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Recruits impre: MEgguS ">tir^AA J|j?|?$?^ w_ JB David and Golaith Lady Gamecock freshmen Dawn Raab and Lori Rowe Carolina Coliseum. Freshmen recruii By Jeri Rowe a Other than a new wooden floor, USC p basketball fans will see six new faces this year belonging to the deepest and most talented recruiting class in Bill Foster's five seasons as b Gamecock coach. v After an arduous but very successful / recruiting stint last year, Foster has brought c in, according to two basketball magazines, t the nation's ninth and 10th best recruiting class in the country. t The new players donning Gamecock 1 jerseys this year hail from as far away as ] Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio to as close as Lamar, S.C. Joining this talented quartet will be two honorable mention AllAmericans from basketball powerhouse Dunbar High School in Baltimore, Md. JOHN BRECKENRIDGE, a 6 10 forward/center from Salem, Ohio, averaged 17 v points and nine rebounds a game for Salem High School last winter. Called a "hard worker" by Foster, Breckenridge, his team's captain and most valuable player last year, was selected allconference twice in his high school career and received third-team all-state honors last year. Keith James, a 6-6 guard from Dunbar ?? . n ? I II LI. .1 All Mign ^cnooi, eurneti noiiuiauic ini-iiuuii ^nAmerica by several publications after he averaged 19 points and nine rebounds a game last season. James also received all-state and all-metro (Baltimore) honors as he helped lead Dunbar to a second-place national ranking by USA 7 oday. i. rf. nlavine Keith at bie guard." Foster said. "He's a good perimeter player, handles and passes the ball well." Derrick Lewis, James's backcourt partner at Dunbar, also earned All-America and allmetro (Baltimore) honors last season while averaging 14 points and six rebounds per game. Foster calls the 6-3 Lewis a "zone buster" who will challenge Michael Foster for the starting guard position this season. Linwoocl Moye, the only transfer among the six recruits, helped San Jacinto College ssive but hav J^^mt , * sg: gAjr^:^^ 3'% . ' ' &*$>> . v- /./ *&% /"' * ', iiPH^K. xvM g^p ^Hilll^KtBpii^^. v.=, wmr aH HHF 9f "^IsEr" Si ^ - Photo by Joseph Garnett square off in their intra-squad game held at the ts among most chieve the Junior College National Chamionship last season. AVERAGING 15 points and seven reounds per game last season, the 6-6 forward /as named to the National Junior College Ul-Star team and the all-tournament team luring their national championship ournament. With the other six recruits unaccustomed o the fast pace of the Metro Conference, Foster said he believes Moye's college experience will add to the team. Tony Shaw, a 6-4 guard from Lamar High School, averaged 24 points and 17 rebounds a game last season, earning him Class A Player of the Year by the Greenville News and All-South by the Orlando Sentinel. Called a "jumping jack" by the Metro News, Shaw will be used as small forward this season because of his leaping ability, Foster said. "HE'S REALLY quite an athlete," Foster said. "At 6-4, he can really get up." Rounding out these talented recruits is Tarone Thorton, a 6-8 forward from Philadelphia who was touted as one of the top two players in that area. Averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds a game for Roman Catholic High School, Thorton was named to the all-city and allcatholic teams. He was also voted to the allarea team in the region of South New Jersey, Southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware by the Philadelphia Inquirer. With these recruits, the Gamecocks will hope to better last year's disappointing 12-16 record. FOSTER, THE only college coach to wir 20 games in a season at four different schools, said he is very excited about thi< year. "Last year, we had seven differeni starters," he said. "This year I envision eighi or nine different starters. We've got goot challenges going now, with good size." One challenge the Gamecocks must over come is the fifth or sixth place finish in th< Metro predicted by several magazines thi year. e lot to learn, By Barbara Klemt USC women's basketball coach Nancy Wilson said the team's four first-year players have been impressive so far but still have a lot to learn. Kpcti vprv nlensed with all of them. especially attitude-wise," Wilson said. However, she said, "Any freshman who comes into a college program usually has a lot to learn on defense." BECAUSE USC uses a number of offensive plays, Wilson said the offensive system is also hard to learn. "Offensively, our system is a lot tougher than others," she said. "Other people have patterns that are continues so you don't have to remember much." Laura and Peggy Glass agree, "I've learned more in the past two months than in my ^ ? ? ;.j uci i ? basket Dan career, i'eggy saiu. one * su technical and smart about everything. "She puts so much into defense, and there's so much to remember." "I'VE LEARNED things 1 never would have thought about," said Laura, referring to defensive positioning and rebounding. "Coach Wilson can coach, and she can teach. "Offensively, we've learned more than 10 plays, and in high school we only had four." The Glass sisters are natives of Longwood, Fla., and attended Lake St. Mary High School. Laura, who plays center and forward, averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds a game. She was the team's Most Valuble Player her senior year and holds 21 school records. "SHE'S A very good shooter and very dedicated," Wilson said. "She's improved a lot defensively." Laura said she's improved in other areas too. "I've improved my shot, and I feel more knowledgable about basketball. I feel talented class r/ WW ' r H^Hr ||^i%I^E; ^6I^iw / 'i.^' P8SSF';1? . Iga^wMT Mb**' "a Gm*JP# BHL v?**gjUfcgw f M r. Finger roll s . USC freshman guard Tony Shaw goes up for ; Coliseum. Shaw is one of six new recruits head coach says stronger because of the weights we've been doing." Peggy averaged 12 points and nine rebounds a game in high school. She was second-team All-County her senior season. "I'm very impressed with aggressiveness," Wilson said. "She's learned very quickly and has a lot of potential." WILSON SAID adjusting to tne Gamecocks' defense has been tough for Peggy. "She's still in a stage where she has to | think before reacting," she said. "She gets beat a lot that way." Even so, Wilson said Peggy and Laura will be playing quite a bit early in the season because Sharon Gilmore is ineligible to play until late December. "I'm trying to work really hard, because I know the spot is not going to be there later," Laura said about the opening created by Gilmore's absence. LORI ROWE, from Hagerstown, Md., is the tallest of the new players. At 6-3 she joins a team that has nine players o-u or oeuer. As a senior, Rowe averaged 10.7 points and nine rebounds a game. She also blocked 84 shots. Rovve's size has already been a plus on defense, Wilson said. "She plays good defense, with her long arms and reach." Wilson said. AT 5-6, Dawn Raab is the smallest recruit Wilson has brought into the program. Raab averaged 17 points and seven assists a game her senior year at Irmo High School. A first-team All-State the past three years, Raab scored more than l,0f)0 points in her career. "She's a good shooter," Wilson said. "She has done a good job in organizing the offense. She's very scrappy on defense." in nation Photo by Joseph Garnet 1 J basket during the intra squad game held in Carolina coach Bill Foster wi!' 'lay this season.