The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, December 05, 1997, Page 9, Image 9
The good,
^ M W6 %9B It |
Well, all those classes that we
thought we'd ace in August are coming
to a close, and that means the sports
that have given us a much-needed
break from those classes are also wrapping
up.
Whether your favorite pastime
was watching Brad Scott's troops battle
the best in the SEC or watching
Kim Hudson keep the leashes on her
"Ballheads" as her volleyball team
oared to new heights, you definitely
saw some good things, bad things and
some downright ugly things.
So, BJ and myself have compiled
the first-ever Gamecock Sports Good,
Bad and Ugly Awards. We're hear to
praise the good in Gamecock athletics,
remember the bad, and hope to God
we can forget the ugly.
And we all know as fiamernek
fans, you have to put up with the bad
^nd ugly as much as the good.
First, the good news.
The best thing to report from the
fall is that both the volleyball team
and the men's soccer team advanced
to the NCAA tournament in their respective
sports. The volleyball team
finished a best-ever 11-3 in the SEC,
while the soccer team had success
throughout the entire year.
Another good thing for our school
this fall was the lofty preseason rankings
for our men's basketball team.
The "Dynamic Duo" of Melvin Watson
and Bj Mckie have the nation's
heads turning the Gamecocks' way given
they're currently No. 5 in the nation.
A big test for the Gamecocks looms
Dec. 17 when they must travel to "The
John" to play Clemson.
The football team didn't have the
greatest of seasons, but it was a good
^ noment when they shut down East
Carolina and running back Scott Harley
after the Pirates ran all over the Gamecocks
the last three times they played.
T'Vita fimo fkn riomannnlro nrnnf infn
x iuo buuvy uig u aixiu vuvno yt vii v uiiu
their purple haze and came away as
26-0 winners.
Volleyball also received a couple
of other awards that fall into the good
category. Head Coach Kim Hudson
fcvon the SEC Coach of the Year Award,
tnd senior Heather Larkin became only
the second USC athlete to be named
f <_k
STCnnou
tv\
9 Cut
He si
Call t
"IL
w
m
]
We will help you
^jSSk
OTPS'
Ca
bad, ugly o:
to the All-SEC team four straight seasons.
The men's golf team also showed
some signs of a bright future when they
won the Palmetto Classic led by true
freshman Kyle Thompson. The Gamecock
golf program has been rejuvenated
by the coaching of Puggy Blackmon,
who coached greats like David Duval
while at Georgia Tech.
The equestrian team also did some
good, beating Clemson at their own
game four times this year. But, I guess
it's easier to jump over those fences
with horses than with cows, like Clem
auii was using.
The greatest thing to come to Columbia
and USC this semester happened
way back on August 25 at the
Carolina Coliseum.
That's when WCW Monday NITRO
came to Columbia, and the great
"Enforcer" Arn Anderson retired right
in the Frank McGuire Arena. Also,
Sting solidified his position as a member
of WCW, and Scott Hall started
conducting his famous surveys on the
same floor that John Roche and Alex
English played.
But for all the good there was
some bad at USC, too. One bad thing
would have to be the situation that
redshirt freshman Vic Penn was put
in. Penn was thrown into the fire at
Tennessee and had to lead the Gamecocks
against Florida and Clemson.
Needless to say, he really didn't have
a chance this year, considering how
little expenence he had.
And on that same note, another
bad would have to be just the whole
football season in general. A season
that started with such promise started
with a blocked punt and ended with
the two offensive coaches resigning
from Scott's staff.
Needless to say, Scott and his new
staff have some big decisions to make,
especially if Anthony Wright can't
return for his senior year.
Another bad thing would be the
soccer team's loss to Clemson... twice.
The first came in the regular season
and then again last weekend in the
NCAA tournament.
And one of the more emotional
days of the year, Senior Day at volleyball,
ended with a disappointing
loss to Georgia. It was sad to see
such a great senior class of Heather
Larkin, Lori Drost and Shani Abshier
Tcnvw
Mote
jicing tfie opening
vo-room Jacuzzi S
2. blocks from HSC
Ming size bed
Jvticrowave oven
SMini Refrigerator
'olina's 'Full serv
laurant and Zou,
oday and enjoy a week
oj \ouite 1 ureams .
Clarion Town SHouse
I^IS Serva^s
Columbia, S.C. 2.92.01
771-8711 800-277-87
e make matchi
Let us match you up
find a roommate that will
Whale
21
irter-Haston Properties ^
I
The Gamecock Kim
f semester
end their regular season career with
a loss.
And our personal bad moment
of the year is when sophomore varsity
cheerleader Laura Bokesch was sidelined
due to stress fractures in both
shins. Cheerleading coach Sylvester
"Sly" Culler expects the beauty from
Augusta, Ga., to return for the SEC
basketball season.
4.1 1 1 J )1 3 4.1 T4_
dui me Daa aoesn i ena mere. 11
gets worse ? now let's look at the
ugly.
The ugliest scene of the fall is
when Anthony Wright went down with
torn knee ligaments at Neyland Stadium
against the Tennessee Volunteers.
When he went down to the turf
he couldn't get up, and neither could
the Gamecock offense the rest of the
year.
Another ugly moment would be
the Clemson football game. After starting
with such promise when Troy Hambrick
led the Gamecocks to a 14-3 lead,
the Tigers scored 44 unanswered points
on their way to a 47-21 win.
The incident involving Zola Davis
was also another ugly moment for USC
+Vna fall TVio Thnrcrlau Kofnro
VAilU 1U11. A11V X liUX UUUJ WlUi V WX1V
Auburn game, Davis allegedly assaulted
another USC student and was
suspended for the Auburn game. Incidents
like these are not needed at
USC, otherwise this football program
will start to resemble other football
programs that have more arrests
than team sacks in a season.
The final ugly moment of the year
occurred about three weeks ago when
I was minding my own business, watching
SportsCenter, when I see Cocky
get drilled by NFL star Drew Bledsoe
in a commercial. Well, I don't guess
it was all that ugly, more funny actually.
But, if you cheer for the Game
cocks, the best thing to do is take all
the ugly and laugh because if you don't,
you won't be a very happy person. We
all know those good times just don't
come around as often as we would like.
OUST.
I
of our
uites.
ice
nge
lend
J
js!
I
I fit your lifestyle.
:y's Mill Apts.
1 Main St.
>54-7801
L
M Friday, December 5,191
Hoops tean
WILLIAMS continued from page 8
egregious monsters of the early-season
flop that did them in against Georgia
in Memphis, then Coppin St. in Pittsburgh.
Cold shooting and uninspired defense
led to the CSU and UNC-Asheville
debacles. Same form of self-destruction
against UGA and Coppin St.
Mo doubt it could have happened
again Monday, when USC fell behind
Belmont in the first half. The Belmont
that's playing its first season of Division
I-A basketball. The Belmont that
lost to MTSU, Oral Roberts and Murray
St. by an average of 18 points.
The Bruins took an early 29-22
lead Monday. Their UNC-Asheville costumes
fit, all right.
It followed the 1996-97 script nicely,
save for one thing?the Gamecocks
had been there before, and they weren't
going to let it happen again. Not on this
night. Watching the second half, you
got the sense the fear of last year's losses
alone was fuel enough to beat Belmont
by 11 points.
But fear won't carry the Gamecocks
far. Thev need to Dlav funda
mental basketball to avoid any mindboggling
losses this month.
Dribbling with the left hand is fundamental.
Correct follow-through is
Bryan Johnston Tigers
Easter Bunny 39-21
Achim Hunt Vols
Santa Claus 36-24
Nathan Brown Vols
Scrooge 40-20
Kelly Maguire Vols
Tiny Tim 36-24
Bj Mckle Vols
TheGrinch 39-21
; '%
' w ' ..
m
'M
Ani?l>. A
w'w<:,00oyi
Discover what Chr
As
Dr. Jim Augustine
CELL BIOLOGY AND
NEUROSCIENCE
Dr. Robert Best
OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
Dr. James C. Carper
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
r\ vx i rk
ur. uaniei is. lux
MATHEMATICS
Dr. Bert Ely
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Dr. Kirk Dean Fiedler
MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
Dr. Albert C. Goodyear
ARCHAEOLOGY AND
ANTHROPOLOGY
17
n must watt
fundamental. Making free throws is
fundamental.
But USC can't make its free ihrows
this year, and that's uncharacteristic
for an Eddie Fogler-coached team. USC
shot 70 percent last season and even
won a few games from the stripe.
They made 19 of 20 at Vanderbilt.
In the first UK win, they shot 72 percent.
They made 32 of 40 at Cincinnati.
Monday, they made only 13 of 25
r ? a rm_ j~i i.i
ueeuies. /\gamst iue v>iiayt;i, mey
missed 16 of 23 attempts. Those lack of
fundamentals allow ?he no-account
squads to stay close, and enable the reputable
teams to kick your butt.
Meantime, though, Ryan Stack
is finally showing why the pro scouts
like him so much. At 6-feet-ll-inches
and a "beefed up" 215 pounds, the senior
is throwing his weight around on
the blocks, doing away with the passive
label he's worn often during his
three years here.
Stack scored 12 points in the
A J i- i__i_ T rni^ i
nrst nan Monday to neip uot out 01 its
early-game funk. He was 5 of 8 from
the field, pulled down five rebounds and
dished out two assists.
With Stack helping William
Gallman, USC might actually be a force
this season in the low post, sojnething
they weren't last season. So far, Gallman
is averaging 9.3 rebounds a game
? no surprise from the junior who exMBSQTQ
Huskers Rams
Huskers Rams
Huskers Rams
? ?????????? Huskers
Rams
Huskers Rams.
?!:
B
t,j
_ ~
^f ^ *1
rOd
w- >
ears Go<^
istmas is all about. And why it's r
k one of us-we'd be glad to tell y<
Dr. Sam Hilborn
ELECTRICAL &
COMPU.ENGINEERING
Dr. Richard C. Hohn
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Dr. Chuck C.Y.Kwok
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Dr. Earl W. Lingle
PHARMACY
Dr. Garret Mandeville
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Dr. Richard B. Pool
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Dr. Charles P. Poole, Jr.
PHYSICS
Sponsored by the USC Christian
Faculty Forum
9
?h its back
celled last year in the shadow of Bj Mckie
and Melvin Watson.
Bud Johnson showed flashes Monday
of shirking whatever it was that
plagued him so last season. The junior
scored 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting, the
best numbers he's posted since his freshman
year.
So its really no surprise USC is 30,
even when considering last year.
They'll just need to keep taking care of
this early-season business and patiently
await the big ones that come later.
A team might show its true muscle
against the heavyweights. But it's
often when the recipient of a lesser
team's most valiant punch that a team must
respond with a fight-like-mad determination
to win.
A second-half scrap with the most
nondescript foe isn't so bad. It's something
the great ones encounter every
now and then. Ask Duke, UNC or Kentucky.
They've had their share. Taking
everyone's most fearsome shot, that's
what comes with the Top-10 territory.
Qn fV?nir fko morlr n-f o rrrwl
Kjsjy uicj ouuyvcu uic iiicuA ui a gwu
team by finding the means to win Monday,
the wherewithal that was nowhere
to be found this time last year.
They'll need more of the same in
the coming weeks when the schedule
offers little in terms of competition, but
much in terms of victories for USC. Victories
that can mean something later.
Herd Middies
Herd Middies
Herd Cadets
Herd Cadets
Rockets Middies
? .
<-':X r::. ;^
v x
^*< ^ ?fj|
-'' ' X ' X > *Wt "
.* '*
W>
iS*^m Ife 'i^V
-1 I I
.'"i * *
K
L W^^mm
,
'WfM* [
ieo^sWhy?
elevant to your life.
ou.
Dr. George Rekers
NEUROPSYCHIATRY/
BEHAVIORAL SCI.
\
Mr. Glen Rice
ENGLISH PROGRAMS/
INTERNATIONALS
Dr. William R. Sandberg
MANAGEMENT
Dr. Rosamond K. Sprague
PHILOSOPHY
Dr. James Tour
CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
Dr. Jon Werner
MANAGEMENT
Dr. Ralph White
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING