Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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'Ike 0 am eco ck Track CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 healing process, and still managed to train although he couldn’t run. “I saw the success [everyone else] was having, and that gave me the strength to keep going,” Johnson said. “If it wasn’t for them, I probably would have given up and forgot about track.” Johnson finished just ahead of former Gamecock Terrence Trammell, who came in second. Trammell will also be competing in the Championships. Another USC volunteer coach also advanced to Edmonton with first place in the women’s hammer throw. Dawn Ellerbe, a four-time NCAA Champion during her USC tenure, returned to the Gamecocks after a stint as an assistant coach at Wyoming. Ellerbe set a USA Championships record last weekend and is looking forward to the World Championships. “When you’re surrounded by greatness, that brings out greatness in you,” Ellerbe said. “This is my 12th national title, and this championship pushed me forward.” The 16 athletes who will represent USC at the August meets is the highest number of Gamecocks to ever go to these meets. Frye, who will also serve as head coach at the Goodwill Games, is already making himself a legend at USC, despite only being here since 1996. ‘T want us to keep winning, but I don’t want the recognition for it,” Frye said. “So many times South Carolina has not been the popular name. We have a great opportunity, and we’re taking advantage of it.” The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com Special to The Gamecock Demetria Washington, left, and Pap Howard will both compete in Beijing, China. TRACKING A TITLE 16 former or current Gamecocks will be competing at the World Championships (WC) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada or the World University Games (WUG) in Beijing, China, in August. They are listed below with USC affiliation, their event(s) and which competi tion they will appear in. Name USC affiliation Aileen Bailey Signee Lisa Barber Student Miki Barber Student Calvin Davis Volunteer Coach Lashinda Demus Signee Dawn Ellerbe Graduate Monique Hennegan Volunteer Coach Pap Howard Student Charmaine Howell Graduate Allen Johnson Volunteer Coach Otukile Lekote Student Lisa Misapeka Graduate Brad Snyder Graduate Terrence Trammell Former Student Marvin Watts Graduate Demetria Washington Student Event(s) WC/WIIG 100-meter, 200-meter WC 4x400 relay, 400-meter Both 4x400 relay, 400-meter Both 400-meter hurdles WC 400-meter hurdles WUG Hammer Throw WC 400-meter, 4x400 relay WC 200-meter, 4x100 relay WUG 800-meter, 4x400 relay WC 110-meter hurdles WC 800-meter, 4x400 relay Both Hammer Throw WC Shot Put WC 110-meter hurdles WC 800-meter hurdles WC 4x400 relay, 400-meter Both I Around the SEC ■ SEC places six on All-America team Six SEC players were named to Baseball America’s All American squad. Tennessee shortstop Chris Burke, Georgia shortstop Jeff Keppinger, Alabama first baseman Aaron Clark, LSU outfielder Todd Linden, USC catcher TimWhittaker and USC pitcher Lee Gronkiewicz were the players honored. ■ Polk rehired by Mississippi State STARKVILLE, Miss. - Ron Polk, Bulldog head coach from 1976-97, was rehired this week as head baseball coach. Polk left MSU and then took over Georgia’s baseball program, where he led them to a College World Series appearance in just two seasons at the helm. ■ Bogans, Prince to return to Wildcats, Brewer leaving Three SEC basketball players ended speculation about their pro chances this week as two pulled out of the NBA Draft. Kentucky’s Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans have withdrawn from the Draft and will be returning this season. Auburn sophomore Jamison Brewer, however, has hired an agent and will remain in the Draft. Gutekunst wins award Football Roundup The Gamecock Assistant football coach John Gutekunst won the American Football Coaches Association’s Division I-A Assistant Coach of the Year award for the 2000 season. The award has earned the school’s athletic department a $5,000 academic scholarship, as well as further recognizing the accomplishments of USC’s defensive squad. The Gutekunst-coached secondary, which played a major role in the Gamecocks’ turnaround season, was among the SEC leaders in pass defense (3rd SEC, 24th NCAA), pass efficiency defense (2nd SEC,11th NCAA), and interceptions (18). Gutekunst worked closely with defensive coordinator Charlie Strong and his innovative 3-3-5 defensive set The combination resulted in a Top 20 defense for the second straight season. lwo members ■ of the secondary received honors as well. Comerback Sheldon Brown was named first team All-America i by the AFCA and | saieiy ucanuic ^ Eiland was GUTEKUNST named to the SEC and Rivals.com All-Freshman team. Both are expected to lead the 2001 secondary. Gutekunst is recognized as one of the top defensive coaches in the country. He was the head coach at Minnesota from 1986-91 and also has served as an assistant coach at Duke, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Wake Forest, Rutgers and Rhode Island. Johnston CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 years ago. You were in on trading Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson, who were the key players in the Hornets’ success in the early 1990s. Coincidentally, when LJ and ‘Zo were in teal pinstripes, the Hornets led the league in attendance. Funny how that works out, isn’t it? As far as this season goes, the Hornets didn’t make their big playoff push until the second half of the season, so early season attendance probably pushed the numbers down a bit. However, the biggest controversy revolves around two words — luxury boxes. Unfortunately, the sports world today revolves around the seats of the corporate fat cats. Look at the construction of recent arenas. Los Angeles’ Staples Center has three huge tiers of the boxes, leaving many of the everyday fans so far away from the action, the concession vendors have to cook the hot dogs under the “high-altitude” cooking directions. Charlotte Coliseum, given its generous seating and excellent sightlines, only has 12 luxury boxes. It’s nice to find out who Hornets management is looking out for. To think they wonder why people don’t come to the games. Shinn, to his credit, is making some strides to keep the team in Charlotte. However, a referendum to build a new arena was royally shot down by the people, sending Shinn into an uproar. Sorry man, maybe the people like the arena they have. Remember these are the people that come to the games. The Coliseum is in a good location, close to two major interstates and just far enough out of town to where everyday life is not interrupted by the games. Plus, the area around the coliseum has plenty of hotels, restaurants and bars to satisfy all pre- and post-game needs. NBA Commissioner David Stem says that he will do whatever he can to help keep the team in Charlotte. Given the image problem the NBA has, just think about what having one of its better teams just leave would do to the league’s image. The move would probably be unpopular across the league to players, coaches and most importantly, the fans. To snatch this team from Charlotte would be a travesty at this point. Like a faltering romantic relationship, Charlotte is learning to love its Hornets again. Keep in mind that in the playoffs, the city embraced its headbanded heroes and produced stellar turnouts to the playoff games. To me, this says the fans like the team, they want to keep the team and they want to keep the arena. Change doesn’t always have to occur. But, if the Hornets do become the Colonels, I may have to take a road trip to the Bucket to see the team I myself cheered on in Charlotte. Who knows, I may even spend the extra cash and sit in the Extra Crispy section. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports @ hotmail.com