The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 29, 2003, Page 11, Image 11
11 GAME SCHEDULE
WOMEN'S TENNIS vs. College of Charleston, 5 p.m. Wednesday
POlVTArT HQ MEN'S BASKETBALL at Tennessee, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
LnXj 1 uo WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Florida, 7 p.m. Thursday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? ^ MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING at Georgia, 4 p.m. Friday
E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com MEN’S TENNIS vs. Winthrop, 10 a.m., Saturday
USC men focus on Vols
FILE PHOTO BY ERIC SOONG/THE GAMECOCK
USC center Tony Kitchlngs, left, taps the basketball In for a score during the Gamecocks’ game
against Florida. Carolina must try to find Its offense when the team plays Tennessee tonight.
Gamecocks head to Knoxville in
search of first SEC East victory
BY BRAD SENKIW
THE GAMECOCK
The USC men’s basketball
team will play its first game in a
week, on the road against the
Tennessee Volunteers tonight.
The Gamecocks (7-8,1-4 SEC)
used their week off to work on
shooting better than they did
against Mississippi State last
week in their worst loss of the
season, 68-44.
Tennessee (9-6,2-3) ventured
outside the conference on
Saturday as it dropped a close
game to ninth-ranked Louisville,
72-69. The Cardinals rallied from
an 11-point deficit in the second
half to knock off the Vols in
Knoxville. Ron Slay scored 21
points for Tennessee, and
Thaydeus Holden added 14
points.
“We’re coming off two tough
losses this past week. Two tough
teams that we took to the wire,”
Tennessee head coach Buzz
Peterson said. “But it’s a long
season, and anything can hap
pen.”
Tennessee will rely heavily on
the SEC’s leading scorer, Slay,
who’s averaging 21.5 points per
game. Slay is also third in the
league in rebounding with 7.8
boards a game, while Brandon
Crump and Jon Higgins are both
averaging 10.3 points a contest.
While opponents are averag
ing only 40.9 percent shooting
against the Vols defense,
Tennessee is shooting 44.9 per
cent from the field on the season.
UT leads the league in free-throw
shooting at 75.3 percent, while
USC is managing only 66.5 from
behind the line.
Carolina dominated last
year’s meetings against the Vols
with a 94-60 thumping in
Knoxville and a 72-54 victory at
home, in which the Gamecocks
built a 25-point lead in the sec
ond half, giving USC the season
sweep. Tennessee leads the over
all series 20-18—including seven
wins out of the past 10 meetings
— with a 13-8 record in
Knoxville.
USC needed the long weekend
to improve the inconsistencies
of shooting 27.1 percent against
•Mississippi State and 50 percent
against the Gators on Jan. 18.
“We obviously had the week
end off. It was a welcome time for
us,” Carolina head coach Dave
Odom said. “We used the week
end to try to get our game back
in focus. Now, we turn our at
tention to Tennessee. And obvi
ously, Tennessee is playing re
ally well right now.
Odom said he knows the
strength of Slay and the Vol of
fense but is more concerned with
the way Tennessee and other
teams in the SEC are matching
up defensively.
“I think that’s where athletic
play and athletic presence comes
into focus, on the defensive side
first,” Odom said. “There are no
shots to be had inside, absolutely
no shots. If you’ve got an inside
player, you’re just not going to
get the ball to him. I don’t think
there are any great 3-point shoot
ers in the league because there
are no shots to be had.
Physically, it’s mano a mano.
Teams are coming at you and
just shutting you down.”
Peterson agrees that defense
in the league is tough this sea
son and thinks his team must be
ready for Carolina.
MEN’S, SEE PAGE 12
BRIEFLY
Williams fills opening
on Holtz’s staff
Charlie Williams has been
named wide receivers coach at
USC, head coach Lou Holtz an
* nounced Monday.
Williams spent six seasons
as receivers coach with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, from
19% to 2001, where he tutored
such standout performers as
Keyshawn Johnson, Reidel
Anthony and Jacquez Green.
Before his time with Tampa
Bay, Williams served as wide
receivers coach at the
University of Miami, from 1993
to 1995.
“Charlie Williams is an expe
rienced and accomplished foot
ball coach at both the NFL and
major college levels,” Holtz said.
“We believe Coach Williams
will be an excellent addition to
the South Carolina program.”
Williams said: “I’m truly ex
cited about the opportunity of
coming to South Carolina and
working with Coach Holtz.”
CLUB CORNER
Roller Hockey Club
The Roller Hockey Club will
Play four games this weekend
in Charlotte for their first
f> games of the semester.
Highlighting Carolina’s
schedule are games against
archrival Clemson Sunday at 9
a m. and against league rival
N.C. State Sunday at 11 a.m. On
Saturday night, USC will face
Davidson at 7 p.m. and Western
Carolina at 9 p.m.
Carolina beat Clemson twice
last year in the divisional play
offs to beat the then-top-ranked
Tigers with a 5-4 victory and a
2-1 overtime win over Clemson.
Meanwhile, the Wolfpack have
yet to defeat Carolina in their
school’s history. The closest
State has come was a 2-2 tie this
past October in Raleigh.
Full coverage of South
Carolina Roller Hockey can be
seen on the team’s Web site,
www.uschockey.net.
Women’s Rugby
The Women’s Rugby Club
has a game Saturday against
the Atlanta Heat. It’s a home
match, on Field B/C at the Blatt
Physical Education Center. The
team practices on Tuesdays
and Thursdays from 5 to 7 p.m.
on Band Field E.
Anyone interested in joining
the team can e-mail
crstna7981@hotmail.com or vis
it www.gamecockrugby.com.
Ice Hockey Club
This past weekend, the USC
Ice Hockey Club received its
first victory, splitting a pair of
games against Appalachian
State. USC lost the first game 7
4 but won the second 5-2. The
team will play host to Kennesaw
State Saturday at 1:15 p.m. and
Sunday at 11:30 a.m. in the
Carolina Coliseum. Admission
is free to all games, and specta
tors can enter through the
doors off Greene Street.
The team will play Clemson
on Feb. 8 in Greenville at the
Bi-Lo Center after the Grrrowl
game. Tickets will be available
for that game through the USC
Ice Hockey Club. For more in
formation about the team or for
tickets for Feb. 8, e-mail
USChockeyclub@yahoo.com.
Dance Sport
Gamecock Dance Sport will
practice this Sunday in room
114 of the Blatt P.E. Center. The
practices start at 2 p.m. and end
around 4 p.m.
The Gamecock Dance Sport
is a club that teaches students
and teachers how to do ball
room dances, such as salsa,
shag, swing, rumba, cha cha,
foxtrot, tango and the waltz. No
experience is needed to join the
club, and everyone is welcome.
People interested in joining
may contact Michelle Lueck at
544-3895 or stepntoes@
hotmail.com.
Struggling Gators
next for Carolina
BY NICK YOUNG
THE GAMECOCK
After losing three out of its
past four games, the USC wom
en’s basketball team (14-4, 2-3
SEC) looks to put an end to its re
cent struggles in a game against
the Florida Gators Thursday at 7
p.m. at the Carolina Center.
Florida (8-10, 0-5) comes into
the game with its own recent
struggles. The team has lost six
games in a row, the most since its
1979-80 season. With a loss
Thursday, the Gators could tie
their team record for most con
secutive losses. They have lost
their last six games by an aver
age of 31 points per game. Their
losses have come at the hands of
Ole Miss, Georgia, Arkansas,
Tennessee, LSU and George
Washington.
Part of the reason for Florida’s
recent demise is the 10 games it
has played without All-American
center Vanessa Hayden. In those
10 games, Florida has gone 3-7.
Hayden was lost earlier in the
season to a broken bone in her
left leg. At the time of her injury,
she was averaging 9.1 points and
9.6 rebounds per game.
But if the Gators have any
thing going in their favor, it’s
youth. With Hayden’s injury,
Florida was left with no scholar
ship players who had more than
a year of Division I experience.
Freshmen Bernice Mosby and
Sarah Lowe lead UF in scoring
with 13.8 and 11.1 points, respec
tively. The team’s next two high
est scorers are sophomores
Tamia Williams and Tishona
Gregory. Three of these players
are guards and match up well
with Carolina’s three-guard
scheme.
All season long, Florida has
struggled shooting the ball inside
and beyond the 3-point line. After
it lost Hayden, the team’s re
bounding, blocked shots and in
terior defense have drastically
declined. It has been out-re
bounded by an average of three
boards per game. Hayden’s in
jury has also cost the Gators ex
perience in the middle, and they
are forced to start 6-foot 3-inch
freshman Dalila Eshe. This situ
ation leaves UF vulnerable in the
middle, leaving things wide open
for USC’s senior forward Petra
Ujhelyi. *
South Carolina looks to get
things back on track with a huge
SEC win that is much needed.
After winning two of its first
three SEC games, the Gamecocks
have lost their past two. Their
last loss came in the form of a 19
point blowout at the hands of
Tennessee.
USC record-setter Jocelyn Penn
will have her hands full with
Mosby, a freshman phenom.
Mosby comes into every game as a
double-double threat and has
recorded five on the season. The
matchup between Penn and
Mosby is an awkward one because
Mosby is a stay-in-the-paint player
WOMEN'S, SEEPAGE 12
Fans go Buc wild in Tampa Bay
BY MITCH STACY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TAMPA, FLA. - Warren Sapp
blew kisses to the crowd, and
coach Jon Gruden received the
key to the city as an estimated
100,000 people lined the streets of
downtown Tampa on Tuesday to
celebrate the Buccaneers’ Super
Bowl victory.
Fans clad in the team’s red and
pewter colors waved banners and
chanted “Defense!” and “Tampa
Bay!” as the Buccaneers rode in
convertibles and pickup tricks in
a parade in their honor.
“This is about you Tampa, I
love you,” running back Mike
Alstott told the crowd.
Tampa Miyor Dick Greco, pre
sented Gruden the key to the city
and said Tampa owed him “a mil
lion thanks.”
“There’s a storm warning out
there,” Gruden said. “We’ve got
a heck of a football team, and
we’re just getting started.”
Tampa Bay won its first Super
Bowl title Sunday, beating the
Oakland Raiders 48-21 in San
Diego.
“I was raised in San Diego, but
my hometown is Tampa,” safety
John Lynch said. “I’ve been here
10 years and I’ve waited a long
time to do this, so help me out —
We’re No. 1! We’re No. 1!”
Some of the loudest cheers
were for defensive coordinator
Monte Kiffin, who received per
mission to speak to the San
Francisco 49ers about their va
cant head coaching job.
Fans chanted “Stay, Monte,
stay!” as the 62-year-old Kiffin
made his way to the front of the
dais. He made no mention of
plans for the future.
Long-suffering Bucs support
ers waited 27 years for a champi
onship. The frustration turned
into elation Monday as they
rushed to stores to buy anything
commemorating the triumph.
Alstott, a cigar clenched in his
teeth, stopped for a moment as he
walked the parade route slapping
hands with happy fans.
Many schools closed early for
the celebration. Fans screamed,
BUCS, SEEPAGE 12
All-Star
contests
losing
purpose
MATTROTHENBERG
GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM
The fans, players don’t
care about the game.
Well, now that the Super Bowl
is done and over with, we’ll all
just have to wait until Major
League Baseball’s spring training
begins to get us back into the
swing of professional sports. Hey,
wait a minute — is that what
you’re thinking? Obviously, you
have no idea about the big up
* coming weekend of sports.
And no, this has absolutely
nothing to do with the USC’s
men’s basketball game versus
Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.
In fact, it is totally unrelated to
collegiate athletics.
On Sunday, I’m sure we will all
stare at our television sets, our
mouths agape, riveted by the big
action. What big action is this?
Why, none other than the NFL’s
Pro Bowl, as well as Saturday’s
NHL All-Star Game.
All right, you
don’t have to laugh
anymore. I think
it’s quite obvious
that these annual
matchups of the
best talent each
league has to offer
have become more ___
bummers
irrelevant as time
has passed. I can
guarantee that a week from today,
more South Carolinians will be
glued to their TV sets when the lo
cal news sports reports announce
the latest Carolina and Clemson
recruiting classes than will be
watching either of those all-star
games. Come on, wouldn’t you
like to know where Demetris
Summers is headed, rather than
how the NFC is going to beat the
nr ;
Let’s face it: Adding baseball
and the NBA to the mix, the all
star game has lost a lot of its
sheen lately. The stats don’t
count, the results don’t count and,
for the most part, the players
don’t really seem to care one way
or the other. Some just decide
they’d rather take the brief vaca
tion with their families and stay
away from the games’ fading spot
lights. Who can blame them?
Sure, it’s an honor to be voted or
selected to the game, but as you
get older, having a few days to re
lax during a hectic season is like a
precious gift.
Others will just
decide they’d
rather not risk in
jury by claiming
they are still re
covering from
ones suffered dur
ing the regular sea
son. Randy Moss
Favre and Brett Favre
will miss this
year’s Pro Bowl, though I guess
Donovan McNabb and Terrell
Owens are still a decent tandem
worth seeing.
But tne tan interest is lagging
just the same. When was the last
time you watched, or cared about,
the Pro Bowl, even for just a quar
ter of action? Do fans really want
to see a bunch of guys who really
aren’t trying that much, especial
ly when most of them haven’t
played football in a month? I don’t
want to see that. It doesn’t mean
anything anymore to the majority
of fans.
The NFL should just let its sea
sons end on a high note — the
Super Bowl — and not have them
close out with A whimper. I bet you
can remember the major moments
in the Super Bowl, but how about
the Pro Bowl? Didn’t think so.
On Saturday, the NHL elite will
convene in Sunrise, Fla., for the
league’s annual all-star game.
Maybe I’d be interested to check
ROTHENBERG, SEE PAGE 12