The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, December 03, 2003, Page 9, Image 9
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Vj lrlvi 1 L O MEN’S BASKETBALL at The Citadel, 7:15 p.m. Wednesday
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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.
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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.
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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.