The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 11, 2001, Page 8, Image 8
Gamecock Sports Schedule
■ Track and field at home (S.C. State Championships), 1 p.m. Wednesday
■ Men’s tennis vs. Duke, 2 p.m. Wednesday
■ Women’s tennis vs. LSU, 2 p.m. Wednesday
■ Baseball vs. The Citadel, 7 p.m. Wednesday
UDlC (BamtCOCk Wednesday, April 11, 2001
Seniors excited about Odom’s arrival
* •
■ Odom thinks new
arena should help
recruiting efforts
by Brock Vergakis
The Gamecock
After a long, tiresome search, USC has finally
chosen a basketball coach and now can begin the process
of recruiting for the upcoming season..
The one recruit former head coach Eddie Fogler
had, Pawel Storozynski, rescinded his oral commitment
to Carolina and will now be playing for Texas Tech
and its new coach, Bobby Knight.
The signing period for basketball begins today, and
the basketball team is optimistic about its future.
One of the top tools newly hired head basketball
coach Dave Odom will use for recruiting players is the
new 18,000-seat arena being built in the Vista.
Odom said when he took the head coaching job at
Wake Forest 12 years ago, he had a similar situation
with the newly constructed 14,000-seat Lawrence Joel
Veterans Memorial Coliseum. He said the new building
helped immensely with recruiting for Wike and expects
the Columbia area to do the same for USC.
i neie u a urn ui uppununny nere, ne suu. vjne
of the great things that attracted me was... 12 years
ago, I went to Wake Forest, there was a new building
called the Joel Coliseum waiting for me ... That was .
absolutely a springboard to excellent recruiting over
a very short period of time.”
Having a new arena is so important to Odom that
it was one of the first things he wanted to see when he
arrived in Columbia.
“Mike showed me the layout of the proposed
coliseum here,” Odom said. “On the way into the
airport, all I wanted to see is where tire hole was. Having
that new coliseum is analogous to what happened to
me 12 years ago... I’m the benefactor, this team is
going to be the benefactor and this university will be
a benefactor.”
Fortunately for Odom, the Gamecocks won’t need
a huge rccruitiiig class litis se;tson because only Antonio
Grant ;uid David Ross are being graduated this year.
And Odom is counting on them for support.
“I’ve asked hist year’s seniors to stay. They are
very much a part of this team,” fie said.
Guard Jamel Bradley said lie is not worried about
the Giunecocks’ ability to find recruits and believes
that Odom might be able to bring in some players who
might not come here otherwise.
“Recruitment is always a problem,” Bradley said.
“They still have a long way to go. Signing period doesn’t
end until mid-May. He may bring some recruits down
from Wake Forest.”
Special to The Gamecock
The sports desk cun he reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Dave Odom, USC’s newest head coach, will meet with members of the men’s basketball
team before Friday to discuss their futures at Carolina.
Chronology
of a search
The search torn new men’s
basketball coach took a
little less Ilian a month.
March 15: In his final game, ,
Fogler loses to Connecticut in I
the NIT. UConn’s coach, Jim 1
Calhoun (right), would later say
no to a job offer from USC.
▼ u
April 3-5: Tulsa's Buzz Peterson and Memphis’
John Calipari pull out of the running for the coach
ing job, and Tubby Smith (left) declines the job
offer. Meanwhile, speculation rises that Bobby
Cremins might be under consideration for the job.
■
k I-1
J March 13: Eddie J
Fogler (left) resigns as «
the university's head
basketball coach
March 21: Missouri coach Quin
Snyder (left), who many hoped
would accept the USC job, says
he’s'not interested.
April 10: USC names Dave
Odom head basketball coach at
5 p.m. press conference.
by Brock V e r g a k i s
The Gamecock
When Jamel Bradley was playing high school
basketball in West Virginia, he used to watch ACC
basketball and try to imitate Wake Forest point guard
Randolph Childress.
He followed Cliildress and the Demon Deacons with
the hope that he, too, would don the gold and black
uniform of Wake Forest. Bradley wanted to play for
Wake Forest head coach Dave Odom,
but as he says, tilings just didn’t work
out that way, and lie ended up a
Gamecock.
Next season, Bradley will have
the opportunity lie always wanted
—playing for Odom.' But as a Game
cock, not a Demon Deacon.
“That’s who 1 wiuited to play for
out of high school,” Bradley said.
“But I didn’t tell him that. I look
forward to telling him.”
Bradley and the rest of his
teammates were only able to meet
with Odom briefly before USC
President John Palms ;uid Athletics
Director Mike McGee officially
announced that Odom was taking
over the head coaching position.
Bradley said he received a phone LUCAS
call early Tuesday morning before
class with the message that there would lie a tc;un meeting
at 4:30 p.m. Odom met with the media and public at 5
p.m. This was the first time lie and the other players
were informed that a coach had been hired.
Once lie heard the new coach was Odom, Bradley
had only one word to describe his first impression:
“Relief."
“It’s been a lot of tips ;md downs. We’ve been going
through a lot. We were just glad to be getting it over
with.” In the brief amount of time lie ;uid Odom spent
together, Bradley was reminded of why lie wanted to
play for Odom.
“This is going to be the guy to take it to the next
level. I had a funny feeling inside of me that lie was
going to bring something special out of me,” he said.
Senior point guard Aaron Luciis said he doesn’t have
the knowledge of Odom that Bradley docs, but he’s still
looking forward to seeing what Odom can do.
“This is an excellent chance for the team to step
forward,” Lucas said. “(Not knowing) was a pain, and
we were kind of getting impatient. Once we saw the
outcome, we were all ready to make a big occasion of
it.... Overall, this tcjun is very open to the opportunity.”
In the brief amount of time Odom met with the
players, he did not discuss the possibility of anyone
leaving the program.
“I didn’t ask anyone if they’re transferring. That’s
not agood way to start a conversation,” Odom said. “I’m
going to meet with each one individually before the sun
goes down on Friday. If they have any concerns like
that, I’m sure that will be talked about at that time ...
They are my priority today.”
Luciis said he didn’t believe anyone on the leant w;ts
seriously considering leaving at this point.
“We’re not going to think about people leaving,” lie
said. “If miybody had made a decision to transfer, it would
have been made before (Odom) got here.”
While most of the team was present at the
announcement, forward Chuck Eidson was absent.
Because of an injury, Eidson has been spending the
semester at his home in Summerville.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Success
Story
In hiiing I):ivc
Odom, Athletics
Director Mike
McGee hits hired
n proven winner.
Sonic suits:
■ Odom was head
coach of Wake
Forest for 12 years,
going 240-132. For
eight of those
years, Wake has
made the NCAA
Tournament.
■ Odom is a three
time Atlantic Coast
Conference Coach
of the Year and
was the 1995
National Coach of
the Year.
■ Odom has
coached All
Americans Tim
Duncan, Randolph
Childress and
Rodney Rogers
■ In 2000, Odom
coached his team
to a NIT tourney
championship. He's
won two ACC
Championships, as
well, in 1995 and
1996.
The
Odom
File
■ Full Name:
G. David Odom
■ Birthday:
Oct. 9, 1942
■ Wife:
Lynn A. Odom
■ Sons:
Lane Odom (assis
tant coach at
Missouri), Ryan
Odom (assistant
coach at American)
■ Education:
M.Ed..East Carolina
(1969). B.A.,
Guilford College
(1965)
■ College coaching
experience:
Wake Forest;
assistant coach,
1976-79
East Carolina;
head coach, 1979
82
Virginia,
assistant coach,
1982-89
Wake Forest;
head coach, 1989
2001
Legat keeps rolling along
■ Men's tennis
player wins 12th
straight for Carolina
n y Kyi. i Ai.mond
Tipi (Iamm ock
Giiillaunic lxyat easily won his I2lh
consecutive match to lead the No. 28
USC: men’s tennis
team to a 5-2 victory
over Wike Forest at
the Sam Daniel
Tennis Center
Monday.
The Game
cocks’ No. I player
dispatched Wake’s
Raul Muno/.h 0,6 .
i i ii LE(JAT
1, and improved Ills
overall record to 17
5 with the win
Currently ranked No. 17 in the
country, Lcgat could move up into the
top ten of the ITA/Wingspan.com nuikings
witli his recent play. This has come at the
expense of some of the nation’s top
players.
In his previous match. Legal knocked
offArkansas'Oskar Johiutsson in straight
sets, 6-1,7-5. Johiutsson was riutkcd No.
1 in the country at the time.
The way Legal won die match opened
the eyes of even his head coach, Kent
DeMars.
“I thought that would lie a good lest
to see just how good lie is," DeMars said
of I Agat’s match with Joluuisson. "I didn't
know if he was quite that good yet.
“Hut I wanted to see what happened,
and sure enough, he heat | Joluuisson | in
straight sets."
Legal, l)S( ’s lone senior, said lie's
playing the Ix'sl tenuis of his lour years
ill ( arnlina.
“I have a lot of confidence and I r»;uit
to win really bad,” lie said. “I’m trying
5
2
not lo make many mistakes, and I guess
I’m doing agood job of that.”
Legal came to USC in 1998 from
Saint Lo, France. I lis countryman, Jerome
Jottrdon, played tennis at Carolina and
wanted bis friend to join him.
“|Joiirdon| made me come here,”
Ixgaljoked.“|l)S( | isagixxlschool. I'm
happy that I came here.”
De.Mars is happy too.
Ixgat has burned up the courts since
lie arrived, compiling a record of 106-34.
lie has also been named to the AN
SIX team in each of his three years at
( arolina, making the second leant in 1998
and 2000 and the first team in 1999.
I X'spile all of those accomplishments,
Ixgat isn’t content just yet.
“I want lo lx1 an All American, ” he
LEGAT 'll iw.i 9
USC wins at The Citadel,
faces home rematch tonight
ItY K Y I. (•: A I. M () N I)
Tin: (iAMceix k
The USC baseball team won its second straight game
Tuesday night, oulscoring The Citadel (12-7) in Charleston.
Second baseman Bryon .lell'coni went 2-lor-5 lor Carolina,
with live RBIs and two runs scored.
The Bulldogs (23-13) will get an immediate chance for
revenge tonight when they come to Sarge Frye Field to play
the No. 10 Qainccocks (27-9) again.
USC jumped out on the scoreboard early in the top of
the fust inning as shortstop 1 )row Meyer doubled and scored
on a groundnut by Marcus McBelh. Liter in the inning,
Michael Floyd added an RBI single to give Carolina a 2-0
advantage.
The (Ini uncocks added another run in the lop of the third
and looked to be heading toward an easy victory, but The
( itadel broke out in the bottom half of the frame for three
runs of its own to lie the game.
(iary Bell walked home (lie Bulldi ills' Dallas McPherson
with tin* bases loaded lo start the comeback. Jason Randall
12
7
then connected witli ;ui two-run single to tie the g;unc at three.
Brett Price (l -1) c;unc into the game in the third to relieve
Bell iutd shut down the Bulldogs lor four-plus innings. In that
time, the Gamecocks were able to add six runs ;uid pull away.
The Citadel threatened in the eighth inning, scoring lour
runs and cutting the laid to two, hut Gamecock closer Ixe
Gronkiewicz came in and sailed the deal for Carolina, notching
his eighth save of the season.
IxTt-hander Paul Williams (O-.f) took the loss for The
Citadel. I le allowed three earned runs in live innings of work.
The two teams will gel back into action tonight in
Columbia. The first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Iiic spoils tlt'sk cm Ih' ii'iiclit'ilhi
gamecocksportsi hotmail.com