March 9, 2024 • 47 mins
The Tigers gear up to face down Syracuse 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!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
W E. S E F M. Greenville, Spartanburg, Andersen. Time
for the Ingles Countdown to tip OffShow, brought to you Pie Ingles Markets,
low prices, love the savings,Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, Harley Davidson
of Greenville, Greer Flooring Center,the Surgery Center at Pella McGhee, Eating
in Air and by Palmeadow State Armory. Now Here are your hosts, John
(00:26):
Alis, I'm Bridgman and weaver Ed. Welcome in to the Ingles Countdown the
tip Off Show, Ladies and gentlemen. So good to be with you on
this Sagi Rainie Saturday afternoon of theUpstate. But let's brighten your spirits with
a little college basketball talk. Itis March Madness. It is time for
the Clinton Tigers to close out theregular season strong. They're traveling to Wake
(00:49):
Forest today a matchup with the DemonDeacons, the one hundred and sixty eighth
all time meeting between these two programs. That's a big number and it's also
a big opportunity for Brad Burnell's teamto clinch the double by and the ACC
Tournament. The four seed is upfor grabs. There's a lot of jockey
in some games in progress right nowin the conference. Some games coming up
(01:11):
tonight, including the huge showdown betweenDuke and North Carolina. We'll give you
some scenarios here in the ACC we'llbreak it down for you. We'll also
be joined later on by our goodfriend will Vandervoort from the Clemson Insider,
giving us some great perspective on theClemson Tigers and where they stand right now,
(01:33):
some of the inside notes from behindthe scenes. Will Vandward has you
covered there from the Clemson Insider.He stopped by yesterday on our sister station
one oh four point nine Fox SportsUpstate. A programming reminder. You can
catch us every single weekday four tosix pm for game on yours truly John
Ellis, our good buddy, TreyFalco, and of course the Richmond Weavers
(01:53):
show in front of that at threepm. It's a great afternoon of sports
talk programming for you each and everysingle weekday on Fox Sports Upstate, all
courtesy of our friends at Ingles LowPrices Love the Savings. Before we get
started into this big game, Tigersand Demon Deacons, want to give a
shout out to our good friends atIngles. Melissa Level Ruby downs the entire
(02:15):
team there. They put on agreat show this weekend at the Ingles SoCon
Basketball Championships up at the Harris CherokeeCenter. Check out soconsports dot com for
more details. But had an opportunityto broadcast court side yesterday for game on
on Fox Sports Upstate and it wasa great scene, great just march madness
(02:38):
vibes. That's the best way youcan put it. Right, we're here,
bracketology's in full swing. We'll takea peek at that here in a
minute. But obviously it's all aboutwhat happened on Senior Night. Clemson a
huge win over Syracuse, in particularfor the senior of all seniors, PJ
Hall, the Dorman product, whoabsolutely had a just amazing first half of
(03:01):
this game. We were thinking hemight put up forty forty five points.
Obviously didn't need to. Clemson asa whole did a great job in terms
of shooting from the field. Shotselection was great. It was a great
bounce back win from what was adisappointing loss at Notre Dame. In a
little bit, you'll hear some commentaryfrom Brad Burnel after the game. He
(03:23):
gave his thoughts not only on whatSenior Night meant in terms of the emotional
component, but just from a practicalperspective, how vital it was for this
team to get that win and stayalive in terms of that double buy that
four seed in the ACC. Itwas a ninety to seventy five win over
Syracuse the last time Clemson was onthe court. Only one lead change in
(03:46):
this game. The score was onlytied twice, and Clemson had an opportunity
here to just put the pedal tothe metal here forty two to thirty lead
at halftime. They closed the halfout strong. Obviously, that was a
big component of this to be ableto stretch that lead beyond double digits before
halftime. And defensively, you know, Brenew talked about this after the game.
(04:10):
You'll hear some of his comments herein the next segment. But just
a great job by the offense towithstand what was a very good offensive performance
by Syracuse in the second half.The Orange put up forty five points after
halftime. Clemson, however, toppedthat with forty eight points in the second
half. Individually. PJ Hall putup those twenty five points we talked about.
(04:33):
He was eleven of nineteen on seniornight from the field, two of
six from Downtown, got to thefree throw line a couple of times knocked
down one of those, had sevenrebounds, two of those offensive, five
defensive rebounds for the senior and alsohad a block shot as well. So
a very solid night efficiency wise inthirty three minutes of playtime for PJ.
(04:56):
Hall. How about the transfer JosephGerard on senior night, a great game,
twenty one points against his former team. He was five of eight from
the field, four of seven fromDowntown, played thirty seven minutes. Brunell
talked about that after the game aswell, how important that was to bring
in that extra scorer when transfer seasonwas in full effect, to bring in
(05:18):
that guy that could go thirty plusminutes and give you this type of efficiency.
And at twenty one points, sevenof seven from the free throw line,
he was also able to bring downthree rebounds, and obviously he had
the four assists in this game.Just a very clean stat line for Gerard
on senior night as well. ChaseHunter, You're sensing a theme here right,
(05:39):
seventeen points. He was a verygood seven of fourteen from the field,
played thirty seven minutes, three ofeight from downtown, didn't get to
the free throw line, but kickedin three assists in this game. Ian
Shefflin, how about the chef wascooking. Big Number four had a great
night and helped boost his senior brethrenthere. Sixteen points, sixteen rebounds,
(06:00):
and you know, Brenow talked aboutthis after the game, and I agree.
If he's not the most improved player, not only in the ACC,
perhaps in the whole country, Idon't know who is. This guy is
consistently not only putting up the numbersin terms of points, assist, double
doubles, but consistently providing that energy, quot that attitude, that nastiness you
(06:21):
need from a guy of his size, from a guy with that intimidation factor.
And he rebounds so well he hasfor years now, Jack Clark,
interesting story here, another guy that'sa transfer, another senior by the way,
seven points in this game, threeof six from the field. And
Brenow talked about this after the game. You'll hear his comments here shortly.
(06:42):
Once again, just a great defensivecomponent. And it's interesting how they laid
out this roster. You've got yourscores in Hall, you bring in Girard
and you've got an instant potential fifteento twenty five points a night. There.
Chase Hunter at any moment can gooff for twenty twenty five points EFLN.
Obviously with the rebounding, but alsohe kicked in sixteen points in this
(07:03):
game. As we talked about withClark, he is that defender, he
is that presence. He is thatguy who can be the shutdown defender that
you need in the ACC. Andhe provided a huge boost not only in
this game, but since he's beenhealthy, he's given them a huge boost
overall here. So it's great tosee Chauncey Wiggins kicked in a couple of
(07:24):
points as well as r. J. Godfrey. Not a lot of scoring
needed from the bench because a lotof these seniors, including Hall, Gerard
Hunter, Clark, they all playedat least twenty eight minutes. And it
was great to see Clemson get thebig win against Syracuse. And now you
turn your attention a little bit towhat's ahead for this team. Obviously,
a huge opportunity today at Wake Forestto cement your status in the ACC Tournament
(07:47):
as a double by team, andclearly it means a lot to this team.
They can even clinch the number threeseed in this game, but we'll
have to see how it all worksout. They can finish as low as
number five. A lot of factorshere, but again it all comes down
to winning your game. Are alot of teams battling for that four spot
right now, so it's gonna beinteresting to see how things pan out as
(08:09):
we go along throughout the show.Here we're brought to you by Ingles,
Low Prices, Love the Savings,Ingles dash markets dot Com. It is
March Madness season, and we knowyou're gonna be having a lot of bracket
parties here, a lot of opportunitiesto get together during March Madness and you
get together your family and friends andhosts big parties for the tournaments coming up.
Ingles has you covered from party trays, everything you need, Low Prices,
(08:33):
Love the Savings, Ingles dash Marketsdot Com. Don't forget they're putting
on the twenty twenty four Ingles SoaconBasketball Championships live from beautiful Asheville, North
Carolina. Go to Soconsports dot comto find out more details on tickets and
availability there. Coming up next,you'll hear from Brad Burnell his commentary from
after a big Senior Night win againstSarahcuse. You're also gonna hear our conversation
(08:56):
we had yesterday on one oh fourpoint nine Fox Sports Upstate. Well,
our good friends Will Vandervoort from theClemson Insider giving us some news and notes
and nuggets about this Clemson team.And we'll take a final look coming up
later on the show at this matchupbetween wake Forest and Clemson. Big game
today in the ACC. The Tigerslooking lock up a double big in the
(09:16):
ACC Tournament. You got it lockedinto the Ingles Countdown to tip Off Show
right here on ninety two point fiveweesc ninety two point five WDSC is the
Upstate's new home with a Clemson TigerCats me turn me on, then burn
me down. Welcome back in tothe Ingles Countdown to tip Off Show,
(09:45):
getting you ready for a big eveningof basketball here. Tip off coming up
at six pm live from Winston Salem. It's going to be Clemson at wake
Forest. Clemson eleven and eight inthe conference. Right now, Wake Forest
is ten to nine. This gameclinches the four seed for Clemson, that
all important four seed we have talkedabout, and what that leads to is
(10:09):
the double bye, and that's ahuge, huge deal for a team that
has been in the postseason thirty timesin their history, for a program that
has four Sweet sixteens, one Eliteeight appearance, and of course back in
nineteen ninety the ACCE regular season champs, but that elusive acc Tournament championship still
looms. Right now. This willbe the one hundred and sixty eighth meeting
(10:33):
all time between the Demon Deacons andthe Tigers. Clemson is sixty six and
one oh one all time. Butwhat matters right now is what's ahead of
Clemson in the present moment, andthat's getting this win. And it's a
huge opportunity. What a win itwas for Clemson on Senior Night against Syracuse.
We talked about that a little bita few minutes ago. In a
(10:56):
few minutes from now, we'll giveyou some perspective, as we do every
single show, from the head coachBrad Burnel, some comments from him after
the game, some intriguing comments Ithought, in terms of not only the
game itself, how it played out, but just the larger implications of Senior
knighted what it meant to see guyslike PJ. Hall and Chase Hunter and
(11:16):
Jack Clark and Joseph Girard perform ata high level on that particular night.
What will remind you. We arebrought to you by your friends at Ingles
Low Prices Love the Savings, Gocheck them out at Ingles Dashmarkets dot com.
Coming up here shortly. Had achance to catch up with Will Van
Dervorg yesterday on our sister station oneA four point nine Fox Sports Upstate.
(11:37):
Don't forget you can catch me everysingle afternoon with my buddy Trey Falco for
game on four pm. We talksports, we have fun, we take
your calls. It's all brought toyou by Ingles Low Prices Love the Savings.
But we'll give you that interview wehad with our good friend Will Vandivorg
yesterday. I was live at theIngles SoCon Basketball Championships in beautiful Ashville yesterday
(11:58):
and it was a great event.It's going on all weekend. Go to
Sookonsports dot com and check out moreinformation on tickets and all that good stuff.
If you're in the Ashville area,pop on by to the Harris Cherokee
Center and check it out. Greatevent being put on by our friends at
Ingles so Brad Brndell obviously pleased onsenior night for his seniors and for the
team as a whole to get thebig win. Obviously, it was a
(12:20):
huge opportunity for Sarahcuse to cement theirstatus in this race for that double by
Clemson. Also with a lot onthe line here had an opportunity to get
that win. And after the game, Brad Brundell opened up with his thoughts
on the game. Obviously, thatwas a fun senior night. You're always
a little nervous about how guys aregonna play. I thought these guys would
(12:43):
play well. They were good atshoot around this morning, and just had
a good, good sense about himin the locker room before the game,
so I was confident. Obviously PJwas on fire, which was terrific.
And then you know Chase and Joeand and Ian, they just they all
played exceptionally well. And Uh,you know, Syracuse kept coming back and
(13:07):
fighting again. I think Red's doinga really good job there, and they
got a good team. But ourguys played played very well. We kept
our turnovers down, and UH hadgreat balance, great efficiency on offense,
and UH did enough good things ondefense to win the game. And of
course the theme being Senior Night.It's all about the seniors. And Brunelle
(13:30):
talked about this after the game,the chemistry, not just the fact that
they play well on the court individually, but what it's meant to have this
group of seniors not only play wellbut also be great off the court as
well. It was it was alot of fun and certainly well deserved.
And you know, those guys arejust you know, chasing PJ. Have
(13:50):
just been with me so long thatyou know, obviously have deep bond for
those guys, love them both tremendouslyand and uh, you know, thankful
that I've had the continue to coachthem. And then then Jack and Joe
and Boz it's you know, that'sstill pretty cool too, like to get
get to experience some positive things withthose guys and get to know them great
(14:11):
people from really good families. Sothey've they've just messed really well with this
group. Sometimes when you bring inthat many transfers, you're obviously concerned about
how your chemistry is going to be. But ours has been great, and
I think my staff deserves a lotof credit. I think we identify the
right kinds of kids in the portal. And then I think the players on
(14:31):
the team, especially PJ and Chase, very welcoming, uh. And that's
not always the case with older guysthat you know are going to share some
things. So just it's been areally fun year with this group and proud
of them and certainly hope it continuesa long way here. It's true in
any sport, especially the sports thathave clocks involved. We talk about this
(14:52):
in football all the time on theEagles tailgate show. Winning the Middle Eight
in terms of the last four minutesof the first half, the four minutes
of the second half, the Tigersclosed out the first half strong. Britnelle
talked about the importance of doing thatfor the trajectory of the rest of the
game. Yeah, I mean,you know there's gonna be some highs and
lows. PJ hit the wall thereand we didn't have a time out,
(15:15):
uh for I don't know, itfelt like two minutes to him, It
probably felt like twenty And I almostused the time out, but I wanted
to save it and ended up usingit later That helped us get a basket.
But you know, he was runningon fumes and some of that's emotional.
You know, you're just when you'remaking as many shots as he's making,
he's he's got a lot of juicerunning through his body and uh,
(15:37):
pretty excitable. Uh, but thenit all of a sudden hits you a
little bit and you're you're dying.And so then, you know, our
bench didn't do great the first timethey went in, and Qus made a
little run back at us, andthen our guys did a nice job to
finish the half. Our older players, really, you know, I was
kind of gonna ride with them alot. Really proud of Chauncey Wiggins.
(15:58):
You know, I thought his basketsthere in the stretch were significant. I
thought he came with a lot ofenergy and juice and just proud of him
for attacking the basket and doing tougherthings than he's done in his career.
And you know, I've kind ofbeen sitting him some to try to teach
him a lesson, and I thinkit's helped. You know, he's improving,
(16:18):
and he's improving it the things thathe needs to to be really really
good, because he's gonna be agood shooter and he's going to score points,
but driving the ball and making toughplays rebounding the ball, defending.
That's gonna make him an elite player. And a common theme has been practice.
We've talked about that on this show. It seems like for weeks now
guys have been in terms of practicejust not available and it's just part of
(16:42):
the wear and tear of the season. Brenell talked about the importance of having
some guys back in practice in advanceof that big win against Syracuse. We
obviously have stretches, like a lotof teams. You know, we need
to shoot the ball well because we'remuch better to Defensively, we've improved,
but we're not an elite defensive team, and so we have to be able
(17:04):
to score some and we have theability to do that. Obviously we showed
that today. You know, westruggled the other night. You know,
I don't I do think. Idon't think we had great practices and we
didn't have enough guys and it wasfrustrating. We had some more guys.
Having Jack back in practice helped.Having PJ for one of the days was
(17:26):
good Ian practice, you know,most of both days, and I think
it showed in our play. SoI think that's you know, offense is
a lot of rhythm and timing andconfidence, and you know, you make
some adjustments and you need all yourguys there. We made a couple adjustments
I thought helped us today and ourguys played really well. Now, one
(17:48):
of the big players that has madesuch a key difference on the court for
Clemson has been Joseph Girard, andit was senior night. It was another
opportunity for him to shine against hisformer team in Sarahcuse he had a big
game in Syracuse a few weeks back. Brennelle talked about what Joe Gerard has
meant to this program after the game. Yeah, he's just I mean,
he's obviously a terrific player that stretchesthe defense and scores and takes pressure off
(18:15):
our other guys. And then alsohe brings an offensive confidence and a mentality
of winning that you need. Right, He's another proven player and that's what
we talked about. You know,when we went into the portal, we
had a specific plaan. We lostBrevin and Hunter, and we thought our
sophomores are going to be good players, but they're not quite ready to be
(18:36):
thirty minute guys. And with PJ. Hall and Chase Hunter, you know,
we wanted to have another guy ortwo that, like, we feel
like we can play for some bigthings. We didn't want to take that
chance, and so we wanted arebounder because Hunter Tyson is the heck of
a rebounder and a big, bigwing and that's Jack Clark and obviously his
defense is terrific. And then wewanted a guy that could score. We
(18:57):
knew we needed one more guy thatcould sc and that's Joe. And so
those two guys in place of Brevianand Hunter has worked nicely. And obviously
you still had Chase, you stillhad PJ. We knew Ian was gonna
take another step as a player,and so obviously those parts of the puzzle
have worked out. As we getinto the home stretch, it's always about
(19:19):
health. We talked about that aminute ago with practice availability. Bren Now
talked about this after the game.At this key stretch of the season,
staying healthy, how vital that is, especially when you're a tournament team.
Yeah, I mean it does fromthe standpoint of this as a tournament team,
in my opinion, I mean,they those guys can easily get in
the tournament, win games, andso just competing well against teams like this
(19:44):
should give us confidence and certainly greatexperiences, and you know it's it's really
good experience for some of the guysthat you know, Josh Beatles and Jack
Clark's and and guys off our bench. You know, obviously Ian with a
huge three. I thought Ian playedvery well well again tonight. You know,
some of our guys already made guysthere, Joe and Chase and PJ.
(20:07):
That those dudes are ready for anything. But some of your other guys,
these experiences are are vital to theirconfidence and so this was again hopefully
a big confidence builder for some ofthem. And of course Syracuse can always
throw some things that you defensively.Here's Brunella and how they countered that defense
in the big ninety to seventy fivewin. Yeah, I don't you know.
(20:27):
Part of it is the way theyguard. I mean, they try
to make it hard on Joe,which is you know some other teams do
as well. But that does openup space for other guys and you know,
we we try to go inside andhave a mix, and you know,
we knew that the way they guardedthat there's gonna be some shots for
PJ. PJ has such a quickrelease that he's gonna be able to get
(20:48):
some shots off at any time.There was only one three that he took
tonight that I didn't like, youknow. There's probably two Notre Dame that
I didn't like, you know.And as much as that's art, you
know, teams are doing different thingsto make it hard on those guys inside
as well, and so you gottayou gotta kind of let them have that
mix. And in a game liketonight where they're making a couple of shots
(21:08):
from the perimeter, and then thatopens more things up. And then sometimes
guys are even driving, Chase isdriving, Ian has more room to finish,
you know, And certainly that wasthe case tonight. Yet another guy
on Senior Night we need to talkabout in highlight is Jack Clark and look
offense is vital, and Brenell talksabout this here momentarily, but the defense
(21:30):
has been the key focus for thetransfer from NC State. Here's Brenelle on
what Jack Clark has meant to theprogram since his arrival, and especially what
he's meant to this defense. Imean, he just practiced one day and
it wasn't like he was full ofspeed that day. But you know,
he's an older player, plays agame with poise. You know, he
(21:55):
doesn't get sped up in anything hedoes, I mean, in anything,
and so it probably is helpful inthe game because he just kind of is
out there and he just kind ofdoes his job. And you know,
I sat him down a way waysago while back and told him, Man,
hey, I just defense and reboundingis what I need you to concentrate
on. And if you'll do thosetwo things, you're going to start playing
more because that's where Chauncey's not readyyet, and that's what we need the
(22:21):
most. We've got Joe Girard toscored two thousand points. PJ. Hall
scored sixteen hundred points. Chase Hunteris probably at eleven or twelve hundred points.
Like we got enough. We needsomebody that can stop the other guys
and get defensive rebounds. And youknow, and that's what's happened. And
he's done an unbelievable job. Hedid. He guarded Chris Bell a lot
tonight. We mixed in some zone, but he did a terrific job on
(22:42):
Bell when he was there. Andyou can't talk Senior Night without talking about
PJ. Hall, this Spartanburg product, who, of course has meant so
much to this program. And again, look, I'm a Spartanburg count of
guy. I know it's a greatstory here locally, but what does it
mean for in state recruiting. Here'sBrunelle on PG Hall's impact as it relates
(23:03):
to that. Yeah, I mean, it's It's what I've been telling a
lot of kids. You know,you're you're gonna you can have an unbelievable
experience. You can achieve everything thatyou want to achieve here at home at
Clemson. You know you can.You can be all a CC, you
can score fifteen hundred points, youcan you know, be first team All
Conference, you can get drafted,you know, and you're gonna do it
(23:25):
a place where people are very genuineand care about you, and you're gonna
get coached, you're gonna get agreat education, and you're gonna be at
a university that is just does everythingright and takes care of their student athletes.
And so, you know, I'mhopeful that other you know, certainly
South Carolina kids, but kids inthe area are taking notice, and certainly
(23:45):
we're using that in recruiting. Andbut it does take somebody to be the
first, and you know he wasthat guy, so obviously he'll always hold
a special place in my heart.Of course, they turn the page and
start looking forward to wake Forest.That tip off coming up here shortly at
six pm. Don Munson and TimBurray on the call live from Winston Salem.
Here's some thoughts from Brenell on wigForest plus the idea of having an
(24:10):
opportunity now to pretty much know you'rea tournament team and does that help you
play loose? Here's Brenell. Yeah, really hard. They're they're good,
and they've been great at Lawrence,Joel, They're they're just dynamic. They
got a lot of different weapons.Obviously Steve's done unbelievable job in the portal
as well. They have great sizeinside, So yes, it'll it'll be
(24:34):
a tremendous challenge. Brad. Isthere a looseness that comes with coaching and
playing this late in the season whereyou don't have to worry about being on
the bubble, you know you're safelyin the NCAA tournaments. Just about improving
the seed line at this point alittle. I mean, it certainly feels
a lot better like today's game Ithink solidified it. We felt like we
were in after Pitt if you askedthe staff. But like, you know,
(24:57):
you don't want to be you know, you don't want to lose a
couple games in a row and gointo the tournament or whatnot not playing well.
But yeah, it's you know,I I don't know that it's a
drastic difference, but you know itat least hopefully it takes a little bit
of pressure off your guys and youcan focus on getting better and working on
(25:18):
some of the things you need towork on, and guys play with confidence.
You know. I think it's moredifficult than people realize for people,
and there's so many teams that aredealing with it, that play all these
games in the last I mean,you guys have been asking us about it
starting in February, you know whatI mean, And like you play five
(25:41):
weeks where it hadn't been this wayfor us, But in other years it's
like, man, this is amust win, and then to the next
guys like head in the next game, it's a must win, and this
guy over here it's a must win. How many must wins do we have?
Like we're trying to win them all. But like if they're all must
wins, you know, I mean, guys aren't going to play great every
night and the other teams are goingto play well. It's hard. And
(26:03):
some of the teams they're free mindedbecause they're not in the tournament. They
already know that and they're just kindof playing and they get off to a
good start, you know, theend of the game, there's no pressure
on them, and there is pressureon the teams that are trying to play
for the bubble. And you know, as much as coaches and players don't
want to talk about, everybody knowsand it's it's not easy. So certainly
(26:26):
thankful that we've handled our business wellenough this year to pretty much not worry
about those things. Bren Now closedout his press conference with thoughts on how
they played defensively against Syracuse and importantly, Ian Shefflin not to be overlooked.
Here sixteen points and sixteen rebounds.He was a machine in that game on
senior night. Here's Brunell on defensefor Syracuse plus the impact of cheflin both
(26:51):
in terms of scoring and rebounding.First of all, those guys are hard
to guard. I mean Juda Mansis an All Conference player, you know,
and you know, when Chris bellson the floor, he takes different
defenders with him, so there's morespace, you know, and everybody's just
working on their individual defense, rightand and uh, we had some a
(27:11):
couple of ball screen mix ups tonightthat we got to do better. But
you know, at the end ofthe day, we won the game pretty
well. I'm gonna try to enjoythis if you guys don't mind, so
and sixteen Yeah, yeah, Ihope he's most improved. The guy's been
(27:33):
unbelievable. You know. Obviously he'splaying with other elite players, so it's
not like he's getting overshadowed because Ithink people notice. But like that performance
right there, those sixteen rebounds unbelievable. Now and what that you know what
that equates to in terms of extrapoints for us? Yeah, I think
he's certainly is most improved. Thatis head coach Brad burn Alpha between CIN
(27:57):
Tiger is a team that is nowtwenty nine eleven and eight in the a
CC and a big opportunity today toclose the season out with twenty two wins
and twelve wins in the conference.It's wake Forest It's Clemson. It's coming
your way at six pm the tipoff and on the call of course Don
Munson tim Berat It's gonna be alot of fun to listen to those guys
(28:18):
as always call a game. Weare brought to you by Ingles Low Prices,
Love the Savings, Ingles Dash Marketsdot Com. Coming up next,
we're joined by our good friend WillVandervort from the Clemson Insider. Had an
opportunity to catch up with Will yesterdaywhen I was broadcasting live on a one
to four point nine Fox Sports Upstatefrom the Ingles SoCon Basketball Championships, and
(28:41):
we'll catch up with Will get histhoughts on this Clemson team, what it
meant on senior night for a lotof these seniors and Coach Brunell and the
fans at large and looking ahead towhat's next for this Clemson team. It's
Clemson, Wake Forest coming up sixpm tip off. You've got the Engles
Countdown a tip off show right hereon ninety two point five we s c
NTEW two point five WDS is theUpstates new home with a Clemson Tigers.
(29:18):
Yes, sir, We're getting readyfor a big, big night of college
hoops here are coming up shortly.It's Clemson at Wake Forest. A lot
of implications, a lot on theline for the Tigers as they're looking to
close out the ACC regular season witha W and spring Ford that momentum into
the ACC Tournament with that four seedthat's up for grabs right now, Welcome
(29:41):
back to the Ingles Countdown to tipOff Show. I'm your host, John
Ellis getting your primed and ready fora big, big day of college basketball.
Want to remind you too, there'sa lot of college hoops going on
up in Ashville. It's the twentytwenty four Ingles so Con Basketball Championships sponsored
by our good friends, and hadan opportunity to spend some time up there
(30:03):
yesterday. We did our show onone O four point nine Fox Sports Upstate.
It's game on four to six pmweekdays, and our good friend Will
Vandervoarts Dot Buy and gave some thoughtson the world of college hoops at large,
more specifically on this Clemson Tigers teamthat's battling right now for position for
the ACC Tournament. Although it seemsto be and I think it's popular sentiment
(30:26):
right now. According to Joe Lonardi, and many others out there that do
this for a living that Clemson isa sure bet to make it to the
Big dance, and that relieves alot of that pressure, as you heard
from Brad Burnell earlier in terms oftheir perspective right now versus maybe a couple
of years ago or last year,even especially last year when there was so
much doubt, so much worry downthe stretch about well, were they gonna
(30:49):
make it? Are they a bubbleteam? Could they potentially be snubbed here?
Well, we had an opportunity tocatch up with our good friend Will
Vandervoard for the Clemson Insider dot com. He does an amazing job. He's
a huge Steelers fan, so wealways start our conversations talking little Pittsburgh Steelers
with him. But Will and Igot into it a little bit about the
Clemson Tigers. Give us some greatperspective on Brad Brunell's team right now is
(31:12):
they go into this big battle withthe Demon Deacons today. Here it is
on a little rewind for you ourconversation yesterday on one of four point nine
Fox Sports Upstate with the great WillVandervort joining us now on the Engles hotline.
Our good friend from the Clemson Insider. He's Will Vandervort. He's been
kind on short notice to make alittle time for us to talk about not
(31:32):
only what's going on with the ClemsonTigers, but hey, let's start with
the real story of the day,Will Vandervort. Russell Wilson, mister unlimited,
your thoughts on that rumor that's floatingaround, but again, will I
want your thoughts on Russell Wilson tothe Steelers go, Yeah, I don't
(31:56):
uh yeah, I'm not a bigfan. You know that if he's gonna
be just a if he's just abackup, I'm okay with it because you
know, he's not going to comein and as long as he's not being
a prima donna or something like that, I don't I don't want any of
that cancer in the locker room thatreportedly we've heard o that come out of
(32:17):
Denver. Don't need that in thelocker room, obviously. And so if
he's coming in to be a backup, and that's what he's gonna be on
time with, and I don't wanthim to be the starter because I don't
think that helps anything. I think, you know, if Kenny Pickt's not
the guy the next year you gotto draft the first round to pick.
And I think that's why to me, it's more important to say those draft
(32:38):
picks and draft the way you wantto in this draft and not like give
the farm away or give a tonof money to one player and stuff.
And so that that's why I'm notbig on that kind of stuff. But
you know, it's either Kenny Pikettsteam or next year it's not. And
you draft a new quarterback next yearand try to find a franchise quarterback.
I'm not in for quit and theFeelers usually aren't either for quick to play,
(33:00):
so that's not who they are.And so so we'll see what happens.
Yeah, seems out of alignment withtheir franchise values, but I don't
know. I mean, this issomething that do Lack had reported one way,
and then it's coming back that,Hey, you know, we've got
a potential visit lined up and theGiants are in the mix. It's gonna
get crazy next week. I knowthat much. So we'll monitor that.
(33:22):
So that is legit. I know. I'm just gonna say you and I
were just talking about this. Imentioned this the other day on the Engles
Countdown of tip Off show, whichcomes up tomorrow, by the way.
But yeah, we were talking alittle bit about that. It's crazy.
This is just the state of theNFL. Let's turn our attention to a
little college hoops, my friend,how about that senior night Clemson just putting
all doubts to rest in terms ofshould they be a tournament team, as
(33:45):
if they were any doubts at all. A convincing fifteen point win against a
very good team. And what anight it was for PG Hall, especially
in the first half on senior night. Yeah, they came out with a
lot of energy, as you mentioned, definitely did twenty one first half points
of his twenty five. He hadnineteen when he had sixteen points at the
(34:07):
ten minute mark, and I'm thinking, man, he's on pace for fifty
points right the way he was going. And you know, but of course,
you know, they changed things upa little bit and then you got
guys like you know started, youknow, Joe Girard started hitting stuff,
Chase Hunter started hitting shots, andyou know, and then you know,
(34:29):
of course Stilan Sheplin, you know, sixteen points, sixteen rebounds, three
assists, two steels, just anaverage night at the office for Ian Shecklin,
you know, so you know therewas a it was a it was
a good team win on senior night. But yeah, the seniors definitely,
the three I just mentioned and JackClark on the defensive side, they all
(34:49):
just they all played at a highlevel and had really they led all but
twenty three seconds. That's it.All the twenty three seconds they led the
entire night. Yeah, that's crazy. He was a great win, almost
wire to wire when you look atit. And now you've got this big
game coming up obviously on Saturday againstwig Forest, and when you look at
what's ahead for Clemson, just remindthose folks out there that may not know
(35:13):
what's at stake in terms of thisgame and moving forward, how important is
it for Clemson, no matter wherethey fall in the double by scenario,
to finish the regular season on ahigh note, especially on the road against
a very good team in wake Forest. Now, yeah, I think it
really it comes down to two scenarios. One, just win in your in
you're the number four seed and youget that double by, as simple as
(35:35):
that. If they don't win,then of course a Pittsburgh loss, because
then you it then depends on whatVirginia does too, and you fall into
a whole bunch of ties. Butyou know, I get well actually know,
if Clemson and Pittsburgh lose, Ithink Virginia would be number three regardless,
So they would come down to aPittsburgh loss, and a Clemson loss
(35:59):
would mean Clinton is tied for fourthplace with three other teams. Clemson wins
that tiebreaker and would not and wouldbe the fourth seed because they win the
head to they win the Because ofthe head to have matchups between the four
teams, Clinton comes out with thebetter records than Wake Forest would wait,
Clinton would be four and one,Wake would be three and one. Uh,
(36:20):
Syracuse would be next at two andthree, and pitt would be last
in the scenario at one and four. So so it comes down to that.
So if if Clemson wins, there'sthe automatic number four, there's no
debate and it is what it isat that point. But if they don't
win, then you've got to hopefor Pittsburgh loss. Now Pittsburgh wins and
Clemson loses, in Pittsburgh's the numberfour seed. So so basically Wake for
(36:44):
Wake Forest, they're not gonna getthe number four seed. I don't believe
is everything I was looking at.I don't know if they get the number
four seed. But wait Forest justmore for wake Forest than just being seeded
in the CE tournament. They're playingfor an NC double A spot and they
needed over Clemson big time. Nowthey've lost three straight since that went over
due, and they're hurting, andright now they're not in the tournament.
(37:07):
They're one of the first four.Look it out and most people see,
but I went over Clemson would givethem a quad one win and would probably
knock them into I would think atleast Dayton being the first four in,
so it'll be interesting to see orthe last four in, I should say.
However, that works. So it'sa big game for wait Force in
(37:29):
that sense. Obviously there's a biggame for Clemson in a sense. This
is the opportunity to get that todouble buys the tournament and maybe solidify at
number five seed going into the NCAATournament in two weeks should get interesting.
Go to the Clemson Insider dot comfor all the details. And we're reading
today that PJ. Hall has beennamed the finalist on your website there for
(37:50):
the Kareema bil Jabbar Center of theYear award. But getting back to Senior
Night, we didn't talk about theemotional component as much as probably we should
have will, but I will saythis, Brad, Now, what a
speech he gave and what an opportunityfor guys like PJ and his fellow seniors
to h to take the mic andto share some special memories with the crowd.
How cool was that? Yeah,you know, and Sinton Brownell has
(38:12):
done that from the beginning of hiscareer with the seniors, and he always
likes to take a few minutes afterthe game to talk about him win or
lose, he'll on Senior Night,he'll do that. And of course you
know he had you know, hetold a lot of good stories about all
the guys, and obviously there wasa little bit of emotion involved with when
PJ came up, because Brad andthem have recruited PJ since he was liking
(38:37):
sophomore in high school, and sothey've known him a long time, and
so you're going almost a decade watchingthis young man grow and become a man,
and you know, I'm sure itwas a little emotional for him.
Obviously with Chase as well, becauseChase has been there five years, He's
come through, He's overcome a lotof injuries and things of that nature to
get where he is right now,and so it was pretty cool to hear
(38:59):
these stories and then obviously to hearthe young men themselves offt in what they
mean. And I don't Clinton fansdon't understand Jay Hall means to Clinton.
Brad brought it up. He's thefirst top fifty player in Clinton history to
come to Clinton from the state ofSouth Carolina. And so to get a
(39:20):
guy of that nature to come toClintston from the state of South Carolina to
stay in South Carolina play at Clintonwas a big deal. And what he's
done since then, and how hehas become a superstar himself and has an
opportunity to be a first round draftpick. Maybe that's big in the sense
of what it means for the programgoing forward. And you know a lot
(39:44):
of people talk about Steve Fuller andwhat he did for Simpson football back in
the day when he was the firstbig time recruit from the state of South
Carolina to go to Clinston and thenlook what he did after he got there.
I think you can kind of putPJ. Hall from a basketball standpoint.
In that same time conversation as faras what he's meant to Clemson basketball.
From the state of South Carolina,I QoS born and raising the state,
(40:06):
and just like Steve Pooler the sameway, you know, and basically
from the same area where they grewup. So kind of unique little perspective.
A lot of people don't think aboutit, but to me, P
K. Hall is the Steve Fullerof Flimson basketball. That's an interesting comp
I like that. We're in thedraft season. It's the season of comparison,
So I like the little cross compthere you making there. So let's
(40:28):
talk a little Clemson football while we'reon the subject. Will Vanderwartz our guest
here from the Clemson Insider, weappreciate your time. And by the way,
we're broadcasting live or at least Iam from the Ingles Silicon Basketball Championships
as the Citadel and Mercer prepared totip off here in about thirty minutes,
so there's a lot of noise inthe background. Just excuse that if he
can't hear me too well, butit is rocking up here, devils.
When he talking about how he's excitedabout the kicker competition. Obviously, there's
(40:52):
a lot of talk about a veryyoung, very talented wide receiver on this
roster. You and I spoke aboutthe other day. Just a general update
from spring practice right now now lookingahead towards that spring game, right around
the corner, Yeah, April sixof the spring game, So they want
you to pack it out as they'vebeen saying, let's see the Bryant Rusco
obviously, the true freshman wide receiverreally really turning some heads and practice,
(41:15):
We've had several players talk about themother than not just Sabo Sweeney, but
several players including Kay club Nick.I've talked about just you know, how
how good he is and what hedoes, and he turned heads every practice.
Dabo talked about made a couple ofbig plays the other day in practice.
So he's having a good spring tostart off with. We'll see how
(41:35):
that carries over into the season aswell. But but yeah, so you
got that, and then you know, I think you know it would talk.
Like I said, we talked toKade the other day and Cade was
very specific about what he needed todo to get better as a quarterback and
things that he's done to be better. He thinks he's gonna have a better
year because he's a year older,your wiser. He says, I've gone
back and reviewed all my notes fromlast season, all my must say,
(42:00):
all my bad decisions, everything thatI've done, good or bad. I
went back and reviewed and looked atand see why I did that. And
they thought he him so dryly sattogether and talked their goals this year is
to make him quicker with a decisionmaking, Uh, get rid of the
football faster, have that clock inhis head when it comes to pocket presence.
(42:20):
Just all the things that we alltalked about. He needed to get
better at taking care of the football. Uh so that was that was real
good. And then obviously the talksabout Peter Woods on the defensive side of
the ball, right, because PeterWoods moved the defensive end, and uh,
he's over there. Guys are talkingabout how unbelievable and kind of athlete
he is and how well he's done, you know, make making that jumping
(42:42):
over there to the defensive end,and Helm and Kate's story both moved over
there to provide some depths. Andnow all of a sudden, you're you
got some pretty good players on thedefensive end. And and you know you're
adding to go with to go witht J. Parker with outstanding sophomore who
had a great pressurean season last yearat defensive ends. So pieces are in
place today. You're gonna get BarrettCarter and a couple other linebackers to talk
(43:05):
after they get them in practice.So there's a lot going on. I
think they're halfway through spring practice rightnow. Uh, they'll they'll go a
couple they'll go to again tomorrow orscrimmage. Then they'll practice up until next
Wednesday, and then they're gonna takea break and go on spring break,
and they could take a couple ofweeks off before getting back at it and
finishing those last five practices. He'sa noted Steelers fan, and I'm guessing
(43:27):
he's starting to bang the drum forthe Christian Wilkins to Pittsburgh campaign. It's
Will Vanderford from the Clemson Insider.Let's go. I bet yeah. I
put him right there on that defensiveline. Man there. He is ever
the Steelers fan, Will Vandervoord,but his main forte and you can follow
him on x at Steeler Will.Although he is a Steelers fan and he
(43:47):
covers the NFL at at large.He is a huge piece of the Clemson
reporting landscape and he has been fora long time. I'd encourage you all
to continue to follow his work atthe Clinton Insider dot com. Coming up
next, we'll give you some finalthoughts going into this big matchup tonight.
We'll also take a look at what'sgoing on around the country in terms of
(44:09):
other games going on right now,some big matchups, and they look forward
to selection Sunday. Right around thecorner, as March Madness is here,
it's Clemson Wake Forest tipping off hereshortly. The Ingles count Down, a
tip off show continues next on ninetytwo point five WSC. Ninety two point
five wd S is the Upstates newhome for a Clemson Tiger coming out the
(44:44):
home stretch for the Ingles count Down, a tip off show. Getting you
ready for a big time game.Clemson tangling with Wake Forest coming up tip
off at six pm. Just aroundthe corner, Don Munson and Tim Bray
take the torch here in a fewshort minutes. Get your primated ready for
this big game in Winston, Salem. Want to remind you we're brought to
(45:04):
you by Ingles low prices, lovethe savings Ingles dash markets dot com.
You have a plethora of big gamesto accompany this one that's coming up at
six thirty pm. Of course,it's North Carolina at Duke Tangling live from
Durham. It's going to be ahuge game. Georgia at Auburn, thirteenth
ranked Auburn. That's at six thirtyon SEC Network. Number two Yukon at
(45:24):
Providence tonight eight pm tip off onFox. You've got number twenty two Utah
State hosting New Mexico, twenty twowin New Mexico against twenty five win Utah
State. That's a thirty on CBSSports Network, BYU twenty thro the Country
hosting Oklahoma State out there in Provo. That's coming up live on the Big
(45:45):
twelve network at nine pm. Andthen number five Arizona team that everybody loves
right now. They're twenty four andsix, fifteen and four in the PAC
twelve. That's a late night tipoff y'all, ten pm live on ESPN.
Of course, you've got this bigone coming up peer shortly, huge
game for the Clemson Tigers and anopportunity to cement their status in this ACC
(46:07):
tournament that's coming up once again.What a big win it was on Senior
Night for this group, and theylook to carry that momentum over against a
very good team and Steve Forbes's DemonDeakins, a team that has a real
opportunity still to make the tournament.They're playing for a lot here in terms
of momentum. Getting into the tournamentobviously would be a big step for them.
(46:27):
But ACC tournament play is right aroundthe corner. It's gonna be huge
to see how that all shakes out. Bracketology that was released yesterday has Clemson
as the five seed. This isfrom Joe Lonardi again a projection they'd be
in the Midwest Region against Princeton.It'd be a five to twelve battle in
Pittsburgh. How about that? WillVan Orden, Trey Falco old jensers that
you are so a lot to playout here. The one seed's projected right
(46:51):
now Purdue Yukon, Tennessee and Houston. But it's a big day in college
hoops, a big day around thecountry and a huge day for the Clemson
Tigers as they travel Awake Forest totake on the Demon Deacons. This has
been the Ingles Countdown, a tipoff show. I'm your host, John
Ellis. Don't forget to join meevery single weekday on one to four point
nine Fox Sports Upstate for game onfour pm. We have a great time
(47:14):
talking sports with you as always,For Richmond Weaver who's on duty today at
the Ingles Soacon Basketball Championships. Forour good friend Trey Falco, producer of
this fine show. I'm John Ellis. Have a great afternoon, a great
evening. Enjoy your Clemson basketball Saturdaynight.
W E. S E F M. Greenville, Spartanburg, Andersen. Time
for the Ingles Countdown to tip OffShow, brought to you Pie Ingles Markets,
low prices, love the savings,Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, Harley Davidson
of Greenville, Greer Flooring Center,the Surgery Center at Pella McGhee, Eating
in Air and by Palmeadow State Armory. Now Here are your hosts, John
(00:26):
Alis, I'm Bridgman and weaver Ed. Welcome in to the Ingles Countdown the
tip Off Show, Ladies and gentlemen. So good to be with you on
this Sagi Rainie Saturday afternoon of theUpstate. But let's brighten your spirits with
a little college basketball talk. Itis March Madness. It is time for
the Clinton Tigers to close out theregular season strong. They're traveling to Wake
(00:49):
Forest today a matchup with the DemonDeacons, the one hundred and sixty eighth
all time meeting between these two programs. That's a big number and it's also
a big opportunity for Brad Burnell's teamto clinch the double by and the ACC
Tournament. The four seed is upfor grabs. There's a lot of jockey
in some games in progress right nowin the conference. Some games coming up
(01:11):
tonight, including the huge showdown betweenDuke and North Carolina. We'll give you
some scenarios here in the ACC we'llbreak it down for you. We'll also
be joined later on by our goodfriend will Vandervoort from the Clemson Insider,
giving us some great perspective on theClemson Tigers and where they stand right now,
(01:33):
some of the inside notes from behindthe scenes. Will Vandward has you
covered there from the Clemson Insider.He stopped by yesterday on our sister station
one oh four point nine Fox SportsUpstate. A programming reminder. You can
catch us every single weekday four tosix pm for game on yours truly John
Ellis, our good buddy, TreyFalco, and of course the Richmond Weavers
(01:53):
show in front of that at threepm. It's a great afternoon of sports
talk programming for you each and everysingle weekday on Fox Sports Upstate, all
courtesy of our friends at Ingles LowPrices Love the Savings. Before we get
started into this big game, Tigersand Demon Deacons, want to give a
shout out to our good friends atIngles. Melissa Level Ruby downs the entire
(02:15):
team there. They put on agreat show this weekend at the Ingles SoCon
Basketball Championships up at the Harris CherokeeCenter. Check out soconsports dot com for
more details. But had an opportunityto broadcast court side yesterday for game on
on Fox Sports Upstate and it wasa great scene, great just march madness
(02:38):
vibes. That's the best way youcan put it. Right, we're here,
bracketology's in full swing. We'll takea peek at that here in a
minute. But obviously it's all aboutwhat happened on Senior Night. Clemson a
huge win over Syracuse, in particularfor the senior of all seniors, PJ
Hall, the Dorman product, whoabsolutely had a just amazing first half of
(03:01):
this game. We were thinking hemight put up forty forty five points.
Obviously didn't need to. Clemson asa whole did a great job in terms
of shooting from the field. Shotselection was great. It was a great
bounce back win from what was adisappointing loss at Notre Dame. In a
little bit, you'll hear some commentaryfrom Brad Burnel after the game. He
(03:23):
gave his thoughts not only on whatSenior Night meant in terms of the emotional
component, but just from a practicalperspective, how vital it was for this
team to get that win and stayalive in terms of that double buy that
four seed in the ACC. Itwas a ninety to seventy five win over
Syracuse the last time Clemson was onthe court. Only one lead change in
(03:46):
this game. The score was onlytied twice, and Clemson had an opportunity
here to just put the pedal tothe metal here forty two to thirty lead
at halftime. They closed the halfout strong. Obviously, that was a
big component of this to be ableto stretch that lead beyond double digits before
halftime. And defensively, you know, Brenew talked about this after the game.
(04:10):
You'll hear some of his comments herein the next segment. But just
a great job by the offense towithstand what was a very good offensive performance
by Syracuse in the second half.The Orange put up forty five points after
halftime. Clemson, however, toppedthat with forty eight points in the second
half. Individually. PJ Hall putup those twenty five points we talked about.
(04:33):
He was eleven of nineteen on seniornight from the field, two of
six from Downtown, got to thefree throw line a couple of times knocked
down one of those, had sevenrebounds, two of those offensive, five
defensive rebounds for the senior and alsohad a block shot as well. So
a very solid night efficiency wise inthirty three minutes of playtime for PJ.
(04:56):
Hall. How about the transfer JosephGerard on senior night, a great game,
twenty one points against his former team. He was five of eight from
the field, four of seven fromDowntown, played thirty seven minutes. Brunell
talked about that after the game aswell, how important that was to bring
in that extra scorer when transfer seasonwas in full effect, to bring in
(05:18):
that guy that could go thirty plusminutes and give you this type of efficiency.
And at twenty one points, sevenof seven from the free throw line,
he was also able to bring downthree rebounds, and obviously he had
the four assists in this game.Just a very clean stat line for Gerard
on senior night as well. ChaseHunter, You're sensing a theme here right,
(05:39):
seventeen points. He was a verygood seven of fourteen from the field,
played thirty seven minutes, three ofeight from downtown, didn't get to
the free throw line, but kickedin three assists in this game. Ian
Shefflin, how about the chef wascooking. Big Number four had a great
night and helped boost his senior brethrenthere. Sixteen points, sixteen rebounds,
(06:00):
and you know, Brenow talked aboutthis after the game, and I agree.
If he's not the most improved player, not only in the ACC,
perhaps in the whole country, Idon't know who is. This guy is
consistently not only putting up the numbersin terms of points, assist, double
doubles, but consistently providing that energy, quot that attitude, that nastiness you
(06:21):
need from a guy of his size, from a guy with that intimidation factor.
And he rebounds so well he hasfor years now, Jack Clark,
interesting story here, another guy that'sa transfer, another senior by the way,
seven points in this game, threeof six from the field. And
Brenow talked about this after the game. You'll hear his comments here shortly.
(06:42):
Once again, just a great defensivecomponent. And it's interesting how they laid
out this roster. You've got yourscores in Hall, you bring in Girard
and you've got an instant potential fifteento twenty five points a night. There.
Chase Hunter at any moment can gooff for twenty twenty five points EFLN.
Obviously with the rebounding, but alsohe kicked in sixteen points in this
(07:03):
game. As we talked about withClark, he is that defender, he
is that presence. He is thatguy who can be the shutdown defender that
you need in the ACC. Andhe provided a huge boost not only in
this game, but since he's beenhealthy, he's given them a huge boost
overall here. So it's great tosee Chauncey Wiggins kicked in a couple of
(07:24):
points as well as r. J. Godfrey. Not a lot of scoring
needed from the bench because a lotof these seniors, including Hall, Gerard
Hunter, Clark, they all playedat least twenty eight minutes. And it
was great to see Clemson get thebig win against Syracuse. And now you
turn your attention a little bit towhat's ahead for this team. Obviously,
a huge opportunity today at Wake Forestto cement your status in the ACC Tournament
(07:47):
as a double by team, andclearly it means a lot to this team.
They can even clinch the number threeseed in this game, but we'll
have to see how it all worksout. They can finish as low as
number five. A lot of factorshere, but again it all comes down
to winning your game. Are alot of teams battling for that four spot
right now, so it's gonna beinteresting to see how things pan out as
(08:09):
we go along throughout the show.Here we're brought to you by Ingles,
Low Prices, Love the Savings,Ingles dash markets dot Com. It is
March Madness season, and we knowyou're gonna be having a lot of bracket
parties here, a lot of opportunitiesto get together during March Madness and you
get together your family and friends andhosts big parties for the tournaments coming up.
Ingles has you covered from party trays, everything you need, Low Prices,
(08:33):
Love the Savings, Ingles dash Marketsdot Com. Don't forget they're putting
on the twenty twenty four Ingles SoaconBasketball Championships live from beautiful Asheville, North
Carolina. Go to Soconsports dot comto find out more details on tickets and
availability there. Coming up next,you'll hear from Brad Burnell his commentary from
after a big Senior Night win againstSarahcuse. You're also gonna hear our conversation
(08:56):
we had yesterday on one oh fourpoint nine Fox Sports Upstate. Well,
our good friends Will Vandervoort from theClemson Insider giving us some news and notes
and nuggets about this Clemson team.And we'll take a final look coming up
later on the show at this matchupbetween wake Forest and Clemson. Big game
today in the ACC. The Tigerslooking lock up a double big in the
(09:16):
ACC Tournament. You got it lockedinto the Ingles Countdown to tip Off Show
right here on ninety two point fiveweesc ninety two point five WDSC is the
Upstate's new home with a Clemson TigerCats me turn me on, then burn
me down. Welcome back in tothe Ingles Countdown to tip Off Show,
(09:45):
getting you ready for a big eveningof basketball here. Tip off coming up
at six pm live from Winston Salem. It's going to be Clemson at wake
Forest. Clemson eleven and eight inthe conference. Right now, Wake Forest
is ten to nine. This gameclinches the four seed for Clemson, that
all important four seed we have talkedabout, and what that leads to is
(10:09):
the double bye, and that's ahuge, huge deal for a team that
has been in the postseason thirty timesin their history, for a program that
has four Sweet sixteens, one Eliteeight appearance, and of course back in
nineteen ninety the ACCE regular season champs, but that elusive acc Tournament championship still
looms. Right now. This willbe the one hundred and sixty eighth meeting
(10:33):
all time between the Demon Deacons andthe Tigers. Clemson is sixty six and
one oh one all time. Butwhat matters right now is what's ahead of
Clemson in the present moment, andthat's getting this win. And it's a
huge opportunity. What a win itwas for Clemson on Senior Night against Syracuse.
We talked about that a little bita few minutes ago. In a
(10:56):
few minutes from now, we'll giveyou some perspective, as we do every
single show, from the head coachBrad Burnel, some comments from him after
the game, some intriguing comments Ithought, in terms of not only the
game itself, how it played out, but just the larger implications of Senior
knighted what it meant to see guyslike PJ. Hall and Chase Hunter and
(11:16):
Jack Clark and Joseph Girard perform ata high level on that particular night.
What will remind you. We arebrought to you by your friends at Ingles
Low Prices Love the Savings, Gocheck them out at Ingles Dashmarkets dot com.
Coming up here shortly. Had achance to catch up with Will Van
Dervorg yesterday on our sister station oneA four point nine Fox Sports Upstate.
(11:37):
Don't forget you can catch me everysingle afternoon with my buddy Trey Falco for
game on four pm. We talksports, we have fun, we take
your calls. It's all brought toyou by Ingles Low Prices Love the Savings.
But we'll give you that interview wehad with our good friend Will Vandivorg
yesterday. I was live at theIngles SoCon Basketball Championships in beautiful Ashville yesterday
(11:58):
and it was a great event.It's going on all weekend. Go to
Sookonsports dot com and check out moreinformation on tickets and all that good stuff.
If you're in the Ashville area,pop on by to the Harris Cherokee
Center and check it out. Greatevent being put on by our friends at
Ingles so Brad Brndell obviously pleased onsenior night for his seniors and for the
team as a whole to get thebig win. Obviously, it was a
(12:20):
huge opportunity for Sarahcuse to cement theirstatus in this race for that double by
Clemson. Also with a lot onthe line here had an opportunity to get
that win. And after the game, Brad Brundell opened up with his thoughts
on the game. Obviously, thatwas a fun senior night. You're always
a little nervous about how guys aregonna play. I thought these guys would
(12:43):
play well. They were good atshoot around this morning, and just had
a good, good sense about himin the locker room before the game,
so I was confident. Obviously PJwas on fire, which was terrific.
And then you know Chase and Joeand and Ian, they just they all
played exceptionally well. And Uh,you know, Syracuse kept coming back and
(13:07):
fighting again. I think Red's doinga really good job there, and they
got a good team. But ourguys played played very well. We kept
our turnovers down, and UH hadgreat balance, great efficiency on offense,
and UH did enough good things ondefense to win the game. And of
course the theme being Senior Night.It's all about the seniors. And Brunelle
(13:30):
talked about this after the game,the chemistry, not just the fact that
they play well on the court individually, but what it's meant to have this
group of seniors not only play wellbut also be great off the court as
well. It was it was alot of fun and certainly well deserved.
And you know, those guys arejust you know, chasing PJ. Have
(13:50):
just been with me so long thatyou know, obviously have deep bond for
those guys, love them both tremendouslyand and uh, you know, thankful
that I've had the continue to coachthem. And then then Jack and Joe
and Boz it's you know, that'sstill pretty cool too, like to get
get to experience some positive things withthose guys and get to know them great
(14:11):
people from really good families. Sothey've they've just messed really well with this
group. Sometimes when you bring inthat many transfers, you're obviously concerned about
how your chemistry is going to be. But ours has been great, and
I think my staff deserves a lotof credit. I think we identify the
right kinds of kids in the portal. And then I think the players on
(14:31):
the team, especially PJ and Chase, very welcoming, uh. And that's
not always the case with older guysthat you know are going to share some
things. So just it's been areally fun year with this group and proud
of them and certainly hope it continuesa long way here. It's true in
any sport, especially the sports thathave clocks involved. We talk about this
(14:52):
in football all the time on theEagles tailgate show. Winning the Middle Eight
in terms of the last four minutesof the first half, the four minutes
of the second half, the Tigersclosed out the first half strong. Britnelle
talked about the importance of doing thatfor the trajectory of the rest of the
game. Yeah, I mean,you know there's gonna be some highs and
lows. PJ hit the wall thereand we didn't have a time out,
(15:15):
uh for I don't know, itfelt like two minutes to him, It
probably felt like twenty And I almostused the time out, but I wanted
to save it and ended up usingit later That helped us get a basket.
But you know, he was runningon fumes and some of that's emotional.
You know, you're just when you'remaking as many shots as he's making,
he's he's got a lot of juicerunning through his body and uh,
(15:37):
pretty excitable. Uh, but thenit all of a sudden hits you a
little bit and you're you're dying.And so then, you know, our
bench didn't do great the first timethey went in, and Qus made a
little run back at us, andthen our guys did a nice job to
finish the half. Our older players, really, you know, I was
kind of gonna ride with them alot. Really proud of Chauncey Wiggins.
(15:58):
You know, I thought his basketsthere in the stretch were significant. I
thought he came with a lot ofenergy and juice and just proud of him
for attacking the basket and doing tougherthings than he's done in his career.
And you know, I've kind ofbeen sitting him some to try to teach
him a lesson, and I thinkit's helped. You know, he's improving,
(16:18):
and he's improving it the things thathe needs to to be really really
good, because he's gonna be agood shooter and he's going to score points,
but driving the ball and making toughplays rebounding the ball, defending.
That's gonna make him an elite player. And a common theme has been practice.
We've talked about that on this show. It seems like for weeks now
guys have been in terms of practicejust not available and it's just part of
(16:42):
the wear and tear of the season. Brenell talked about the importance of having
some guys back in practice in advanceof that big win against Syracuse. We
obviously have stretches, like a lotof teams. You know, we need
to shoot the ball well because we'remuch better to Defensively, we've improved,
but we're not an elite defensive team, and so we have to be able
(17:04):
to score some and we have theability to do that. Obviously we showed
that today. You know, westruggled the other night. You know,
I don't I do think. Idon't think we had great practices and we
didn't have enough guys and it wasfrustrating. We had some more guys.
Having Jack back in practice helped.Having PJ for one of the days was
(17:26):
good Ian practice, you know,most of both days, and I think
it showed in our play. SoI think that's you know, offense is
a lot of rhythm and timing andconfidence, and you know, you make
some adjustments and you need all yourguys there. We made a couple adjustments
I thought helped us today and ourguys played really well. Now, one
(17:48):
of the big players that has madesuch a key difference on the court for
Clemson has been Joseph Girard, andit was senior night. It was another
opportunity for him to shine against hisformer team in Sarahcuse he had a big
game in Syracuse a few weeks back. Brennelle talked about what Joe Gerard has
meant to this program after the game. Yeah, he's just I mean,
he's obviously a terrific player that stretchesthe defense and scores and takes pressure off
(18:15):
our other guys. And then alsohe brings an offensive confidence and a mentality
of winning that you need. Right, He's another proven player and that's what
we talked about. You know,when we went into the portal, we
had a specific plaan. We lostBrevin and Hunter, and we thought our
sophomores are going to be good players, but they're not quite ready to be
(18:36):
thirty minute guys. And with PJ. Hall and Chase Hunter, you know,
we wanted to have another guy ortwo that, like, we feel
like we can play for some bigthings. We didn't want to take that
chance, and so we wanted arebounder because Hunter Tyson is the heck of
a rebounder and a big, bigwing and that's Jack Clark and obviously his
defense is terrific. And then wewanted a guy that could score. We
(18:57):
knew we needed one more guy thatcould sc and that's Joe. And so
those two guys in place of Brevianand Hunter has worked nicely. And obviously
you still had Chase, you stillhad PJ. We knew Ian was gonna
take another step as a player,and so obviously those parts of the puzzle
have worked out. As we getinto the home stretch, it's always about
(19:19):
health. We talked about that aminute ago with practice availability. Bren Now
talked about this after the game.At this key stretch of the season,
staying healthy, how vital that is, especially when you're a tournament team.
Yeah, I mean it does fromthe standpoint of this as a tournament team,
in my opinion, I mean,they those guys can easily get in
the tournament, win games, andso just competing well against teams like this
(19:44):
should give us confidence and certainly greatexperiences, and you know it's it's really
good experience for some of the guysthat you know, Josh Beatles and Jack
Clark's and and guys off our bench. You know, obviously Ian with a
huge three. I thought Ian playedvery well well again tonight. You know,
some of our guys already made guysthere, Joe and Chase and PJ.
(20:07):
That those dudes are ready for anything. But some of your other guys,
these experiences are are vital to theirconfidence and so this was again hopefully
a big confidence builder for some ofthem. And of course Syracuse can always
throw some things that you defensively.Here's Brunella and how they countered that defense
in the big ninety to seventy fivewin. Yeah, I don't you know.
(20:27):
Part of it is the way theyguard. I mean, they try
to make it hard on Joe,which is you know some other teams do
as well. But that does openup space for other guys and you know,
we we try to go inside andhave a mix, and you know,
we knew that the way they guardedthat there's gonna be some shots for
PJ. PJ has such a quickrelease that he's gonna be able to get
(20:48):
some shots off at any time.There was only one three that he took
tonight that I didn't like, youknow. There's probably two Notre Dame that
I didn't like, you know.And as much as that's art, you
know, teams are doing different thingsto make it hard on those guys inside
as well, and so you gottayou gotta kind of let them have that
mix. And in a game liketonight where they're making a couple of shots
(21:08):
from the perimeter, and then thatopens more things up. And then sometimes
guys are even driving, Chase isdriving, Ian has more room to finish,
you know, And certainly that wasthe case tonight. Yet another guy
on Senior Night we need to talkabout in highlight is Jack Clark and look
offense is vital, and Brenell talksabout this here momentarily, but the defense
(21:30):
has been the key focus for thetransfer from NC State. Here's Brenelle on
what Jack Clark has meant to theprogram since his arrival, and especially what
he's meant to this defense. Imean, he just practiced one day and
it wasn't like he was full ofspeed that day. But you know,
he's an older player, plays agame with poise. You know, he
(21:55):
doesn't get sped up in anything hedoes, I mean, in anything,
and so it probably is helpful inthe game because he just kind of is
out there and he just kind ofdoes his job. And you know,
I sat him down a way waysago while back and told him, Man,
hey, I just defense and reboundingis what I need you to concentrate
on. And if you'll do thosetwo things, you're going to start playing
more because that's where Chauncey's not readyyet, and that's what we need the
(22:21):
most. We've got Joe Girard toscored two thousand points. PJ. Hall
scored sixteen hundred points. Chase Hunteris probably at eleven or twelve hundred points.
Like we got enough. We needsomebody that can stop the other guys
and get defensive rebounds. And youknow, and that's what's happened. And
he's done an unbelievable job. Hedid. He guarded Chris Bell a lot
tonight. We mixed in some zone, but he did a terrific job on
(22:42):
Bell when he was there. Andyou can't talk Senior Night without talking about
PJ. Hall, this Spartanburg product, who, of course has meant so
much to this program. And again, look, I'm a Spartanburg count of
guy. I know it's a greatstory here locally, but what does it
mean for in state recruiting. Here'sBrunelle on PG Hall's impact as it relates
(23:03):
to that. Yeah, I mean, it's It's what I've been telling a
lot of kids. You know,you're you're gonna you can have an unbelievable
experience. You can achieve everything thatyou want to achieve here at home at
Clemson. You know you can.You can be all a CC, you
can score fifteen hundred points, youcan you know, be first team All
Conference, you can get drafted,you know, and you're gonna do it
(23:25):
a place where people are very genuineand care about you, and you're gonna
get coached, you're gonna get agreat education, and you're gonna be at
a university that is just does everythingright and takes care of their student athletes.
And so, you know, I'mhopeful that other you know, certainly
South Carolina kids, but kids inthe area are taking notice, and certainly
(23:45):
we're using that in recruiting. Andbut it does take somebody to be the
first, and you know he wasthat guy, so obviously he'll always hold
a special place in my heart.Of course, they turn the page and
start looking forward to wake Forest.That tip off coming up here shortly at
six pm. Don Munson and TimBurray on the call live from Winston Salem.
Here's some thoughts from Brenell on wigForest plus the idea of having an
(24:10):
opportunity now to pretty much know you'rea tournament team and does that help you
play loose? Here's Brenell. Yeah, really hard. They're they're good,
and they've been great at Lawrence,Joel, They're they're just dynamic. They
got a lot of different weapons.Obviously Steve's done unbelievable job in the portal
as well. They have great sizeinside, So yes, it'll it'll be
(24:34):
a tremendous challenge. Brad. Isthere a looseness that comes with coaching and
playing this late in the season whereyou don't have to worry about being on
the bubble, you know you're safelyin the NCAA tournaments. Just about improving
the seed line at this point alittle. I mean, it certainly feels
a lot better like today's game Ithink solidified it. We felt like we
were in after Pitt if you askedthe staff. But like, you know,
(24:57):
you don't want to be you know, you don't want to lose a
couple games in a row and gointo the tournament or whatnot not playing well.
But yeah, it's you know,I I don't know that it's a
drastic difference, but you know itat least hopefully it takes a little bit
of pressure off your guys and youcan focus on getting better and working on
(25:18):
some of the things you need towork on, and guys play with confidence.
You know. I think it's moredifficult than people realize for people,
and there's so many teams that aredealing with it, that play all these
games in the last I mean,you guys have been asking us about it
starting in February, you know whatI mean, And like you play five
(25:41):
weeks where it hadn't been this wayfor us, But in other years it's
like, man, this is amust win, and then to the next
guys like head in the next game, it's a must win, and this
guy over here it's a must win. How many must wins do we have?
Like we're trying to win them all. But like if they're all must
wins, you know, I mean, guys aren't going to play great every
night and the other teams are goingto play well. It's hard. And
(26:03):
some of the teams they're free mindedbecause they're not in the tournament. They
already know that and they're just kindof playing and they get off to a
good start, you know, theend of the game, there's no pressure
on them, and there is pressureon the teams that are trying to play
for the bubble. And you know, as much as coaches and players don't
want to talk about, everybody knowsand it's it's not easy. So certainly
(26:26):
thankful that we've handled our business wellenough this year to pretty much not worry
about those things. Bren Now closedout his press conference with thoughts on how
they played defensively against Syracuse and importantly, Ian Shefflin not to be overlooked.
Here sixteen points and sixteen rebounds.He was a machine in that game on
senior night. Here's Brunell on defensefor Syracuse plus the impact of cheflin both
(26:51):
in terms of scoring and rebounding.First of all, those guys are hard
to guard. I mean Juda Mansis an All Conference player, you know,
and you know, when Chris bellson the floor, he takes different
defenders with him, so there's morespace, you know, and everybody's just
working on their individual defense, rightand and uh, we had some a
(27:11):
couple of ball screen mix ups tonightthat we got to do better. But
you know, at the end ofthe day, we won the game pretty
well. I'm gonna try to enjoythis if you guys don't mind, so
and sixteen Yeah, yeah, Ihope he's most improved. The guy's been
(27:33):
unbelievable. You know. Obviously he'splaying with other elite players, so it's
not like he's getting overshadowed because Ithink people notice. But like that performance
right there, those sixteen rebounds unbelievable. Now and what that you know what
that equates to in terms of extrapoints for us? Yeah, I think
he's certainly is most improved. Thatis head coach Brad burn Alpha between CIN
(27:57):
Tiger is a team that is nowtwenty nine eleven and eight in the a
CC and a big opportunity today toclose the season out with twenty two wins
and twelve wins in the conference.It's wake Forest It's Clemson. It's coming
your way at six pm the tipoff and on the call of course Don
Munson tim Berat It's gonna be alot of fun to listen to those guys
(28:18):
as always call a game. Weare brought to you by Ingles Low Prices,
Love the Savings, Ingles Dash Marketsdot Com. Coming up next,
we're joined by our good friend WillVandervort from the Clemson Insider. Had an
opportunity to catch up with Will yesterdaywhen I was broadcasting live on a one
to four point nine Fox Sports Upstatefrom the Ingles SoCon Basketball Championships, and
(28:41):
we'll catch up with Will get histhoughts on this Clemson team, what it
meant on senior night for a lotof these seniors and Coach Brunell and the
fans at large and looking ahead towhat's next for this Clemson team. It's
Clemson, Wake Forest coming up sixpm tip off. You've got the Engles
Countdown a tip off show right hereon ninety two point five we s c
NTEW two point five WDS is theUpstates new home with a Clemson Tigers.
(29:18):
Yes, sir, We're getting readyfor a big, big night of college
hoops here are coming up shortly.It's Clemson at Wake Forest. A lot
of implications, a lot on theline for the Tigers as they're looking to
close out the ACC regular season witha W and spring Ford that momentum into
the ACC Tournament with that four seedthat's up for grabs right now, Welcome
(29:41):
back to the Ingles Countdown to tipOff Show. I'm your host, John
Ellis getting your primed and ready fora big, big day of college basketball.
Want to remind you too, there'sa lot of college hoops going on
up in Ashville. It's the twentytwenty four Ingles so Con Basketball Championships sponsored
by our good friends, and hadan opportunity to spend some time up there
(30:03):
yesterday. We did our show onone O four point nine Fox Sports Upstate.
It's game on four to six pmweekdays, and our good friend Will
Vandervoarts Dot Buy and gave some thoughtson the world of college hoops at large,
more specifically on this Clemson Tigers teamthat's battling right now for position for
the ACC Tournament. Although it seemsto be and I think it's popular sentiment
(30:26):
right now. According to Joe Lonardi, and many others out there that do
this for a living that Clemson isa sure bet to make it to the
Big dance, and that relieves alot of that pressure, as you heard
from Brad Burnell earlier in terms oftheir perspective right now versus maybe a couple
of years ago or last year,even especially last year when there was so
much doubt, so much worry downthe stretch about well, were they gonna
(30:49):
make it? Are they a bubbleteam? Could they potentially be snubbed here?
Well, we had an opportunity tocatch up with our good friend Will
Vandervoard for the Clemson Insider dot com. He does an amazing job. He's
a huge Steelers fan, so wealways start our conversations talking little Pittsburgh Steelers
with him. But Will and Igot into it a little bit about the
Clemson Tigers. Give us some greatperspective on Brad Brunell's team right now is
(31:12):
they go into this big battle withthe Demon Deacons today. Here it is
on a little rewind for you ourconversation yesterday on one of four point nine
Fox Sports Upstate with the great WillVandervort joining us now on the Engles hotline.
Our good friend from the Clemson Insider. He's Will Vandervort. He's been
kind on short notice to make alittle time for us to talk about not
(31:32):
only what's going on with the ClemsonTigers, but hey, let's start with
the real story of the day,Will Vandervort. Russell Wilson, mister unlimited,
your thoughts on that rumor that's floatingaround, but again, will I
want your thoughts on Russell Wilson tothe Steelers go, Yeah, I don't
(31:56):
uh yeah, I'm not a bigfan. You know that if he's gonna
be just a if he's just abackup, I'm okay with it because you
know, he's not going to comein and as long as he's not being
a prima donna or something like that, I don't I don't want any of
that cancer in the locker room thatreportedly we've heard o that come out of
(32:17):
Denver. Don't need that in thelocker room, obviously. And so if
he's coming in to be a backup, and that's what he's gonna be on
time with, and I don't wanthim to be the starter because I don't
think that helps anything. I think, you know, if Kenny Pickt's not
the guy the next year you gotto draft the first round to pick.
And I think that's why to me, it's more important to say those draft
(32:38):
picks and draft the way you wantto in this draft and not like give
the farm away or give a tonof money to one player and stuff.
And so that that's why I'm notbig on that kind of stuff. But
you know, it's either Kenny Pikettsteam or next year it's not. And
you draft a new quarterback next yearand try to find a franchise quarterback.
I'm not in for quit and theFeelers usually aren't either for quick to play,
(33:00):
so that's not who they are.And so so we'll see what happens.
Yeah, seems out of alignment withtheir franchise values, but I don't
know. I mean, this issomething that do Lack had reported one way,
and then it's coming back that,Hey, you know, we've got
a potential visit lined up and theGiants are in the mix. It's gonna
get crazy next week. I knowthat much. So we'll monitor that.
(33:22):
So that is legit. I know. I'm just gonna say you and I
were just talking about this. Imentioned this the other day on the Engles
Countdown of tip Off show, whichcomes up tomorrow, by the way.
But yeah, we were talking alittle bit about that. It's crazy.
This is just the state of theNFL. Let's turn our attention to a
little college hoops, my friend,how about that senior night Clemson just putting
all doubts to rest in terms ofshould they be a tournament team, as
(33:45):
if they were any doubts at all. A convincing fifteen point win against a
very good team. And what anight it was for PG Hall, especially
in the first half on senior night. Yeah, they came out with a
lot of energy, as you mentioned, definitely did twenty one first half points
of his twenty five. He hadnineteen when he had sixteen points at the
(34:07):
ten minute mark, and I'm thinking, man, he's on pace for fifty
points right the way he was going. And you know, but of course,
you know, they changed things upa little bit and then you got
guys like you know started, youknow, Joe Girard started hitting stuff,
Chase Hunter started hitting shots, andyou know, and then you know,
(34:29):
of course Stilan Sheplin, you know, sixteen points, sixteen rebounds, three
assists, two steels, just anaverage night at the office for Ian Shecklin,
you know, so you know therewas a it was a it was
a good team win on senior night. But yeah, the seniors definitely,
the three I just mentioned and JackClark on the defensive side, they all
(34:49):
just they all played at a highlevel and had really they led all but
twenty three seconds. That's it.All the twenty three seconds they led the
entire night. Yeah, that's crazy. He was a great win, almost
wire to wire when you look atit. And now you've got this big
game coming up obviously on Saturday againstwig Forest, and when you look at
what's ahead for Clemson, just remindthose folks out there that may not know
(35:13):
what's at stake in terms of thisgame and moving forward, how important is
it for Clemson, no matter wherethey fall in the double by scenario,
to finish the regular season on ahigh note, especially on the road against
a very good team in wake Forest. Now, yeah, I think it
really it comes down to two scenarios. One, just win in your in
you're the number four seed and youget that double by, as simple as
(35:35):
that. If they don't win,then of course a Pittsburgh loss, because
then you it then depends on whatVirginia does too, and you fall into
a whole bunch of ties. Butyou know, I get well actually know,
if Clemson and Pittsburgh lose, Ithink Virginia would be number three regardless,
So they would come down to aPittsburgh loss, and a Clemson loss
(35:59):
would mean Clinton is tied for fourthplace with three other teams. Clemson wins
that tiebreaker and would not and wouldbe the fourth seed because they win the
head to they win the Because ofthe head to have matchups between the four
teams, Clinton comes out with thebetter records than Wake Forest would wait,
Clinton would be four and one,Wake would be three and one. Uh,
(36:20):
Syracuse would be next at two andthree, and pitt would be last
in the scenario at one and four. So so it comes down to that.
So if if Clemson wins, there'sthe automatic number four, there's no
debate and it is what it isat that point. But if they don't
win, then you've got to hopefor Pittsburgh loss. Now Pittsburgh wins and
Clemson loses, in Pittsburgh's the numberfour seed. So so basically Wake for
(36:44):
Wake Forest, they're not gonna getthe number four seed. I don't believe
is everything I was looking at.I don't know if they get the number
four seed. But wait Forest justmore for wake Forest than just being seeded
in the CE tournament. They're playingfor an NC double A spot and they
needed over Clemson big time. Nowthey've lost three straight since that went over
due, and they're hurting, andright now they're not in the tournament.
(37:07):
They're one of the first four.Look it out and most people see,
but I went over Clemson would givethem a quad one win and would probably
knock them into I would think atleast Dayton being the first four in,
so it'll be interesting to see orthe last four in, I should say.
However, that works. So it'sa big game for wait Force in
(37:29):
that sense. Obviously there's a biggame for Clemson in a sense. This
is the opportunity to get that todouble buys the tournament and maybe solidify at
number five seed going into the NCAATournament in two weeks should get interesting.
Go to the Clemson Insider dot comfor all the details. And we're reading
today that PJ. Hall has beennamed the finalist on your website there for
(37:50):
the Kareema bil Jabbar Center of theYear award. But getting back to Senior
Night, we didn't talk about theemotional component as much as probably we should
have will, but I will saythis, Brad, Now, what a
speech he gave and what an opportunityfor guys like PJ and his fellow seniors
to h to take the mic andto share some special memories with the crowd.
How cool was that? Yeah,you know, and Sinton Brownell has
(38:12):
done that from the beginning of hiscareer with the seniors, and he always
likes to take a few minutes afterthe game to talk about him win or
lose, he'll on Senior Night,he'll do that. And of course you
know he had you know, hetold a lot of good stories about all
the guys, and obviously there wasa little bit of emotion involved with when
PJ came up, because Brad andthem have recruited PJ since he was liking
(38:37):
sophomore in high school, and sothey've known him a long time, and
so you're going almost a decade watchingthis young man grow and become a man,
and you know, I'm sure itwas a little emotional for him.
Obviously with Chase as well, becauseChase has been there five years, He's
come through, He's overcome a lotof injuries and things of that nature to
get where he is right now,and so it was pretty cool to hear
(38:59):
these stories and then obviously to hearthe young men themselves offt in what they
mean. And I don't Clinton fansdon't understand Jay Hall means to Clinton.
Brad brought it up. He's thefirst top fifty player in Clinton history to
come to Clinton from the state ofSouth Carolina. And so to get a
(39:20):
guy of that nature to come toClintston from the state of South Carolina to
stay in South Carolina play at Clintonwas a big deal. And what he's
done since then, and how hehas become a superstar himself and has an
opportunity to be a first round draftpick. Maybe that's big in the sense
of what it means for the programgoing forward. And you know a lot
(39:44):
of people talk about Steve Fuller andwhat he did for Simpson football back in
the day when he was the firstbig time recruit from the state of South
Carolina to go to Clinston and thenlook what he did after he got there.
I think you can kind of putPJ. Hall from a basketball standpoint.
In that same time conversation as faras what he's meant to Clemson basketball.
From the state of South Carolina,I QoS born and raising the state,
(40:06):
and just like Steve Pooler the sameway, you know, and basically
from the same area where they grewup. So kind of unique little perspective.
A lot of people don't think aboutit, but to me, P
K. Hall is the Steve Fullerof Flimson basketball. That's an interesting comp
I like that. We're in thedraft season. It's the season of comparison,
So I like the little cross compthere you making there. So let's
(40:28):
talk a little Clemson football while we'reon the subject. Will Vanderwartz our guest
here from the Clemson Insider, weappreciate your time. And by the way,
we're broadcasting live or at least Iam from the Ingles Silicon Basketball Championships
as the Citadel and Mercer prepared totip off here in about thirty minutes,
so there's a lot of noise inthe background. Just excuse that if he
can't hear me too well, butit is rocking up here, devils.
When he talking about how he's excitedabout the kicker competition. Obviously, there's
(40:52):
a lot of talk about a veryyoung, very talented wide receiver on this
roster. You and I spoke aboutthe other day. Just a general update
from spring practice right now now lookingahead towards that spring game, right around
the corner, Yeah, April sixof the spring game, So they want
you to pack it out as they'vebeen saying, let's see the Bryant Rusco
obviously, the true freshman wide receiverreally really turning some heads and practice,
(41:15):
We've had several players talk about themother than not just Sabo Sweeney, but
several players including Kay club Nick.I've talked about just you know, how
how good he is and what hedoes, and he turned heads every practice.
Dabo talked about made a couple ofbig plays the other day in practice.
So he's having a good spring tostart off with. We'll see how
(41:35):
that carries over into the season aswell. But but yeah, so you
got that, and then you know, I think you know it would talk.
Like I said, we talked toKade the other day and Cade was
very specific about what he needed todo to get better as a quarterback and
things that he's done to be better. He thinks he's gonna have a better
year because he's a year older,your wiser. He says, I've gone
back and reviewed all my notes fromlast season, all my must say,
(42:00):
all my bad decisions, everything thatI've done, good or bad. I
went back and reviewed and looked atand see why I did that. And
they thought he him so dryly sattogether and talked their goals this year is
to make him quicker with a decisionmaking, Uh, get rid of the
football faster, have that clock inhis head when it comes to pocket presence.
(42:20):
Just all the things that we alltalked about. He needed to get
better at taking care of the football. Uh so that was that was real
good. And then obviously the talksabout Peter Woods on the defensive side of
the ball, right, because PeterWoods moved the defensive end, and uh,
he's over there. Guys are talkingabout how unbelievable and kind of athlete
he is and how well he's done, you know, make making that jumping
(42:42):
over there to the defensive end,and Helm and Kate's story both moved over
there to provide some depths. Andnow all of a sudden, you're you
got some pretty good players on thedefensive end. And and you know you're
adding to go with to go witht J. Parker with outstanding sophomore who
had a great pressurean season last yearat defensive ends. So pieces are in
place today. You're gonna get BarrettCarter and a couple other linebackers to talk
(43:05):
after they get them in practice.So there's a lot going on. I
think they're halfway through spring practice rightnow. Uh, they'll they'll go a
couple they'll go to again tomorrow orscrimmage. Then they'll practice up until next
Wednesday, and then they're gonna takea break and go on spring break,
and they could take a couple ofweeks off before getting back at it and
finishing those last five practices. He'sa noted Steelers fan, and I'm guessing
(43:27):
he's starting to bang the drum forthe Christian Wilkins to Pittsburgh campaign. It's
Will Vanderford from the Clemson Insider.Let's go. I bet yeah. I
put him right there on that defensiveline. Man there. He is ever
the Steelers fan, Will Vandervoord,but his main forte and you can follow
him on x at Steeler Will.Although he is a Steelers fan and he
(43:47):
covers the NFL at at large.He is a huge piece of the Clemson
reporting landscape and he has been fora long time. I'd encourage you all
to continue to follow his work atthe Clinton Insider dot com. Coming up
next, we'll give you some finalthoughts going into this big matchup tonight.
We'll also take a look at what'sgoing on around the country in terms of
(44:09):
other games going on right now,some big matchups, and they look forward
to selection Sunday. Right around thecorner, as March Madness is here,
it's Clemson Wake Forest tipping off hereshortly. The Ingles count Down, a
tip off show continues next on ninetytwo point five WSC. Ninety two point
five wd S is the Upstates newhome for a Clemson Tiger coming out the
(44:44):
home stretch for the Ingles count Down, a tip off show. Getting you
ready for a big time game.Clemson tangling with Wake Forest coming up tip
off at six pm. Just aroundthe corner, Don Munson and Tim Bray
take the torch here in a fewshort minutes. Get your primated ready for
this big game in Winston, Salem. Want to remind you we're brought to
(45:04):
you by Ingles low prices, lovethe savings Ingles dash markets dot com.
You have a plethora of big gamesto accompany this one that's coming up at
six thirty pm. Of course,it's North Carolina at Duke Tangling live from
Durham. It's going to be ahuge game. Georgia at Auburn, thirteenth
ranked Auburn. That's at six thirtyon SEC Network. Number two Yukon at
(45:24):
Providence tonight eight pm tip off onFox. You've got number twenty two Utah
State hosting New Mexico, twenty twowin New Mexico against twenty five win Utah
State. That's a thirty on CBSSports Network, BYU twenty thro the Country
hosting Oklahoma State out there in Provo. That's coming up live on the Big
(45:45):
twelve network at nine pm. Andthen number five Arizona team that everybody loves
right now. They're twenty four andsix, fifteen and four in the PAC
twelve. That's a late night tipoff y'all, ten pm live on ESPN.
Of course, you've got this bigone coming up peer shortly, huge
game for the Clemson Tigers and anopportunity to cement their status in this ACC
(46:07):
tournament that's coming up once again.What a big win it was on Senior
Night for this group, and theylook to carry that momentum over against a
very good team and Steve Forbes's DemonDeakins, a team that has a real
opportunity still to make the tournament.They're playing for a lot here in terms
of momentum. Getting into the tournamentobviously would be a big step for them.
(46:27):
But ACC tournament play is right aroundthe corner. It's gonna be huge
to see how that all shakes out. Bracketology that was released yesterday has Clemson
as the five seed. This isfrom Joe Lonardi again a projection they'd be
in the Midwest Region against Princeton.It'd be a five to twelve battle in
Pittsburgh. How about that? WillVan Orden, Trey Falco old jensers that
you are so a lot to playout here. The one seed's projected right
(46:51):
now Purdue Yukon, Tennessee and Houston. But it's a big day in college
hoops, a big day around thecountry and a huge day for the Clemson
Tigers as they travel Awake Forest totake on the Demon Deacons. This has
been the Ingles Countdown, a tipoff show. I'm your host, John
Ellis. Don't forget to join meevery single weekday on one to four point
nine Fox Sports Upstate for game onfour pm. We have a great time
(47:14):
talking sports with you as always,For Richmond Weaver who's on duty today at
the Ingles Soacon Basketball Championships. Forour good friend Trey Falco, producer of
this fine show. I'm John Ellis. Have a great afternoon, a great
evening. Enjoy your Clemson basketball Saturdaynight.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.