The Legacy of Jai Morris(CH 2k8)

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Brigham Young 64, #4 Clemson 88
1 2 OT T Final BYU (3-2) 28 36 64 CLEM (3-0) 49 39 88	7:00 PM November 18, 2009 Carnesecca Arena Queens, NY

Clemson beats Brigham Young, advances NIT Tip-Off Finals.

For the second time in as many years Clemson is in the NIT Tip-Off finals, and also for the second time in two years they rely on a Freshman to carry them when its in the clutch. This years prodigy? Wes Maki-Tulokas. He is a budding star and many people are taking notice. "You know, I don't even know. It seemed like the last two games everything has just been a big flow where I can see what the defense is doing and its just so much easier to find the gaps and holes. The lanes seem to be easy to penetrate and the baskets keep falling." The Tigers put away the Cougars early when they started the game on a 12-0 run. The second string played most of the second half, Neil Worthington played very well hitting 2 threes early in the second half and being active on defense. Catalin Baciu fouled out and it gave Alexis Raji a lot of minutes to prove himself, he was a good low block defender but picked up 4 fouls just as easy as Baciu had. The Tigers will play Penn State for a second NIT Tip-Off Championship in the Carnesseca Arena.

Stats

#4 Clemson

Stitt 14 points, 8 assist, 2 rebounds
Maki-Tulokas 20 points, 3 steals, 3 assist
Potter 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assist
Booker 10 points, 14 rebounds, 3 fouls
Baciu 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 fouls

Notes: Off the bench: Alexis Raji had 8 points, 6 boards, 5 steals and 4 fouls. Neil Worthington had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals. Michael Beckley is still out with a separated shoulder.

Brigham Young

Wainwright 14 points, 4 assist, 4 fouls
Owensworth 10 points, 5 rebounds
Parham 6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals
Miles 7 points, 3 rebounds
Anderson 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 block

Notes: Jimmer Fedette's return home to NY gave him 11 points, and 4 assist. The rest of the bench accounted for 13 points,

#4 Clemson is now 3-0.
Next Game: Penn State in the NIT Tip-Off Finals.

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Penn State 74, #4 Clemson 93
1 2 T Final PSU (4-1) 40 34 74 CLEM (4-0) 51 42 93	7:00 PM November 20, 2009 Carnesecca Arena Queens, NY

Clemson Tigers win the NIT Tip-off for the second year in a row.

It didn't really seem fair from the get go, Clemson came out hot as they had been in each game in the Carnesseca Arena, they downed the Nittany Lions by a final score of 93-74. Catalin Baciu has swung back around into his true form, he from 24 points and was perfect from the free throw line. Alexis Raji also showed a lot of promise scoring 10 and grabbing 9 rebounds he looked very fierce in the low post. Wes Maki-Tulokas was named MVP of the tournament and was impressive once again. "He may very well be better than K.C Rivers by the time he graduates, I think he will put up better numbers. He may not be a better defender or rebounder but his scoring ability is unmatched." Coach Jai Morris has his Tigers playing well and off to a perfect record.

Stats

#4 Clemson

Stitt 6 points, 4 assist, 4 rebounds, 4 fouls
Maki-Tulokas 19 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assist, 3 steals
Potter 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2-2 from 3
Booker 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks
Baciu 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks

Notes: 10 points, 9 rebounds for Alexis Raji, Neil Worthington added 8 points and a couple rebounds. Clemson was out rebounded for the first time since losing to Ga Tech in the regular season of ACC play last season.

Penn State

Battle 14 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assist
Gomes 13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
Brooks 4 points, 10 rebounds, 4 fouls
Helms 10 points, 5 rebounds
LaLugba 2 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks

Notes: Radford and Leadbetter both added 11 points off the bench.

#4 Clemson is now 4-0.
Next Game: George Washington 3-0 on November 24, 2009.

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George Washington 53, #4 Clemson 107
1 2 OT T Final GW (3-1) 33 20 53 CLEM (5-0) 54 53 107	7:00 PM November 23, 2009 Little John Clemson, SC

Tigers destroy George Washington, 107-53.

It seemed like it was a one horse race as the Clemson Tigers ran over lowly George Washington. George Washington is led by two of the highest rated players in the country Dillon English and Clint Carlson, both 5 star prospects from the North East; but neither player played well in their first contest against top 25 competition. "I think it says a lot about the star system, I mean both those guys were media darlings last year being teammates and whatnot, but they just didn't step up. High School All American isn't a term that meant something like it once did." Freshman Michael Beckley was heard saying after the game with his assessment of the two. Michael returns from his injury next week against Florida and spent most of the game watching from the bench. "You know we played really well and had them down all game. I am proud of my boys, we played hard nose defense and took nobody lightly." Coach Morris said after the game. Catalin Baciu had another steller game and has had the media very impressed as their preseason All-America selection is playing much better earlier in the year than he did last season, he is one place for a 25+ ppg average this season and have a double double average as of now.

Stats

#4 Clemson


Stitt 8 points, 7 assit, 2 steals
Maki-Tulokas 10 points, 4 steals, 4 rebounds
Potter 17 points, 2 assist
Booker 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks
Baciu 35 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks

Notes: Neil Worthington had 17 points off the bench and Alexis Raji added 3 points and 8 rebounds to help the cause.

George Washington

English 5 points
Cleaves 9 points, 1 assist
Carlson 0 points, 2 rebounds
Hollis 8 points, 6 rebounds
Katuka 1 points, 7 rebounds

Notes: Travis King had 9 points, Aaron Ware added 8 points, and Opiku added 8 points to help George Washington.

#4 Clemson is now 5-0.
Next Game: #20 Florida 3-1.

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A Change of Pace.
ESPN.com

Clemson blogger Adrian Griffen has become the official beat writer for the Tigers day to day and off court news reporting. He will cover Clemson Tigers and the rest of the ACC for the ESPN.com ACC Basketball blog.

Any name ideas?

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On the Recruiting trail with Jai Morris


Thanks to some fast thinking Coach Morris was able to be in Texas, California, South Dakota, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Virginia. All in 4 days to see 5 different players and coach a basketball game.

With just one week until the National signing period began the Tigers Chest master had 5 scholarships to divvy out amongst 5 players across the nation. But he got it all done, and it was impressive, I was there to follow and document.

Monday. In a hyped out of conference game against George Washington, a packed house in Little John to see the #4 team in the country play. Coach Morris had on a blue and purple tie and was all business during the game but once the press had left and the team showered he was off to Texas to make a 9 a.m shoot around and offer Sredrick President a scholarship. Many recruiting gurus believe the offer placed Clemson #2 on his list behind Oklahoma who had yet to offer a scholarship. The skinny 6' sharpshooter came into the gym in busted levis and a tank top, John Deere hat and working boots. He had just come off his fathers farm and was still tired from wrangling cattle. He had a southern accent that makes you think of Larry The Cable guy, in fact he almost resembles a skinny version of Larry. He shoots around for coach and goes through his thoughts on Clemson. He accepts the scholarship with a warming smile and Coach Morris leaves feeling very good about the recruit. Jai even tells me he thinks he might be the next Gerry MacNamera and that his undersized body can be his biggest threat.

Tuesday. Waking up in South Dakota is a strange feeling. Like being on another planet for the first time, especially in November when all you can see is snow. Coach tells me he has a pretty steller recruit and that watching him talk basketball will blow me away. So this kid walks out of his blue honda civic in shorts a t shirt and rainbow sandals, in 20 degree weather. It made me miss the South Carolina warmth, but he seemed to be warm as anyone as me and Coach Morris were freezing. Diamond Kampman, the best player in the Dakotas, probably one of the best Point Guards in the country, he was pure skill, he had a ripped body and a solid frame, bigger than most point guards you could tell he played football also. We went inside and the kid walked the halls as if he didn't even know there was a basketball team, he had no posse, no adoring crowd, just his close friends he said hey to. This kid was no superstar, he didn't have the ego like most kids. He was down to earth and talking to him gave me the impression he loved the game of basketball, he wasn't going to let shady recruiting or one and done players hinder his college ball experience. Coach Morris and Diamond talked about every major moment in last year, they talked about Demontez Sitt and most of the freshman this year. Diamond was most curious about Wes Maki-tulokas, he was worried they wouldn't be able to share the ball as Kampman wants to run a selfless team, he told coach he loves watching the Tigers on Tv, and accepted the scholarship with pride.

Wedensday. I watched practice for a few hours noting how hard all the guys worked and how most guys stayed around hours after the team had ended practice shooting around and talking about the games. I rode with Coach Morris to Orangeburg which is only an hour or so from Clemson. It was a two for one trip just up the road as we saw Mr. Basketball Terrence Powers, and Cliff Hicks. Both guys were tall and lanky, Powers even looked like a young Tayshaun Prince. The three talked everything Clemson, both players had grown up watching the Tigers on TV and knew most of the schools accomplishments, it seemed like they were both on the bandwagon. Two scholarships were handed out and it was off to Florida.

Thursday. Sunny Florida, what a wonderful place to be in November. Noel Pilgrim is the last piece of the puzzle that Coach Morris is trying to put together. He tells me this kid is the next glue guy, he wants him to come in and play a little bit of everything in the paint and on the wing. We meet Noel around 5, he is a tall kid but he has a lot of muscle. He just had practice so coach didn't keep him too long. We met his family and they all seemed very proud to be given the scholarship, Noel was very thankful and Jai was happy to be ready to unwind. It was time to play the Florida Gators.

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I'm sorry for the delay guys, I made a terrible terrible mistake and I deleted all my CH 2k8 files from my harddrive, so I am taking to time to painstakingly try and recreate this dynasty to the best of my abilities. I know for a fact I can make Clemson the same team it was, thanks to in season roster editor, but others teams may be a bit different.

Anyone have any tips or tricks on what I should do from here?