Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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■ MEN Continued from page 6 he averaged 21 points, nine rebounds and 4.5 steals and was named Georgia Junior College Player of the Year. Leadership might be an issue this year as the Gamecocks lost guard Mike Boynton to graduation. Head coach Dave Odom, who coached two-time NBA MVP Tim Duncan, has called Boynton the best leader he has ever coached, and he will be looking to his four seniors to fill Boynton’s void. Carlos Powell, a senior forward, led the team in scoring and rebounding last year and was recently named to the preseason All-SEC second team. Senior guard Josh Gonner was second on the team in scoring last season and averaged 16 points in three SEC Tournament games. Gonner also scored at least 20 points four times in SEC play. John Chappell, a senior center, is a good rebounder and defender, and Jon Land, a senior guard, is the team’s only walk-on. The true future of the team is in its sophomore players. Forwards Renaldo Balkman and Brandon Wallace are both great shot-blockers. Balkman was named to the All-SEC freshman team last season with averages of 7.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Balkman blocked 43 shots last season, and since 1979, only seven Gamecocks have blocked more shots in a season. Brandon Wallace was fourth on the team in rebounds, averaging 3.3 boards per game, a number that should increase along with his playing time. Sophomore guard Tre Kelley will run the show this year at the point-guard spot, where he played in all 34 games last season. Last year, Kelley shot 70 percent from the free-throw line and posted a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. Center Paulius joneuunas must elevate ms game to be a factor, as he blocked fewer shots per game than his teammates Ballon an and Wallace, who are both shorter than him. Junior guard Tarence Kinsey improved last year and looks good so far this year, scoring 18 points in USC’s exhibition game against USC Upstate. Kinsey averaged 8.3 points per game, and he will surely average at least 13 points per game now that his playing time will be increased. The Gamecocks play six straight games at home to start the regular season, beginning with Western Carolina on Sunday and continuing with Winthrop, Temple, Appalachian State, Clemson and South Florida. During Christmas break, the Gamecocks play at home against S.C. State, Wofford and Georgia and away against preseason No. 1 Kansas, East Carolina, No. 17 Pittsburgh and No. 9 Kentucky. The Gamecocks’ SEC schedule includes games against No. 12 Mississippi State, No. 18 Alabama and No. 23 Florida. USC will spend March 10-13 at the SEC Tournament in Atlanta Expectations are reasonable for the Gamecocks. Reaching the NCAA Tournament will be difficult, but a place in the field of 65 teams is not out of the question — ESPN.com projects USC as the ninth seed in its region. It all depends, however, on how the Gamecocks come out of their non-conference schedule, as the SEC will be tough as usual. If they play well, the Gamecocks might knock off Tennessee to finish third in the SEC East, which would certainly help their chances with the NCAA selection committee. Comments on this story? E-mail ga7hec0cksports@gwm.sc. edu ■ WOMEN Continued from page 6 halftime 24-29, but bit back in the second half by collecting a 13-point lead during a scoreless Gamecock draught that lasted almost seven minutes. USC played its heart out but was able to hit one of only 10 shots from beyond the arc. The Gamecocks also threw the Huskies a handful of bones by committing 17 turnovers in the second half that Washington converted into 25 points. USC shot 70 percent from the charity stripe but committed 30 turnovers in the game, the most for the Gamecocks since 2002. Simms led the Gamecocks with 12 points. USC dropped its second game of the season to UNLV last Monday night, 66-63. The Gamecocks led the majority of the first half but allowed UNLV to battle back and tie the game at halftime, 32-32. After trading baskets the first 10 minutes, the Rebels took it up another notch and went on a 14-6 run to take a 58-49 lead late in the second half. USC dug deep and cut the deficit to one at 64 63, but a foul by a Gamecock put Rebel Sheena Moore on the foul line. Moore showed that she had ice water in her veins as she conlidendy sank the free throws and sealed the three point victory for UNLV. The junior UNLV guard was 12-13 from the charity stripe for the game. Attempted free-throws was the key statistic of the game, as me ^amecocKs converted 100 percent of their free throws but only had eight attempts in the game, showing a lack of aggressive play. The Rebels were 23-29 for a 15-point differentiation with USC. Simms was USC’s top scorer for the second time in as many games, leading the Gamecocks with 21. The Gamecocks (0-2) return home to Columbia tonight for an exhibition game against Everyone’s Internet at 7. Comments on this story? 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