The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 28, 2005, Page 9, Image 9
* S.C. breeds top prospects
By AJ BEMBRY
THE GAMECOCK
While the efforts of new USC
football coach Steve Spurrier have
slightly favored out-of-state trips and
commitments from some of the
Southeast’s premier high school talent, a
group of highly touted prospects from
inside the Palmetto State has certainly
piqued the interest of the incoming
coaching staff.
CJ Byrd, a safety from North
Augusta and considered by Scout.com
to be the best athlete in the state, has
» already committed to the University of
Georgia. He announced his decision
early in the recruiting process, back in
November, when UGA still had
defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder.
VanGorder, a Frank Broyles Award
nominee for college football’s top
assistant, left Athens to take over the
linebackers for the NFL’s Jacksonville
Jaguars. Byrd insists that he still intends
to be a Bulldog next fall. Still, there are
plenty of in-state gems left for Spurrier
and company to try and woo to suit up
for the Gamecocks.
Perhaps the second-highest ranked
prospect in South Carolina is
Columbia’s own Mike Davis, considered
by Scout.com to be the No. 11 overall
running back in the country.
He has received offers from USC,
Kentucky, UNC, Auburn and rival
Clemson, and is using his final official
visit on Ralph Friedgen’s Maryland
Terrapins. Davis was on the Carolina
campus this past weekend, and came
away rather impressed.
“I would probably give it an eight or
nine,” Davis told a reporter with
CUTigers.com when asked how he
would rank his hometown visit on a
scale of one to 10. The 5-foot-10-inch,
210-pound, self-proclaimed Eddie
George-style runner appears split
between the Gamecocks and Clemson
and is expected to make his
announcement after he gets back from
Maryland, just before the National
Signing Day of Feb. 2.
The Conway high school tandem of
wide receiver Eric Huggins and
defensive end Hivera Green are also
ranked in SC’s top 10, with Huggins
already committed to national
powerhouse Oklahoma. Green, a quick
6-foot-5-foot, 255-pound teammate of
early Spurrier recruit Bobby Wallace, is
still looking, having received
scholarship offers from USC, Clemson
and the ACC Champion Virginia Tech
Hokies. Although Clemson and
Virginia Tech were both clear-cut
leaders in the Green sweepstakes, the
three-star prospect admits that
Spurrier’s presence in Columbia has
made him re-think his options. He
recently returned from Blacksburg, Va.,
and is expected to make his intentions
known before signing day.
Clemson has received verbal
commitments from two more top-ten
recruits, Marlboro County wideout
Rendrick Taylor and Greenville
offensive lineman Cory Lambert.
Ranked fourth and fifth respectively in
tfie state, the two help solidify Tommy
Bowden’s Tigers.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 207-pohnd,
speedy Taylor and 6-foot-7-inch, 300
pound monster Lambert rojund out
Scout.com’s No. 19 overall recruiting
class.
The Gamecocks do have premier
Sumter safety Damfen Wright
committed for next year. Wright, a
Holtz recruit who committed back in
July, looks to play his way onto a vastly
improved Carolina secondary, anchored
last year by young standouts Ko
Simpson and Fred Bennett.
As national signing day rapidly
approaches, Spurrier and his staff look
to flesh out their inaugural incoming
class with some of the best athletes not
only in South Carolina but from all
over the country. With the heated
battle over the top recruits being waged
by the likes of UGA, Clemson and
Tennessee and the SEC continually up
for grabs each and every year, it’s not
always the best players who win football
games.
More often than not, it’s the right
ones.
Comments on this story ? E-mail
ga7necockspo1-ts@gwm.sc. edu
Early lead fails Gamecocks
By MIQUEL JACOBS
STAFF WRITER
It has been 25 years since the USC
women’s basketball team defeated
Tennessee — a span of 29 games.
Throughout that drought, Carolina has
not come closer than 14 points since a
79-73 overtime loss in 1996. Despite
fielding a much less experienced team
than most during that stretch, Carolina
gave the No. 5 Lady Vols a scare
Thursday night before bowing out 53
68.
The loss drops Carolina to 6-14
overall and 0-6 in SEC play. The losing
streak against SEC competition also
increases to 11 games.
Gening Tennessee’s leading scorer
Shyra Ely into trouble with fouls, the
Gamecocks could not match the intensity
displayed in the first half, as the Vols used
a 16-2 run early in the second half to erase
a 37-36 deficit. With Ely quietly earning
her game-high 16 points, the Vols turned
to sharpshooters Shanna Zolman and
Brittany Jackson, who combined for 8-of
14 from the 3-point line. Zolman scored
all but three of her 13 points in the second
half while Jackson scored all 15 of her
points from beyond the arc.
“We had great looks because of ball
movement,” Zolman said. “We’re
continuing to work on our inside
outside game. It gave us a jump start and
we were able to hold them.”
Carolina has not won a game this
season after trailing at the half. Opening
the game on a 14-4 run, the Gamecocks
combined intense pressure with quick
hands to force 13 Tennessee turnovers.
On the inspired play of sophomores Iva
Sliskovic and Lea Fabbri, Carolina
rallied behind a season-high attendance
of 4,374 fans to claim a 19-11 lead with
9:48 left in the half. Fabbri’s third foul
and subsequent benching halted the
Gamecock initiative as the Lady Vols
used an 11-0 run to reclaim the lead
going into the half.
“A big part of our game today was Lea,”
Walvius said. “She came out of the game
with foul trouble and that hurt us. I feel she
did a great job controlling the game for us.”
Both teams traded shots for the first
six minutes of the second half until Stacy
Booker’s 3-pointer with 13:50 left in the
game gave Carolina it’s 37-36 lead.
Tennessee used a rousing halftime
speech by Hall of Fame coach Pat
Summitt to realize what was at stake in
the game. The Vols have not lost to
USC since 1980 and are a program filled
with success, namely Summitt’s 867
wins which stand at a third all-time high
amongst all men’s and women’s
basketball coaches. She is 12 victories
away from surpassing North Carolina
great Dean Smith as the leader.
“The first half was not Tennessee’s
way,” Summitt said. “It’s not acceptable,
but I’ll take the win. I’m proud of the
second half. To have (Jackson and
Zolman) is huge for our basketball team.
When bbth are in the game and shoot
realljrwell, we’re a better team.”
When we don t play the 1 ennessee
Way,’ we’re letting a lot of people down,
all that helped build the program in the
past,” Zolman added.
The Gamecocks entered the game
knowing that focus and determination
were the keys to defeating the experienced
Tennessee team. Despite being outscored
41-29 in the second half, the staff will
look to the way in which the
inexperienced Gamecocks played 30
minutes with a team that has won 39
consecutive regular season SEC games.
“We lost focus and they took
advantage of that,” Sliskovic said. “But I
don’t feel that this game was a complete
loss. We played against the No. 5 team
in the country and I feel that we gained
something with this game.”
With a road game against Kentucky
on Sunday, the Gamecocks are running
out of opportunities to win in the SEC.
Three of the final eight games are against
teams ranked in the top 20 and only
four home games remain for this team.
Comments on this story ? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm. sc. edu
KYLE PARKER/THE GAMECOCK
Iva Sliskovic plays tough defense in the first half of the Gamecocks’
loss to Tennessee on Thursday. USC had a three-point halftime lead.
■ HILLYARD
Continued from page 8
the second half.
^k Balkman has reestablished himself as
force to be reckoned in the SEC and
this just in, he can shoot. Yes, he still
leads Carolina in three point field goal
percentage and all of a sudden he is an
ace from the free throw line. Balkman
was the best of the Gamecocks at the line
Wednesday, converting all four of his
free throw attempts.
Kinsey continues to be a scoring
threat for this young team, and if last
year was any indication, should be a go
to guy come March. His ability to drive
to the hoop and pull up and shoot will
be vital to USC’s success.
This win could not have come in a
more timely fashion. In almost an
identical game, the Gamecocks lost to
Clemson in overtime, killing the team’s
early season momentum. Now lingering
at .500 in the SEC, a win at Florida
would get the team within one game of
second place in the division with three of
four games coming within the ever more
friendly confines of the Colonial Center,
where USC is 10-1.
Battling the Gamecocks for
position in the SEC east now is
Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Georgia,
all teams that USC has already
defeated once. With Kentucky more
than likely taking the top seed in the
SEC East, a second place finish could
do wonders for USC. A second place
finish would most likely mean USC
has nine to 11 conference wins, which
would put them at 17 to 19 wins
overall. A bye in the SEC
Tournament, which would come with
the two seed in the East could, give
Carolina a legitimate crack at that
magical 20th win that the boys on the
NCAA committee hold so dear.
So, if you though^ you were just
watching a djsappoinung start and an
average win on Wednesday think again,
because you could have been watching
the beginning of a great finish to this
basketball season.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockspoi-ts@gwm.se. edu
■ LINEUP
Continued from page 8
^^his nerves.
When I start, I’m too calm,”
Gonner said. I m so used to starting.
When I come off the bench, I’ve got
something to prove.”
“I’m fired up when I come off the
bench. Right now, I d rather not start. I
play a lot more fired up when I come off
the bench,” he said.
The Gamecocks will need that fire to
keep burning as they travel to
Gainesville on Saturday to take on the
Florida Gators.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksportS@gwm.sc.edu .
NCAA turns down
QB’s 6th-year plea
FROM STAFF REPORTS
USC received verbal notice by the
NCAA on Wednesday that fifth-year
senior quarterback Mike Rathe would
not be granted an additional year of
| eligibility.
The school sent a request for an
extension on Rathe’s behalf to the
NCAA last month. Rathe was seeking
an extra year of playing time based on
circumstances involving his sophomore
year at Mesa Community College
during which he broke a finger on his
throwing hand.
The NCAA said the circumstances
surrounding Rathe’s freshman year at
the University of San Diego did not
warrant an extension of his five-year
clock as specified in the organization’s
bylaws.
There is an opportunity for appeal, an
option which USC and Rathe’s family are
considering. Rathe said Wednesday he
was hoping for a successful appeal, but
wished to offer no further comment until
he had received written notification of the
NCAA’s decision.
Rathe is most widely known for his
performance in this year’s game at
Kentucky, where he led the game s
K winning drive.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
DAVID STAGG/THE GAMECOC
t
The NCAA denied quarterback Mike Rathe a sixth year of
eligibility. Rathe threw the winning touchdown at Kentucky.
GAMECOCK CHALLENGE
I THE CHALLENGE: Every week, Jonathan Stephen Alex Miqubl Ron Aisha
Thp Gampmrk'q readers and Hillyard Fastenau Riley Jacobs Morris Haynes
staff test their sports knowledge sPorts Asst. Sports Staff Staff Special Reader of
with game predictions editor editor Writer Writer 8uest the week
wun game predictions. (iq.iq) (12-8)(14-6) (13-7) (15-5) (12-8)
24 Miss. State at LSUMSU MSU MSU_ MSU MSULSU
7 Kentucky at ArkansasKentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky
Ole Miss at VanderbiltVanderbilt Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Vanderbilt
Tennessee at AuburnUT _UTUT UTUT Auburn
Georgia at 14 AlabamaAlabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama
3 UNC at Virginia " UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC
4 Syracuse at 20 Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Syracuse Syracuse Pittsburgh Syracuse Syracuse
16 Texas at 6 KansasKansas Kansas Kansas Kansas TexasTexas
N.C. State at ClemsonN.C. State N.C. State N.C. State N.C. State Clemson N.C. State
USC at Florida Florida Florida USC USC USC USC
65-64 75-68 69-63 70-66 72-71 63-59
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