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Shakin the Southland Q&A

The usual questions and answers with SB Nation's Clemson blog. F1NS, one of the bloggers over at Shakin the Southland, was kind enough to give us his thoughts on my series of questions.

By davidkgagne
Gregory Shamus

1. Devin Booker is a very good player at both ends of the floor, do you think he has any weaknesses in his game?

Devin Booker has lived in the shadow of his older brother Trevor (who now plays for the Washington Wizards) for much of his time at Clemson. He's been criticized for being too lazy, a trait that he inherited from his brother. But he's really stepped up his game for his last ACC campaign. He looked really good through our first five ACC games, but hasn't played as well in our last two contests due to an illness. I guess his you could say that his biggest weakness at the moment is his health. If he's still sick, I wouldn't expect much from him in tonight's contest, but if he's back at 100%, he has the ability to dominate. For much of his career, he was criticized for his inability to take over a game, but I think he shook away that notion after an 18-point 1st half against NC State in Raleigh.

2. In your home win on Sunday, Milton Jennings and Damarcus Harrison really stepped up, can you talk about what made each more effective in that game?

Confidence is the big reason, especially so for Milton. If Milton was 100% sure in himself all the time, he would score 15+ every single game. Against Va Tech, he was his normal lackluster self in the 1st half, but he got a couple of things going for him at the end of the game, and things just kind of snowballed from there. Of course, it works the other way for him too; if a couple of things don't go his way, it isn't long before he just kind of jumps off the deep end.

I was really surprised to see such a big game out of Harrison. The transfer from BYU hasn't really done much of anything all season long. Against Va Tech, it was simply a matter of him getting hot and hitting his open shots.

3. Which Tiger do you think has improved the most since the start of the season?

I'd have to say Devin. But since I already detailed that above, I'll use this space to talk about KJ McDaniels. Last year, his freshman year, he impressed everyone with his shot blocking and dunking. He's continued to impress in those areas this year, but he's also improved his shooting. He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn last season, but is much improved this year. He's coming off of a game against the Hokies in which he went 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.

4. Give us one other player to watch for Clemson.

Another guy to watch is Rod Hall. The sophomore point guard isn't very flashy and really doesn't score very much, but he gets the job done. He's an assist machine on offense and our best perimeter defender by far. When Brad Brownell wants to shut down an opposing team's star player, he often does it by employing man-to-man and sticking Rod on the guy.

5. Prediction time

Clemson is 3-1 at home in the ACC. I don't see that trend changing in this one. Tigers win, 65-51.