said that
it is different come conference time becausethese teams are much more familiar with you.
(09:24):
They know your tendency, They've gota lot of film on you.
They've seen you obviously twice each yearand sometimes three times depending if you meet
up in the ACC tournament. Sothere is that aspect that it just gets
a little bit harder. But niceeighty nine to seventy eight victory there for
the Tigers against Boston College. Yeah, you love to see that eighty nine
on the board, that offensive mojogoing in the right direction, and defensively,
(09:48):
obviously a much better performance than whatthey've seen before twelve and four.
Right now, coming up in thenext segment, we got a ton of
audio from Brad Burnell. He shareda lot of interesting thoughts and I found
it curious in a good way thatBrunell. He always offers insight. I
love listening to him talk about histeam. We've got some like one to
two minute sound bites for you aboutthis team and about some of the human
(10:09):
element of coaching these guys. You'vegot a story like Josh Beadle coming back
from an accident, and he talkedabout working his way back, practicing better,
and what he thinks about his postplayers and how you know PJ.
Hall. Maybe you know he's notnecessarily in the post all the time,
but that helps matchups for guys likeChefood the chef who. By the way,
I gotta say again, my sonwatched the Clemson game for the first
(10:30):
time this year. He said,Dad, Will Ferrell could play this guy.
He's gotta play. This is Jackiemoon Man. He's got the Jennick
yes, but he is a warriorout there. I want to remind you
were brought to you by Ingles LowPrices, love the savings Ingles dashmarkets dot
Com. As Richmand mentioned, we'reinto acc play right now, and just
some stats to look at what happenedin this game. PJ Hall back on
(10:52):
track offensively twenty six points in thisgame, matching that of Joe Girard.
You go Joe or Joseph. Whereare we at with that? Oh?
We go full name Joseph. Iges know he does. Obviously his full
name is Joseph Gerard the third,which I just said. But what do
I call him? Does he getmad if I call him Joe? Or
(11:13):
no? You call him? Yes? I have talked with Joe several times
and calling him by Joe is perfectlyfine. I'm going with Joe. I
like Joe Girard. Get a confusewith Joe Girardi, the old manager for
the Yankees. Let's get back tobasketball. So this game, obviously Clemson
was in control. The biggest leaguewas nineteen. Uh you know, BC
(11:33):
had an early lead of five points. But again you got production from your
bench. Points in the paint onceagain had been missing against those couple of
acc losses. They had forty fourpoints in the paint and again they didn't
have one of those halves where theykind of stumbled defensively. But a big
part of that and you got togive this its proper due. The scholarship
players that were available were few andfar between for this team, because some
(11:54):
of the best players were missing inthis game, for Boston College. That's
certainly put them back a little bitin the game. Yeah, and that's
one of the things that you can'tcontrol is injuries, and we've seen that
even from Clemson's perspective. You've gotJack Clark that's been out, You've got
Alex Himanway obviously out still battling thatPlanner fasci itis. So there's all these
(12:16):
type of things where you can't control. But Clemson was able to somewhat you
know, circle the wagons as wego cliche coach speak here and be able
to just get some things going offensively. It's not like they were, you
know, in a scenario with thethree point shot seven of twenty. It
wasn't you know, completely lights out, but obviously a selection, yes,
(12:39):
a goot selection. And we've talkedabout it several times that Clemson is at
their best when they're shooting eighteen totwenty five three pointers in a game.
When they start getting into an aspectof when all of a sudden they're checking
up thirty thirty five, that's nota good scenario for Clemson because it just
affects their efficiency. It's like anNFL team, and it's not meant to
(13:01):
throw the ball forty times exact inthat weather something like that. You want
to play to your strengths. AndI'm going to say Boston College, we
mention what they went through this game. Obviously, Quinton Post was out of
this game, and Brenew talked aboutthis that, hey, you know,
you think he's an advantage, butwe plan for him all week, and
all of a sudden he's not outthere. We're having a plan for new
guys. As a former coach,that's an adjustment. Even though you're losing
(13:24):
a key player on your opponent's team, you still got to adjust. You
do have to adjust, and alot of that has to go just from
the different defensive standpoint and especially whatevercoach is responsible for the defensive assignments that
particular night, and guys are ingrainedto be looking for a particular guy out
on the floor, and then nowall of a sudden, you're having to
make sure everybody's got their match upcorrectly. And so it comes down to
(13:48):
that communications standpoint and how important thatis, and then obviously the communication,
but you also then have to executethe game plan. Even with that adjustment,
no doubt, out at Clemson dida good job of that, and
we are well into college hoop season. Rich. I know you're excited.
Man. This is your bread andbutter. You got the NFL playoffs behind
you. You can now move forwardto March madness. It's here. Basically,
(14:11):
as John Rostein says, who doesa great job. I love him.
If you want to do we getsome great content. Uh, he's
there with CBS Sports. We sleepin May. And that is the reality
of it. Yes, when's basketballseason starts? Yes, and there's also
the aspect. But I love hegets asked that he was getting asked the
(14:31):
question who do you think is goingto win between Michigan and Washington? Boy,
and they were talking about football.Yeah, and he's like, oh,
no, I think you're mistaken.Michigan doesn't play Washington next year when
they're in the Big Ten together.Yeah. So it's amat right there.
It is. I love it,John, I love the basketball season.
(14:52):
He's one of the goats. Hey, you got some great college basketball coming
your way. Tonight the Georgia Techyellow Jackets at eight and eight. They're
hosting the Clemson Tigers. They aretwelve and four. All the action right
here on ninety two point five WeSCcoming up next to closer look at this
Clemson roster so far, some ofthe key performers, including PJ. Hall
and some of the guys maybe theyneed a little more attention. An update
(15:13):
on Jack Clark and some sound fromBrad Burnell. Always great audio. This
is the Ingles Countdown to tip OffShow ninety two point five WeSC ninety two
point five w E S is theUpstate's new home with a Clemson Tigers Welcome
(15:37):
back to the Ingles Countdown to tipOff Show. That's Richmond Weaver. I'm
John Ellis. We got Trey Falcoback in the house and he is a
brand new father again. Hey Treck, turn that mic on and say hello
to our Ingles count Down a tipOff Show fail. Hello, Hello,
rigulations Dad. How you sleeping?How's everybody sleep good? We're fine.
Everything's great. It's it's weird havingan baby again because we have a four
(16:00):
year old, so going back todiapers and everything after we've already potty trained
and had to get away from that. It's a little different, but we're
managing. It's great. That's awesome, man. Congrats to you and the
entire Falco household. It's gonna bejust great fun. And we can't do
this show with that. I tryto do it the other day with that.
You know, I'm sitting there justflying by the seat of my pants
and Richmond and I are glad tohave you back as always good look in
(16:23):
terms of what's going on here withthis Clemson team. Obviously it's the story
of PJ. Hall, but there'sso much more to this team than just
PJ. And I think to yourpoint earlier, that's what makes them so
dangerous and you can overcome a threegame losing streak to three great teams.
Brad Brunell after the game after thewin this past week, took a few
(16:44):
minutes and spoke about some of hisearly impressions from that win. Happy for
our team, I thought we playedvery well offensively tonight. Obviously went inside.
I thought we had some advantages there. I thought our guys did a
really good job of having a mixbut primarily playing through the post and showing
good poise and getting ball reversal.Missed a bunch of early shots, but
(17:07):
once we kind of felt like itwas ten to nine US and then from
then on, I thought we playedreally really well on the offensive end,
it was kind of a you know, a difficult game for Boston College.
Obviously not having Post is a bigloss for them, but I do think,
you know, it presented some otherchallenges. We obviously planned on guarding
him and doing a lot with him, and then all of a sudden they
(17:30):
got four guards out there, andwe didn't practice that too much. And
I thought we did okay defensively forabout twenty five minutes, had a few
breakdowns. Really we turned it overa couple times for points, and then
they made some tough shots. Givetheir kids credit. Obviously a happy coach
Brad Burnell. You don't want togo four in a row with the losses
there, so you get off theschneid. You're back on the winning ways
(17:52):
and look, PJ. Hall.A lot was made about shots selection with
PJ Hall. Well, I thoughtan interesting take came from coach Brenell talking,
But yeah, you know, wewant to work on that. But
some of the matchups they are createdby where PJ. Hole is on the
court. You know, I thinksometimes media fans at times like PJ obviously
has shot probably a couple too manythrees here recently. You know, I
(18:15):
think some of that is we getbehind, and man, I really want
to help our team, and youknow, he can get a shot off,
and so he's he probably should passon one or two and stick with
it and reverse it to the nextside. And and but it's you know,
it's a guy who's wanting to helpand has confidence in himself. I
think the thing that we sometimes missis that, you know, or RJ
(18:40):
and Ian sometimes have really good matchups. And so Ian scoring fifteen points or
fifteen and sixteen against Carolina and VirginiaTech, some of that is because PJ
is not down there right, andso Pj's feeding We're feeding Ian, and
Ian is scoring around the basket.RJ's scoring around a basket. So just
having PJ away from the basket isgood for us sometimes not just when he's
(19:00):
making threes. You know, RJhad eleven and all around the rim today,
and you know it's because there's nottwo guys down there all the time.
And you hear it Coach Bronell talkabout just the importance of PJ Hall
shot selection. And sometimes this iswhat can happen when you have such high
expectations and that you want to bethat guy because you have been that guy
(19:22):
and PJ. Hall sometimes he mighttry to do too much and not in
a way that's necessarily going to negativelyimpact the team, you know, so
bad. But it's those little thingsthat add up. Could it be one
more rotation of the ball that coachBronell is talking about and be able to
get somebody open, because once youare able to move the ball with that
(19:45):
rotation, that gets the defense toshift. And when that happens, sometimes
even just getting one extra shift ofthe defense can bring PJ. Hall open
because he can pass and then hecan cut to the basket. It might
be so there's so many different thingsthat coach Brownew understands and PJ Hall needs
(20:06):
to do the same. But forthe most part, and we've seen PJ
Hall have really good shot selection.Yeah, really is part of his game
there, as well as Joe Girardnow that we can call him Joe Rich
has given me the seal of approvalthere. They've got some good backcourt players
there for Clemson. And one thingBrunelle had talked about this week was how
Joe Girard does not like to lose. What makes him think he's fun to
(20:30):
be around any other times? Yeah, I mean I pulled, you know,
I pulled Chase and PJ and Joeinto the office. I think it
was after we lost to Miami andmet with those three one you know together
and just said, guys, like, I hope you appreciate what you have
(20:51):
here, because you guys are threeplayers that have the ball in your hands
the most, take the most shots, and everybody in our program's okay with
that. And I said, forexample, Chase, your brother Dylan,
he plays twenty minutes and takes twoor three shots a game, and like
never complaints. He knows I'm justfighting defensively, do my thing. If
I got an open chat, I'llshoot it. But like, my job
is to play through these guys,And I said, other guys like RJ,
(21:15):
Chauncey, all these guys. Andso I said, but and that's
fun. And you guys get interviewedall the time and go to media day
and press writes great things about you. But when you guys play poorly,
we probably are going to lose.And so there's responsibility with being the best
players. Like they know that.It's not any earth shattering thing. But
(21:36):
my point was, like, youguys need to work together, like you
three guys on the court, likeyou're even more connected than everybody. Like,
you guys are out there the most, you're taking the most shots,
the balls in your hands. Youshould be communicating the most you should be
And there are times, and thisis the hard part with Joe being new
and Chase being a little quiet,is getting them to do all of that
(21:56):
because I said, everybody's watching youthree, like the coaching staff, the
other players. We're reading your bodylanguage. How excited are you, how
nervous are you? Where's your poise, where's your fight? Where's your And
that just goes with the territory ofbeing a good player, and it goes
with the territory of being the headcoach. Everybody's watching me too. So
clearly, Richmond, Joe Girard hasbeen a shot in the arm for this
(22:19):
offensive output. And you got otherguards in that back court that contribute as
well. And I think one ofthe things that Joseph Gerard the full name,
it just sounds bad, and especiallywhen I'm going to give him his
flowers right here. Oh yes,So he brings so much to this team
outside of just his outside shot,and we know how important that is.
(22:42):
But it's that leadership and it's thatcompetitive edge. And guess what happens.
You see that obviously in the game, but this is what happens where you
don't see it. It's in practice, and he's pushing these guys to an
extra type of effort each and everypractice. And that's why it's so important
(23:03):
when you have these guys that justget so frustrated to lose. And you
could see it when he had hispoor shooting night, especially against North Carolina.
He was not happy whatsoever. Butand you've got to have those type
of guys if you want your programto get better, you do, and
they got the right mindset. CoachBrenell obviously has been praising a lot of
his guys here, including his collectionof post players, and I think that's
(23:26):
kind of how you can look atit. You've got some guys that are
still on the bench looking for playingtime, that have some size, and
Coach Brunell addressed that after the game. You know, he and Ian are
different players. He's a little morebouncy, athletic runs well Ian, you
know, just I mean they're bothtough guys or both warriors. He is
(23:47):
probably a little more skilled, butman, they're really good. You know,
those guys are good players. Yougot to have three four good players
in the post. And you know, between PJ, RJ and Ian,
those guys do a nice job forus. And because they're good players,
we run an inside out, highlow offense. If they weren't as good,
we wouldn't be doing that. We'verun a lot of different things over
(24:10):
the years. We ran a littlebit of this last year at times.
We're running more of it now becauseof our J's development, Ian's development.
Pj's obviously always been a good player, but that speaks to us changing some
things because of those guys being goodplayers. And you know, Ooz,
I know he only plays three orfour minutes, but unbelievable attitude, great
(24:33):
energy giver every day in practice andreally he's a nice change up. There
are probably some games that I shouldplay him, you know, eight or
ten minutes instead of three or four, and sometimes I make a mistake with
that. So obviously the usual suspectsfor Brad Brunel's and obviously Boz Leita a
name that you have helped me withhere the last couple of minutes, thank
(24:55):
you, because six' ten he'sgoing to be a guy we're gonna have
to call his name a lot inthe future. Yeah, well, he's
one of those guys, a veterantype of guy that transferred from UNC Greensboro.
As I talked about, and whatbrad Burnell had talked about, why
he's so valuable is the effort thathe puts out there and again does he
make a mistake at time not givenhim more playing time based on his effort
(25:18):
out there. And Boz wants tobe a coach one day. So he's
a guy that's also basketball high IQand making sure he understands the game plan.
So he's almost a teacher and acoach at times. Now that he
understands brad Burnell's system, well,when he plays, he needs to be
an iron eagle game so we canhear lighty light him up. That's rank
(25:38):
you. Ian checks in the mail. Another player we've been waiting to see
a little bit as Jack Clark.Brad Burnell addressed this after the game.
His status obviously he's been dealing withhis injuries and what the timetable is right
now. He was available today forthe first time. You know, he's
he just he practiced the last twodays, he's he's he's spot practiced.
(26:03):
This was the first day that thetrainer came to me this morning and said
he can play. And you know, he really hasn't practiced very much,
so there's a lot that he doesn'tknow. And so you know, I
wish maybe I've thrown him out theretwo or three minutes, but it's going
to be a process, and Idon't know what that means after practicing a
couple of days, Like again,you know, he could have a backstep.
(26:29):
So you know, we just werejust going to kind of wait and
see. And then as you heardBrad Burnell talking about Jack Clark and just
that there are positive signs now happeningwith Jack Clark that could he be coming
back and we might see him fora few minutes tonight against Georgia Tech.
If not, then maybe it's thenext game. But the key for Jack
(26:51):
Clark, it's all about you've gotto be able to get back into the
rhythm that you were in before youhad to exit out with the nagging injury.
And that's the importance of being therein practice. And it's one thing
you can be there obviously in attendanceof practice, but it's not the same
when you're not in actual practice andbeing in the flow, and so you're
(27:14):
learning the system while you're actually doingthe system, so to speak. And
that's a big part of Jack Clarkwhere he might struggle a little bit coming
back just because he's a little bitrusty in terms of being part of the
rhythm of the offense and even defense, because we know how important defense is
for Brad Burnell. Brenell also talkedabout Josh Beetle. We know the story
there. He's been through some strugglesand he talked about how Beatle he's been
(27:37):
dedicating himself to the practice element ofthe game, which is a former coach
Richmond, I know you love that. Here's Brunelle on Josh Beatle's recovery and
practice habits. I thought Josh playedwell today, you know, and Josh
has The biggest thing is Josh hasand I've talked to him about this.
He has to practice well, youhave to practice well. You know.
(28:00):
He's he's a good kid. He'sa very happy, gold lucky kid.
He likes to have a good time, and you know, he has great
burst, he has good speed,but every once in a while he's a
little too aggressive, Like he needsto understand that we have a big three,
if you will that, like,make sure those guys are touching the
ball even when they're out there.You're out there with him. But I
(28:22):
like what Josh brings. He bringsspeed, he brings a little energy for
us. When he practices well,that's when he usually gets to play a
little as long as he plays wellthe first time he goes in and he
usually gets to play a little moreright. And uh, he's been practicing
better, you know. I'm Joshhad a hard fall because he was playing
well and then got in the caraccident and then he wasn't right for a
(28:45):
while, and he's trying to playwith a mask and he was frustrated,
and it I mean, it affectedhim, you know, and it's it
would affect most people, especially unlessyou're like a starter who knows I'm going
right back in them. I'm tryingto fight for my life for the jobs
to get some minutes and convinced coach, and I'm playing really well and then
I get in this car accident.I'm out three weeks, miss everything.
(29:07):
Now I got to catch back up, and I'm wearing a mask and I'm
behind and I'm putting pressure on myself. It's hard, and it's taking him
a while, and I think hegot frustrated for a little while and probably
had a bad couple of weeks.And now I think he's back on an
uptick in the last couple of weeks. He's practiced better and it's really good
for our team. Yeah, asas Brad Brunnell mentioned right there, I
(29:30):
can't even imagine what it's like tohave to come back wearing a mask and
you're already behind, and you're acompetitor also, and you're fighting for playing
minutes. So it's the pressure thatyou put on yourself can be extreme at
times. But I do believe JoshBeetle, once he really gets back in
the rhythm, he's going to bea guy that the Tigers will be able
to lean on down the stretch ofthis season. Big one tonight for Brad
(29:52):
Brunelle and his Clemson Tigers. GeorgiaTech hosting Clemson Tonight. You've got it
locked and loaded here on WeSC forthe Ingles Countdown to tip Off show coming
up next to look around the toptwenty five around the ACC and key matchups
against Georgia Tech keeping locked here onw E s C ninety two point five.
W E s E is the Upstate'snew home for a Clemson Tigers living
(30:27):
in When it is time that Iwas born, man, my father was
again down in Georgia around once inGeorgia Tech Tip it off tonight nine pm
(30:52):
right here on ninety two point fivew E s C. It's the English
Countdown to tip Off Show. That'sRichmond Weaver. I'm John Ellis. Thanks
for being with us once again foranother day of Clemson men's basketball. And
certainly you know I talked with DonMunson last week. Richmond. You were
on assignment doing some television for theSoCon. My friend you look good.
Yes, I was doing a littlebit TV for SoCon down in Birmingham.
(31:15):
Looked good, you sounded good.I appreciate that I had Don Munson on
the show in your place the otherday, and Don talked about this story
down there in Clemson. How aboutthe gymnastics team and the crowd they brought
in. When it's Clemson, youknow they're going to draw crowd, whether
it's lacrosse, soccer, that footballteam. I think they get a few
people in that Death Valley that's right. You love to see this program expanding.
(31:36):
Gymnastics is nineteenth in the country.And one of the things I didn't
know they did rankings for gymnastics programs. Obviously I knew they were called gymnastics,
So committee do they hope not?Why wouldn't you think that there would
be rankings? Yes, of courseif there's teams competing, we have to
have ranking. So absolutely fantastic jobfor Clemson. And the turnout of people
there to support the Clemson gymnastic team, so fantastic job. And again just
(32:01):
showcasing that that the field of dreams. If you build it, they will
come. And that's part of itright now for Clemson athletics. Say one
of the great things about that campus, and I know you have fond memories
as your time as a student there. Not only that is a part of
the basketball program. And I metmy wife down there, she was a
student back in ninety nine about inBowl one was our first date. You
(32:22):
know, you're down there and there'snot a whole lot else to do.
So when something like any sport itall comes to town. Again, you're
gonna get seven thousand plus there nomatter what it is. In gymnastics certainly
right up there with the best ofthem. There. Back to college basketball
here, Richmond Weaver was going totake you through what's been a wild week
and a half maybe or so ofTop twenty five ups and downs, and
(32:45):
we'll get to some scores and updateson what's happening today in the rest of
the week. But Richmond, Iwas asking during break, who is the
best team in college basketball right now? And for once you were speechless.
Well, I don't know. Yeah, we don't know yet. We don't
know, And we talk about againseveral times. And I won't be a
dead horse here, but conclusions versusobservations. Don't get caught too early making
(33:07):
conclusions until you're able to observe enoughto really understand what your conclusion might be
in your opinion, and I thinkit's still so early right now in college
basketball to make a conclusion as faras who is the best team. Seems
like nobody wants it. And Ithink we saw some of this last year.
And obviously then how the NCAA Tournament, I should say, played out
(33:29):
when you have Yukon winning, butyou've got San Diego State, FDU got
Furman obviously with their big victory overVirginia with that shot by JP Pegeese,
who will that will go down inLore here in the Upstate, And it
is even more difficult to once youhave the target on your back. And
(33:52):
I think that's what we see alot of times in sports, and I
think that's what you're seeing also inthe top twenty five. Nobody wants to
be there. I mean, we'vehad so many different changes in the top
twenty five as now. The newTop twenty five is out in Yukon has
been able to jump into that topspot. But this is just what's interesting.
(34:13):
Twenty four of the twenty five teamsin this week's ap pole are in
a different position than they were inlast week's pot twenty four. Twenty four
of the twenty five. That's crazy. It's ever happened. It's insane,
not that I can remember. Andthat's why I truly believe that we're seeing
(34:34):
the ultimate parody in college athletics rightnow. It's in college basketball. And
we've always seen some parody in collegebasketball relative to what we see in college
football, but even more so witha transfer portal and how now you have
teams that can get older pretty quicklyby bringing in grad transfers, bringing in
(34:54):
guys that are a senior that arelooking to transfer. But this is what
was interesting over the past week.These are the teams that lost in the
top twenty five. You had numberone per Due, they lost, number
two, Houston they lost twice,and now they play tomorrow night, and
so they could be on the doorstepsof losing a third one, number three,
(35:17):
Kansas loss number five, Tennessee lossnumber six, Kentucky loss number eight,
Arizona loss number nine, Oklahoma losttwice, number eleven, Marquette lost
number seventeen, Colorado State lost numbereighteen, BYU lost number nineteen, San
Diego State lost number twenty one,Clemson lost number twenty three, Gonzaga lost,
(35:38):
and number twenty five Texas lost.And now when you look at it
from that perspective, out of thoselosses for all of those teams, this
is what's crazy is that eighty eightpercent of those losses for those teams came
from unranked opponents. So this wasnot ranked on ranked losses. This is
(36:00):
the majority of these losses were comingfrom unranked opponents. And that's why I
feel right now there is just reallyno idea as far as who the best
team is, Yes, we knowYukon is a really good team. They're
a national contender. Purdue, theyshould be a national contender, but we
saw how they got upset in thefirst round of NCAA tournament last year.
(36:22):
To your point, you're kind ofin that thinking now, after what happened
last year, that the cream won'talways rise through the top as they have
in the past. You go throughstumbles and you assume that, yeah,
the blue bloods will be there atthe end. We saw that a couple
of years ago with that great Finalfour North Carolina and Kansas and Duke is
Well and Villanova I believe was inthat one. That's what you come to
expect in this world of college basketball. But maybe it's a new era where
(36:45):
you're going to get these you knowprograms that you know teeter around sort of
the mid major and they work theirway up into the Power five. And
in the football way of looking atit, I'll say this about what you
just mentioned. As a football guy, I want to see one week in
college football or that happens what youjust said, twenty four of the twenty
five teams just all lose and thenBukrgan's just like freaking out. We got
(37:07):
to have such to do, yes, and nobody would know what to I
don't even I mean the world wouldseem in college football it ray teams,
Yes, it would be the assirdif we saw that type of disruption and
that type of chaos. And Idid mention Gonzaga. So this is also
interesting stat that Gonzaga fell out ofthe rankings entirely after dropping their game on
(37:30):
the road to Santa Clara. They'reeleven and five on the season, which
that's crazy when you think about itfrom that perspective, But also even crazier
is that this is the first timesince the twenty fifteen twenty sixteen season that
Gonzaga is not in the AP polls, snapping a streak of one hundred and
forty three poles of being ranked.So that's been some sustained consistency and success
(37:57):
there with Mark Fu and the GonzagaBulldogs there. But also just even from
a perspective that with Connecticut being inthe top twenty five, how about this
the Huskies being ranked number one forthe first time since two thousand and nine.
What yes, And now this iswhat's crazy. You think wait a
(38:20):
second, Connecticut just won the nationalchampionship, so they had to be ranked
number one. Friends, Well,the AP does not rank after the nc
DOUAA tournaments, so they rank goinginto the NCAA tournament. So there's a
technicality there that that's why it worksfor the stat I like it in the
regular season. That's the first timesince two thousand and nine that Connecticut is
(38:43):
back in the top spot. Couldbe a year where, like you mentioned
the Zags, now they find themselvesout of the top twenty five. Maybe
it's one of those NFL stories wherea team sneaks in the wild card and
that's the year they make a runwhen they're least expected to. Obviously,
we've had a lot to figure outwhat these teams in the ACC. Well,
I go back to satur Obviously,Clemson getting the big win. That
was an interesting day in the ACC. How about the whooping that North Carolina
(39:05):
put on Syracuse. I mean,look, you give North Carolina credit here.
One hundred and three is sixty sevenagainst an always dangerous Syracuse team at
the Dean Dome. It's pretty goodoffensive output coming off that big win against
Clemson. That's why I'm telling you, North Carolina is a legitimate team,
and they seem to be playing ata completely different level. Obviously, when
you're able to win with that typeof ease against Syracuse, and I know
(39:29):
Syracuse is a different team. Youdon't have Jim Beeheim and you know,
first year head coach there. Iget all of that. But still at
North Carolina. One hundred and threepoints sixty seven for Syracuse. So North
Carolina is definitely the team right nowin the ACC But obviously we've got a
lot to be played. Duke rightthere at four and one in the conference,
(39:51):
thirteen and three overall, they've woneight straight NC State Watch out for
them. I think they're a littlebit of surprise. Way Forrest is also
a surprise you like, of courseyou've talked about. Yes, I think
wake Forest is a team that youcan get behind in terms of they're exciting,
and I think Steve Forbes does agreat job getting a lot out of
(40:14):
his team that you might not expect. And then also there's Florida State four
and one in the conference. Hamilton, he's a Benjamin Button, he's aging
the reversing. Watch out again,when you've got a guy like Jamiir Watkins
right now. How he's been playing, averaging twelve and a half points and
(40:36):
went twenty two of twenty five fromthe free throw line over the past couple
of games. So this guy's scoringat the free throw line in bunches.
Yeah, they are. You lookat the standings obviously, like you said
the mantra here, it's early.We don't fall into the bracketology trap.
It's it's a bit of a clickbaitworld out there. I saw the articles,
and I respect the writers, butit's sort of like, I guess
(40:59):
we do this on game on onFox Sports Upstate about week two. We
do. Let's do our playoff predictionsin week two. Now you do them
preseason and then you wait till aboutweek fifteen to handicap it. Much is
the same in the world of collegehoops. But I'll tell you this,
one team that you said was hot, lookout for Florida State. See Duke
eight wins in a row. Rightnow. You look at the full standings
there, You've got a bevy ofteams at four and one right now that'll
(41:22):
be battling the next couple of days. Right behind you and c FSU,
Duke, NC State, Wake Forestyou got that three and two Miami team,
Virginia, Virginia Tech, Clemson,Syracuse, all dangerous teams. Of
course, Clemson I think is themost talented of that group and has the
most stability to rise above that level. All at two and three. Boston
College falls to two and four,and then you got the teams trying to
(41:43):
find their way with Notre Dame PittGeorgia Tech, who Clemson plays to night
in Louisville, all at one andfour right now, And I can't wait
to pick your brain and him inabout this Georgia Tech team, because look,
not a lot of expectations, buttheir head coach is a guy I
remember vividly in the ninety t watchingplay for Arizona as a great play,
and I want to get your takeon his ability to lead this team down
there in Atlanta. Much more tocome as we continue here on we SC
(42:07):
It's the Ingles Countdown to tip OffShow. We are brought to you by
your friends at Ingles. Low PricesLove the Savings, rain or Shine.
Stop in and get everything you needfor your week ahead and all your homegate
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the way right here on ninety twopoint five WSC. Ninety two point five
(42:30):
w d S is the Upstate's newhome with a Clemson Tigers locked and loaded
and ready to start. Getting readyfor another night at Clinton Basketball traveling to
(42:51):
Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech.That's Richmond Weaver. I'm John Ellis.
We are wrapping up the Ingles Countdownto tip Off show ninety two point five
w EESC. Get your prime andready for another big ACC game, Richmond.
I say big because unlike some othersports, every one of these games
is huge. Anybody can beat anybodyon any given night. This ain't like
college football where you know, sabinghey, look great job in Alabama,
(43:13):
by the way, but you canschedule those cupcakes early on and you're gonna
get mad about a sixty one tonine win. Everybody can beat anybody.
That's why I love college hoops.Man. Oh well, that's why you
look at this Georgia Tech team.And I know Damon Stotdmeyer coming in first
year head coach for the Yellowjackets,but this is a proven winner, as
you mentioned right, before we wentto break just watching him in the nineties
(43:35):
for Arizona and then also the successthat he had in the NBA. And
I had a chance to sit downwith him at the ACC media tip off
in Charlotte there right before the seasonstarted, and you could just he's that
guy. He just oozes of confidenceand that it factor. Now, I'm
not saying that all of a suddenit's going to translate over for this first
(43:58):
season for Georgia Tech, but youcould start seeing some building blocks there for
Damon Stdommeier and Georgia Tech. Now. I know they were on a five
game losing streak and that's difficult,but this is a team that beat Mississippi
State, they beat Duke earlier inDecember, but they also beat Penn State,
you know, out of the BigTen. Now they lost to U
(44:19):
mass loll and of all things,that's one of my good friends, Pat
Duquett is the head coach at Umass Lowell. So watch out there.
They're from the American East. Theydo have an opportunity, I think,
to make the NCAA tournament this year. But this is a team you can't
take lightly just because they do havesome talented guys, and one of those
is a freshman by in Doongo.He's been named ACC Freshman of the Year,
(44:39):
a freshman of the Week, Ishould say three times already this season,
and is number two nationally when youlook at just freshman ranks from an
offensive production standpoint. So this guycan play. And then Tafara Gapari,
he's another guy that's averaging almost twelvepoints a game, so he can light
it up. But it's Miles Kellyis their leading score here, and so
(45:02):
you've got to be able to containhim. And it's going to be a
collective effort for the Tigers here againstyellow Jackets here at nine o'clock. And
I wish these games were a littlebit early. I have to get on
my soapbox about these games and startedat nine o'clock. Look, we complained
about the noon games on the footballside, this is like the equivalent,
(45:22):
especially with a couple of us guysthat are older than our buddy Trey Falco
here. It's tough to stay upfor these on late night games. Man,
it is really tough. Well,and here's the aspect of you know,
there's been several times we've done theshow and then I get in the
car and get down to Little Johnreal quick and be able to watch the
game. That's dedication, right,that is dedication. I missed a little
(45:43):
bit obviously, but I still getto be there little John, get to
have the environment, the atmosphere behindDave O'Brien screaming like a madman in the
North game. I was not.That was great down and I was wish
all of the students went back.There were some students and those are the
ones that were captured there close onthat audio. But tonight I just can't
(46:09):
because that means games not at nineo'clock at night. I just I can't,
you know, complaining, And Ishould not be the guy complaining.
We believe me. If it wasDuke, you'd be going and no defense
in Georgia Tech. But if thisis Duke, well, and also my
son, my son is a seniorthere at Clemson, so is uh it's
(46:31):
it's every game, Hey dad,Can I have the tickets? Hey dad?
Can I have the tickets? Soyes, I do have that a
little bit of the easy way tosay, oh yes, at least I
know the tickets are being used,and so I don't have to get there.
But going back to actual game.As we'll wrap up hearing turn things
(46:52):
over to mister Don Munson and TimBray who will be on the call and
you can listen to it right hereon ninety two point five w E s
C. But this is a teamthat can be dangerous and it's very similar
to what we've seen from some ofthese other teams. Remember Louisville last year.
I know it was on the road. What I thought about just now,
you have to be prepared, andespecially when a team is in a
(47:15):
five game losing streak or a longlosing streak. We also beat Duke and
almost beat him again. Been competitive. There's almost this aspect of okay,
has their confidence been shot? Andnow you know they're in a tail spin?
Or is it They're going to comeout like a caged animal and just
(47:37):
they want another opportunity to get avictory and having a victory on the road,
could that be the momentum that theyneed to somewhat salvage their season.
But I'm telling you, Georgia Techis not a team that you need to
take lightly. On paper, Clemsonis a better team, their roster is
better, and I think just froma perspective of this is a veteran team.
(48:00):
We saw that they were able toshoot better collectively. Now can they
play even some better defense? Ithink there were some lapses even in that
Boston College game from that standpoint,So can they play better collectively as a
unit, which we've seen from BradVernell obviously historically. And if they can
(48:20):
do that, then this should bean easy victory for the Tigers tonight.
He should be, but the matchupsare in their favor. You got PJ.
Hall, the chefy and Shefflin Cookinghas always in a very talented roster.
And to that point, Richmond quicklyon this. It feels like Clemson's
the kind of team that's gonna havethat target on them now get teams like
yes for a sect, maybe nota couple of years ago, but now
Clemson is viewed as a juggernaut ofa team with their talent level, they're
(48:45):
gonna get everybody's best shot right now. Bracketology, yes, I do look
at bracketology. Right now Clemson isright hovering around that number four five seed
in NCAA tournament. Yeah, sothat is where you want to be if
you're a Clemson Now, can yougo win an ACC Tournament Championship, that
would be obviously even better. Butthere is that scenario that, yes,
(49:07):
Clemson's going to have a target ontheir back, and these teams want to
beat Clemson, can't wait to seehow they respond, and we'll see what
happens to night. Don Munson TimBerey on the call, They're coming your
way right now on ninety two pointfive WSC for Trey Falco for Richmond Weaver.
I'm John Ellis. This has beenthe Eagles Countdown to tip Off show
right here on ninety two point five, weesc enjoy tonight's game.
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