by Novell Thomas, NCAA Basketball Producer

The next stop on the tour…Clemson University a.k.a. “Death Valley” (for those people who are up on their Clemson football). I didn’t know what to expect coming down to South Carolina. I’ve never been to these parts and I was really impressed with 1) the people and 2) the “greenery” (I’m from the Pacific Northwest so I notice these things and have to call it out). Enough of that, let’s get on with it. After watching the dismantling of a Terrapin squad, I have 5 reasons as to why Clemson could be the Toughest Place to Play in college basketball.

5. Southern Hospitality – I know you’re asking what does this have to do with being a tough place to play? Well, I had to call this out. Hands down, Clemson just set the bar for all hosts of the EA SPORTS Toughest Places to Play, tour.

A big shout-out to Mike at Clemson, he was “Money”. He gave us an excellent tour of Littlejohn Coliseum and of Memorial Stadium (Frank Howard Field). Not only that. As proud Alum, he was able to give us a historic rundown of Clemson athletics. Mike and his staff were welcoming and really made us feel at home. As for Maryland, I don’t believe they had the same feelings as us.

4. Tradition – Tradition and history was everywhere - on the walls, in the arena, in the concourse…retired and historic jerseys on display.

These are all things which opposing teams notice and on occasion, will play into their psyche. You can’t forget the Alma Mater song. If you don’t know what it is, it’s when everyone, young and old, crowd, students and players, stand side by side. The arms of one person are placed on the shoulders of their neighbors and everyone sways from left to right - all while singing the Alma Mater song. They performed this at the beginning of the game and at the end of the game. This demonstrated unity to me and is a great way to convey solitary within the crowd. In other words, you are not just taking on the basketball team, you are taking on the Clemson Tiger nation.

3. Game Presentation – from start to finish, I felt the game presentation was excellent. Clemson did a great job of pumping up the crowd and their players. To start, there was an animated movie starring the Tiger statue situated outside of the Littlejohn Coliseum.

The tiger came to life when the Maryland bus drove up and after a few seconds the Tiger had pounced on the bus and had clawed through the Terrapin logo. Of course the crowd went wild when they saw this. Then prior to the player intros, they showed a highlight clip of the team beating up on previous opponents. In my opinion, it was a great way to play into the psyche of the Terps (yet again). Additionally, they have a hype guy (okay, he calls himself the In-game Entertainer but I refer to him as the “Hype-guy”). He goes by the name of “J Dew” and he insists that he’s there for the team and getting the win is most important.

Add in not one, but two Tiger mascots and you can understand why the crowd get’s as loud as it does. Furthermore, the mascots had an EA SPORTS, Toughest Places to Play belt made up, which was worn by a few crowd members. There were so many different pieces working together, ultimately resulting in a hostile environment. Well done!

2. Crowd – 9700 (300 short of capacity) screaming fans who came to life in the second half, after a 30 something to 11 run. What I love is the fact that the student section is positioned behind both hoops and literally within 5 feet of any would be inbounders along the baseline. “You down with OPP”. I am now and I’m not referring to the track by Naughty by Nature. At Clemson, “OPP” stands for “Oliver Purnell’s Posse”. The in-house DJ did a great job of cuing in the Naughty by Nature track and having the crowd say, “yah you know me” at the right time. As for “OPP”, I was sitting right in front of them. They knew how to get under the skin of the Maryland players. They had some great comments - banter which is not appropriate for this blog or any blog for that matter.

1. Coach Purnell’s 1-2-1-1 full court defense is my number one reason for why Clemson, could be the toughest place to play…relentless and suffocating are two words that came to mind. The full court press proved to be too much for Maryland and the 1-2-1-1 pressure could be a contemporary reason why Clemson is called “Death Valley”. The pressure builds and builds and the next thing you know, it’s a twenty point game. As a basketball aficionado, what a treat to watch!

The negatives: My only negative was the crowd leaving with about 1 minute left in the game. However, I will cut them some slack since it was a blowout and it was a “school night”.

I’m very impressed with what Clemson brought to the table. The Tigers are definitely in the running for being a tough place to play. If you disagree with me, just ask Duke?

By the way Clemson, I’m on a mission to get you guys an authentic arena in NCAA Basketball 10. Look out for it.

-Novell 

Cast your vote for the Toughest Place to Play!

by NCAA Basketball Producer Novell Thomas

My first stop is Syracuse, where the Orange will be taking on the Hoyas. A great tour stop, given that the two schools are nasty rivals. After watching this game, I have 5 reasons as to why Syracuse could be the Toughest Place to Play in college basketball.

5. The Carrier Dome – it’s not a gym or your regular arena people. It’s a dome. And if you’ve played in a dome before, you’ll also know that it’s very difficult to gauge long distances especially from the baselines. The Carrier Dome in it self, makes Syracuse a tough place to play.

4. The Band – my head was bobbing the entire game. Some old stuff and some new jams which had every one feeling good. A key moment for me was when Georgetown took the lead late in the game and the crowd was quiet. The band played “Don’t stop, believing” by Journey. Literally, right on cue. Next thing you know, the crowd was up again. Well done!

3. Cheerleaders – They were doing their best and doing what they were supposed to do. There was never a moment when they were disinterested or silent when they should have been cheering. What impressed me the most, was when these random dudes (I don’t believe they were male cheerleaders) with the “S” “C” “U” “S” “E” flags, were about to run around the court apron. Funny enough, there always seems to be one dude who doesn’t look like he’ll be able to keep up with the others. They started running and of course, the expected actually happened. The dude holding the “E” couldn’t keep up and was falling behind. What made matters worse was that he then tripped and fell over someone or something. The “S” “C” “U” and “S” were about 60 feet out in front of the “E”. It didn’t look good. But out of nowhere came this male cheerleader. He wasn’t about to see the ‘running of the flags’ fail (sorry Orange Nation, I’m not sure what the tradition is called). This cheerleader had way too much pride. He picked up the flag and sprinted until he caught up with the other flag bearers. The crowd noticed this cheerleader’s spirit, determination and passion and gave him a standing ovation once he caught up with the others. I don’t think we’ll be able to get the entire sequence in our game next year but this incident demonstrates to me, the passion and spirit needed to win our contest.

2. Student Section – ruthless, witty and not afraid to knock a beer right out of the hands of a Hoya fan. No word of a lie. I wish I had it on camera. It happened so fast and the Orange fan didn’t bat an eyelash or look over his shoulder or even think to apologize. The poor Hoya fan was left standing there with his jaw dropped and beer-less. I don’t condone such behavior but man, that sequence showed me just how much hate there is between these two schools. You could feel the tension.

1.   31,841 screaming fans! C’mon man! …The biggest crowd this year for the Orange and perhaps for all of college basketball this season. I’m doing this blog four hours after the fact and my ears are still ringing. I can’t see any school topping that.

The negatives: When Georgetown took the lead late in the game, the crowd was pretty quiet. At the time, it seemed as though the Orange were losing by twenty points. That’s how quiet the crowd was. Personally, I like to see crowds cheer even if their team is losing. But like I said earlier, the band recognized this and rectified that situation…the second negative is the placement of the student section. In my opinion, they should be behind the basket of the opponent in the second half. That’s when you need them to distract shooters the most. Maybe there’s a good reason why they aren’t positioned there (Orange Nation, feel free to enlighten me as to why the student section is where it is).

Syracuse put on a show and in my opinion, really delivered. The on-court action was great and the excitement, mayhem and antics happening off-court were just as amazing. I’ve got a few more stops to make before saying who my favorite is but if the Toughest Places to Play contest ended today. Syracuse would definitely get my vote. Until next time people…Thanks Syracuse!

-Novell

By Novell Thomas - NCAA Basketball Producer

If you haven't heard of our Toughest Places to Play promotion, go to our website, find the link and vote.  From our initial ballot, we've narrowed the number of schools down to fifteen and are ready to find which arena truly is the Toughest Place to Play in the nation! 

Starting this week, myself along with the other Producers, will be making stops at some of the craziest venues in the nation.   

Our goal is to round up as much footage and commentary from people around the basketball program. People from the athletic department, student body, cheer squad, general crowd...basically everyone in attendance is fair game. Not only will this information be used to help us determine the Toughest Places to Play, but we'll use the captured footage to include in next year's game as well.

Some of the schools on the tour include: Xavier, Arkansas, Syracuse, Clemson, UCLA, Tennessee, Louisville, Maryland, Pitt and UNC.   

We are pumped and can't wait to witness first hand, these extraordinary venues and of course the passionate fans in attendance. Stay tune for pics, recaps and much more.

http://www.easports.com/ncaabasketball/toughvenues.action

-Novell