The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 20, 1998, Page 6, Image 6
^ A recap of the Gamecocks' game
against Florida.
^ A look at both the baseball and s<
ball teams' weekend series.
Walvieball plays its final home gai
Page 6
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Williams
larry WILLIAMS
t Scoop Shots
Two years ago, when Billy Donovan
replaced Lon Kruger as head coach of
the Florida Gators, he had a problem
with his best player, forward LeRon
Williams.
Donovan let people know about it,
hitting the booster club circuit, telling
loyal Gator backers that Williams didn't
have the desire or work ethic to see significant
playing time in the 1996-97
season..
Williams, Florida's "Mr. Basketball"
in high school, had averaged 10
points and 4.8 rebounds as a sophomore.
He was a mainstay in the Gators'
starting lineup under Kruger.
Invariably and predictably, Williams
eventually heard Donovan's unfavorable
comments. He went to his coach
and said he wanted to transfer. Donovan
picked up the telephone and made
the calls for him.
More than a year later, Donovan's
prescience has been rewarded. His team
finds the open man well. It shoots well.
But the Gators can't rebound, or play
defense for falling flat on their faces.
The Gatort are last in the SEC in
scoring defense. The team is 11th in rebounding.
Had Williams stayed in
Gainesville, Fla., he'd be a senior now,
presumably doing what he's doing for
USC in Columbia: establishing himself
as a fearful presence in the low post.
He's averaging 11.3 points per game.
He's pulled down four rebounds per
game. He adds dimension and makes
formidable a weak frontcourt.
In his first meeting against his old
coach, last month's narrow victory in
Frank McGuire Arena, Williams
brought the Gamecocks from 12 down
almost all by himself. He showed poise,
tenacity, unflappability and desire.
Williams did all the things Donovan,
in his infinite wisdom, believed were
impossible.
Perhaps Donovan was trying to light
a fire under his star player. Maybe he
was using a familiar tactic of his old
boss, Rick Pitino, trying to tick a
player off so bad with his insults that
he becomes a terror on the court, taking
frustrations out on his opponents.
Williams took out his frustrations,
all right. All over Donovan.
Lefs ponder, for a moment, Donovan's
accusations. If Williams is bereft
of the "desire" and "work ethic" to play
basketball, how do you explain his performance
in a Gamecock uniform?
Fogler suspended Williams for
Wednesday's game at Arkansas. The
extent of Fogler's explanation was that
Williams violated academic policy. The
brevity of Fogler's response means one
thing: We can't speculate on Williams'
academic transgressions because we
don't know.
USC undoubtedly missed Williams'
presence in its 96-88 loss in Fayettville,
Ark. But we can't say USC wins if
Williams plays. When a team like
Arkansas makes almost every 3-pointer
it tosses up, when a team is running
the floor as well as UA was, it makes
things difficult, no matter who plays.
But consider what Williams does
on the court, then think for a moment
about Donovan's imprudent comments.
If you want to play for Fogler, desire
and work ethic are the first things you
bring to the table.
If they're not, you're out the door,
plain and simple. If he is truly the slacker
on the court that Donovan said he
was, then Williams doesn't play 22 minutes
in the Florida game, doesn't score
14 points, doesn't pull down seven rebounds.
He doesn't have the opportu
nity to mane nis oia coacn eat every
word he carelessly babbled two years
ago to those loyal Gator boosters.
If Williams didn't have the work
ethic, things would have happened differently.
If he doesn't have the desire,
Florida beats USC last month. Now,
after he's been proven wrong, Donovan
should admit he lacked the precognition
two years ago to realize just who
and what he was giving up.
He'll have another chance tomorrow
when USC visits Gainesville.
Good thing for USC, Williams is the
model of consistency in the frontcourt
that Eddie Fogler has been searching
for in his four-and-a-half years here.
He was there when his team
needed him the most in that Florida
game, in the last four minutes, when
the Gamecocks hadn't yet solved Florida's
inside-out game.
WILLIAMS page seven
4
(
)ftne.
^
Gameco
asst. sports editor NATHAN BROWN sunk two 3
Five minu
This little piggy went to the mar- found itse
ket. This little piggy stayed home. This largest del
little piggy had roast chicken. This lit- Gamecocks
tie piggy had none. And the Arkansas On a 16-3 r
"Piggies" sent the No. 13 Gamecocks ]ea(^ to tw(
(19-5,9-4 SEC) crying "wee, wee, wee" b ^ntoni
all the way home with an 88-96 loss
Wednesday night. he game .
It wasn't the first'thne that Car- ?a W11
olina lost in Arkansas. In fact, USC pU
has yet to win in Bud Walton Arena ^Ver'??,
since joining the SEC in 1992. .e
And it wasn't the first time that the While
Gamecocks got behind early and theGamec
then battled back. There was the mirac- floor,
ulous 23-point comeback against cen*
Cincinnati and the 12-point comeback percent fo
against Florida. fhis ?>ame,
But with No. 15 Arkansas (20-6, outshot th
10-3 SEC) playing tough defense and a^so ^-0 >
with Pat Bradley shooting USC's eyes turnovers,
out, the Gamecocks were unable to have *? W(
climb out of their hole and dropped perfect st
their second straight road game. ball over 1J
"Their basketball team was a little olina's tur
better than we were tonight," USC the Hogs,
coach Eddie Fogler said. "I saw some Anothi
good things for us. We didn't quit.. Jf s came from
veiy disappointing that we did not win." way to sco:
HPn erfemf fVio ao/wnrl Kalf Avl^cmeQC!, wont 7-fnr.
A. VS UVU1 V fliv UUVV11U 11U11 j A XX 1VU11UUU TV VUV IV/1
Bradley, who finished with 33 points, arc and 12
Lady Gan
sports editor BRYAN JOHNSTON
The new lights at Beckham Field were not supposed
to be used officially until March 11 when
the Lady Gators of Florida come to town. But if it
weren't for the new lights, the Lady Gamecock
softball team's opening games against Georgia
Southern would have been postponed due to darkness.
The first game started at 3 p.m., and nearly
four and half hours after the first pitch by Sky
Brown, the Lady Gamecocks had swept the Lady
Eagles, winning 5-0 and 5-2.
But the two victories didn't come without a
heavy price. Carolina lost shortstop Kendra McCutcheon
for the year when she broke her ankle
while sliding into second base.
But not all was as gloomy as the chilly weath
r> j t> ]
CI, <19 JDIUWH OI1U 111IY.AJ uccia LU11UUUCU LIIC 1111pressive
winning streaks.
"We've been so anxious to play," USC coach
Joyce Compton said. "I thought we did a good
job of coming out. I thought we had some good at
bats, and I think it showed today."
In Game 1, Carolina opened up with two runs
in the first when freshman Megan Donohoo and
junior Kim Pietro crossed the plate. USC added
three more in the third when it put together five
consecutive base hits with two out.
Pietro opened the rally with a double, followed
by a single fh>m Sondra Hall. Carrie Elliott-Hoshour
singled in Pietro, and Brown's single drove in Hall
from second base. Sophomore Leanna Troesh finished
the rally with a single up the middle, driving
in Elliott-Hoshour.
That would be more than enough for Brown,
who went five innings, allowing no runs and one
hit while striking out one. The win was Brown's
21st in a row dating back to 1996. Freshman Joyce
McMillin came in to pitch two scoreless innings
for the Lady Gamecocks.
In the second game, Carolina once again put
two on the board in their first at bat. McMillin led
off with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice
bunt by Donohoo. Pietro also drew a walk and
moved to second on a wild pitch, setting up Elliott-Hoshour.
The senior drove the 1-0 pitch
through the infield to score the two baserunners,
giving USC a 4-0 lead.
Carolina added two more in the second when
sophomore Kim Schultze and freshman Kendra
Meano were driven in by Donohoo and Pietro, respectively.
Georgia Southern scored two unearned runs
in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 4-2, but the
Lady Gamecocks would answer. Hall led off the
cm. : ; 4- _:?U4 c_i J j
in til iiuiing wiui a mpie iu uecp iigHt nciu cinu
scored when Elliott-Hoshour drove in her fourth
run of the day.
Beers went the distance, allowing no earned
runs and nine hits while striking out two. The win
marked the 16th in a row for Beers, going back to
last season.
But the big story of the day had to be that of
McCutcheon. The second-team All-SEC shortstop
from a year ago was lost for the year just two batters
into the Lady Gamecocks' season. Leading off
The No. 16 base- The No. 6 softball
team vs. ball team vs.
Cleveland State Georgia State
Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.n
Saturday, 2 p.m. Beckham Field
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Sarge Frye Field
5P in>
The Gamecock
cks falter
-pointers to spark a 9-2 run. "Most of the time his
tes after the run, Carolina contested," Ryan Stack sj
sii down Dy 10 points, tne tne time good snooters 11
ficit of the game. Then the hit so many and then go
3 made their patented move, couldn't [go cold]. Our gi
un, USC cut the Razor-backs' him. The defense was g<
> points on a 2-point bucket just hitting shots. There's
o Grant with 5:20 left in you can really do. You j
Arkansas answered Granf s set."
h a 3-pointer to essentially Stack put his frustrat
ame away as the 'Backs use scoring 17 points anc
id back, outscoring USC 14- game-high nine rebound
ast five minutes. ing was the only category
Arkansas outscored USC, Gamecocks had an advan
ocks outshot the Hogs from na outrebounded Arkans
knocking down 53.3 per- "Coming into this gam
iir shots compared to 48.5 phasized how good of a reb
r the Razorbacks. Prior to Davis is," Stack said. "Tha
Carolina was 12-0 when it phasis of our game [to <
e other team. Carolina was them]."
vhen committing fewer Davis, a native of Co
But the Gamecocks didn't ished with five rebouni
irry about blemishing this points,
reak as USC turned the Another Columbia nat
) times to Arkansas' 11. Car- a good game is Bj Mckie
novers led to 27 points for the Gamecocks' leading sc
points. Mckie's All-SEC <
jr 33 points for Arkansas Melvin Watson, scored II
i n... JI__. r\~ i_:_ J* i__ J i.i_ _ l 11 _i_i. x
one piayer, oramey. un nis uisneu on me nan eigni i
ring a career-high, Bradley Carolina in assists.
11 from behind the 3-point With the loss, USCs hi
:-for-19 from the field. as SEC-Champions was
lecocks wii
^ "'f
SEAN KAYFORD The Gamecock
Above: Sophomores Leanna Troesh (No. 10)
and Kim Schultze congratulate junior Kim
Pietro (with bat in hand) in the Lady
Gamecocks' victory over Georgia Southern.
At right, senior Sky Brown picked up her
21st-consecutive victory with the opening
game win.
in the bottom of the first inning, McCutcheon
reached first on an error.
Freshman Megan Donohoo grounded the
ball to second base, forcing the out at second. But
as McCutcheon slid into the base, her right ankle
remained between the base and the ground as her
momentum carried the rest of her body over the
ankle, snapping it instantly.
After being taken to the hospital, McCutcheon
was diagnosed with a double fracture of the ankle
with ligament damage. The Lake City, S.C.,
native is gone for the season and had surgery
Wednesday night. She will be redshirted and will
return next year as a junior.
That forced the sudden shifting of Coach Compton's
lineup. Compton decided to move Donohoo
to shortstop, and Donohoo played the position like
a veteran, not the freshman she is.
"I was really nervous at the beginning of the
game," Donohoo said. "I was just thinking 'don't
mess up.' I've played a lot of shortstop, and I felt
comfortable playing shortstop."
Playing in her first collegiate game, Donohoo
1 e i? *1 4
auiiiiiieu iici pciiuiiudiitc was lesB-uimr-pei- 1
feet, despite committing no errors in ground-ball 1
attempts, including a nifty 6-3 double-play. She
did commit one throwing error. 1
"I've got a lot of work to do," said the Chat- ?
tanooga, Tenn., native. "I've watched Kendra play
and just from watching her, I've learned a lot. But s
I've still got a lot to work on." t
Compton said she was pleased with Donohoo's 1
performance. t
"I thought Megan did a great job," Compton
said. "She's been working some at shortstop, but 1
I thought she did a great job in a tough situation." I
The No. 2 men's track and field, a
No. 6 women's track and field sqi
host the Gamecock Invitational,
v., Throwing, 11 a.m., Weems-Baskin
Track.
All other competition, noon, Indoi
Facility
Nate s:
first- ai
^ the 19"
eligibil
t first te;
/ Jordan
in Fayei
I shots were stroyed as the Gamecocks moved two
aid. "Most of games behind division leader Kentucky,
ke that will Kentucky avenged its loss earlier in
cold. But he the season by pounding Florida on
ays were on Wednesday 79-54. Kentucky must still
)od. He was face the Georgia Bulldogs in Rupp Arenothing
that na and Auburn on the road before comiust
get up- ing to USC for the season finale.
Carolina, on the other hand, also
dons to good has to face Georgia, a team that has
1 snagging a been on a roll lately grabbing wins
s. Rebound- against Arkansas, Alabama, Florida
in which the and Vanderbilt prior to the Kentucky
tage. Caroli- game.
as 35-32. "Everybody has three [games! left,
e, coach em- and nothing is easy," Fogler said.
>ounder Nick "That's just the way it is in our league,
t was an em- LSU seems to be the only team that's
jutrebound really struggling. Outside of that, everyone
looks at their remaining three
lumbia, fin- games and says Wow.'"
ds and four Next up for the Gamecocks will be
the Gators (13-10, 6-7 SEC). Earlier
;ive who had this season, Florida came into Frank
. Mckie was McGuire Arena and gave Carolina a
:orer with 23 scare as USC found itself down by 12
counterpart, points in the second half. But the Game
3 points and cocks battled back to grab the victory
imes to lead when Grant tipped in the winning bucket
with nine tenths of a second left,
ope to repeat A major difference between Sati
all but de- urda/s contest and the previous meet12,
lose 1
b?I
|HpR|tak 7 Wi
; * >
I:;...,' *$
f ' V ! iC " ;i . '
' *"*' ^ *
<:- - I
The Lady Gamecocks are looking for more offense
this year and got it in a big way from ElliottSoshour.
The native of Birmingham, Ala., who recenty
got married, went three for five, with two singles,
a double and for RBI.
T just had fun," Elliott-Hoshour said. "I just
sat back and said, 1 can't stress,' and I've been
;hinking in the box too much lately. Coach and I
lave been working individually on my swing over
;he past three weeks and it paid off."
The No. 6 Lady Gamecocks (2-0) return to Becklam
Field Saturday for a meeting with Georgia
State. The double-header begins at 2 p.m.
ind Lady Gamecock The No. IS
jads basketball team women's t
vs. Kentucky team vs. /
7 p.m., Frank Sunday, 1
McGuire Arena Maxcy-Gre
>r Tennis Coj
4
ays more than half of the All-NBA
ad second-team selections since
79-80 season departed school with
ity remaining, including all five
amers in 1988-89 (Barkley, Magic,
, K. Malone and Olajuwan).
Friday, February 20,1998
tteville
ing is that Florida will be playing without
its leading scorer Jason Williams
who was suspended earlier this week.
Another Williams, who will be returning
to the court after a suspension,
is USC's LeRon Williams. Williams
was suspended for the Arkansas contest
for violating a team academic policy.
That does hurt Florida [losing J.
Williams]," Fogler said. "But they have
two more days to adjust to playing without
him by the time we play. And it
will be nice to have LeRon back. That
was a one-game suspension. Nothing
major, but the message needed to be
sent."
To offset the loss of UF's J.
Williams, the game will be played in
Gainesville where the Gators are notoriously
tougher to play. In the
Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Florida
leads the series 6-4. The Gamecocks
have won the past four contests against
the Gators, and Grant sees Carolina
coming away with its fifth consecutive
win if the team works together.
"If we can keep playing well together,
then I think when we go down
to Florida that I like our chances,"
Grant said.
Bauer leads
Carolina
over WCU
staff writer JOE QUINN
Freshman right-hander Peter Bauer
struck out 11 Western Carolina batters
in seven innings Wednesday,
and third baseman Eric Stanton had
three hits to pace the South Carolina
baseball team to a 3-0 win.
The shutout was the first by South
Carolina's staff since a 25-0 win over
West Virginia March 2,1997.
Bauer improved his record .to 2-0
as the Gamecocks moved to 5-2 on
the young season.
Sophomore Jamie Poston pitched
the eighth inning and Jason Pomar the
ninth for USC with Pomar earning his
first save of the season.
The Gamecocks took a 1-0 lead with
an unearned first-inning run. Western
Carolina left fielder Matt Stillwell
dropped Mike Curry's leadoff fly ball
for a three-base error. Curry scored on
a balk.
Bryon Jeffcoat's single drove in
Tripp Kelly to make it 2-0 in the fourth
inning. USC's final run came in the
fifth inning, when Stanton's double,
the only extra-base hit of the day, drove
in Ryan Bordenick.
Curry had two singles, both of them
infield hits, and Derick Urquhart singled
twice for the Gamecocks.
Bauer gave up two singles to the
first two batters he faced but pitched
out of the first inning with the aid of
a double play.
The No. 16 Gamecocks host Cleve1
1 x 1_ 1 J f. .. _ A1
lanu oiaie mis weesena ior a inreegame
series. USC and CSU play at 3
p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m.
Sunday. Carolina plays at Sarge Frye
Field, located behind The Roost
dorm.
I 1 -t??'
' MtmNr
SEAN RAYFORD The Gamecock
Freshman Peter Bauer picked up
his second win of the year
Wednesday against WCU.
) The No. 22 men's
ennis tennis team vs.
Auburn UNC-Charlotte
p.m., Sunday, 2 p.m.,
:gg refill LUMIIICI
mplex Tennis Complex