General Thoughts Before Signing Day

As has been explained earlier by Dr. B, Leon Mackey will not be attending CU, instead he is headed to Columbia. This should be no surprise, as coaches do not wish to lose players to teams within their own conference (similarly, pro teams are also reluctant to trade players in-division, as this could really bite them down the road). The real question here is why does the ACC have this rule in the first place? From my understanding, this is a conference rule that requires Va Tech to release Mackey from his initial LOI signed a year ago because his prep time essentially serves as a "13th grade". Also, the fact that F. Beamer essentially passed along a player from V Tech to his son at USC seems a little unethical, but when has that stopped SOS and the boys in Columbia? Just please don't go ninjin' nobody that don't need ninjin'



Certainly the Cocks will have a decent recruiting class this year, especially with the vacuum formed by the dismissal of Tom, Tubbs, and Fat Phil. I was disappointed about losing Holloman and Axon, but it is tough to land good players without a coach. Otherwise, this class for Clemson will be small, but will have quality players involved. Swinney and crew have committed to utilizing scholarships wisely, and next year's crop of high school seniors looks to be a gem of a group. With the small class this year, the coaches will be fighting and scratching to bring in a fantastic class next February.

I am sure that most everyone was entertained yesterday by the Super Bowl. The game was good, the officiating sucked. At times I openly wondered if Ron Cherry was somehow involved with this crew. IMO, both qb's played well, with Big Ben winning yet another game late. Had Kurt Warner not gone Cullen Harper for the Cardinals at the end of the half, we very well could be talking about a championship in the desert.

The Tigers have a very manageable late season stretch on the hardwood, with OP's team the expected favorite in all games but Duke and WF. If Clemson doesn't get lackadaisical and try to force too much (i.e., be aware that really good teams can absolutely murder you and a press defense with athleticism, quick passing, and smart ballhandling). With any luck, this year's team may go down as one of the best teams of my lifetime. However, this team has a bullseye on it's chest and should see everyone's best performance night in, night out. It is exciting to finally have a bball program that is worth paying attention to.