The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 19, 1997, Page 11, Image 11
Gamecocks de;
BRYAN JOHNSTON
>
PITTSBURGH -Yes, they lost to
a team they should have beat.
Yes, the season is over.
And yes, all the talk of
championships and glory have
changed to failure and shattered
dreams.
The Gamecocks' season ended
abruptly Friday when they were
beaten by Coppin State, 78-65.
,) The 15th-seeded champions of
the MEAC defeated the No. 2-seeded
Gamecocks in Pittsburgh in a game
that was just plain ugly.
USC was outrebounded,
outhustled and outscored. It just
looked like the Eagles wanted it
more than the Gamecocks.
And they weren't the only ones.
Of the 17,100 fans in attendance,
close to 16,750 were rooting for the
| under-dog.
.And as an improbable upset
loomed, the fans got louder and
louder, to the point where the
Gamecocks weren't playing on a
neutral site.
But it could be a lot worse.
Carolina might not have made the
big Dance, l ney coma nave Deen
relegated to the Not Interested
Tournament. They might not have
beaten Kentucky twice or have won
the school's first-ever SEC title in
>' any sport.
As the old cliche goes: It is better
to have loved and lost than to never
have loved at all.
nr
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Worli
you can do som<
Learn from some of the
Work behind the scene?
Live with people from a
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If you
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It's a shame that such an
incredible season will be
remembered for one game.
USC will be forever linked to
the record books as only the third
No. 2 seed to lose to a No. 15 seed
in the NCAA tournament since it
expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Ten years from now, talk of the
1996-97 season will revolve around
"The Debacle in The 'Burgh."
Hey, let's forget that the
Gamecocks beat the Wildcats twice,
went into Cincinnati and won, went
15-1 in the SEC, won the regularseason
title, were ranked as high
as No. 4 in the nation and had three
count 'em, three players on the first
team All-SEC team.
So now that the Gamecocks
season is over, how are the
Gamecocks supposed to be nexl
year?
Granted they are losing All-SEC
performer Larry Davis and reserve
Nate Wilbourne, but mark my words
this day: The Gamecocks will be
better next year than they were
this year.
Coach Eddie Fogler is bringing
in two highly-regarded guards, plus
Antonio Grant will be available
after being redshirted this year
Lee Davis has his freshman yeai
out of the way and should be ?
scoring threat next year.
Arthur Carlisle came on late in
the season and is another solid
guard.
Oh yeah, All-SEC members BJ
McKie and Melvin Watson will be
back.
As part of 1
the Walt Disney
d?College Program,
? pretty amazing things.
I top managers in the hospitality a
; at the world's number one vacal
II over the world.
re priceless! And so is the experiei
) to be considered. Start building i
xjt special opportunities for those:
: Tuesday, March 25 TIME: 7 pm LG
)RE INFO, CONTACT: Tom Ward (81
isit us 3t www.careermosaic.com/cm/wdv
Wr$)1s^Wor]
:0E Drawing Creativity from Div
cron ?tlra
NOR STOLE OR
ix graduate or graduate stuc
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have any questions, call
SPC
>r great season
Ryan Stack and William
Gallman were pleasant surprises
this year and should be even better
* next season.
George Formanek and transfer
LeRon Williams will be eligible next
year as well.
Williams, a transfer from Florida,
s is a talented big-man who is
[ dangerous from the outside.
I know I'll see all of you
s fairweather fans next year when
USC is climbing in the polls once
; again.
So instead of bashing the team,
i why don't you congratulate them
, on a great season. They feel bad
: enough for the way they played.
They don't need to keep hearing
about it. - _ - ssi
s In my mind, Carolina was a
t winner just by making the
tournament.
Only 64 teams outof311
s Division I teams make the field so
i they can't be that bad.
( The true winners are those that
! go out give it their all in the name
of competition. It matters not what
I the outcome is, only the fact that
i they competed.
! So the dream season is over. Or
was it a dream season?
A dream is a fantasy or
i something that usually doesn't come
true. I don't think that's quite right
l because the Gamecocks were
I projected to do well, just not that
well.
1 I like to think of it as more of a
s prologue season. It's just a sign of
the great things to come.
ind entertainment industry.
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tional Collegiate Scholars
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ma Theta Tau
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ice of Student Affairs,
irch 20th.
1779-4738.
jRTS!
Lethargic play
This was not the way I had
envisioned mv SDrine break.
I was a single guy in Myrtle
Beach during couples' week, I had
spent a ton of money on alcohol (not
like that was a bad thing), and the
Gamecocks lost to Coppin State in
the first round of the NCAA
tournament.
The Gamecocks lost in the first
round? No, not the same team that
beat Kentucky twice, including
beating them on Senior Day for the
first time in 33 years. Not the same
team that went 15-1 in the
K ^Southeastern Conference and won
it by two full games. Yes, those guys.
Who did they lose to again? Who
the hell is Coppin State, anyway?
Weren't they a lowly 15-seed from
a cheesy conference?
The sad truth about that first
round debacle is that we lost to a
team out of the mighty MEAC
located in Baltimore, Maryland,
with a coach named Fang and a
band that they borrowed.
All the fairweather Carolina fans
now have something to bitch about.
Yes, all those fans who only went
to the games in which they had a
slight chance to get on television;
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SUMME1
0NTH1
If you did
ROTC as
sophomoi
catch up tl
attending
Camp Ch;
six-week
leadersh:
now. You ]
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dooms Gamec<
the same people who wanted Eddie
Fogler's head in December probably
want his head now in March. We
are a fickle lot, aren't we?
Back to the game itself, what
happened to the triumvirate of
guards that were being compared
to the great Georgia Tech teams of
the early 1990's. Ill tell you what
happened, they disappeared under
the zone defense of Coppin State.
BJ McKie scored 16 points, a
shade under his 17.5 point average.
Melvin Watson, however, only had
five assists while committing six
turnovers. Larry Davis went one
for eight from the field in 33 minutes.
However, what really left me
pissed off about this game was the
lethargic style in which the
Gamecocks played it. Their passes
were lazy and high, putting the
shooters out of position for shots.
We were out-hustled, out-played,
and simply out-classed by a smaller,
faster opponent with more heart
than we had.
We were expecting to go to the
Sweet 16, maybe the Elite Eight.
Instead we are home, with the
dubious distinction of being just the
third number two seed to lose to a
15-seed since the field was expanded
to 64 teams in 1985.
It remains to be seen whether
ions are now a
g leadership positions in Si
I job descriptions may be p
or of Student Life, Russell
dline for completed applic
) p.m., Friday, March 28, 1
r-in-Chief, Summ
r-in-Chief, Fall 19
isible for every aspect of tl
nd advertising; oversees th
Editor-in-Chief, 1
isible for every aspect of tl
nd advertising; recruits anc
lanager, 1997-98
isible for every aspect of tl
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wSame
intact the Office of the Direct<
I^SCHOOLFOE
OR WAT TOT!
n't sign up for for a $4,000 S'
a freshman or and advance
:e, you can still training when
his summer by to campus ii
Army ROTC You'll also
allenge, a paid self-confide
course in discipline
ip. Apply hyPa to succeed
may qualify pJpM and beyon
ARMY ROTC
I SMARTEST COLLEGE COURSE YOU CAN 1
>r details, visit Legare College or
nnrt' / c ao /xcao
ill ow/oat^
3cks from start
or not this was a fluke, or the start
of something huge.
If I were really heartless, I could
give this week's idiot award to our
basketball team, but alas, I will give
them a much-needed break. After
nil lUmr 11r\1 nnv4 \TA*
ail, tilery nave uiim iicai iiuvchul^i
to relax.
Instead, I will give this week's
winners of the Forrest Gump "Stupid
Is As Stupid Does" Award to a group
of people who really deserve it?the
Selection Committee for the NCAA
tournament. And as always, I come
to bury stupidity, not to praise it,
as the movie suggests.
First of all, explain to me how
the Selection Committee could place
the College of Charleston as a 12th seed
when they finished the season
ranked No. 16, yet place teams such
as Clemson and Georgia in as fourth
and third seeds, respectively.
After this weekend's upsets and
debacles, it's rather obvious that
these guys are missing the point
when it comes to inviting teams in
and seeding them.
There were a great deal of weak
sisters in this field, but this could
be recunea witn a ntue bit ot common
sense, but that would be too simple.
I think the prerequisite for being
on a committee like this is not to
have common sense.
mailable
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ations
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er 1997
'97
ie newspaper, including
e editorial staff.
997-98
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