THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 23, 1997 TAG: 9701230511
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CLEMSON, S.C. LENGTH: 93 lines
For years opposing coaches felt they had an advantage when recruiting against Clemson for a basketball prospect.
``You don't want to go there,'' they would say. ``It's a football school.''
And it was difficult for the Clemson basketball staff to dispute the accusation. Among the ACC's seven original members, Clemson had the highest winning percentage in football and the lowest in basketball.
But third-year coach Rick Barnes is making it almost impossible for that accusation to stick now. Roundball fever has infected this rural campus, where hundreds of students camped out overnight in 20-degree weather to get tickets for tonight's game against Wake Forest.
The Tigers (16-1) are No. 2 in the nation - their highest ranking ever - and alone atop the ACC standings at 5-0. No wonder sportscaster Dick Vitale calls Clemson the biggest surprise in college basketball this season.
If others are surprised by the Tigers, Dave Odom, coach of No. 4 Wake Forest, isn't. After his then-sixth-ranked Deacons were beaten by Clemson last year, Odom gave fellow ACC coaches a warning.
``They are for real, and we are going to have to deal with them from now on,'' Odom said.
After arriving from Providence College in 1994, Barnes gave a clue of what was ahead when he said: ``Clemson deserves good, quality basketball, and there is no reason it can't happen here.''
The Tigers had a few splashes of success in their basketball past before Barnes, but the program was never on as solid ground as it is now. Coach Cliff Ellis gave Clemson its first-ever regular-season championship in 1990, but the Tigers finished in the league cellar the following two years.
Ellis didn't leave much in the cupboard when he departed two years later. One publication described the team that Barnes inherited as ``the worst in ACC history,'' and it was a unanimous choice to finish last.
Despite losing top-returning scorer Devin Gray to heart problems in preseason, the Tigers opened that season with 10 straight wins and defeated a ninth-ranked Duke team on the road in its ACC opener.
The following week, Clemson was ranked 18th in the polls, it's first top 20 visit in five years, and ended the season with a seventh-place finish in the league - two notches above last place - and an NIT bid.
Last year, Barnes' team again was picked to finish last. Instead, with the youngest starting lineup in league history, the Tigers finished sixth and made the NCAA tournament.
Clemson opened this season by upsetting defending champion Kentucky. Its only slip was a 75-65 loss to Minnesota.
As impressive as Clemson's rapid climb to national prominence is the manner in which Barnes accomplished it. None of his players were McDonald's All-Americans, and none have ever been chosen first-team All-ACC.
But with the deepest bench in the league, Barnes has proved he has an eye for talent and the ability to develop it.
Team leaders are Greg Buckner, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, and Terrell McIntyre, a 5-9 sophomore guard who is the league's smallest starter.
``I look at them as stars if no one else does,'' Barnes said.
Buckner, who did make the All-ACC tournament team last season after scoring the winning basket against North Carolina, had planned to go to Providence. He changed his plans when Barnes took the Clemson job.
McIntyre was shunned by all four ACC schools in his native North Carolina before getting an offer from Barnes.
``Coach Barnes gave me a chance and I am trying to do everything I can to make him happy,'' says McIntyre, who averages 13.2 points and 4.3 assists per game.
Other key players include 6-10 sophomore center Tom Wideman, 6-8 sophomore Harold Jamison, and guard Merl Code, the only senior in the starting unit. Others who get consistent playing time are Iker Iturbe, Andrius Jurkunas, Tony Christie and freshman Vincent Whitt.
Buckner is the top scorer with a 15.5 average, but three others are averaging 8.5 points or better. Four different players have led the Tigers in scoring this season and six different players have led in rebounding.
While having so many talented players competing for playing time has been a problem at other schools, Barnes says it is the strength of his team.
``We might not have one of the top two or three players in the league, but I like what we have as a group,'' Barnes said. ``We have great chemistry, and that's the key to our success. In almost every game someone different steps up. It can be any one of 10 guys.''
Barnes says a word he uses a lot is ``relentless,'' and because of the team's aggressive style it helps to have an abundance of players.
``It is a style that everyone has bought into,'' Barnes said. ``The more bodies we have, the harder we can play.''
Clemson's rise in the polls has helped to spread the word that it no longer is just a football school. The Tigers have been featured on national TV shows and in Sports Illustrated.
But Barnes thinks his team is doing a good job of keeping everything in perspective.
``We know we still have to get better,'' he said. ``It's great to have people saying nice things about you, but the only thing that matters when we tip it off against Wake Forest will be how well we execute.''
Or, as Buckner said when asked about the Sports Illustrated article: ``It gives us a little bit of respect, but what we really want is a Sports Illustrated article the first week in April.''