The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 01, 2002, Page 7, Image 7
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, February 1, 2002 7
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"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