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Sports 12 1G a ni e C O C k Monday, January 13, 1992 Top recrui USC over By BEN BREAZEALE Sports Editor One of the nation's top high school quarterbacks gave a verbal commitment Monday to play foot11 T TO^ uau iui uov^, The Gamecocks scored a major recruiting victory when Steve Taneyhill from Pennsylvania's Altoona High School announced he would play for South Carolina rather than Alabama, his other top choice. The decision marks the end of a recruiting war that Taneyhill had narrowed to the two schools last month. The 6-4, 212-pound Taneyhill threw for 2,172 yards and 14 touchdowns his senior season and completed 57 percent of his passes. He was a Parade magazine All-American and rated as one of the nation's top 50 players in Super-Prep magazine. A main factor helping his decision was his official visit to South Carolina last season, Taneyhill told The State Monday. "When I made my official visit, I felt like part of the team. They were playing their biggest game, the Clemson game, but the coaches were still saying, 'Come with us, come in the locker room.' They made me feel like one of them," Taneyhill told The State. Other factors played into his decision to attend USC. including the Flowers sta former stan By CHAD BRAY Assistant Sports Editor Freshman cornerback Lethon Flowers said Friday he is not leaving Georgia Tech to play for South Carolina. The former Spring Valley High School standout said he has decided not to leave the Yellow Jackets for personal reasons. Rowers had announced his intention to play for the Gamecocks Wednesday. "Things didn't work out, so I'm going back (to Georgia Tech) Sunday," Rowers said Friday. "I would have had to go through a lot to get my release. I sat down with my parents, and we decided it was best for me to The Managem< Wo (JSC Plumbing, Main* Supply Departments I House Cafe Renovatii I CJV ^ ^ o dr*> f %? it choo ses Alabama opportunity to play i n the SEC, which Taneyhill said h \e considers to be the best football conference. Taneyhill also liked his chances of starting at Carolina wf, ?ere senior quarterback Bobby Full ler is graduating and only one oth er quarterback, rising senior Wrig ht Mitchell, has any game experiei rice. I aon i iniuK uiai jus i uccausc I'm a Parade All-Ameri can, I'm going to be the starting1' quarterback next year," Taney hill told The Greenville News ^ vlonday. "But I should get a legitim ate shot. Getting a chance is the on ly thing the coaches have promise <d, and, from my visit there, all the players I met said Coach Woods v vas the kind of guy you could believ e." Despite Taneyhill's impi essive statistics, his team has a reci ord of 14-19 during his three season s as a starter. During the past three \ seasons he completed 381 of 612 passes and threw for more than t ',000 yaras. nowever, nis career 10 ucndown total of 29 is lower than his interception total of 31. Although Taneyhill has b< sen clocked by scouts at 4.81 seco, nds in the 40-yard dash, he calls hi mself strictly a drop-back passer. "I'm not a runner ? you'll r, \ot see me running the option," T aneyhill told The Greenville New s. "In Coach Woods' system the rur tners run and the quarterback s throw, and that suits me just fine." ys at Georgia dout tells US ( stay here." Flowers told The State Saturday he is not transferring to South Carolina because Georgia Tech would not release him from his scholarship. "Somebody called me yesterday from Coach (Bill) Lewis' staff and said he doesn't allow freshman to leave after their first year," Flowers told The State. "If I had left without the release, I not only would have had to sit out a year, I would have lost a year of eligibility, and I don't want to do that," he added. Flowers said he originally decided to transfer because he was unhappy with living in Atlanta. "My problem wasn't with ' Georgia Tech; it was with At ;nt and Staff of Bate uld Like To Thj enance, Electrical, Painting, for Their Help and Support i ins a Success! V. Ar Da\ fil 3 M ^K^M HL W < kwF : m a HTHB71 SrH * m^^Br ^B^LII ? ^ no bx-ubc star lanta," Flowers also told The Still plciyillg State. "I'm a low-keyed person who enjoys being alone some, By The Associated Press and I just don't like that big-city Alex English still has some ba^environment in Atlanta. Every- sketbainefT \ thing's so fast, there are parties English, who turned 38 this i ill over the place, and it gets on week, has averaged 3,7-1 points in n ay nerves." his first three games for the Napoli Flowers said he would enjoy Basket team of the Italian League. th e opportunity to play in the The Columbia native spent 15 SI IC. years in the NBA before playing ,T , , j u a out his contract with the Dallas I decided to come home and Mavericks ,ast year. when n0 pla y in front of 75,000 in the big NBA team called this season, Enleaj ?ue the SEC, he told The glish left in mid-December for Assi ociated Press Wednesday. ilfliv where he said he would nlav Fi lowers, who is projected as a 0ut his career while experiencing start ing cornerback next year at European culture and travel. Tech , played primarily as a re- Widely known lor his interest in servt ^ on passing downs this poetry, acting and the arts, English seaso. n. s House Cafe I WEDNESDA 9 "Back-to-Schc Carp entry & Central S BASH! n Mak ing The Bates 2 /featuring fi | /TheRoOt Doc lltlKr I 2 $1.50 3th Anniversc ar ;he | NO GIMMICKS! arty at the Wc grid's #1 \ \f yOU ftave fOO 'ing Break De< itination, ; /% the Hottest 111-800-854-1 234 !r I nnnT\Tr< your FREE 3 0th IjrKllNvr miversary Ofl'icial , ? ring Break BREAK '9 )2 Guide! DAYTONA IN vHNATION DAYTOr MA! \ ivention & Visitor's Bui *eau 2 Oceanfront Mot< , Box'10, ? ?,,c BROADWAY-2w. 'tona Beach, FL 32115 to Bandshell & Boardwal Dm SEABREEZE 1 t ^ SEABREEZE entertainn > : ?<? pooldeck parties & loun( ; r drink, dance, and make new f 1-800-874-1^ Eric Glenn/The Gamecock Freshman swingman Christi Timmons sinks a three-pointer over Alabama senior guard Amy Lannom on Saturday. Tcch English w?I -r t- /^< icocks lose, de victors struggle forward Jenny Randall hitting a three-pointer to trigger the Gamecocks scoring. The teams battled back and forth until Alabama initiated their pressing defense with 14:09 left in the game. forth between the two teams with USC's freshman swingman Christi Timmons going four for six from the floor and shooting four for six from three-point range. Both teams shot 43 percent from the floor and totalled nine threepoint bombs, leaving the floor with Alabama leading 39-36 at the end of the first half. The second half began much like the first half with freshman res NBA for had talked about playing in Europe to broaden his children's and his own education. English, the NBA's seventh alltime leading scorer with 25,613 points, led the NBA in scoring in 1983 with Denver. The 6-foot-7, 190-nound forward made the NBA HI 1 all-star team eight times while .playing for the Nuggets before findishing his career in Dallas. "We tried looking for a situation for Alex in the NBA," Jerry Levine, English's agent, said. "But what we found was almost all NBA teams were looking for younger players." So English turned to agent Joe Glass, a specialist in placing players abroad. "I've known Alex as a player and a person for many years," Glass said. "Frankly, he didn't end his career in the best of lights as a , RLi .or"/ w ve\ Draft $1.50 Bar Bra lers (Lite) 75<? Busch I These Prices Every much to drink...We'll All ABC Regulations Enforced '2 NS O? i **<fo * ^VrfP >lock to r lent area V^\WJ fUmM RENDS I "1 W {22Q1/IM Lady Game Crimson Ti in offensive By CHAD BRAY Assistant Sports Editor The Lady Gamecocks dropped their second game in a row and iost their third in the SEC against Alabama Saturday. Alabama defeated USC, 79-74, in an offensive struggle fueled by a barrage of three-pointers by both teams. USC controlled the opening tip and encountered the Crimson Tide's man-to-man defense. Senior guard Nicki Bass, however, set the game's tone with a three-pointer off an assist by junior center Marsha Williams with 18:46 left in the first half. Alabama's freshman guard Madonna Thompson then countered with a threepointer with 18:30 left in the first half. Thp first half went hark and Alabama then went on a 7-0 run, scoring 14 points in 4:12. "I felt the Alabama press was the big difference in the game," Coach Nancy Wilson said. USC began to cut into the Crimson Tide's lead with 7:04 left in the game. The Lady Gamecocks went on a 10-5 run and scored 23 points to cut Alabama's lead to four points with 1:02 left in the game. IJSC could not hold on to tie the game due to effective passing and rebounding by the Crimson Tide in the dwindling minutes of the second half. "We did not do a good job of getting the ball inside," Wilson said. "We had an advantage inside because of their smaller players." Williams led the Lady Gamecocks with 25 points and nine rebounds, while shooting 100 percent from the free throw line. Freshman guard Niesa Johnson led Alabama with 21 points, four rebounds and two steals. Italy | reserve for a weak Mavericks club." "We looked at various situations where he could at least show the basketball world he could still play," Glass said. "Chronologically, Alex is older than some players, but physically and mentally he's younger than many." European teams are allowed two American players. English joined L the Naples club in time to play one game with former NBA player Cliff Robinson, but Robinson left the team and has been replaced by , another NBA player, Walter Berry, a 6-8 forward from St. John's. "Napoli has won two of the three games Alex has played in," Glass said. "Alex is just getting acclimated and just starting to get in shape. I spoke to Napoli coach Joe Isaacs, an American, and he's very pleased with Alex." lc Busch Lite 9 r Nite - ALL Nite! J provide the ride! A BUCKIF^'JP! JiihOuf'Uw' Maybe Bill should have gotten some Co-op Experience before he mmmi^aduated?l^^m