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Felton ej By KEVIN ADAMS Sports editor The USC men's basketball team will rely on a mixture of veterans and youth in the 1988-89 season, thirdyear head coach George Felton said. "I feel that we have a team that iwill provide enthusiasm balanced with experience and a lot of youth." Felton said. "This team brings tremendous leadership represented by our four seniors and co-captains, iTerry Dozier and John Hudson. iAlong with our seniors is a tremendous blend of young, talented freshman and sophomores. "We feel experience will be a tremendous factor concerning this year's team," Felton added. The experience will come from seniors Dozier and Hudson. In the 1987-88 campaign, the 6-foot-9-inch, 210-pound Dozier averaged 13.4 points a game and hauled in 4.3 rebounds a game. That was down from a scoring average of 17 points and a rebounding average of 5.4 in 1986-87. Dozier is a preseason high honorable mention All-America choice by Street and Smith's Magazine. Hudson, a 6-foot-8-inch, 190-pound transfer from Texas' San Jacinto Junior College, averaged 13.5 points a game to lead the team in his first year in a Gamecock uniform. He also finished second in rebounding with 5.8 points a game. T T 1 n 4- A 11 nuuson was a jwunu icitm ^11Metro Conference selection last year and was also named to the second team All-Transfer squad by Basketball Times. Both Dozier and Hudson will need to improve their rebounding to fill the void left by the graduation of Darryl Martin, who led USC in rebounding the last three seasons. The leadership and versatility of Dozier and Hudson will be keys to the Gamecocks' success this season, Felton said. "I think they both have the potential to take their careers further after college," Felton said. "I'm excited about having two young men like Dozier cor By DAVID CARAVIELLO Staff writer Terry Dozier is cautiously optimi USC's upcoming basketball season. Dozier, a 6-foot-9-inch forward f< Felton's squad, is a co-captain for tl Gamecocks along' with fellow senior J oh A strong frontcourt player with a sof touch, Dozier averaged more than 13 contest last season. "I really feel extra good about t because of the athletes we have on our t< Dozier after Saturday's intra-squad s "I've never seen so many guys who ca jump the way our players do. We have a satile players, and the quickness is then "And there's no question that we hav< ? that s our strength. We can scon added. The team goal for this year's Gamecoi to make it to post-season play, he said ineligible last season because it was on "Everybody's been howling about p ?? wriw , ' % Associated Press 1. Duke 2. Georgetown 3. Michigan 4. Louisville 5. Oklahoma 6. North Carolina I 7. Iowa 8. Syracuse 9. Illinois i 10. UNLV 11. Arizona 12. Villanova p 13. Georgia Tech | 14. Missouri | 15. Florida 1 16. Florida State I 17. Ohio State I 18. N.C. State 19. Temple | 20. Stanford Brant Long I 1. Iowa I 2. Georgetown ! 3. UNLV I 4. Syracuse I 5. Michigan 6. Oklahoma 7. North Carolina | 8. Illinois | 9. Duke I 10. Arizona | 11. Ohio State I 12. Georgia Tech I 13. Florida I 14. Missouri I 15. Louisville | 16. N.C. State | 17. Kansas | 18. Temple I 19. Tennessee | 20. UNC-Charlotte _192 res impro that, and especially up in the front court, because the game is a lot of times won in the paint, and I feel that Terry Dozier has the versatility to go inside and outside, and John Hudson has proven that also," Felton said. Next tr> Dr?7ier and HnHcnn sophomore guards Barry Manning and Brent Price have the most game experience. Both saw quality time off fin Hn..: QU I ;iiii iSsffifei mpiii>- ^ nania Sophomore guard Brent Price rece George Felton in a game against Clems ifident of play, so it would be nice i year considering that we h stic about a while," he said. "I thin to get there with; we're ji or George hard." le 1988-89 Although the Gamecoi in Hudson. perienced starting center, "t shooting height will not be a proble points per myself can shoot the bt perimeter, and with a littl his season the inside also," Dozier s earn," said of offense we run, we real icrimmage. center. The only place v in run and compensate is defensively i lot of ver- work extra hard." s. Dozier said he would i firepower aspects of his inside gam< i," Dozier "In the past," he saic bounding, and I'd like to i ck squad is as making better decision . USC was goes, such as knowing wh< probation. when to pull up for the ji >ost-season The biggest area of in Associated Press and Gamecc Kevin Adams 1. Michigan 2. North Carolina 3. Georgetown 4. Louisville 5. Iowa 6. Duke 7. Illinois 8. Villanova 9. Oklahoma 10. UNLV 11. Syracuse 12. Florida 13. Arizona 14. Missouri 15. Ohio State 16. Georgia Tech 17. Temple 18. Tennessee 19. N.C. State 20. Stanford I ?I Jeff Nichols 1. Duke 2. Georgetown 3. North Carolina 4. Michigan 5. Illinois 6. Oklahoma 7. UNLV 8. Louisville 9. Iowa 10. Syracuse 11. Villanova 12. Missouri 13. Arizona 14. Florida 15. Temple 16. Ohio State 17. Georgia Tech 18. Florida State 19. Connecticut 20. South Carolina S8-89 Men s B vement i the bench as freshmen. The 6-foot-4-inch, 175-pound Manning averaged 6.3 points a game last year and is considered to be one of the best defensive players in the Metro. Manning is expected to contribute more offensively this season in the shooting guard role. Price, 6-foot tall and 165 pounds, averaged 10.7 points a game last ? I 1H n F/7e photo ives some advice from head coach ;on last season. Gamecocl to go to the NCAA's this come in te laven't been there in quite pick up i k we have the people here valuable d ist going to have to work to have to Dozier :k hoopsters lack an ex- stand in tl , Dozier said the lack of "We're :m. "John Hudson and because w ill pretty well from the another o e hard work we can work we're a bo laid. "But, with the type top three < ly don't need a legitimate depends /here we would have to competitic r . . . there we'll have to Althoug and team like to improve some have to b< i. "In all i, "I've had trouble re- that only t improve that area, as well job done,' s as far as shot selection start picki ;n to go to the basket and own right jmp shot." other plaj iprovement will have to them to p >ck sportswriters' preseason i David Caraviello 1. Duke 2. Florida 3. Iowa 4. Michigan 5. Illinois 6. Georgetown 7. Oklahoma 8. North Carolina 9. Louisville 10. Villanova 11. Syracuse 12. UNLV 13. Arizona 14. Georgia Tech 15. Ohio State 16. Tennessee 17. N.C. State 18. New Mexico 19. Stanford 20. Connecticut Richard Rowell 1. Duke 2. Louisville 3. North Carolina 4. Georgetown 5. Michigan 6. Syracuse 7. Oklahoma 8. Iowa 9. UNLV 10. Villanova 11. Illinois 12. Georgia Tech 13. Missouri 14. Arizona 15. N.C. State 16. Temple 17. Ohio State 18. Florida 19. Florida State 20. Tennessee asketball Previa in '88-89 year, including a season-high 29 at Florida State. Price was named to the Metro's All-Freshman team for 1987-88 and is expected to start at point guard this season. Dozier and Hudson will step into the hole created by the loss of Terry Gould and Tony Shaw, last year's starting guards. Other returnees expecting to contribute more this season are ' sophomore forward Michael Glover and senior forwards John Breckenridge and Bill Vernau. This year's squad also has many newcomers who are expected to contribute in a big way, beginning with redshirt freshman Jeff Roulston and true freshmen JoJo English, Troy McKoy, Joe Rhett, and Sam Rowe, who, along with junior college transfer Eric Sykes, are expected to compete for valuable playing time. The starting lineup is pretty much set at four positions, with forwards Hudson and Dozier and guards Manning and Price. The center position remains open, however, with Roulston a likely candidate. Or Hudson could play center with McKoy, Rhett, or Glover the most likely candidates at forward. Either way, Felton, who has led the Gamecocks to 15-14 and 19-10 records his first two years, is optimistic about this year's squad. "My staff and I are extremely excited about the potential of this year's team," he said. "If we can receive the quality play from our | young men, we believe that the | Gamecocks can definitely be a major ' factor within the Metro Conference and also in our quest for national exposure in 1988-89." In a nrpccatnn nnll r?f Mptm Pnii. ference coaches and sportswriters, USC, which will host the conference tournament March 10 to 12 at the Carolina Coliseum, was picked to finish fourth in the league behind Louisville, Florida State and Memphis State. Virginia Tech, Cincinnati and Southern Mississippi were picked fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. k success :am defense, Dozier said. "We've got to the pace, because we lost some very lefensive players, and we're really going > make up the difference." is uncertain where the Gamecocks will lis season's Metro conference race, kind of on the borderline right now, e haven't really tested ourselves against pponent," he said. "As of right now, rderline team, because we could be in the ir we could be in the bottom three. It all on how we come .out against the )n." ^h Dozier and Hudson are co-captains leaders, Dozier said every player wijl : a leader for himself, reality, we have so many young people, wo guys aren't going to be able to get the " he said. "Everybody's going to have to ng up the pace and being a leader in their . i ne oniy tmng we can ao to neip tne rers out is to push them and try to get lay hard." licks Dave Kay 1. Georgetown 2. Duke 3. Michigan 4. North Carolina 5. Oklahoma 6. Illinois 7. UNLV 8. Iowa 9. Syracuse 10. Arizona 11. Louisville 12. Florida 13. N.C. State 14. Missouri 15. Georgia Tech 16. Indiana 17. Villanova 18. Temple 19. Georgia 20. Ohio State Chris Silvestri 1. Louisville 2. Illinois 3. North Carolina 4. Georgetown 5. Villanova 6. Syracuse 7. Duke 8. Michigan 9. Oklahoma 10. Arizona 11. Iowa 12. UNLV 13 Missouri 14. Florida 15. N.C. State 16. Georgia Tech 17. Stanford 18. Temple 19. Ohio State 20. Florida State use Men's Baskt DATE OPPONENT Thu . Nov 17 BRACKNELL {Exh I Tue.. Nov 22 ATHLETES <N ACTION (Exh.) Sal.. Nov. 26 LANDER Sat.. Dec 3 CLEMSON Mon.. Dec 5 MARYLAND Wed.. Dec. 7 EAST CAROLINA Sat. Dec. 17 ?< Tennessee Tye . Dec. 20 OHIO STATE Cotton Slates Classic Thu., Dec. 29 Georgia vs. Prineeion USC vs. LaSatte Fn., Dec. 30 Consolation Game Championship Game Mon.. Jan 2 AUGUSTA COLLEGE Sal.. Jan. 7 Oavidson WW.. Jan. 11 al LoutsviBe METRO CONFERENC Fn.. Mar. 10 QUARTERFINALS .... Sal.. Mar, 11 SEMIFINALS Sun.. Mar. 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME . ^ - itiir \ ** -*+**& %. .w: **?* *** ' >***)Mi \ Senior forward John Hudson goes up f( Hudson 9s let be key for By BOB ZAFFRANN 1 Staff writer When the USC men's basketball l team opens its season with an exhibi- i tion game against Bracknell on Nov. i 17, one of the main men to look for i will be No. 32, John Hudson. Hudson was USC's leading scorer a year ago, averaging 13.5 points per game, and the second-leading Gamecock rebounder, hauling in 5.8 boards a game. For his efforts, Hudson was named to the All-Metro i Conference second team and also to the second All-Transfer squad in Basketball Times. For 1988-89, Hudson has been named a preseason honorable mention All-America by Street and Smith's. i This year, Hudson's role will be 1 different, with an emphasis on tougher defense and increased rebounding. For leadership, USC's < young team will look to Hudson and fellow starting senior and co-captain Terry Dozier. The graduation of USC's leading rebounder and team leader, Darryl Martin, has increased the demands on Hudson and Dozier. Hudson said head coach George Felton has placed special importance on motivating his players to play tough defense, something at which the Gamecocks excelled last season. "We have a lot of scorers," said Hudson. "It is defense we have to work hard on." Hudson himself called defense the "key thing" for him to work on during the preseason, citing his "lack of i concentration" as the main problem. i Hudson, a 6-foot-8-inch forward 1 who came to USC last year as a junior college transfer from Texas' j San Jacinto College, has high hopes j for this year's squad. He thinks USC has a shot at the Metro Conference Championship. i Hudson said the Gamecocks are j hungry in their first year off of pro 5555555 ilball Schedule Sal . Jan 14 CINCINNATI Wed . Jan. 18 MEMPHIS STATE ? Sat., Jan 21 YOUNGSTOWfc STATE j Mon. Jan. 23 COASTAL CARGUNA Thu.. Jan. 26 FLORIDA STATE ? Sat. Jan. 28 at Oral Roberts Sat., Feb. 4 atClemson Mon.. Feb. 6 SOUTHERN MISS ?1118 w?b.. Feb. 8 at Florida State Wed.. Feb, 15 VIRGINIA TECH Sat. Feb 18 at Southern Mas '>^1 Wed.. Feb. 22 THE CITADEL . : ,||l? sat. Feb. 25 LOUISVILLE IIlli?lf?l| Mon. Ptib. 27 at Vwrnnta Tenh aIj" **? '4 tjk*? 1 K|My p^BPf j gpj^Sf ? J| ? ^lyP^ lfc.? 3jH x #w kJHV # j| ^ ?M IE - ^3 M mi File photo )r the two-handed slam. idership oung team bation. National Collegiate Athletic Association probation eliminated (JSC from postseason tournament consideration last year and has made returning players like Hudson want tournament action even more. "I'd love to play in the NCAA," said Hudson. "It's something I've always dreamed of. Last year it was hard to get motivated, because there was nowhere you could go." Along with a tough, aggressive defense, the Gamecocks will employ a fast-paced, run-and-gun style ofr i *1 L L* ?-1 * lense uuc iu 111c icilk ui ncigiu 111 men front court. Their tallest upperclassmen, Terry Dozier and John Breckenridge, are both 6 foot 9 inches tall. The Gamecocks do have height in redshirt freshman Jeff Roulston who is 6 foot 11 inches tall. When the Gamecocks use their quick line-up, Hudson may even see some playing time at center. Hudson and the rest of the team spent the off-season working out with weights, but basketball experience was limited to pick-up games or solo work-outs at the gym. Hudson, a sociology major, considers himself more of a game-day player than a practice player. He said the hardest part of playing basketball is having to "work so hard" in prac tice, but he said he realizes the need for practice ? to improve and achieve team goals. Hudson is wistful when he recalls last year's most memorable game, the Gamecock's heartbreaking, double-overtime loss to Louisville in Columbia last year. As for the future, Hudson hopes to play basketball after graduation, but he will still have a sociology degree to fall back on if that doesn't work out. In the meantime, he plans to take the climb to the Metro Conference and NCAA tournament "one step at a time."