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I 8 GAMECOCK DEBUTS WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Birmingham Southern, 4:30 p.m. Friday fTlNTAfT TTS5 MEN’S SOCCER vs. Charleston Southern, 7 p.m. Friday 11 v - 1 uu CROSS COUNTRY at Charleston Southern, Friday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? VOLLEYBALL at Michigan State tournament, Friday-Saturday E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com FOOTBALL vs. New Mexico State, 7 p.m. Saturday Odom frustrated by scheduling process Temple matchup highlights weak home schedule BY KYLE ALMOND THE GAMECOCK Forget about beating Kentucky or making it to the NCAA Tourn ament. Just putting together a schedule for this season was hard enough for Dave Odom, head coach of the USC men’s basketball team. “If you were to go back and tal ly up the time that I’ve spent putting schedules together in my other years as head coach, I don’t think it would come up to one-half the amount of time that I’ve spent trying to get this schedule fin ished,” Odom said Friday at a news conference in the Carolina Coliseum. The second-year coach cited several reasons why working out a schedule was especially hard this year. One was the uncertain com pletion date of the Carolina Center, the 18,000-seat arena scheduled to open in November. “My guess is that we’re going to be painting the floors going out the back doors while the spectators are coming in the front,” Odom said. “It’s going to come down that close. “But I do think that it’s realis tic that the arena will be ready for our first game against East Tennessee State (Nov. 24) and for the women’s game just prior to that (versus Clemson on Nov. 22).” Exempted tour naments, such as the preseason NIT and the Great Alaska Shootout, also made it hard for Odom to get Odom teams to play in Columbia early in the season. “It’s been a really hard, long, difficult road,” he said. “And while I’m very pleased with the sched ule that we have — the quality of the opponents that we have — I hope that I never have to go through another year like we went through this year in terms of scheduling.” USC will open with a pair of ex hibition games in the old Carolina Coliseum before it starts the regular season in its new home against the Buccaneers. The Gamecocks will follow that up with home games against South Carolina State and Appalachian State before their first big test of the season: a home matchup with national power Temple on Dec. 2. Odom said he called many of the nation’s best college basketball teams to get them to come to Columbia, but only Temple, coached by John Chaney, was will ing to make the trip. “All I want to do right now is say how appreciative I am and how thankful I am that there’s a John Chaney in college basket ball,” Odom said. “He fears no one. He’s willing to play anyone any time, any place. He’s a Hall of Fame coach — nobody can ques tion that.” After Temple, the Gamecocks will play two more tough noncon ference opponents, on the road at Georgetown and North Carolina State. Odom said his ideal schedule, not counting Clemson, would have featured at least four national-cal “It’s been a really hard, long, difficult road.... I hope that I never have to go through another year like we went through this year in terms of scheduling.” DAVE ODOM USC MEN'S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH iber nonconference opponents, with two at home and two on the road. But he was unable to accom plish that goal this season. USC’s other nonconference games will ♦ SCHEDULE, SEE PAGE 9 FOOTBALL 2002 Jenkins jolts life into new-look offense BY KYLE ALMOND THE GAMECOCK In 1999, the year it went 0-11, USC’s football team had the worst offense in Division 1-A. The Gamecocks scored a measly 87 points all season. As the offense improved during the next two seasons, so did the team’s record. But still, no one confused the Gamecocks with a scor ing machine. That could change this season. Despite los ing his starting quarterback, tailback and go to wide receiver, head coach Lou Holtz is more pumped than ever about the potential of his offensive unit. “Offensively, for the first time, we have tal ent in place that we would like to have in our offense,” Holtz said. For most teams, losing a starting quarter back would be a major blow to their champi onship hopes. But because of talented new starter Corey Jenkins, Holtz is thinking im piuvcuiciu. “He’s a bit of a question mark, but I’m anx ious to see him,” Holtz said of Jenkins, a se nior who came to Carolina last season after two years in junior college and four years in minor league baseball. “Corey not only has maturity, but he has a love for the game. He has an enthusiasm.” And Jenkins also has more physical talent than Phil Petty, who was an efficient leader in his three years as starter but not exactly a dominating force. At 6-2,220 pounds, Jenkins is a powerful runner with a cannon for an arm. “He’s a great leader—toughest young man I’ve ever coached,” Holtz said. “He was on kickoff teams when I allowed him last year. I Countdown to Kickoff 2002 Leading up to USC's season opener Aug. 31 against New Mexico State, The Gamecock will keep you up to date on how the team is shaping up. Every issue, you’ll have the latest news out of practice, in addition to these special features: LAST THURSDAY: An overview of the Gamecocks and their expectations for the upcoming season. TODAY: An in-depth look at quarterback Corey Jenkins and the USC offense. WEDNESDAY: A glance at the rebuilding Carolina defense along with our annual “Opponents’* pull-out section detailing all the Gamecocks' 12 foes in 2002. FRIDAY: A preview of the game and a look at the special teams unit. Past stories can be read on The Gamecock’s Web site, www.dailygamecock.com. don’t think he’ll play in the NFL as a quarter back, but he will as a free safety. He has a strong arm. He’s quicker than I thought. He has a lot of the qualities that Tony Rice had.” Tony Rice was the quarterback on Holtz’s Notre Dame team that won the national cham pionship in 1988. Jenkins, who turned 26 yesterday, was mainly used last season as a change of pace from Petty. He rushed for 313 yards and three touchdowns, the last of which was the game winner against Clemson. While his mobility and strength as a run ner are unquestioned, Jenkins will need to show that he can be a reliable passer if the of fense is to flourish. Offensive coordinator fl| Skip Holtz said this past JH week, however, that ■ Jenkins has made V progress in that area. ^ “Corey has really im d proved mentally,” Skip J Holtz said. “He’s throw- ■ ing the ball consistently, ■ and his arm is a weapon | for us.” One thing is for sure: ■ Jenkins isn’t thinking v like a first-year starter. Tb ’ Columbia native, who grs ated from Dreher High S' has high expectations ou self and his team. “If we win nine, 10 ga win the SEC title game, tb a huge disappointment,’ “That’s why we came her Jenkins isn’t the on coaching staff is expectii out of the offense. The ] Jenkins, including runni Pinnock and a talented off be solid, dependable perf< Pinnock, a 255-pound si get most of the carries Derek Watson has been < team. With 20 career tou< 12 last season, Pinnock hi zone and a penchant foi tacklers. Like Jenkins, L Pinnock to another formi Jerome Bettis. ♦ OFFENSE, SEE PAGE 9 Corey Jenkins, a 26-year old senior, takes over this season as starting quarterback for USC. His presence is Just one of the reasons why head coach Lou Holtz says this offense is the most talented he has had In Columbia. PHOTO BY AARON HARK/THE GAMECOCK Men’s soccer team to rely on youth USC introduces 9 new players in scrimmage win BY KYLE ALMOND THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s soccer team scored three second-half goals Friday night to defeat Appalachian State in a scrimmage at The Graveyard. For many of the Gamecocks, it was their first taste of Division I soccer. Nine newcomers, five of whom started the game, received playing time in the 3-0 Carolina win, and head coach Mark Berson was encouraged at the debuts. “It was a good start,” said Berson, who will coach the Gamecocks for the 25th season this year. “I thought that we played well defensively. I think that we put some pretty good pres sure on the ball. Our movements in the final third of the field were not as sharp as we would like, but, to be fair, we hadn’t really focused a lot on that in preseason.” With all the new faces — the Gamecocks have 11 in all — Berson isn’t expecting fast results. “With this team, it will be one step at a time because it’s a group we have a lot of ground to cover with,” he said. The Gamecocks, ranked No. 16 in the preseason NCSAA/Adidas poll, took a successful first step Friday night. Senior Jordan Quinn opened the scoring with a header in the 53rd minute, and junior Robert Rosenberg added a second PHOTO BY TRAVIS LYNN/THE GAMECOCK Ricky Quest, one of USC’s new players, reaches for the ball Friday night during Carolina's 3-0 scrimmage win over Appalachian State. Quest Is a junior college transfer. in the 70th minute with a header off a corner kick. Senior Dave Moore assisted on both goals. Ryan Deter was the first USC newcomer to get on the scoring sheet. At the 83:31 mark, the fresh man forward from Raleigh, N.C., stuck his foot out and deflected the ASU goalkeeper’s clearance to in crease the lead to 3-0. “Now, it’s just a matter of ev eryone getting comfortable with each other, knowing how each oth er plays,” Berson said. “And it’s kind of a crash course in presea son trying to get ready.” Despite the inexperienced ros ter, the goals still remain the same for a team that has been seeded the last two seasons in the NCAA Tournament. “Our goals are to finish as the No. 1 team in the South Region, to have an opportunity to go to the NCAA Tournament, and to ad vance and win the tournament,” Berson said. Until the newcomers get settled, there is plenty of veteran talent to lead the way for USC, which fin ished 12-5-2 last season. Up front, Quinn will be the of fensive focal point. The forward from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has led the Gamecocks in scoring the past two seasons. Last season, he had 13 goals, five of which were game winners,'and five assists. “Jordan is a senior who has ex perience in so many big games that he has to be counted on to be the guy to lead us right from the start,” Berson said. Sophomore Anthony Stovall will compete with newcomers Ricky Quest, Ben Link, Deter and J.C. Desriac for a spot next to Quinn. Quest, a two-time Junior College Player of the Year, comes to Carolina from Brooklyn, N.Y. In the midfield, Moore joins fel low junior Jack Cummings as re turning starters. Moore “is a tireless worker who has the ability to score as well as doing a lot of the defensive dirty work in the middle of the field,” Berson said. “He is a tenacious player for us.” The defense looks to be the most ♦ MEN, SEE PAGE 9 Women’s soccer looking to build on last season BY J. KEITH ALLEN THE.GAMECOCK With the USC women’s soccer team finishing above .500 (8-7-3) last season for the first time since 1999, head coach Shelley Smith is poised to take her squad to the next level in 2002. Carolina finished the season ranked No. 10 in the Southeast Region, its highest ranking since 1999. Smith’s team can look back to positive experiences from 2001 dliu uac uiciii iu mount a success ful campaign this year. Smith is renowned for turning around the moribund women’s soccer program at Smith Rhode Island. Her abilities were already visible in 2001 dur ing her first year as head coach at Carolina. The Gamecocks return to The Graveyard this Friday in their season opener against Birmingham Southern. The early portion of this year’s schedule is also highlighted with a visit from in-state rival Clemson on Sept. 11. The Tigers finished the season ranked 11th in the country and won last year’s meeting 3-0. The Gamecocks open SEC play against a tough Florida squad Sept. 29. The Gators won 1-0 in a thrilling game last season in Gainesville. The loss was espe cially tough to take for USC, be cause it snapped a program-best winning streak of seven games. Carolina wraps up its regular season slate with a home game against Wofford on Oct. 29. The next week, the SEC Tournament ♦ WOMEN, SEE PAGE 9