Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ARE YOU Groucho's Basl Twenty W eFOOD e NOI NE Groucho's Delicates 611 Harden 5 Points 7 A WINNER!!? IN <etball Sweepstakes inners Each Week VINE e ICE CREAM URCHASE CESSARY ) 3en & Ice Cream Shoppe Bankers Trust Tower UpTown Master Charge Bank Americard ON ASSEMBLY 9 For Today's Casual Man THE LEISURE SUIT 100 %P~olyester Knit - in colors of Navy - Blue,Chocolate Brown, Hunter - .Green and Camel all with contrasting stitching. Sizes 38-46. Reg. & long. Priced at $5500 Shown is Open Col lar Body Shirt by JOEL OF CALIFORNIA in assorted patter... and solids. KFrom $15" As one-sport schot Oklahom to erase BY BILLY BAKER Of The Gamecock Staff The basketball program at Oklahoma has improved a great deal in the past few years, and if the fans can stop talking football long enough to go support the Sooners, it appears that Oklahoma might improve upon its 18-8 record of last year. Head Coach Joe Ramsey has a lot of nice things to say about Alvin Adams, an All-America center. "Alvin Adams is a great basketball player," he said. "He is one of the best post men in the country. I am very pleased that he turned down pro offers last year after winning his hardship case." Adams, a 6-9, 250 pound first team All-America candidate, reportedly turned down several draft offers to finish out his junior year at Oklahoma. Just a junior, Adams is expected to turn pro after this season. He averaged 21.2 points and hauled in 12.1 rebounds a game last year. He was named Player-of-the-Year in the Big Eight after his freshman and sophomore seasons. "I think the other players on the team are very good too," said Ramsey. "If teams try to cheat and overplay Adams, I believe we have the kind of players that will take the pressure off of him." The only other Sooner with much experience is 6-7 senior Bob Pritchard, who averaged 9.2 points a game last season. The two-year letterman is expected to take some of the rebounding load away from Adams. The other forward is a 6-5 fresh man from Charleston, S.C., whom Ramsey calls a player of the future at Oklahoma. William Graham played for Middleton High in Charleston and led the Razorbacks to the state championship finals three years in a row. "I would like to think that South Carolina schools made a mistake by not recruiting him any heavier than they did," said Ramsey. "Many people felt that he could not make the transition from center to forward in college, and this is why we got him." The Sooners should not be strong in the backcourt because of heavy graduation losses. The most ex perienced returner is Mike Mc Curdy, a 6-1 senior who averaged 7.6 points a game last year. His running mate is expected to be Eddie Fields, a 5-10 guard who saw 'considerable action last year. Ramsey said one of the keys to the season may be how well reserve forward Randy Gentry will be able to perform when he plays since neither Graham nor Prit chard will play the whole games. Gentry was redshirted last season. The key guard substitute will be Jay Williams, a 6-2 sophomore. The Gamecocks meet Oklahoma Regular Denim a hoping image on the road Dec. 7, and Ramsey said it will take a superior effort from his players to beat USC. He said: "Against teams like South Carolina you have to play one of your better games. Our program has come a long way in the past three or four years and you need to play teams like South Carolina to see how your program really stands. "I would say that we will have our hands full trying to contain Alex English and I understand they have a real good redshirt (Tom Boswell), too," said Ramsey. "We hope to know more about them after we scout their game wmith Bucknell." Ramsey claims never to set goals in numbers of expected wins. "I have never been one to set goals in numbers of wins I hoped to achieve because I believe with the maximum effort from the players everything should fall into place. "I do believe we have a team that can stay on the court with anybody," said Ramsey. "We hope to get a lot of points off the fast break, but when you have a great post man you also need to come down with patience and work the ball inside to him." Ramsey said that he would like to think the Sooners can play different styles of offense. "We should be very challenging and we have a lot of strength in some areas."t On defense Oklahoma should play "basically a man-to-man," but Ramsey said that the type of defense depends on the opposition. "It is hard to say what kind of a defense we might use against a strong team like South Carolina. I would have to see the scounting reports first." Oklahoma strength and the ability of Adams will be receiving big tests this season. The Sooners play UCLA, Furman, Kansas, and archrivals Witchita State and Tulsa during the course of the season. Oklahoma basketballers need a good season to compete with the football program. Football revenues already have helped construction begin on a badly needed basketball arena due to be completed this summer. They can help pay for the arena by improving upon their third place Big Eight finish of last season. Common foes Carolina plays just two scheduled common opponents with the nation's top two teams. North Carolina State and USC play both Pittsburgh, while UCLA and Carolina play Oklahoma. USC and State could both play Duke, if the Blue Devils face Carolina in the Classic's final. & Big Bells.