The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 11, 2000, Page 10, Image 10
Inside: Schedule
^ , , , . , , ■ Track at Va. Tech Invite, today
Gamecock women s tennis and women s , Al’ ’
■ Women s tennis vs. Ark., 2:30 p.m.
golf begin2000campaigns with strong show- a Baseban at 0id Dominion, 1:30 p.m.
ings ■ Softball at Texas A&M, 9 a.m.
■ Softball at Arizona, 1:30 p.m.
Postseason slipping away
USC drops ninth straight to Rebels, needs six wins to qualify for NIT
Men’s Basketball
Roundup
Gamecock Sports
If one word could describe the
South Carolina men’s basketball post
season chances, it would be despera
tion.
Thanks to their most recent loss,
83-75, to SEC West cellar-dweller Ole
Miss on Wednesday, the Gamecocks
face a daunting task if they expect
to still be playing in late March.
Barring a miraculous run through
the SEC tournament, USC must win
their next six games to finish at .500
and to be eligible for the National In
vitational Tournament.
In a good chance to break an eight
game losing streak, the Gamecocks
received 15 points from sophomore
guard Jamel Bradley but still fell to
the Rebels. With the loss, South Car
olina dropped to 1-9 in the confer
ence and 9-14 overall.
Ole Miss forwards Rahim Lock
hart and Marcus Hicks scored 18
points each to lead Mississippi to its
fifth straight victory at home over the
Gamecocks, scoring often and easily
against USC’s overworked and un
dermanned defense. The Rebels (15
*7 1 ^ n/An fnr tkn tLirri fitno in
their last four SEC games.
Hicks gave Ole Miss a 16-6 lead
in the opening six minutes, scoring
six of seven field goals. But South Car
olina cut the margin to 16-12 on a
jumper by freshman center Marius
Petravicius with 9:58 left in the first
half.
The Rebels responded with a 12
I run, highlighted by consecutive 3
pointers from guards Emmanuel Wade
and Jason Harrison, giving the Rebels
a 28-13 lead.
USC, down 33-20 at halftime,
opened up the second half with a 3
pointer by David Ross, adding to his
II points for the game.
Although the Gamecocks got as
close as seven points in the final
minute, the Rebels hit 20 of 28 free
throws to seal the victory, adding to
USC’s 4-23 SEC record of the past
two seasons.
USC shot 25 percent in the first
half, its second-worst offensive out
put of the season, but rebounded in
the second half by scoring 55 points,
its most in the second half this sea
son. However, the effort wasn’t
enough, and the Gamecocks got the
same result as most of their other
games this year, a close loss.
Although USC is coming off the
toughest 10-game stretch in the coun
Gamecocks see rage n
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Sean Rayford Gamecock Sports
USC’s Antonio Grant, 35, Marius Petravicius, 12 and Georgia’s Anthony Evans, 4, scramble for aloose ball in USC’s Jan. 22 loss to Georgia. The
Gamecocks lost their ninth straight game Wednesday and need to win out the season to qualify for postseason play.
Collins returns to mound
by Jeff Romig
Sports Editor
Clint Collins was a 4-time South Car
olina Player of the Year and a High School
All-American coming out of Bambeig
Ehrhardt High School in 1997.
When he arrived at USC in the
fall of 1997, Collins was one of two in
his class who could hit, field and pitch
well enough to get the chance to do all
three.
Kip Bouknight was called on sole
ly to pitch, leaving Collins alone in that
category.
As a freshman, Collins got the
chance to show off all his skills, fin
ishing the year 3-2 with a 6.75 ERA
on the mound and .289 with three home
runs and 14 RBIs at the plate.
Last year, he was used exclusively as
an everyday player, but wasn’t able to
replicate his freshman numbers, .215 with
a home run and 10 RBIs.
This year, Collins knew his place.
He was back on the mound and was
penciled in as USC head coach Ray Tan
ner’s closer out of the bullpen, until some
thing unexpected happened.
“In late November I started getting a
pain in my side,” Collins said. “I went to
the doctors and battled with it for about
a week. About two or three weeks ago, it
started hurting again.”
Collins went to the Thomson Student
Health Center, but no one was avail
able, so he took himself to the emergency
room. Tests were run, Collins was diag
nosed and an emergency appendicitis pro
cedure was performed.
“I was a little nervous,” Collins said.
“I’ve never had surgery before, so I re
ally didn’t know what to expect. Every
thing turned out all right.”
Now, Collins is back in action as he
practiced lightly with his teammates for
the first time on Tuesday.
“I did a little easy swinging and a lit
tle easy throwing just to get back into it,”
Collins said. “The doctor told me that on
Thursday, I can start doing some light stuff,
getting ready to go.”
Collins expects to travel with his team
to the Franklin Life Classic in Charleston
this weekend.
“As far as playing time, 1 don’t know if
they (the coaches) think I’m ready after the
suigery,” Collins said “They want me to be
100 percent when I get back in there.”
A healthy Collins will bolster a bullpen
that has already seen solid performances from
Scott Baiber, Lee Gronkiewicz and Jamie Pos
ton, but Collins isn’t ruling out hitting.
“This year, we decided to go with a DH
role and a closer role,” Collins said. “That
way, I didn’t have to throw every day across
the field”
Tanner knew the move from third back
to the mound would be a good one for
Collins’ arm.
“There’s never been any question about
Clint’s ability and his arm strength,” Tan
ner said “We’re going to let his main focus
be on the mound and maybe do some DH or
pinch-hitting for us. If he can get healthy,
there’s no question that he can add a lot to
our bullpen, but we’re certainly not going
to rush him at this point.”
Collins is happy with the new role
the USC coaches have given him.
“I’m just a country boy from Bam
berg going out there and I just try to throw
it as hard as I can and get people out. I’ve
been good at it, so hopefully it’s going
to continue into this year.”
Wrestling dub to start
for to USC students
by Shannon Rooke
Assistant Sports Editor
A new sports club is on its way to
South Carolina.
USC’s very own wrestling team is
already practicing and looking to fill its
first roster.
As of now, the school does not spon
sor the new Gamecock wrestlers, but
they will be signing up with the well
known USA Wrestlers Organization.
This national wrestling group will
sponsor American freestyle wrestling
tournaments, give the club more bene
fits and also hand out a rulebook and guide
to help with the practices.
The tournaments will include oth
er wrestling clubs from around the coun
try and perhaps give the club the expe
rience it needs to become a financed sport
at Carolina.
Junior Justin Buckingham, a former
wrestler at Fort Dorchester High School,
is conducting all practices and looks for
ward to the seeing the turnout from the
students.
“I’ve just missed it a lot,” Bucking
ham said. “And although there’s been a
lot of paperwork involved, I think it’ll
be worth it in the end.”
The club held its first practice last
weekend and received 14 new names
on the sign-up sheet.
“It’s hard to tell what kind of re
sponse we’ll get from everyone,” Buck
ingham said
“We’re looking to fill the weight
classes for the freestyle tournaments and
hopefully turn the heads of the USC ath
letics department for having a wrestling
team.”
Practices will take place in Room
306B in the Blatt P.E. Center on Fridays
at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.
Players should come ready to prac
tice and take part in a new sports
team.
“We just want everyone to know
that anybody and everybody is welcome
to come out,” Buckingham said.
Warner
overcomes
tragedies
for success
There is a disturbing trend in today’s
sports world: tragedy.
Whether it’s athletes getting into le
gal trouble, suffering career-ending in
juries or even dying, the sports world has
few positive figures or situations. '
The trend of bad news continued
Wednesday as the professional side of
sports suffered another loss.
Derrick Thomas, an all-pro linebacker
and NFL veteran of the Kansas City
Chiefs, died suddenly of cardiac arrest.
Thomas, who had been paralyzed al
most two weeks ago after being injured
in a car wreck, had just been released from
the hospital.
Hnrfnrc caiH Thnmac haH lv»pn rpha
bilitating well and had just been placed
in a wheelchair. He was on his way out
of the hospital when he told his mother
that he didn’t “feel so well.” Thomas then
suffered the heart attack that took his life.
Hall-of-Famer Walter Payton suc
cumbed to cancer, Charlotte Hornets
guard Bobby Phills died in a car wreck
and now Derrick Thomas, one of the most
prolific pass rushers in NFL history, is
gone from this life, as well.
These sobering facts make us, as fans,
realize that these sports icons, whom we
so highly look up to for their God-given
ability and talerjt with which we will nev
er be blessed, are more like us then we
know. They make mistakes, they get in
trouble and their families go through hard
times.
Thomas was only 33 when he died.
He had a good five years of football left
in his career and, financially, he was set
for the rest of his life to do whatever he
wanted.
But who exactly was Derrick Thomas
the person?
For what did he stand? What were
his views on life?
It is rare to find a professional athlete
who has a “life” outside of his profession.
Chances are that Thomas had a
happy life, he just cared not to share it
with the rest of the country.
The fact remains that there are few
athletes we know who are genuinely hap
py
It seems so many get into money, le
gal or personal trouble and we wonder,
“What in the world? They have life giv
en to them on a silver platter. They have
all the money they need.”
However, despite what the world
tells us, money does not ensure happi
IK/M.
Every now and then, a rare person
comes along who is blessed with ath
letic ability, financial success, fame and
contentment. One person who fits this
silhouette perfectly is Super Bowl-win
ning quarterback Kurt Warner.
Whmer, who has played in the NFL
for only one year, has accomplished
things that many players never will. In
addition to leading the St. Louis Rams
to victory in Super Bowl XXXIH, Whin
er also was the league MVP, as well
as the Super Bowl MVP.
Warner will be the first to tell you
all of these accolades are just icing on
the cake. After playing in Europe, the
Arena Football League and everywhere
else you can possibly imagine, Warn
er deserves what he has been given.
Five years ago, Warner was stock
ing aisles at a local supermarket, a most
humbling experience. And not too long
ago, his wife’s parents were killed in a
tornado, a tragedy not too common.
So what were Warner’s first words
after winning the Super Bowl?
Not “I deserve this.”
Not “I’m better then everyone else.”
Not “I’m gfjng to Disney World.”
Wallace see page ti