University of South Carolina Libraries
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, February 1, 2002 7 » r "Pi APi rri " game schedule CONTACT US I—* I I |-< I ^ MEN’S basketball at Kentucky, 1 p.m. Saturday I | III Ik TRACK AND FIELD in the USC Open Invitational, Friday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? | \ / I I Ik/ SWIMMING AND DIVING vs. Georgia, 5 p.m. Friday E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com V-/ TVy WOMEN’S BASKETBALL at No. 12 Florida, 5 p.m. Friday Few students see men win i Odom says he'll support unified student section BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK For the past couple of months, USC men’s basket ball head coach Dave Odom has been hoping stu dent turnout at basketball games would increase. Their presence has been apparent and loud in hyped up matches against tjeorgetown ana Kentucky, but when Vanderbilt and Georgia have each been by, he has noted a lower turnout — a trend he would like to change. “If there’s a problem here stu dent-wise, I want to know what it is and I want to address it,” Odom said. The veteran coach knows how much it would mean to his team to see a raging student section at every game, and not just at a se lect few. “I can say without any fear of contradiction that there is noth ing more important to our team than approval from their fellow students," he said. But he was quick to add, “Clearly they don’t have the approval of the student body.” unucK tuason, wno scorea u points against the Bulldogs, agrees with his coach’s senti ments. “They’ve got a vibe,” the starting forward commented on the students. “They bring that ex uberance. They’re crazy.” But student as well as fan turnout has dwindled this season. Last season, the average atten dance per South Carolina home game was 10,176. But this year’s average is nearly 2,500 less than last year. Part is attributed to poor ticket distribution and stu dents frustrated with bad seats. Odom is certainly willing to do anything he can to get them out anyway. “Let’s see what we can do. I will go to bat for what is right, and if it’s right for them to be more a part of our games with better seats and all, I will stand up for that.” Yet Odom feels right now his ability to influence the decision makers is limited until students claim every ticket allocated to them. “But they have to understand by not coming they’re not getting back at whoever makes that deci sion ... they’re hurting our team.” Odom is willing to do what he can from his position. He is, how ever, waiting to see someone or some group step up to push more students to the game. But he said he would be more than willing to help out. “Give me a chance to help with that... come to me with it, let me see what I can do.” Of course, Odom is fully aware that it is late in the season, and the likelihood of getting a student section this year would be re mote, he feels that an increased student turnout would help the case for a student section in the new arena. Last night he expressed those concerns at his radio talk show in the Russell House. “I understand that there is a need,” he aaid. “And that there is a desire. But the love for the game has to tran scend into the present so that the decision makers can see how se rious students are about Gamecock basketball.” But regardless of the current situation, USC’s first-year coach knows about the excitement that surrounds college basketball and wants nothing more than for Carolina students to come out and have a blast. “There’s nothing more fun than college basketball—nothing. Students across the country, they’re crazed about it,”he said. “We’ve got to expose our stu dents to fun.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com Odom is determined to draw as many students as possible to come out and root for the Gamecocks. * PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN Jamel Bradley puts up three of his 22 points Wednesday night en route to breaking the record for most career 3-pointers, by a Gamecock. Bradley is the team’s leading scorer this season. Odom’s right; we need student section RYAN CLARY GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM Students can’t make an impact or be heard way up in section T. As a lifelong Carolina fan, I have attended more basketball games than I can count, and since I attend USC, I can count pretty high. As a young spectator, I always imagined myself sitting in a loud and crazy student section that the country would recognize. I don’t know about anyone else, but I am ready to make that happen. Yes, we do have some obstacles to get around, but I believe I have found solutions. Next season, we’re getting a new arena. I believe if the students were given the majority of the floor seating, this would help us get started. Yes, I understand that there are very important people who deserve tickets up close along with players’ family members. They can be there, too, but here is the problem: I see students getting tickets in sections M, P, and even T. No student can be heard from section T. I also see people sitting almost at midcourt in sections AA, FF, or B, who clap and say “yeah.” But honestly, that is about all you will get out of them. I also see families up close with their children. That is great that the parents are introducing their kids to the best school in the nation. However, half the time, someone is getting up to either go to the bathroom or get more popcorn. It’s like they’re not even watching the game. In the new arena, the seating order needs to be changed. Give the students, who actually want to watch the game and yell at some refs, around 70 percent of the floor seating. Give the rest to important alumni and families of the players. I’m not saying that other families don’t want to watch the games, but I believe that students care more about “our” team than a 7-year old. It’s a fact that USC students want to be into the game. Back in the mid-90s, many students came to the games and really got “into it.” So I don’t want to hear anyone say that USC students have never cared about their basketball team. Fact: Look at the schools with good student sections - Duke, Florida, Michigan State, etc. Their students are right on top of the floor. Suggestion: Why don’t we add South Carolina to that list? Also, someone needs to do a better job of publicizing a student section where we all wear the same shirts. Some people hear about it right away, but I have talked to some people who still have no clue that a student section exists. Who deserves the blame for this? No one really in particular. But let’s just do a better job as a school of getting the information out. As a freshman, I have at least three more basketball seasons as a student. I would love by the time I graduate to have helped form one of the top student sections in America. However, we have just one more problem. To the students: we can’t have an awesome student section without students. Do what you can to attend games and show this university that we deserve to be up close. Tuesday night at 7 p.m., we play sixth-ranked Florida at home on ESPN2. Let’s show the nation a look at the juture. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com Georgia 67 0 use 80 BY J. KEITH ALLEN THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s basketball team made history Wednesday night when it soundly beat the No. 16 Georgia Bulldogs 80-67. The Gamecocks showed moments of brilliance on the court and treated their fans to full-throttle college bas ketball action throughout the game. It certainly was the best oppo nent that we’ve defeated,” said USC head coach Dave Odom, alluding to the two close losses earlier this sea son to Georgetown and Kentucky. But entering the Frank McGuire Arena on Wednesday night, the question on everyone’s mind was, “Which team will show up?” The Gamecocks (13-7,34 SEC) won an impressive game against Tennessee last Wednesday only to lose at Ole Miss on Saturday. Inconsistency has been a major hurdle for the team this year. “We’re going to try and do some thing we haven’t done in the last three Wednesdays, and that’s build on it the right way —not come out and step in our hat,” Odom said. Senior guard Jamel Bradley broke the Carolina record for career 3-pointers Wednesday night. He topped the previous record of 215, knocking down the record-breaking shot at the 6:50 mark in the first half. The crowd roared in appreciation of Bradley’s on-court efforts, as well as his inspirational story off the hardwood. Overall, he scored a sea son-high 22 points and connected on five of 10 from beyond the arc. “I was aware of the record, but at the same time, I had a ballgame to play. I didn’t really think about the record the whole time I was out there -1 wanted to get a win,” Bradley said. The Gamecocks turned the ball over a few times early in the game, and the Bulldogs (16-5,5-3) exploited that by scoring some easy baskets. In the first half, USC turnovers were responsible for 12 Georgia points. Explosive Georgia forward Jarvis Hayes led the Bulldogs with 14 points in the opening frame. USC junior guard Chuck Eidson put Carolina ahead 18-16 at the 7:14 mark of the first half, as the Bulldog defense focused on Bradley and the Gamecock big men. This oversight cost Georgia dearly, with Eidson leading USC in scoring at the break with 14 points. Georgia’s ultimate undoing came in the second half. Its frus tration manifested itself in the form of technical fouls and turnovers. Bulldogs forward Chris Daniels grabbed a USC miscue and dashed for the basket for a thunderous dunk, but after the jam, Daniels emphatically smacked the backboard, resulting in a technical foul. Bradley sunk both free throws, and Aaron Lucas followed with a 3-pointer to put USC up 44-36 early in the second half. Georgia continued to cough up the ball, resulting in 22 second half points for the Gamecocks. In addition to Bradley and Eidson’s heroics, Odom was pleased with the play of his un derappreciated big men - Marius ♦ GEORGIA, SEE PAGE 8 Women try to recover in Florida USC tries to rebound from Arkansas loss BY JAMES STARNES THE GAMECOCK The USC women’s basketball team (17-3,5-2 SEC) looks to get back on track this weekend as it travels to Gainesville to take on the Florida Lady Gators (15-5,5 2) on Sunday. No. 11 Carolina suffered an ugly loss to Arkansas last Sunday, 74-46, and made only 26 percent of its shots, the team’s worst shooting performance in three years. The Lady Gators, on the other hand, have vaulted to No. 12 and are coming off a impressive week in which they defeated No. 8 Vanderbilt 62-51 and No. 19 Georgia 73-64. Sunday’s game will start Florida’s toughest stretch of its schedule, as it travels to No. 2 Tennessee on Thursday before re turning home to meet the Lady Gamecocks. This matchup is quite a tall order for Carolina, considering that Florida is on a four-game winning streak and has climbed into a four-way tie for second in the SEC. This is the first and only meeting between these two in the regular season, and the result could have serious conference implications. Florida is also 9-1 at home this year, the only loss coming to Tennessee. The Lady Gamecocks will also have to contain Monique Cardenas, who was named SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for her efforts against Vanderbilt and Georgia. She av eraged 17.5 points, seven re bounds and three steals during that stretch. She also led a tena cious defensive performance against the Lady Commodores. Vandy was No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage going into the game, but it could only muster 25 percent against Cardenas and company. As far as other obstacles for Carolina: Florida is 4-3 this year against ranked opponents, with three of those victories coming against teams with higher rank ings. The Lady Gators are also undefeated in Gainesville on Super Bowl Sundays. They have beaten USC twice on those occa sions. The Lady Gamecocks will again try to win without star for ward Teresa Geter, who is side lined indefinitely with a stress fracture in her foot. Jocelyn Penn, who leads the team in scor ing (17.3) and rebounding (7.1), will try to account for Geter’s ab sence. This game is a must-win for the Lady Gamecocks if they plan on staying in the hunt for the reg ular season SEC title. A lossxould possibly put them three games out of first place with only six conference games left. It’s not likely that they would be able to catch the Lady Vols, the league’s current leaders, at that point. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com No. 11 USC at No. 12 Florida 3 p.m. Sunday at Stephen C. O’ Connell Center Radio: WVOC 560 AM