Basketball's identity

The wins over Virginia and Wake Forest have brought some comfort to Clemson mostly because, well, they're wins and everything looks and feels better when you're winning.

The most important part of these back-to-back victories, though, is the manner by which they were achieved -- stifling defense that's been the identity of this program since Brad Brownell arrived.

In its last three losses -- to Coastal Carolina, Florida State and Duke -- Clemson has totaled six blocked shots. The three opponents have shot an average of 47 percent from the field in those games.

Against the Cavaliers and Deacons, the Tigers have totaled 17 blocked shots. Virginia ended up shooting 35.4 percent from the field, and last night Wake shot 24.6 -- the second-lowest by a conference opponent in school history.

Now there are a lot of variables, too many to sit here and say the lack of blocked shots has translated directly to high shooting percentages in those three defeats. But last night and Saturday have shown just how much of an impact can be created when you have a menacing and energetic defensive presence around the rim.

Wake coach Jeff Bzdelik talked after the game about the psychological damage Clemson inflicted with some emphatic first-half blocks. He said the Tigers "owned the rim," and "shook our players up" and forced them to alter good looks around the rim from that point forward.

"Psychologically, it plays a part," he said. "It really does."

Brownell has always known that getting a bunch of polished, skilled offensive players is going to be tough at Clemson. But nothing is stopping his players from giving maximum effort, playing good defense and making life hell on opponents by pushing them out of their comfort zone.

"It's the personality of our team and our program," Brownell said. "That toughness and tough-mindedness, not being happy when they score. Our players know that's where our bread is buttered."

That's why it was so surprising to see them look like burnt toast in the debacle at Coastal Carolina. It was one of the few times under Brownell that we didn't see the energy, the willingness to work. We saw it to a lesser degree in the ACC opener against Florida State, when the Tigers were lackadaisical in transition defense and allowed the Seminoles to hit a bunch of unobstructed 3-pointers.

One of Brownell's main goals going into last night was quickly getting back in transition off of makes and misses, because that's where the Deacons were most lethal with point guard C.J. Harris running the show. The statistics sheet had the number "0" under fast-break points for Wake, and other than a couple of garbage-time lapses the Tigers didn't give up anything in transition. So Brownell was happy about that.

Now it gets decidedly tougher with trips to N.C. State and Florida State. No one is claiming that Clemson has it all figured out and is not going to encounter more bumps. But Brownell said the Tigers can beat good teams when they play to the preferred identity he has built here, and now they have an opportunity to do that.

LW