A few basketball-related nuggets two days before Duke comes to town:
-- What's the status of Del Jones?
Before Tuesday night's game against Georgia Tech, Jones was ruled out with what was termed an ankle injury.
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Then after the game Brad Brownell called it an Achilles injury.
There wasn't anything evasive in the mixed messaging, from what we've gathered.
Jones suffered an injury in practice before the Georgia Tech game, and as of this writing today they're trying to achieve more clarity on exactly what it is.
Good news came yesterday when they ruled out an Achilles tear, based on our intel. But they're still trying to learn more.
Though Jones' injury isn't of the season-ending variety, his availability is uncertain for the upcoming games against No. 2 Duke and North Carolina.
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Jones' trajectory was headed decidedly up before he suffered the injury. Over a three-game stretch against Syracuse, Virginia Tech and N.C. State, he had 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting in addition to 5-of-7 from the free-throw line while totaling nine rebounds and handing out four assists.
Brad Brownell's initial assessment of Jones upon his signing has seemed dead-on of late:
"Offensively, he excels in the open court by attacking the paint and creating offense for himself and others. He is an explosive athlete whose competitiveness and toughness impressed our staff."
That toughness is why one contact did not rule out Jones for the next two games.
We will of course let you know when we get more clarity on Jones' injury.
-- Should Christian Reeves play more?
Brownell seemed to second-guess himself some after the triple-overtime loss to Georgia Tech, saying maybe Reeves should've gotten more than the 10 minutes he played given his seven total rebounds (and four offensive).
Given the dramatic rebounding disparity that defined the game, it's probably fair to say Reeves should've been on the floor for a couple more possessions.
But in defense of the staff, Reeves is still a liability in some areas including pick-and-roll defense.
And given that he still doesn't appear totally comfortable with the offense, the Tigers take a hit on that end with what they can do.
Add in a tight late-game situation and you can see the apprehension from the coaches.
Looking at Reeves' longer-term future, one area he needs to improve is his shot-blocking. It seems his timing is the biggest issue there, and with his 7-foot-2 frame he should be more of a presence defensively.
-- More about that rebounding performance...
Viktor Lakhin has to be on the floor. That's just really the essence of it as we're examining Clemson's route to minimizing the rebounding liability.
Lakhin and Ian Schieffelin are the team's two best defensive rebounders, and Schieffelin is going to be limited with back spasms for probably the rest of the season.
A couple of Lakhin's five fouls Tuesday certainly seemed questionable given the abundance of contact that was unfolding throughout the game.
But Lakhin also can do a better job of controlling frustration that can lead to foul calls.
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Sixteen minutes of floor time for Lakhin in a 55-minute game is simply not a good recipe against anyone.
And though we wrote about the rebounding failures Wednesday, a deeper look into the numbers makes it even more jarring.
Six of Clemson's 30 defensive rebounds came off of missed free throws.
So on Georgia Tech's 48 missed field-goal attempts, the Yellow Jackets had 24 offensive rebounds and Clemson had 24 defensive rebounds.
Not good.
Also: Over the last 20 minutes of the game (final five minutes of regulation, plus the 15 minutes of overtime), Clemson pulled down seven defensive rebounds. The Yellow Jackets had 14 offensive rebounds over that stretch.
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Yes, this has to change in a big way this weekend.
And it starts with Lakhin staying on the floor.
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