The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 12, 2005, Page 9, Image 9
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n WOMEN'S BASKETBALL vs. College of Charleston,
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Wednesday, January 12, 2005 WOMEN’S TENNIS at Las Vegas Tournament, TBA
Spurrier assembles new staff
By JONATHAN HILLYARD
SPORTS EDITOR
With the announcement that Steve
Spurrier would be the new football
coach at USC, a new era in Gamecock
football has begun. Spurrier put together
his supporting cast of coaches over the
holidays, setting a foundation for what
he hopes will be an era of success.
As announced after his hiring,
Spurrier will retain three coaches from
coach Lou Holtz’s previous staff.
Rick Stockstill, the former wide
receivers coach and recruiting
coordinator, will coach the'tight ends
and remain as USC’s recruiting guru.
Stockstill is in his second year at USC
after coaching at East Carolina and
Clemson for a number of years.
Also returning from Holtz’s staff will
be secondary coach Ron Cooper.
Cooper will be in his second season in
this position. Before coming to USC,
Cooper served as a head coach at both
Eastern Washington University and the
University of Louisville.
The third returning 2004 staff
member will be former graduate
assistant David Reaves. Reaves will assist
Spurrier in coaching the quarterbacks
and will be in his second year at USC.
Taking Stockstill’s spot as wide
receivers coach will be Steve Spurrier Jr.,
who most recently was a coach at the
University of Arizona. He has 11 years
of coaching experience at numerous
schools, including the University of
Florida, where he won a national
championship; the University of
Oklahoma, where he won another
national championship and the NFL’s
Washington Redskins.
“I am extremely excited about
having the opportunity to coach at the
University of South Carolina,”
Spurrier Jr. said. “This is a great
school, with great fans, in the best
conference in America. I’m looking
forward to coaching the receivers in
this offense, and I consider it a
privilege to be here.”
Also joining the offensive staff will be
new offensive line coach John Hunt.
Hunt was a member of Spurrier’s staff at
Florida and coached three All-SEC
linemen during that time. Hunt played
offensive line at Florida from 1980-83
where he was also voted All-SEC.
Adding a familiar name to the
offensive staff, Spurrier has hired Madre
Hill to be the team’s running backs
coach. Hill, only 29 years old, led the
SEC in rushing in 1995 for the Arkansas
Razorbacks. He was named first-team
All-SEC that season as he led the
Razorbacks to the SEC Championship
game. After stops with the Cleveland
Browns and the 2002 AFC Champion
Oakland Raiders, Hill returned to
Arkansas as an assistant coach.
“We’re excited about having Madre
Hill join the South Carolina coaching
staff,” Spurrier said. “He brings a lot of
excitement, energy and enthusiasm to
our football program.”
On the defensive side of the ball,
Spurrier has brought in a number of
names familiar to SEC football fans.
Joining Cooper in the secondary will
be Dave Wommack, who has served as
the Arkansas Razorbacks’ defensive
coordinator since the 2002 season. In
2002, the Razorbacks’ defense led the
team to its second SEC Championship
game.
In an unusual move for such a big
program, USC will have co-defensive
coordinators this season. John
Thompson, former Arkansas, LSU and
Florida defensive coordinator, will be
one of the Gamecocks’ co
coordinators. Thompson was most
recently the head coach at East
Carolina for two seasons. Thompson
has coached 40 all-conference players
in his collegiate career, and in his one
season at Florida, his defense ranked
No. 7 in the nation against the pass.
Thompson will specialize in coaching
the linebackers.
Teaming up with Thompson will be
former Southern Mississippi defensive
coordinator Tyrone Nix. Nix has spent
the last four seasons as the Golden
Eagles’ defensive coordinator, and in
2003 the unit ranked No. 5 in the
nation in pass defense, No. 13 in pass
efficiency defense, No. 14 in scoring
defense and No. 23 in total defense.
Three All-Americans were on that
squad. Nix will specialize in coaching
the USC defensive line.
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Gamecocks to match up
against Tigers in early
conference road test
BATTLE
ON THE
_I
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
Senior forward Carlos Powell will battle LSU star Brandon
Bass in tonight’s game in Baton Rouge. Tip-off is at 8 p.m.
By MIQUELJACOBS
STAFF WRITER
Don’t expect another
pushover win tonight
when the USC men’s
basketball team (9-4, 1
1 SEC) travels to Baton Rouge to take
on the LSU Tigers (6-5, 0-1 SEC).
Despite a strong showing against
Georgia and near upsets at three then
top-10 teams, conference play is always
unpredictable as Carolina battles for
SEC win number two.
Carolina leads the series against the
Tigers 11-6 overall and 3-2 on the road.
The Gamecocks have won four of the
last five against the Tigers, including rwo
victories last season. The most recent
loss was a 71-58 setback in February
2003, the last time the game was played
in Louisiana.
“Facing LSU in Baton Rouge is
always a difficult challenge for any team,
but especially for us,” USC coach Dave
Odom said. “They are the type of team
that has given us problems this year.
They are big inside, and their size is
overwhelming. We had problems with
Kansas and Kentucky’s postmen, and
their guys fall into that category with
Brandon Bass and Glen Davis. This is a
different challenge, and we will have to
see how it goes.”
Bass, who contributed 14 points
and nine rebounds in an 85-64 LSU
loss to Carolina in the SEC
Tournament last season, will indeed
cause problems for the Carolina
frontcourt. A preseason All-SEC
player, Bass averages 16.6 points and
8.6 rebounds per game. He ranks in
the top six of every category in the
SEC generally associated with
forwards, including topping the field
goal percentage list at 62 percent.
Po^t players Carlos Powe'J, Antoine
Tisby and Brandon Wallace will have
the responsibility of shutting down
one of the conference’s most prolific
players.
The Tigers are most recently coming
off a 73-58 loss to No. 19 Alabama in
the conference opener. After beginning
the season on a hot streak, LSU has
dropped four of its last five games and
became another team to fall victim to
what many believe will be an unusually
weak year for the SEC.
The Gamecocks are coming off a big
win against the Georgia Bulldogs at
home this past Saturday. Falling behind
quickly to a 13-3 deficit, Carolina
clawed back in the game seemingly in an
instant after a 34-6 run put Georgia
away for good. In his first start as a
r— -t—------—. ...
Gamecock, Tisby provided the
presence that Carolina will need in the
post while Powell continued his stellar
season with a game-high 19 points.
However, if the inside game isn’t
effective, the guards might have to carry
this game for Carolina. Senior Josh
Gonner averaged 12 points per game in
the past four games, getting out of the
slump that began his season averaging
only 7.6 per game. In the slump,
Gonner registered four games in which
he either went scoreless or hit one field
goal. Key contributors junior Tarence
Kinsey and sophomore Tre’ Kelley will
also need to keep their strokes hot as
Carolina enters the game as the worst
three-point shooting team in the
conference.
Defense, the staple of Odom’s team,
has been a major reason that Carolina
has surprised teams this season. Much
like last year, the Gamecocks rank in the
top five in the SEC of nearly every
defensive statistical category. As
Alabama showed, pressuring the LSU
guards into turnovers should be enough
to allow for scoring opportunities. The
Tigers have had problems all season with
turnovers. Given the success that
Carolina has had in forcing them, this
aspect of the game could decide the
outcome as both teams are evenly
matched on paper.
The game will be played at 8 p.m. at
the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in
Baton Rouge.
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This week’s games:
3 UNC vs. 4 Wake Forest
9 Kentucky at Georgia
7 Syracuse at Providence
Arkansas at 11 Mississippi State
5 Duke vs. Virginia
8 Georgia Tech vs. NC State
Florida at Vanderbilt
Ohio State at LSU
Clemson vs. Virginia Tech
USC vs Tennessee
♦ FOR TIE-BREAKING PURPOSES, PLEASE
INCLUDE YOUR SCORE FOR THE USC-OLE y
MISS GAME. AND DON’T FORGET YOUR
NAME!
USC recruiting
picks up after
crucial weekend
BOB MACK/THE FLORIDA TIMES UNION
Coach Steve Spurrier is assembling his first Carolina recruiting
class. The Gamecocks hosted 18 prospects this past weekend.
By ALEX RILEY
STAFF WRITER
The USC football program
received a boost from the basketball
team Saturday. As fans cheered their
hearts out for the Gamecocks, a group
of 18 recruits witnessed the loyalty
and devotion Gamecock fans show to
their athletic teams.
It was enough to sway the loyalties
of many recruits.
After Saturday’s game, Carolina
has picked up 15 commitments,
according to Gamecockcentral.com,
for next football season.
USC’s new coaching staff had
already picked up three early
commitments with running back
Bobby Wallace, athlete Kenny
McKinley and quarterback Tommy
Beecher and has one signee in
defensive back Mike West.
Wallace is a three-star running
back ranked in the top-25 prospects
from the state by Rivals.com after
picking up 1914 yards rushing and 28
touchdowns. He was Steve Spurrier’s
first commitment. Wallace’s honors
are numerous, including being the
MVP of the North/South All-Star
Game this year.
McKinley, a three-star player, had
offers from numerous schools, headlined
by Tennessee. McKinley played mostly
quarterback in high school, but he is
predicted to play wide receiver in college.
McKinley accumulated 1470 yards
passing last fall with 16 touchdowns as
the Cobb County offensive player of the
year honors.
Beecher, a two-star quarterback,
heard a lot of talk from many big
schools, little of which materialized. His
only other offer came from Richmond,
but his 2586 yards passing with 28
touchdowns spoke volumes to the USC
coaches, and he become Spurrier’s first
quarterback commitment.
Two-star defensive back Yvan
Banag of Buford, Ga., made his
verbal commitment to the
Gamecock program this past
weekend. Banag received offers from
numerous schools, including SEC
rival Mississippi State and
Vanderbilt, but will soon call
Columbia his home. While a bit
undersized at 5-feet-11-inches,
Banag brings a 31-inch vertical leap
to the secondary.
USC also picked up three-star
defensive back Gerrod Sinclair of
Jacksonville, Fla. Sinclair had offers
♦ Please see RECRUIT, page 10
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
Sophomore point guard Tre’ Kelley sets up the offense Saturday
against Georgia. Kelley’s play has been crucial so far this season.
momentum key
in hoops success
By BRIAN DAVIS
THE GAMECOCK
During winter break, the
Gamecocks had three near road
victories against elite, then-top-10
opponents in Kansas, Pennsylvania
and Kentucky. These close battles
should certainly boost the team’s
confidence, as these were the only
three losses during its challenging
winter break schedule. As each of the
three losses were by four points, the
Gamecocks were 13 points shy of
going 8-0 and defeating three top-10
teams.
The team will take on LSU at 8
p.m. with the hope to advance its
record to 7-5 (2-1 SEC). Countering
the Tigers will be the Gamecocks’
senior leader Carlos Powell, who is
averaging nearly 15 points per game
and more than six rebounds per
contest. Additionally, with the
emergence of sophomore starters Tre’
Kelley as point guard and Brandon
Wallace as forward, the Gamecocks
are looking to advance their .500
record in the SEC and acquire some
quality wins.
The team’s high level of play,
anchored by Powell, Kelley and
Wallace and assisted by the Remainder
of the participating players, was
evident in the Gamecocks’ utter
dominance of border-rival Georgia.
Nearly two weeks after two wins
and a near victory against No. 2
Kansas in Lawrence, the Gamecocks
attempted to achieve a landmark by
being only the second team to defeat
No. 10 Pittsburgh at its new home,
the Peterson Events Center. While
the Gamecocks held a 28-25 halftime
advantage, they were unable to
withstand the pressure from Pitt’s
post player Chris Taft and underrated
scoring guard Carl Krauser in the
second half. This has been telltale of
many Gamecock losses this season,
including all three against top-10
opponents. Despite this, the value of
such close match-ups with the
nation’s elite must suggest an
enhancement in the level of the team’s
play as well as a boost in its self
confidence and intuition.
The Gamecocks’ 4-point road loss
to the Kentucky Wildcats was
disappointing but in all reality,
ousting Kentucky at Rupp Arena for
an entire game and withstanding the
crowd pressure is as likely for any
team as overcoming gravity.
♦ Please see MOMENTUM, page 10