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MCKIE'S MARC Senior BJ McKie ranks ; Carolina's all-time leadii er with 1,976 points. McKie now sets his sigl becoming the Gameccx 2,000-point scorer. I Monday, February 1, Mural | legacy i UxU William Folks Common Folklore ^ZZIZZZZZ^ZZIlJ I that seated just under 55,1 What I saw that year I Rogers, the university's fii ner, began his award-wini rushing for 153 yards in tl ic. He only got better as tl 224 yards against Duke, 1 Wake Forest, 168 against against Michigan, and 141 "Big George" rushed fo year, en route to a record-: his Gamecock career. To p USC back before or since 1 mark (Brandon Bennett n list behind Rogers, with 3, Of the 36 games in US has rushed for more than long to Rogers. Simply pul and Gamecock fans haven But as nearly all USC "No. 38" involves much m( numbers he put up here a: so about embarrassment,1 ing respect. In 1986, Rogei narcotics. At the peak of his suco life all appeared to be unn world's greatest athletes, i and effort out the window Properly vilified in the mained true to form. Like he ran over on the field, h< a 11 J I i H WOMEN'S B-E as The Lady Gamecoc ig scor- Ole Miss 68-56 Sur dropping their recc 10 and 0-9 in the J its on Lester paced Carol] ?s' first 21 points, while he Jocelyn Penn, cont points and 11 rebc , 1999 rone but remains When I was 5 years old, my dad decided my little brother and I were finally old enough to start attending USC football games regularly. The year was 1980, and the Gamecocks would win all seven home games that season, earning a Gator Bowl berth against Dan Marino and the fourth-ranked Pitt Panthers. At the time, USC was a football independent, playing its home games in a single upper-decked version of Williams-Brice Stadium 100. have yet to see since. George *st and only Heisman Trophy winling, All-American senior season by le Gamecocks' 37-0 win over Pacifhe season went along, racking up 93 against N.C- State, 177 against both Clemson and Georgia, 142 L against boutnern uaiilornia. r a school-record 1,894 yards that shattering 5,204 over the course of ut that number in perspective, no las even eclipsed the 4,000-yard inks second on the school's all-time 055 yards). C history where a Gamecock back 150 yards, 14 of those games be;, you had to see him to believe him, 't seen anything like him since, fans are aware, the story behind ire than just the mind-boggling t USC and later in the NFL. It's altribulation, redemption and regainrs was arrested for nossession of ess, Rogers' career, reputation, and aveling. Here was one of the seemingly throwing all his talent because of fast, reckless living, media, Rogers nevertheless rethe thousands of would-be tacklers j took the hit in the newspapers, LEGACY page 6 I | (ALL :ks lost to >EC. Annie 7 ^vl ina with ributed 14 f / >unds. ^ USCs by Charlie Wallace )' Assistant Sports Editor ie The quest took four years to be- ^ come a reality. And 32 minutes into the 115th game of one man's career, the quest was finished. BJ McKie, Columbia's favorite 0 son, became the all-time leading scor- 01 er in South Carolina men's basketball history Saturday night by surpassing another native of the capital ^ city, Alex English. 3" "It was a relief to get it over with," McKie said. "It's in the back of your fi] head and you can't help but think about it at times." ea For McKie, setting the record, ai which was followed during the game bf by a brief ceremony where he was m given the game ball, was one of the few joyous occasions he has had this er season. d( The Gamecocks have struggled to most of the year, but went on to ec defeat the Vanderbilt Commodores Q in the game, 69-57, improving their ti: record to 7-13 this season. The Gamecocks started off look- p ing much the way they have all year. ^ Vanderbilt freshman guard Sam ^ Howard drained a 3-pointer on the Qr first possession of the game to put aj the Commodores ahead early. Carolina's first points of the game came from none other then McKie, whose driving layup cut the Vandy ^ lead to 5-2. ' McKie later gave USC their first w lead of the game, on a pull-up jumper, cc 4-s\ -r-vi 14- fVin rin mn/iA/ilro nr\ Unr* R^ KAJ put tllC WO-ULIC^UV^IVO up \J-U. I1CI - w bert Lee Davis then came off the ^ bench to nail a 3-pointer, increasing USC's lead to four. ^ Later, after two consecutive bas- D kets by William Gallman, Davis sf nailed another three and Carolina in found themselves leading 18-9 and playing about as good as they have lo all year. tb "I've said time in and time out ? that I believe in my teammates, and I lA I I q> 11 fe\ \m Kil Sailr * (Bamecock . port The Gamecock Inks relieve that they will step up," McKsaid. "They're playing with a lot confidence right now and the main ling we have to do is build on that id keep working hard in practice id keep improving and come out cused each and every time we step it on the floor." And Gallman and Davis weren't te only players stepping up. Recus ix, who got a rare start, swished a pointer to extend the Gamecocks' ad to 23-12 with 9:45 left in the rst half. Vanderbilt wouldn't go away that irly, however. At one point, Howard id junior guard Atiba Prater made ick-to-back threes to pull the Comodores to within seven. James Strong then had a 3-point , and with 2:24 left in the half, Vanirbilt had closed the Carolina lead 29-28. Another of McKie's patent1 driving layups followed, and the amecocks held a 33-32 lead at halfme. To open up the second half, rater drove in for a layup, and VU lally retook the lead. Prater, a juah Awry* C^Ar>A A/f A-I ir?4-nin IITAA4 vji 11 uiii kjtAjiic lviuuiiuuii, vjra., went i to finish the game with 16 points id drew praise from Gamecock iach Eddie Fogler. "I think Prater is one of the most iderrated "players in the league," igler said. "He's a real good guard ho is great with the ball, hard to intain and control, and he is very 3od at spotting up and shooting irees." After McKie answered with a iree of his own, true freshman amien Kinloch provided another >ark off the bench for USC, makig a steal that led to a layup. The next trip down the floor, Kinch made a spot-up jumper to keep ie Gamecocks ahead, 46-42. USC page 6 I fol iV'B i I I |9H Ne> gm rartTTU^B d I i LjlIiJH * RH i. SCHEDULE Women's bask P? Georgia, 5 p.m. Frank McGuire j Men's basketbi Auburn, 7:30 p.i Frank McGuire i . HIk #i PHI pHMH| iP pplll ' j j,^ ,Mg|gt I -/ * | -$ ^ 1 Senior BJ McKie sails to the hoop Satur surpassed Alex English as USC's all-time m<um re you ra partthat \ * Work around your c f Offer a competitive * Help you gain valuat ook no further,. Inter-M the perfect oppor w business has created time day and evening pc f you like talking on the rfect job for you! No pri Training classes bei We of S $7.00/hrto start 2? Competitive bonus: Paid training 2? Flexible scheduling S Advancement oppoi 2T Pleasant and profes mne to work in a state Call toi 1-800-83 NATE SAYS... etball vs. Nate says Ryan Harrison is Wednesday, now the man-to beat with the ^j-ena 35-lb. weight, shattering both the American collegiate record ill vs. No. 7 and the school record with a n. Wednesday, winning toss of 73 feet, 6 <\rena. inches at the SEC-ACC Challenge Saturday. Page 5 lodores "Ml I'll! Ill I1 II" III II? Twi "iAmm Sean Rayford Photo Fditor day in the Gamecocks' victory over Vanderbilt. 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