University of South Carolina Libraries
By Teddy Sports I Oh. No! Not again. Everytime the USC basketball program starts to really go well "hmeone gets hurt and things don't *ork out. Kevin -loyce. the best sophomore in the nation. may well miss the whole season aitter an operation last night to remove a blood clot in his leg. Joyce has aided the Carolina cause immensely and without him Frank McGuire is going to have to Kevin Joyce change some of his plans. With .Joyce gone only two battle Iestpd guards remain-,-Bob Carver and .ohn Roche. Casey Manning has not seen as much action this year as .lcGuire had hoped and theref ore may not be ready to step in during the ACC.strech drive that is coming up. Hut it seems he's going to have to. It all started when a fellow named .like Grosso stuck his hand thr(W h a window he was trying to se way back in 196w. Grosso was only a freshman so things didn't seem to he that bad. except .lcGuire was worried about the action he would miss. Ex perience is valuable. Tlhen Grosso. who was supposed to team with the Four liourseman Skip Hlarlicka. Gary Gregor. Frank Standard and 4.Jack Thompsoni to giv-e ('NC its great est b)asketbhail tharn ever. t wisted a knece going up for a layuip In a practice scrimmage at the start or his sophomore year. As it turned out though. that didn't hurt very much because Grosso wvas ruled ineligble and couldn't play. (Ph. yes, by the way. Grosso transferred to L ouisville and led them to the NIT while earning All America honors. Carolina had to 1b content with upsetting I)uke and( '.' when the two were ranked second in the nation. A n'2 sophomore by the name of I obby (remins replaced Grosso andl teamed with the Four lIpr seman. ('remins carried over to the present crop that was picked to f inished seventh in the ACC that yea.r. Tlhat was when .Iohn Itoche. .lTom 4 wens and .Iohn lRibock were sophomores. There was another soph that year---Hilly Walsh. Walsh wasn't a real high scorer a he seemed to always come up jtIk th~iteh hasket, something 1k Heffner Editor season. He complemented Roche perfectly. Roche averaged 23.2 per game, Walsh about 13. But when that key basket needed making and the defenses cheated totvard Roche Walsh would pop in that long bank shot. The Gamecocks were the cin derella team of the nation that year as they set the basketball tans btuzzing. There was only one problem ---no depth. The starting live usually went the distance. The Gamecocks finished the regular season with a 19-5 record. won the first game of the ACC tourney before losing to Duke in the semifinals and was invited to the NIT in New York with a 20-6 mark Carolina easily outlasted Southern Illinois in the opening round but in between games it happened again. Walsh was going into the New Yorker Hotel on 34th Street when he got his leg caught in a revolving door. The leg was cut and. you guessed it. Billy couldn't play against Army in the second round. The Cadets were the number one team in the nation in defense and Carolina was number two. But. without Walsh. the Gamecocks were playing at a definite han dicap. The Army didn't help matters by playing excellently. Army coach Bill Knight called the' win one of the greatest in Cadet history but Carolina missed another chance to really step into the National limelight. - Roche had developed iit, a bonafide All-America by this time andl he led th6 Gamecocks last year to their best season ever. The Gamecocks lost only twice in regular season play. They were ranked number two in the nation. 'hen came Russian Roulette in the ACC tournament. Clemson ihrew one of the finest game pians of the year at the Gamecocks as the Tigers took just 15 shots from he floor. Tlhey hit 14. all layups. t'S(' was lucky to take a :34-33, win. Then in t he semifinals' Roche was -Ideled while driving for a layup. alter the game had' been decided. Roch's ankle was placed in a cast and the superstar was doubt lul starter tor the ACC championship game against N.C. State Some 'experts' said Roche wouildn't even dress out, hut he (did, lie didn't start but he was in I here b)elore long and led the ;am(e.oc'ks to an 11 point lead in t he l irst halt. Then Carolina went into a zone'. State refused to play and t 'SN came out --'it prov'ed latal. State came back in double overtime' to take a 42-39 w'in. TIhe loss didn 't sit well with ('S(' and the Gamecocks wecre intent on avenging the loss this season. And now. Tlhings look bleak with -Ioye'e rest ing in a hospit al bed w'ith st it ches in his leg. The pressure is on (e'eryone butt more than anvone it is on old relia ble Roche and new. Mreen sophomore .\anning. Tihe IWo must ('ome thr'ough it the GamecI'(ocks are tO) w~ind up w'here di ve Ky T'eddy -HefIner Spmorts Editor 'SC'S Gamecick s begin an ACC stretch driVe tonight at the Coliseum against N.C. State without one of their most. potent weapons. Supesoph Kevin Joyce will not suit lip for the game. Joyce is still stiffering from a blood clot in his leg. Carolina. 14-4 overall andl 5-4 in the ACC. will start either John Itibock or Rick Aydlett in Joyce's place. Ribock was a starter until Coach Frank McGuire decided that a pressing defense was in order .to offset opponents attempts to hold the ball. Bob Carver since filled the bill. The next 10 days will go a long way in determining the seedings lor the ACC tournament March 11 1:3. After the N.C. State game USC plays UNC and Wake. Forest in conference action. Powerful Houston is in for a non-conference game. Carolina goes to State next Wednesday and to Wake Forest March 6th. State comes to town with an 11-8 overall mark and a 4-4 ACC slate. The Wollpack upset USC last year in the ACC tournament after superstar John Roche was injured the night before. Carolina won the other two meetings 71-69 and 85-69. Carolina led by as many as 30 points in the second encounter. The Wolfpack are led by 6-9 Paul Coder, a second team All-ACC last season. and 6-5 Ed Leftwich. Coder is the number two scorer and the number one rebunder. He is hitting the boards for 9.2 rebounds a game and is scoring. almost exclusively fri-m the inside at a 15.9 pace. leftwich. who came up with a big steal and the go ahead basket in the tourney last year, is the top scorer with a 16.5 average. Left wich is the number three rebounder with a 5.0 mark. The Wolfpack have had a disappointing season but they have gotten unexpected help from their sophomore crop. Bob Heuts, 6-7, 1 5 Rick Holdt and (1-2 Bill Benson have performed well for Norman Sloan's club. lieuts is t'he number four scorer wit h a 1.7 mark w'hile he is pulling dlown 5.1 rebounds per outing. ENGRAVER'S HOUSE for Quality Wedding 208 Academy Way Columbia, S. C. Ph. 772-4933. Guadalajara, Mexico Ihe (Guadailafaira Sum mer chlool . a I uIly accredited Inive'rsity of Arizona program. .will ofter. to August 14. art flk Ior'. geography. history. plitical science. language and houird aund room. 5155. Write l)r. .Iiiu,n II Ra.ef. 4Off ice of Summer N on I 'niversit v ot Ariznna. egins I vithout Holdt .is capable of exploding as his 28 points against West Virginia shows. State reserves who see plenty of action are 6-6 Dan Wells, 6-1 Al Ileartly. a starter last year, Joe )unning, Jim Risinger, Doug. Tilley and Ron Lovisa. Ctrolina is still led in the scoring column by 6-3 All-America John Roche. Roche is hitting 21.8 per game and has recorded 83 assists thus far. Roche is one of the top free throw shooters in the nation with a .67 mark. -Junior center Tom Riker is the number two scorer with 15.2 Chasing i S 1204 Main St UNCLAIMEI (Ihwy. OPEN TOT 9 A.M. ? MON. TI WE NOM STEREO COMPONENT 5 RECLINERS & S LIVING ROOM & BE SEWING MACHINES AND TAP STUDENTS Joyce average. Riker is also pulling down 9.:! rebbunds a contest. 'the 6-10 lilcksville, N.Y.. product has experienced foul trouble lately but is an effective inside Shooter and an effective outsikshooter when he Is in the game. Tom Owens is the third leading scorer with a 14.8 average and is pulling down 11.3 rebounds a game. Carver is averaging 6.1, Aydlett 5.5 and Ribock 1.9. Seven foot center Danny Traylor has seen a lot of action lately and i averaging 1.6. Casey Manning will probably see more action, due to the injury of Joyce. -4MU Mwae he ball We deliver 4-11 PM USDA Choice Steak Sandwich 4-12 Weekdays 506FFAl Day Sunday 500FF (TABLE SERVICE ONLY) 256-7179~ ) FREIGHT. 176) IA. S.(C. HE PUBLIC 064 P.M. RU SA T. HAVE! YSTEMS & CONSOLES MIVEL ROCKERS DROOM FURNITURE k VACUUM CLEANERS E DECKS WELCOME