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Oliver Purnell

Head Coach
Oliver Purnell

Named Clemson's 21st head basketball coach on April 5, 2003, Oliver Purnell is one of only seven active Division I coaches to have at least one 20-win season at four different schools - Radford, Old Dominion, Dayton, Clemson. A year ago, the Tigers finished 24-10 and advanced to the ACC Tournament title game for the first time since 1962. In addition to making its fourth-straight post-season appearance, and it first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998, Clemson went through the season without losing consecutive games in ACC play for the first time in school history.

In 2004-05, Purnell led the Tigers to a 16-16 record and their first postseason tournament appearance since 1999. He has taken teams to 12 post-season tournaments and has 10 20-win seasons on his resume.

Purnell is only the third coach in Division I history to be a coach of the year in three different Division I conferences. Purnell was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 1997-98, the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year at Old Dominion in 1993 and the Big South Conference Coach of the Year while at Radford in 1991. In 2003, as the head coach at Dayton, he was named a finalist for the Naismith Award.

Prior to taking the reins at Dayton, Purnell spent three years as head coach at Old Dominion, his alma mater, compiling 57 wins and three postseason appearances. In his final two seasons at Old Dominion, his teams claimed the CAA regular season championship, won 21 games and advanced to the NIT.

Clemson

2007-08: 24-10 Overall, 10-6 ACC
2nd in the ACC

2008-09 Preseason Pick: 5th in ACC

Preseason Information

Tiger Tidbits

K.C. Rivers

Clemson returns seven of first 10 players from the 2007-08 team that posted a 24-10 record, reached the ACC Tournament title game for the first time since 1962 and made the NCAA Tournament field for the first time since 1998. The Tigers went through the season without losing consecutive games in ACC play for the first time in school history. Head coach Oliver Purnell is seeking his 13th postseason tournament and 11th season with 20 or more wins. His chief concerns are replacing the leadership and talents of four-year standout Cliff Hammonds and the inside presence of James Mays, a two-year starter who averaged 10.7 points per game last season.

K.C. Rivers earned second-team All-ACC honors last season as he averaged 14.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and nearly two assists per game. He started 33 of the Tigers' 34 games. Rivers shot a shade above 40 percent from 3-point range and ranked second on the team in steals with 64. He poured in 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds against North Carolina in ACC Tournament championship game.

Trevor Booker

Trevor Booker shored up the Tigers' inside game with a solid sophomore season. He averaged 11 points, 7.3 rebounds and recorded almost two blocked shots per game. Booker started every game in 2007-08 and averaged nearly 27 minutes played per contest.

Demontez Stitt established himself as a valuable member of the backcourt rotation as a freshman. He made 20 starts and averaged 8.8 points and 3.0 assists per game. Stitt scored in double figures in four of the final six games and had 15 double-figure scoring games in all, including a career-high 15 points on three occasions.

Terrence Oglesby was another first-year player who made an immediate contribution to last season's success. He was the chief 3-point threat who led the Tigers in shots made from beyond the arc (85) and in 3-point shooting percentage (.403). Oglesby averaged 10.5 ppg and 18.2 minutes played per game.

Raymond Sykes averaged nearly 15 minutes per game and shot .573 from the floor. His 26 blocked shots ranked second on the team behind Booker's 63. Sykes scored in double figures in three straight December games and later contributed 12 points and five rebounds in the Tigers' win over Boston College in the ACC Tournament.