College basketball seasons are defined by what your team does in the NCAA Tournament.
That isn't necessarily fair, nor do we wish that premise were accurate.
Yet it's reality, which is part of why college coaches have long fought to expand the tournament field.
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It's so easy to forget that Clemson labored through significant stretches last year and felt like an underachiever until its inspired Elite Eight run. Or, frankly, that athletics director Graham Neff had a decision to make when Brad Brownell's team missed out on the Big Dance the year before and seemingly validated the snub with its immediate NIT bow-out.
We don't bring that up to douse water on the Tigers' current surge.
Quite the opposite, rather.
One can argue it's harder to put together a great team than a great run, and that the body of work over the course of a season designates the former.
Great is also subjective. The South Carolina defeat remains a blight on the dossier, and Clemson (21-5, 13-2 ACC) did just finally return to the top 25 rankings -- for what that is or isn't worth.
But this feels like the finest regular season the Tigers have rolled off since ... shoot, 2007-08, when Oliver Purnell's bunch finished third in the league behind top-10s UNC and Duke, then went toe-to-toe with them through the ACC Tournament en route to a No. 5 NCAA tourney seed.
And there should be something to be said for it, regardless of what happens in a one-off postseason format.
This team is what fans have been pining for.
They can score. They play an entertaining style. They are well-coached and have a lot of guys who know how to play.
It's a dadgum shame that amid all the ways we're manufacturing extra eligibility for college athletes, we can't find a loophole to squeeze a second year at Clemson for center Viktor Lakhin. A fun interview off the court, and what a testament to this staff with what Lakhin has done on it.
Expectations for Clemson's March absolutely have risen with what the Tigers have done, well, since the rivalry defeat.
Victories against Duke, Kentucky and UNC ... it's destiny that they meet Kansas next month with a shot at collecting the complete modern blue blood set.
Sure, a lot can happen in the final five regular-season games and beyond.
But it also should be reasonable to allow for appreciation on what happens through the journey, and claim that this is the caliber of team and program you want regardless of what transpires down the stretch.
Made even more impressive by occurring after the Tigers lose such a vital cog in P.J. Hall and pure college scorer in Joe Girard.
It's not time for a bow yet.
But Brownell & Co. have earned applause. -- PAUL STRELOW
Paul makes such a great point about the distinction between this year and last year.
Fifteen games into the ACC schedule last year, Clemson was 8-7 and it was hard to know what to think about that group.
At the same point this year the Tigers are 13-2 in the conference.
It's certainly worth pointing out that the ACC was significantly better last year, and that the Tigers' losses were to some good teams.
A year ago tomorrow, fans weren't happy after N.C. State came into Littlejohn and won. But that Wolfpack team turned out to be pretty dang good.
To Paul's point: Deep into March last year there was a significant contingent of Clemson fans who scoffed at the idea that Brownell could take this program where it longs to go (and where it has seldom been).
That was a function chiefly of an opening-game flameout against Boston College in the ACC Tournament, but also of an 11-9 record in ACC play.
The Hall-led Tigers established their bona fides in November and December and then seemed to let their attention wander during the conference schedule, to the point that Brownell had to remind them that if they farted around enough they wouldn't get a chance to show the world how high their ceiling was come March Madness.
Strictly in the context of the pre-March season, this team has been more endearing because of how often it shows its best, how organically it has come together with two transfers proving to be invaluable pieces, and how natural it was to expect a dip this season after the loss of Hall, Girard and Jack Clark.
The conquests of Duke and Kentucky showed this team doesn't take a back seat to anyone, and gave everyone in the orange bubble license to dream big -- and dream of going even higher than last year's group, as hard as that was to imagine entering this season.
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But the NCAA Tournament can be such a crap shoot. Sometimes a team uncharacteristically misses its free throws as Baylor did last year in the second round. Sometimes you just run up against a hot team, as Arizona found out last year. Sometimes you don't shoot well and the other team can't miss.
All the different variables will make it hard to set last year's achievement as the bar to measure this year's team against.
From this corner, the heaviest of lifting and the most defining statements are already being made.
It feels almost like the 2014 football season in that way -- a resounding message that even amid the departure of superstars such as Sammy Watkins and Tajh Boyd, Dabo Swinney's program was built to hold up and built to last.
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Yes, it's a totally different galaxy in college athletics now with the transfer portal and pay for play.
But tell us what we've seen to date of this basketball team doesn't strike the same resonant chords showcasing what the foundation is all about. -- LARRY WILLIAMS
TODAY: BIG DEALS on a ton of Clemson gear at The Tiger Fan Shop HERE!
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