BucknerOld Gold and Black Reporter
Buckner
Rick Barnes had three outstanding accomplishments in his first year as head coach at Clemson.
He started the season with a school-record 10 consecutive wins, including a win at Duke, while reaching 18th in the Associated Press poll. All this was accomplished despite the Tigers starting no one taller than 6-7.
He signed seven players, including four that were ranked in the top 100 nationally, for one of the strongest recruiting classes in the country.
He took on North Carolina Head Coach Dean Smith -- and lived. Smith and Barnes got into a shouting match during the ACC Tournament after Smith yelled at a Tiger player. Smith later apologized.
Now that Barnes has proven he is not scared of anyone in the conference, it is time for him to put fear into the hearts of other ACC teams.
The Tigers return three starters, including ACC Freshman of the Year Greg Buckner. The 6-4 forward had an outstanding freshman campaign, leading the Tigers with 12.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Buckner would have been joined up front by Iker Iturbe, the Spaniard who started at center for the Tigers last year. But Iturbe is out for the year, forcing the Tigers to play with freshmen in the front court.
Six of Barnes' seven recruits will play up front. Tom Wideman, named a high school All-American by College Sports, is the biggest of the group at 6-10.
Patrick Garner, 6-9, and Harold Jamison, 6-8, are players who chose to stay in state to play for the Tigers. Both participated in the Converse All-America game.
High school teammates Tony Christie and Andrius Jurkunas are ranked as top-100 recruits by analyst Bob Gibbons. Ledarion Jones, the other recruit in the frontcourt, was the 4-A player of the year in Florida.
The Tiger backcourt is keyed by junior point guard Merl Code, who led the team in assists and steals last year while averaging 11.8 points a game.
Bill Harder, former Southern Conference Player of the Year at Furman, also returns to help the Tigers run the perimeter.
Danny Johnson and freshman Terrell McIntyre, 5-8, fill out the Tiger backcourt.
The Tigers face a tougher non-conference schedule this season, including matchups against Minnesota and Miami.
But with significant increases in talent and a head coach that will not be frightened by anything, the prospects for the Tigers are as bright as they have been since the Dale Davis-Elden Campbell era that saw a regular season ACC Championship and a trip to the Sweet 16.
Barnes has Clemson ready to play the role that Providence played in the Big East under Barnes: a well-disciplined, well-coached team that no one looks forward to playing.