Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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GAME SCHEDULE . 0 MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. age WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Tennessee, 7 p.m. Thursday Wednesday, January 26, 2005 MEN’S TENNIS vs. ECU, 10 a.m. Saturday Outgoing 4D leaves vith sweet, mir record VIcGee guided program o good standing, but eft much to be desired When soon-to-be-retired USC \thletic Director Mike McGee came to JSC 12 years ago, many people didn’t enow what to expect. McGee had a long listory of well-noted athletic iccomplishments at his former nstitutions, from receiving the Outland Trophy as a piayer ai l^ukc to winning his share of big games as an AD at Southern Cal (or, as we say, USC-West or USC-II). Having come from such big name programs, many in the Gamecock family felt like we were getting a guy who could do no wrong, right? Survey says: Yes ... and no. McGee, or as one comical newspaper called him, McGoo, did manage to bring some big names into the Carolina program. During his tenure, USC won three bowl games, went to the College World Series numerous times and won the school’s only national championship. McGee also brought in some big name coaches, including Lou “not quite as good as expected” Holtz; Curtis “I won a national championship and went to the Olympics” Frye; Ray “I’m close to winning that championship” Tanner; and Steve “if anybody can turn this ship around, it’s me” Spurrier. Added to that, McGee built the Colonial Center, which has played host to USC basketball and numerous traveling acts during its three-year usage span. Nice stuff, right? I mean, if you were going to write a resume, this would be stuff you’d want to put down. But then there’s the “McGoo” part to this joke. McGoo has become the reason that Columbia seems to have it out for USC. While Columbia is home to USC, it is not entirely a “college town” like our redneck neighbors to the north. Columbia is still the capital of the state of South Carolina. T ex mp rpnpar rhaf: rhp raniral of rhe state of South Carolina. While Five Points has your drinking habits in mind, some parts of this town still have work to do, and McGoo seemed to forget that. Because of his brash tactics, McGoo might have finally forced the long standing minor league Capital City Bombers out of town because of his unwillingness to share a stadium. That’s right, in a few years, Columbia will have two empty ball stadiums, but only one team will still be playing. Sad, isn’t it? I mean, where else am I going to say that I saw Jose Reyes play baseball before he was major-league shortstop? McGoo’s ways have also continued ♦ Please see RILEY, page 13 ALEX RILEY FIRST-YEAR PRINT JOURNALISM STUDENT Tensions build as signing day nears By ALEX RILEY STAFF WRITER After months of showing recruits what kind of home they could make at USC, coach Steve Spurrier’s campaign for a first recruiting class is drawing to a close with the Feb. 2 signing day approaching. USC will play host to its two final recruits this ’ weekend in the form of offensive tackle/strong-side defensive end Quinton Brown and safety Gary Riggs. Brown — a three-star player from Orlando, Fla., according to Rivals.com — has a 6-foot-6-inch, 260-pound frame, which has gotten him offers from some of the South’s top programs. His offers include Louisville, Georgia, West Virginia, Florida, Florida State and N.C. State. Brown’s frontrunner is N.C. State, with USC being his final visit of the year. Carolina’s other incoming recruit is three-star safety Riggs of Jennings, La. Riggs is an Ole Miss commitment, but did schedule a visit to Columbia as his only other visit of the process. Riggs received looks from Tennessee and Florida, along with some of Louisiaha’s smaller schools. While Riggs is a safety recruit, he also put up impressive offensive numbers, grabbing 12 touchdowns as a receiver last fall, along with six interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. USC is still looking for some of its previous visitors to make a decision, including Justin Carrington and Mike Davis. Carrington, a three-star running back from Bealeton, Va., made his visit to Carolina last weekend. Even though he was a commitment to Indiana, Carrington looks to be in the process of changing his mind. According to Gamecockcentral.com, the USC staff is trying to convince Carrington to attend prep school for one season and join the Gamecocks next spring. Davis, another three-star running back and hailing from Columbia, has offers from all over the South, including Clemson, Auburn and Florida. Davis made his final visit of the year last weekend staying home for some time with the Gamecocks. He has said that he has a good idea where he wants to attend and should announce sometime after his final visit to Maryland this weekend. Another player with a decision to make is three star linebacker/defensive end Dakota Walker of Mays Landing, N.J. Walker’s two biggest contenders are USC and Virginia Tech, but he also has offers from Iowa to Tenrtfesee. Walker’s imposing 6-foot-4-inch, 225-pound figure has made him a hot commodity for this year’s recruiting class. A decision could come from Walker on Thursday or Friday. The biggest recruit still left unaccounted for is four-star wide receiver OJ Murdock of Tampa. He has offers from some of the nation’s top schools, ranging from Miami to Tennessee. Murdock was a selection to the CaliFlorida Game, an all-star battle between the top high school jjlayers in Florida and California. Murdock has narrowed his decision to USC and Florida. He will be in Gainesville this weekend on his official visit. I Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu n< PHOTO COURTESY OF RIVALS.COM Receiver O.J. Murdock from Tampa is one of USC’s top remaining targets. Mid-week showdown awaits USC Gamecocks, Commodores to battle for division win By TODD GREEN THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s basketball team (10-6 overall, 2-3 SEC) returns home tonight for a critical SEC matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores (11-6, 2-3 SEC). Vanderbilt has dropped three straight SEC games including setbacks against Kentucky, Florida and mcst recently Georgia. The Gamecocks are back home after a tough road loss, a 73-65 defeat at the hands of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Life on the road has not been kind to USC this season, having lost all five contests away from Columbia. However, four of those loses came against ranked opponents in Kansas, Pittsburgh, Kentucky and Mississippi State. There is no magic formula for predicting what a team needs in order to make the NCAA Tournament, but there are a few indicators. A .500 or better record in SEC play is one such indicator. With both USC and Vandy sitting at 2-3 in the conference, this game becomes vitally imDorrant to both sauads’ oostseason aspirations. Vanderbilt is coming off an embarrassing 68-59 loss to the lowly Georgia Bulldogs, who played without their leading scorer. Vanderbilt entered the game leading the nation in 3-point attempts at 10.6 per game, but only made 2-of-16 against Georgia. During the game’s final stretch, the Commodores went five minutes and thirty seconds with only two field goals. The game will mark a contest of contrasting playing styles. Vanderbilt lives and dies by the 3-pointer, whereas USC is last in the SEC in 3-point IF YOU’RE GOING WHAT: USC vs. Vanderbilt WHERE: Colonial Center WHEN: 8 p.m. tonight attempts. The Gamecocks have shot more than 50 percent in field-goal accuracy during the past seven games, a first since the adoption of the 45 second shot clock in the 1985-86 season. “We’ve got to be vety sharp defensively,” USC coach Dave Odom said at Tuesday’s news conference. “We’ve got to attack them offensively and try to find some advantages ourselves.” USC must dictate the tempo of the game. A back-and-forth shoot out favors Vanderbilt, while a physical half-court game tends to favor USC. Carlos Powell will be called upon once again to establish a strong inside presence. The Gamecocks’ tendency to drive strongly to the basket could be a major factor. “1 have been very pleased with our ability to get to the rim, with all of our players,” Odom said. The key individual matchup for the r'.amprnrL-c will hr* noint cniarrl TV#*’ Kelley against his Vanderbilt counterpart Mario Moore. Both guards are serious scoring threats and are the primary distributors of the basketball. Moore leads Vanderbilt in scoring with 13.7 points per game. “Moore is as quick as any guard in the league,” Odom said. Vanderbilt’s second leading scorer, Corey Smith, is questionable because of injury. USC is in the thick of a grueling conference-basketball schedule. January wins are not easy to come by. A winning streak is exactly what the Gamecocks need to gain the momentum required for a run in the SEC Tournament and the Big Dance. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gumt.sc. edu Senior guard Josh Gonner and the Gamec&ks will play host to the Vanderbilt Commodores tonight at 8 p.m. in the Colonial Center. USC will try to push its SEC record back to .500 against Vanderbilt. ______ S' Women’s basketball to tangle with SEC power Tennessee By TYLER GREGG THE GAMECOCK The USC women’s basketball team will try to forget about its latest 61-49 loss to Arkansas on Sunday when the Gamecocks play host to No. 7 ^Tennessee at the Colonial Center on Thursday. The team is once again on a downward spiral in SEC play. With the loss at Arkansas, the Gamecocks fell to 6 13 overall and 0-5 in SEC play. In what seems to be reminiscent of the 1999 USC football season, the women’s basketball team has lost 11 straight in SEC play and has dropped the last 10 SEC road games. The Lady Vols are 14-3 overall and undefeated in SEC play at 4-0. The Tennessee women’s basketball program is extremely familiar with winning SEC basketball games, as the Lady Vols have won 56 straight at home and 38 straight ♦ Please see WOMEN, £age 13 “ WRr _slflk..._3?__— WADE PAYNE/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS see’s Shyra Ely, center, drives past a Kentucky defender during the second half Sunday. Ely scored 13 points in victory. *