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CONTACT US ' GAA1K SCHEDULE Vj lrlvi 1 L O MEN’S BASKETBALL at The Citadel, 7:15 p.m. Wednesday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com at Auburn Invitational, Thursday USC to get first road test FILE PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK USC’s Tre Kelly puts up a shot in Carolina’s 73-40 win over Navy on Nov. 21. The Gamecocks play at The Citadel tonight. BY WES WOLFE THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s basketball team (6-0) travels to Charleston tonight to play The Citadel Bulldogs (2-2, 0-1 Southern Conference). The Gamecocks are currently riding the longest open ing-season winning streak since 1988, and if they beat The Citadel, Carolina will be on the longest streak since the 1971-72 season, when legendary Frank McGuire coached at USC. Carolina hopes to keep the streak alive with a win tonight. One player who will not be taking the trip to The Citadel, though, is forward Kerbrell Brown. The senior from New Orleans will miss the game because of academ ic reasons. USC Brown head coach Dave Odom said that Brown’s playing status will be re-evaluated by Friday in time for Carolina’s game at Clemson on Saturday. Brown has averaged almost 10 points and six rebounds a game this season. “If any team in the country knows how to play with a player or two down, it’s ours,” Odom said. USC will start freshman Brandon Wallace in Brown’s “If any team in the country knows how to play with a player or two down, it’s ours.” DAVE ODOM use MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH place. Wallace, who graduated from Silver Bluff High School in Jackson, S.C., has averaged four points and three rebounds a game while coming off the bench. “I have a lot of confidence in him; he played well at Kansas City, and I feel he deserves a chance to do that,” Odom said of Wallace’s starting spot tonight. While Brown will not be going, guard Josh Gonner has com pletely recovered from a neck in jury he suffered in the game against Richmond and should start. The gam? at The Citadel will be Carolina’s first road game of the season. Last year, the Gamecocks only won one away game, an 84-72 win Feb. 8 at Vanderbilt. “I look forward to traveling to someone else’s gymnasium, somebody else’s town, somebody else’s university, somebody else’s crowd,” Odom said. “I want to see how our team does in that regard.” The Citadel is coining off an early conference loss to Appalachian State. The 72-62 loss marked the Bulldogs’ first Southern Conference loss of the year, and they won’t play another Southern Conference team until they go to Davidson on Jan. 6. Last season in Columbia, The Citadel lost by 16 to Carolina, 66 50. The Citadel head coach Pat Dennis has never beaten USC in his eight seasons with the , Bulldogs. Dennis came close to beating Odom and the Gamecocks in 2001, but lost 74-71. The Citadel hasn’t beaten Carolina that often in the past 60 years, except for an 88-87 nail biter in 1989 and a 37-23 win in 1943. The Citadel’s main offensive threat comes in the form of guard Dante Terry. Terry scored a ca reer high of 33 points against Webber International and leads the Bulldogs with 17 points per game. Forward Max Mombollet leads the team in rebounds per game with 8.8, and Mombollet is also second in blocked shots, with three. USC will take on The Citadel at 7:15 p.m. at the McAlister Field House in Charleston. The Gamecocks’ next game, against Clemson, will be at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC-TV. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail. com Odom, team not satisfied with 6-straight wins ^pBY BRAD SENKIW THE GAMECOCK Coming into the season, the USC men’s basketball team was an unknown entity. With four newcomers and only one se nior, getting off to a productive start seemed imperative. What the team has been able to accomplish is six straight wins, something Odom isn’t too quick to be satisfied with. “We’re a team that’s in the development stages,” Odom said. “We’re trying to get to the point where we feel good about our selves, feel good about what we’ve done. We don’t feel good that we’re good.” Odom also said he has heard whispers that the winning streak, the longest in Odom’s career at USC, hasn’t meant as •much because of the level of competition the Gamecocks have played. “I understand the way the game is played,” Odom said. “I’m talking about the game outside the gym. I know that just down the hall, in another office or around the cor ner, there are people that are whispering, ‘Yeah, they’re 6-0, but they haven’t beaten anybody.’ I understand that. “The people that are saying those things don’t have to wait. They can go ahead and say that with no accountability or respon sibility. I would never say that because I wouldn’t want anyone to say that about us, although they do.” The difference between last year’s team and the younger 2003-2004 squad seems to be the quickness and intelligence this group has shown. In Odom’s previous two seasons, his teams have relied on strength and size on both the frontcourt and back court. This year’s team has caught several coaches off guard with its use of speed at nearly every position. “This is a team that’s built more on speed, quickness and ability to pass the ball, shoot the ball, get the ball to the right person. It’s a team that’s going to play at least as much with its head as it does with its body.” But what the Gamecocks have lacked this season is a consistent rebounding game that will be needed down the road. With Rolando Howell’s return up in the air because of a stress fracture in his foot, Odom will have to improve the team’s weakness now and not rely on Howell to All the gap. “Rebounding is a huge statistic,” Odom said. “While we’re not rebounding the ball better, we’re doing better in other cate gories, which gives us a chance to be a bet ter team.” Another surprise the Gamecocks have displayed is the ability to have several dif ferent players score. No longer is USC look ing for one or two players to carry the load. As a team, five Gamecock players have scored in double figures three times this season, with six putting up 10 or more points against Gardner-Webb. Last year’s leading scorer, Carlos Powell, is second on the team in scoring with 13.8 points per game. Sophomore Tarence Kinsey has been the team’s lead ing scorer at 15.5 points per game but is quick to give credit to the entire team. “We have a lot of balanced scoring,” Kinsey said. “They don’t think I’m the man on the team; there is no man on the team. We just go out there and compete, and if you’ve got; the shot, shoot it; if you can cre ate, create — just go out there and play baU.” An area that has seemed to mirror last year’s team is injuries. The Gamecocks lost several players throughout the year to various ailments a year ago. Although this team hasn’t had a major injury thus far, Josh Gonner was lost for one game with a neck injury, Brandon Wallace was slowed by back spasms a few weeks ago and Howell’s foot problems, along with his suspension, have led Odom to play small ball. “Perhaps the norm is us being down a person or two,” Odom said. “We’ve been down a long, long time, going back to last December.” Odom just hopes his team stays healthy enough to make the improvements he is looking for. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com BRIEFLY Mauck, Wilson, Bennett honored LSU quarterback Matt Mauck, Tennessee strong safe ty Gibril Wilson and Georgia •placekicker Billy Bennett were ^ach honored Monday as SEC players of the Week. Mauck earned his keep by passing 12-of-l9 for 186 yards and four touchdowns in the Tigers' 55-24 win against Arkansas. The junior from Jasper, Ind., also ran the ball six times for 31 yards against the Razorbacks. Mauck tied the LSU record for touchdowns in a single game against Arkansas and also tied a school record for touchdown passes in a season. The quarterback is also leading the SEC in passing efficiency with a 153.9 rating. Wilson was recognized for making 11 tackles, nine of which were solo efforts, in Tennessee's 20-7 win at ^^ientucky. He also had two ^lackles for loss, a sack and three pass deflections. Bennett made his mark by scoring 10 points, two field goals and four extra points in Georgia's 34-17 win at Georgia Tech. Bennett's 392 career points is an SEC record and is fifth-best in NCAA Division I A history. The senior from Athens, Ga„ has the record for career field-goal attempts in Division I-A with 106 and has tied the SEC record for the most field goals madl* in one season. USC, Miss. State announce changes A couple major coaching moves were announced in the SEC, including USC announc ing it will not retain four coach es and the hiring of the SEC's first black head coach at Mississippi State. USC announced Tuesday that Chris Cosh, Dave DeGuglielmo, Todd Fitch and John Gutekunst will not be re turning for the 2004 season. Cosh was the defensive coordi nator and linebackers coach, while DeGuglielmo dealt with the offensive line; Fitch coached the quarterbacks, and Gutekunst instructed the de fensive backs. USC head coach Lou Holtz said that no firm timetable had been set for hiring new coach es because many coaches are preparing for bowl season or in professional football. Sylvester Croom, an assis tant coach for the Green Bay Packers, was named on Monday to be the head coach of Mississippi State. Croom, who will be the first black head football coach in the SEC, had prior SEC expe rience while playing for and then coaching for Paul "Bear" Bryant at Alabama in the 1970s. Croom was an All-SEC and All-America center on the 1973 National Championship team and an assistant coach on the 1978 and 1979 National Championship teams. Tigers, Bulldogs in championship The 2003 SEC Champion ship Game will pit Eastern Division Champion Georgia versus Western Division Champion LSU. This will be No. 5 Georgia's second-straight appearance in the champi onship contest. The Bulldogs beat Arkansas 30-3 last season to win the 2002 SEC Championship. No. 3 LSU is making its first trip to the Georgia Dome since it beat Tennessee in 2001 to win that year's SEC Championship. The two teams met earlier this year with LSU coming away with a 17-10 win in Baton Rouge, La. The SEC Championship Game will be played at.8 p.m. on Dec. 6 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The game will be nationally televised on CBS. 2 SEC players are Outland finalists Two of the three finalists for the Outland Trophy award, which is given to the top interior lineman in college football each season, are from the SEC. Arkansas’ Shawn Andrews, an offensive tackle, and LSU’s Chad Lavalais, a defensive tackle, were announced as fi nalists on Monday. Offensive tackle Robert Gallery of Iowa was the other finalist. The win ner will be announced on Dec. 11 on ESPN. Sanders admits leaving Lions was awkward BY LARRY LAGE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS . DETROIT — Barry Sanders, one of football’s smoothest backs, admits the way he left the Detroit Lions was awk ward. During his first news confer ence since his shocking retire ment on the eve of training camp in 1999, Sanders said Tuesday, “The way it was done may have been a little clumsy.” Sanders announced his re tirement through a written statement released by his home town newspaper, The Wichita Eagle. “Even had I retired in a more graceful way, it still would’ve been taken the wrong way by a lot of people because I retired af ter 10 years,” Sanders said. “The issue was not how I retired, but when I retired.” Sanders did say he should have returned calls from for mer Lions coach Bobby Ross, who tried unsuccessfully to contact him before the 1999 season. “It took a long time to figure out what I wanted to do, and how I wanted to say^it,” said Sanders, lopking as fu as ever in a sport coat, slacks and loafers. Sanders ran for 15,269 yards during his 10-year career with a crazy-legs style that thrilled fans and frustrated opponents. He walked away from the NFL with Walter Payton’s rushing record well within reach. “At that time, I knew that I just didn’t have it in me any more to continue,” said Sanders, who is eligible for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in • January. Sanders, never comfortable talking to reporters, acknowl edged he agreed to have a news conference solely to promote his book, “Barry Sanders: Now You See Him...” which was released this week. “It was probably good that I did the book, because I’m not sure when or if something like this would’ve occurred,” Sanders said of his talk with re porters. “I know that’s not good for me to say, but I can’t think of any other scenario where some thing like this would’ve hap pened. “In a certain sense, it does lift a burden and I think it’s signifi cant that it happened.” Sanders said he is interested ♦SANDERS, SEE PAGE 10 America doomed, like the Rangers TYLERJONES GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM Watch out for Iraqis in Bobby Seale T-shirts. After the poultry-eating was done and the naps were taken, I returned to Columbia for the final two weeks of what has been an in teresting period of my life — what critics call “the Mid twenties.” Strangely enough, I knew in the back of my head that this gruesome and self-deprecating ride would not ease into the station. Yes, there was going to be some sort of primal per version in store for me, so I did not blink when a tall, Arab youth wear ing a Bobby Seale T-shirt was sit ting on my doorstep. “Are you Tyler Jones?” . “No, I am his roommate, Luke Umstetter.” “I must see Mr. Jones immedi ately. It involves the President of the United States.” Now when a sketchy foreigner with broken English immediately stammers off a sentence like that, you know that things are about to get dicey. He was standing be tween me and the door with what looked like some sort of Israeli-de signed Uzi under his coat that was resting over his wrist. “Won’t you come in for a cup of tea?” I asked. He accepted and launched him self into a long-winded rant about Bush II’s visit to his hometown over Thanksgiving. “That was not the real presi dent. No, you see, everyone knows George Bush is left-handed, and he was on CNN serving your American troops with his right hand. I have reason to believe that it was a body double planted by the CIA, and I want Tyler Jones to break the story.” I tried to explain to him that I, err, my roommate, was just a sports columnist for a college tri weekly newspaper, but he was not to be deterred. “I have read his work. Mr. Jones is well-known in the un derground of Iraqi revolutionar ies. He is our Walter Cronkite.” Just then he removed the trench coat, pointed the Uzi in the air and let off a hiss of bullets into my ceiling. “Sure,” I said. “I’ll be glad to tell Mr. Jones. Why don’t you stay at a hotel on me? Here’s a hundred bucks, go to the Holiday Inn, and I will have Mr. Jones contact you immediately.” LucKiiy, ne was m neea ot rest, so I pointed him to the hotel and turned on my television to think. There was something on the TV about Curt Schilling playing for the Red Sox and how Alex Rodriguez might not be far behind. Baseball’s own version of the Cold War, with Boston and New York stockpiling fire power, the likes of which we have never seen, right before my eyes. And then, I thought about our good friend, Boy George Bush. Wasn’t he the presi dent of the Rangers j ust years ago? Chills shot down my spine when I thought of how this country might end up just like those abysmal Rangers down in Texas. “We’re doomed,” I thought to myself. There are strange Middle Easterners with semi-automatics at my door and baseball teams with payrolls higher than African nations. Kobe is on his way to jail and Lawrence Taylor is crying on national television-. I had reached my breaking point and was on the verge of something savage. So I called my trusty and reli able editor, Brad Senkiw, and said, “Brad, I’m outta here. Forward me my hate mail, and whatever you do, don’t answer your door to a lanky Iraqi wear ing a Bobby Seale T-shirt.” Jones is a graduate student in the College ofMass Communications and Information Studies.