The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 03, 1997, Page 8, Image 8
Kentucl
Wildcats Jto]
LARRY WILLIAMS Senior Writer 1
The stage is set.
By beating LSU 80-65 Saturday, ^
the men's basketball team made
what so many had been looking j
forward to for so long realistic?big- ]
time basketball at Frank McGuire
Arena, something that's been missing }
for quite some time in Columbia. .
The No. 25 Gamecocks (15-5), ^
who in December lost to UNCAsheville
and Charleston Southern ]
during a disheartening 5-5 start, <
have undergone a dramatic ]
renaissance during the past month,
winning 10 straight games to gain ^
sole possession of first place in the j
SEC East with a perfect 9-0
conference record. (
That's first place ahead of the <
No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats, who come .
to Columbia tomorrow for a 9:30 j
p.m. showdown with South Carolina.
Kentucky, which slipped up Jan. <
11 by losing to the Ole Miss Rebels, ]
i._ t? i, * A
comes lu r i aniv ivicvjuire /\i ena ,
looking to take away what South (
Carolina has gained during its
winning streak. (
Kentucky isn't used to being
in second place in the SEC, having j
won 37 SEC championships in their (
rich basketball history. <
Head coach Rick Pitino is used
to seeing the Gamecocks in his rear i
view mirror rather his front ]
windshield.
Kentucky holds a decisive 17-2 j
series lead, and a 6-2 lead on the
Gamecocks at Frank McGuire Arena.
South Carolina's last win was a
miraculous, 75-74 win over the 'Cats
in 1994. ]
So, fans of Kentucky and USC ,
want to know, just how good are
these Gamecocks?
Chances are, they and the nation <
will know tomorrow. And, with
ESPN's Dick Vitale providing the
color commentary for the game,
n i ? i i l
everyone win Know ioua ana ciear.
A halfcourt alley-oop from BJ
McKie to Larry Davis with the game
tied late will bring shouts from Dickie
Vs lungs into the living rooms of
America, letting everyone know,
yes, these guys are for real.
The same play with the .
Gamecocks down by 25 will confine
Vitale's verbatim to words such as
"potential," and "a year away."
Potential is what the Gamecocks
hope is a thing of the past. They
want to win now, and they want to
win loudly.
And loudness is something that c
won't be in short supply at Frank S
McGuire Arena Tuesday. C
Certainly the game was circled g
before the season (as it is every
season), but the Gamecocks' t
improbable rebirth has only increased 1
the fervor among USC fans.
When tickets went on sale to t
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still a great basketball team."
Indeed. Kentucky hasn't missed
a beat in the SEC after losing
Anderson, having beaten Georgia
(twice), Florida, Arkansas, Vanderbilt
and Auburn by an average of 19
points per game.
The Wildcats' success hasn't been
confined to the conference, considering
their blowout wins over Syracuse,
Louisville and Indiana.
The Wildcats also blasted UNCAsheville,
a team the Gamecocks
lost to in December, by a convincing
105-51 score.
Senior guard Larry Davis, whose
onsistent play has been a key in
South Carolina's streak, says the
lamecocks must ride the horse that
jot them there to play with Kentucky.
"We have to approach this game
he same way we do every one,"
Davis said.
"We have to go in with intensity,
>ut we dont want to be over-pumped
Be a part of
summer
tacula:
>ns are now availal
>nference Center i
Manager Positions
)r Graduate Student in Sprip
' 2.5. Applications may be p
ginning Jan. 30. Applicatior
3 Assistant applications available
i> vs. Ca
pe to stop tli
[JSC students last week at 9 am,
the opening doors found hundreds
>f students who had been there since
the wee hours of the morning.
A few hundred students braved
the cold and camped overnight with
tiopes of getting tickets for the game.
<U1 told, 3,000 tickets were picked
ap on the first day of distribution,
and the remaining 1,000 were taken
the following Tuesday.
"This is an anticipated matchup,"
[JSC coach Eddie Fogler said.
^Everyone is talking about it, because
Kentucky is Kentucky."
Sophomore guard BJ McKie says
the late, 9:30 p.m. start is all the*
setter for him.
"The time doesn't matter, the
iay and place doesn't matter," McKie
said. "Everybody would be juiced up
and ready to play, even if it was 3
in the morning."
A win Tuesday would give the
Glamecocks a commanding two-game
lead on the Wildcats in the SEC East
with eight regular season games to
?oThat,
says McKie, is motivation
snough to beat Pitino's Posse.
"Emotions are going to be high
for both teams," McKie said. "We're
controlling our own destiny, and
we've taken the games one at a time.
"It's an important game, because
we could go two up on a very good
basketball team."
A very good basketball team
might be putting it lightly.
The Wildcats, despite their Jan.
18 loss of team-leader Derek
Anderson to a torn Anterior Cruciate
Ligament, have been playing their
best basketball lately, having won
six straight games since their Jan.
11 upset loss at Ole Miss.
"Derek brought a lot to his team
on both ends of the floor," McKie
said. ?.n exceptional athlete
t.ViAv'ra crrvincr tr? miss hut. t.hev're
AY All the stats, pics, and h
?o
irolina:
ie crowing
and do things that will hurt the
team/
Kentucky guard Ron Mercer
has picked up where Anderson
left off, averaging 18.6 points per
game. Mercer, a 6-foot-7-inch
sophomore, has started all 22
games for .the Wildcats and
averages 31.8 minutes per game.
South Carolina's inside game
will be challenged early and often
by 6-foot-10-inch center Nazr
Mohammed and 6-foot-9-inch
forward Jared Prickett.
And, as always, Kentucky can
run, play defense, and most of all,
shoot the 3-pointer. Of 419 3
pointers attempted, the Wildcats
have made 152 for a .363
percentage.
Senior guard Anthony Epps
leads the team from behind the
3-point arc, having connected on
36 of 99 attempts for a .364
percentage.
The impressive stats Kentucky
has posted this season can only
indicate one thing: same old
Wildcats.
But considering this might
not be the same old South Carolina
basketball team, quite a scene
could take place tomorrow.
"We have to keep a level head,"
Davis said.
"We have to be intense on
defense and sharp on offense."
McKie says USC will have to
take full advantage of Kentucky's
mistakes, which are few and far
between.
"We've got to have a lot of
discipline on offense to get the
shots we want," McKie said.
"We've got to play intense ball
on both ends, especially on defense
and have a minimum of
turnovers."
Despite being a freshman,
guard Herbert Lee Davis says
tomorrow s game will be special
for him.
"I'm looking forward to playing
them," said H.L Davis, who scored
11 points against LSU. "I've
wanted to play Kentucky since
high school, and now I have my
chance."
And, after so many years of
frustration, South Carolina
basketball has a chance as well.
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in March
appenings from the Kentucky
Kentucky
Keep the crowd out of game
The Wildcats must control the
game and keep the fans in their
seats. If the Gamecock faithful get
rowdy and excited, Frank McGuire
Arena will become a very difficult
place to play.
Force USC into post play
The guard play for USC is
definitely the strong point of the
Gamecock basketball team. If the
Gamecocks are forced to work the
ball inside, then there could many
missed layups and lots of turnovers.
Avoid foul-trouble
Against Georgia, Kentucky had
four players foul out, leaving them
with one player on the bench, and
that was before they lost Derrick
Anderson. USC has been making
their foul shots lately and will make
them pay if UK keeps sending them
to the line.
Merciless Mercer factor
If Ron Mercer heats it up from
way downtown, then that could mean
lots of points on the majority of the
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I A \ t?A
THE SPORTS EDITORS
y basketball showdown
rs
L k/
lace on
FNAjKEI
McKie Anthony I
6-2 So. #25 6-2 S
MP
Fry Davis RonMerf
6-3 Sr. #33 6-7 S
TBVTM
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trips downcourt for the Wildcats.
And if that happens,
USC
Handle press effectively
The Gamecocks' three guards
must be able to break the press and
set up the halfcourt offense to be
able to score points against the
Wildcats. If the Gamecocks can'1
break the midcourt stripe, then Larr>
Davis better be able to hit a lot ol
full-court shots tomorrow night
Minimize turnovers
> This goes with the press. Don't
let the Wildcats guards steal the
ball off the press, and don't get an)
i
General Advis<
For students enrolle
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WHERE - Collet
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TIMES - 4 p.i
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'eneHce (fatten, k&cv ctcct
an, *97. ~76e (adMutKy, ft*
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Manager for Central Campu
Manager for East Campus
Assistant applications avail*
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rade Point Average of 2.5.
work 10 hours weekly begin
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Lpps Jared Prickett |
p. #32 6-9 Sr.
:er Allen Edwards
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lO^econd violations called Turnovers
lead to points, which leads to our
next key.
UWJJ tuc vauiutj
The Wildcats are best known for
i their tough defense, and if they force
I a few Gamecocks turnovers, then
they can go on streaks of 10 or 12
straight points.
r Keep Mohammed off the glass
f Nazr Mohammed leads the
Wildcats in total rebounds with 121.
While effective on the defensive end
(52 defensive rebounds, 25 blocks
i and 25 steals), Mohammed is a terror
! on the offensive glass, with 69
' offensive rebounds.
\
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d andlor interested in
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