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USC Ba BY BILLY BAKER Sports Editor Frank McGuire's chase for a NCAA basketball championship at USC has escaped him for 11 seasons. but the classy Irishman will once again field a team with unlimited potential in 1975-76. Three incoming freshmen should add depth to a team that could start four seniors most of the 1975 76 season. Eddie DiRugeris of Cornell Heights. Pa., was voted the top player in the Philadelphia FRANK Wimm McGUIRE USC To Rett To Basketbf USC's associate head basketball coach Donnie Walsh has called the 1975-76 basketball schedule "a very cautious one" because 14 of the 26 games will be played away from the Carolina Coliseum. "Anytime you have 12 games at home and 14 away you must ap proach things cautiously," Walsh said. "It's the kind of schedule any coach would approve of." The Gamecocks play in the Holiday Festival December 27-30 with possible matchups against Indiana and St. Johns. "That's enough competition right there without telling who else is in the field," Walsh said. The season begins on December 1 at home against Hofstra. The Gamecocks follow with home games on the sixth and seventh of December with Toledo and Oklahoma respectively. "I don't care what other people say about the difficulty of our basketball schedule," Walsh commented when told that the Basketball Weekly, a national publication, had ranked USC's schedule only 82nd among NCAA division one schools in degree of * Conference From Page 2( Considered for possible re-entry. "We were definitely contacted by two different groups seeking to form a basketball association that would determine arepresentativeto the NCAA playoffs," Walsh said. "Obviously it is apparent that the NCAA didn't give many Ind pendents bids this past season." "It would have been an association similar to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC)," Walsh said. A new basketball league has been formed. It is called the Metropolitan Basketball Association. Its members include: St. Louis, Louisville, Ga. Tech, Memphis State, Cincinnati, and Tulane. Donnie Walsh claims that he does not know the real reasons why USC desires to rejoin the ACC. He said that he didn't understand how the possibilities of USC joining a private basketball conference could precipitate USC wanting to rejoin the ACC. sketball area. He is a 6-2 playmaker. Bill Gause. a 6-1 guard from Columbia is considered a real team leader. At forward 6-5 Bryan Grevey from Hamilton. Ohio is expected to see a lot of action. McGuire failed to land the big man through recruiting. With the departure of Tom Boswell to the Boston Celtics it appears that Bob Mathias, a fundamentally sound player, will return to his starting position he had lost to Boswell. Alex English, 6-8 forward from Columbia and Mike Dunleavey, a 6-2 native of Brooklyn return as senior co-captains to a team that finished 19-9 last season. Nate Davis, 6-4 from Columbia, and Mark Griener, 6-7 from Charlotte will once again share the starting spot at one forward. Davis is the scorer and Griener is the defensive specialist. Playmaker Jackie Gilloon turned in 122 assists as a fresh man,.and has unlimited potential as a passer and ball handler. He is expected to team with Dunleavey to give the Gamecocks one of the better backcourts against the press in the nation. Gilloon is from West irn Furman ill Schedule difficulty. "Why don't people complain about N.C. State playing Atlantic Christian or Appalachain State," Walsh said. Furman returns to the Carolina schedule after several years ab sence. USC visits Furman on January 31 and the Paladins come to Columbia on February 18. Carolina will host its own tournament once again, and the second annual Carolina Classic will be played December 22-23. Joining USC in the competition is Yale, Virginia, and Oklahoma State. Games with Notre Dame and Marquette at home will be televised over the new NBC-TVS partnership. The season ending game with the Warriors will be televised nationally. Michigan, Kent State, Hofstra, Temple, St. Bonaventure, Nebraska, and South Florida join Furman as newcomers to USC's schedule. Carolina finished last season with a 19-9 record following six consecutive seasons of more than 20 wins. Frank McGuire has coached USC's teams to an over-all record of 204-86. He will enter his 26th year as a collegiate' head coach this winter with a record of 471 wins and 179 losses. USe BAsKETBALL sCHEDULE Dec. I HOFSTRA 3 TOLEDO 6 OKLAHOMA 10 at Michigan 222 AmROLINA CLASSIC (Yale, Virginia, 230 at Holidy Festival (Ternle, Columbia. Manhattan, St. Johns) Jan. 3 at Marquette 6 at Nebraska 17 At South Florida 19 at St. Louis 24 Davidson at Charlotte 28 KENT STATE 31 at Furman Feb. 4 at Villanova 7 TEMPLE 12 Fordham at Madison Sq. Garden 14 at Pittsburgh 18 FURMAN 21 NOTRE DAME 23 at Georgia Tech 25 ST. BONAVENTURE 28 GEORG!A SOUTHERN Mar 7 ARQUETTE: HasGr New York, N.J. The team' depth is built around Stu Klitenic, a rising junior from Silver Spring. Md. and Billy Truitt who should be eligible for the season after dropping out of school this past spring. Truitt attended both sessions of summer schoQl. Truitt is the long range shooter needed to bust open a good zone defense. He is 6-0 and hails from Lackawanna, N.Y. Chuck Sherwood, 6-10, from Plantation, Fla., and Goalie Augustus, 6-6 from Columbia add dimensions to USC's rebounding potential. Sherwood is a junior while Augustus is just a sophomore. Three players who were cut from last year's varsity after pre-season practice are listed on the roster at this time. They are Jack George frorn Winfield, Ill., Ed Lynch from Miami, Fla., and Jim Clements from Washington, D.C. It is expected that McGuire will coach extra hard this season. He was bitterly upset at USC's disappointing season last winter when the Gamecocks were tabbed, "Top Five In '75." I STUDI k Enjoy a delicious]i absolutely FREE combination plate, through Septembe Bush River R( Dentsvill -eat Potential I/ Jackie Gilloon is one of the best against the press. After a shaky freshman year Gilloon Is expected to develop into this year's floor general. FREE qNT DESSERT PECIAL! Mus sho stdntI.1 fergo r.~ 6,195 'ha' BlG BOY 1 RESTAURANT >a*es olmi Rollin