Bobo Baciu coming out of his shell as Clemson senior

Brownell Post-Wake Q&A

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CLEMSON — For a guy who scored two points Saturday, Catalin Baciu made the most of his moment in the spotlight.

Midway through the second half, Baciu, known simply as “Bobo” to Clemson fans, stood just to the right of the top of the key.

Suddenly, the 7-foot-2 senior center blew past his man, extended, and laid the ball into the basket with a finger-roll. It was an electrifying moment on its own, but even more so when you realize how much Baciu has progressed.

This season, the Romania native has progressed from an end-of-the-bench bust to a legit part of the rotation for Clemson (11-9, 3-3 ACC), which sits in a three-way tie for sixth in the ACC entering a key road trip to Virginia and Virginia Tech.

“I think what’s really neat about that is that what you see is a young man’s confidence which is completely different,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “ A year and a half ago, he wouldn’t have tried to take a dribble a year and a half ago. It’s not something we’re encouraging very often in practice – he probably wouldn’t have done that at the beginning of the season. But for him to do that now shows, in my opinion, that he enjoys himself out there, he’s more comfortable out there. He’s going to try and do something.”

As his college career winds down, Bobo has become a productive player. Although he arrived at Clemson as a national top-20 center recruit, Bobo played just 163 minutes in his first three seasons combined, averaging 3.7 minutes and 1.3 points per game.

Through 20 games, he has played 191 minutes, averaging 9.6 minutes and 4.2 points per game. With 35 field goals, he has already made 10 more than in his first three seasons combined.

His fan-favorite status, Brownell said, is well-earned.

“I think some of it is that people appreciate that he’s hung in there. I hope that’s some of it,” he said. “Four years is a long time. Two years of not playing at all and really almost three years of not playing at all, that takes a lot of spirit. For that kid to hang in, keep grinding, I think our staff has done a good job of letting him know we believe in him, rekindle his energy. I hope our fans are supportive that way.”

When Brownell replaced Oliver Purnell in April 2010, one of his biggest projects was developing Baciu.

Assistant coach Mike Winiecki is a noted big-man developer, and he immediately went to work with the big Romanian, as well as Jerai Grant.

Grant’s development into one of the ACC’s best big men last season actually slowed Bobo’s growth.

“I thought, in some ways, he’d play a little better and a little more last year,” Brownell said. “Not a lot more, but if Jerai or Devin (Booker) or Milt (Jennings) got hurt, we’d need him. I didn’t think we had enough depth and I didn’t know that Jerai was going to be as good as he was, although I thought he was going to have a good year. We really needed him.”

If anything, Brownell is upset with Purnell’s staff, which played Bobo for 44 minutes over nine games as a true freshman in 2008-09.

“I’ve been talking all year how we’re angry that they didn’t redshirt him his freshman year, and he’d have a whole ‘nother year with us,” Brownell said. “He’d be even better, he’s made progress every year. When your confidence is part of the process, that’s the biggest part you have to overcome.”

But with only two months left, Brownell will take what he can get – like that sweet finger-roll.

“I don’t know that I want him to try and do that very often, but it’s kind of neat to think of him coming out of his shell,” Brownell said. “That was a direct example of a kid coming out of his shell, doing what he’s doing and having confidence. That’s something we’ve waited on for a long time.”