Heels still kicking

CLEMSON -- Reports of North Carolina's demise have been greatly exaggerated, according to Clemson basketball coach Oliver Purnell.

Yes, the Tar Heels are 1-4 away from Chapel Hill, including the Miracle on Meeting Street loss.

Yes, UNC is a much different team than the national title winner of last April. North Carolina graduated the ACC's all-time leading scorer in Tyler Hansbrough. Former stars Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington are all now in the NBA.

But make no mistake, the No. 12 Tar Heels (12-4, 1-0 ACC) visit Clemson at 9 p.m. today (ESPN), still rich in talent. Conversely, the 24th-ranked Tigers remain, literally, the smallest kids in the ACC neighborhood.

Clemson (13-3, 1-1) is tied with Virginia for the smallest rotation in the ACC. Clemson players logging 10 minutes or more per game average 6 feet, 5.3 inches in height. Duke (6-7.7) and North Carolina (6-7.4) own the tallest rotations in conference. The Tar Heels possess five players 6-10 or taller, including emerging star Ed Davis. Clemson doesn't have a single player logging significant minutes taller than 6-9.

"The rest of the (ACC programs) are bigger and stronger than we are," Purnell said. "So we have made a commitment to play the game a certain way."

The Clemson way is with pressure defense and an uptempo pace, a strategy designed to take advantage of quickness and speed in a land of ACC giants.

Of course, undersized Clemson struggled against super-sized Duke on Jan. 3. Four Blue Devils stand 6-10 or taller, and Duke used that size to limit Clemson forward Trevor Booker to 4-of-11 shooting and 10 points.

The Blue Devils pressured the ball and walled off the lane, giving Clemson fits. In the first half at Cameron Indoor, Clemson scored just 12 points, a Purnell era low.

Purnell said the Tigers must take a valuable lesson from that loss if they are to defeat UNC for the first time since 2004.

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"You've got to move those guys," Purnell said. "You can't just make one pass and drive in amongst the trees and expect to shoot a high percentage. They are going to block some, change some shots … you've got to move big people around if you are smaller and quicker.

"The more you move the more advantage you have."

Booker, who might be closer to 6-6 than 6-7, said Duke's height wasn't the main issue.

"Their size didn't bother me that much," the senior forward said, "they did a great job of denying me the ball."

Clemson wing Tanner Smith said the key is for Clemson to stay with the game plan -- swinging the ball side to side to create movement within the North Carolina defense. It's easier said than done as UNC's length extends to the perimeter, where 6-5 Marcus Ginyard is one of the better defenders in the ACC.

But if Clemson can produce movement, it might allow for the Tigers' 20th win against North Carolina in 123 tries.

"We have played against big, strong teams and have been good at times," Purnell said. "I think speed and quickness is an advantage if you utilize it."

Reach Travis Sawchik at tsawchik@postandcourier.com. and check out his Clemson blog at www.postandcourier.om/blogs/tiger_tracks.