The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 18, 2005, Page 10, Image 10
Page 10
Friday, March 18, 2005
PORTS
GAME SCHEDULE
BASEBALL vs. Arkansas, 7 p.m.
TRACK in Weems Baskin Relays, All Day
EQUESTRIAN vs. College of Charleston,
1 p.m. Saturday
NCAA hoops
fail to drown
football's new
excitement
■ 0Γ ball coach brings
different, appealing type
of March Madness
Ah, nothing like the feel of
March Madness.
Not the Jim Nantz, 64-team,
One Shining Moment, March
Madness. USC basketball is, after
all, in the NIT. March madness is
diagnosed this
η year ai
symptoms
relating to the
observation of
Steve Spurrier
at work in
spring practice
and the
I upcoming
.. ι
STEPHEN
FASTENAU
SECOND-YEAR
PRINT
JOURNALISM
STUDENT
Black game.
The ol'
ball coach
be
up
g
will
opening
s ρ r i
practice to
the public Saturday morning at 11
a.m. at Williams-Brice. The
Garnet and Black game will
be held April 16 and
televised by ESPN2 and
ESPNU. No word yet on
whether Court TV will
be on hand, but sources
tell me the station is
tied up with a high
profile child
molestation case and
wouldn't make the
trip.
With his team ravaged
by off-field problems,
Spurrier is going to try his
hardest to instill an
exciting atmosphere
♦ Please see FASTENAU,
page 11
Spurrier, Gamecocks set to kick offfiin 'n gun era
By JONATHAN HILLYARD
SPORTS EDITOR
OR 116 DAYS, GAMECOCK FOOTBALL FANS
have had a bad taste in their mouths. A
second consecutive loss to Clemson and the
denial of a bowl bid served as a slap in the face to all
associated with the program. Now Steve Spurrier,
USC's new coach and, some say, savior, is prepared
to finally set foot on a USC football field. Gamecock
football's spring practice begins Saturday.
A team coming off a 6-5 season, USC will look to
install Spurrier's fun 'n' gun offense during a 4-week
period from March 19 through April 16 when USC
hosts its first Garnet and Black Game.
"Spring practice to me has always been about
trying to learn what to do and trying to find the
players that really want to play," Spurrier said.
"We're going to try and make this fun."
Spurrier made it clear that fans would see a whole
new Gamecock team in 2005.
"What's happened
in the past has
no bearing on
what we do
in the
future," he
said.
"Everything
about us is
starting
fresh from
this day
forward."
Offensively,
the Gamecocks
will unofficially
return four
starters from the
2004 team that
finished seventh in the SEC in total offense.
Leading the way will be rising junior Syvelle
Newton, but not from the position many would
expect.
"Newton is our No.l split end right now,"
Spurrier said in a news conference on Wednesday.
Newton was the team's third leading receiver his
freshman season, catching 22 passes for 277 yards.
Spurrier said the decision to move to receiver was
made by Syvelle, not coaches.
Joining Newton in the spring at the No. 2 receiver
position will be rising junior Noah Whiteside.
Whiteside, a Greenville native, caught 20 balls for
290 yards last season.
Distributing the ball in what, in the past, has
been a pass-happy offense will be rising sophomore
Blake Mitchell. Spurrier said Wednesday that
Mitchell would enter the spring as the starter. The
Lagrange, Ga. native completed 9-of-22 passes in
2004, throwing one touchdown and three
interceptions.
Following the dismissal of star tailback Demetris
Summers, rising junior Cory Boyd will begin the
spring as USC's featured back. Boyd was second on
the team in rushing in 2004 and will be joined in the
backfield by starting fullback and rising senior
Daccus Turman, who doubles as a tailback.
The men protecting Mitchell in spring practice
will be made up of experienced and talented youth.
Returning starters Jabari Levey and Na'Shan ι
Goddard will anchor the line as seniors at both tackljjl
positions. They will be joined at guard by High
School All-Attiertcan James Thompson, TTfd
defensive lineman convert Freddy Saint-Treux.
Rising junior Chris White will take graduated John
Strickland's place at center. JflBlP
New co-defensive coordinators John '^Hg&pson
and Tyrone Nix will head a defenseHgt; has
♦ Please see SP9HI, page 11
NICK ESARES, KATIEK»K JRtîNE GAMECOCK ,
USC coach Steve Spurrier, left, and rising junior SyVellwfewton,1 right,,
will begin their 2005 spring practice Saturday at WilliamflPfce Stedii
Newton is listed as the team's number one receiver.
Probable starters for Garnet and Black Game
GAMECOCK OFFENSE:
QB: 12 Blake Mitchell, So.
TB: 3 Cory Boyd, Jr.
FB: 32 Daccus Turman, Sr.
«
WR: 1 Noah Whiteside, Jr.
WR: 13 Syvelle Newton, Jr.
TE: 80 Andy Boyd, Jr.
LT: 78 Jabari Levey, Sr.
RT: 70 Na'Shan Goddard,
Sr.
LG: 54 Freddy Saint-Preux,
Sr.
RG: 67 James Thompson, So.
C: 60 Chris White, Jr.
GAMECOCK DEFENSE:
DE: 45 DeAdrian Coley, Sr.
DE: 97 Charles Silas, Sr.
DT: 79 Marque Hall, So.
NG: 55 Stanley Doughty, So.
LB: 42 Ricardo Hurley, Sr.
LB: Mike West, So.
LB: 51 Orus Lambert, Sr.
CB: 9 Jonathan Joseph, Jr.
CB: 8 Fred Bennett, Jr.
SS: 17 Trent Usher, Fr.
FS: 10 Ko Simpson, So.
Baseball to begin conference play
By ALEX RILEY
STAFF WRITER
Holding a No. 2 rank and a 16
1 record, the USC baseball team
heads into the first SEC series of
the year against one of the nation's
best, the No. 7 Arkansas
Razorbacks.
The Hogs (16-1) have been on
cruise control all season, with
their only loss coming at
Louisiana Tech, 10-8. Arkansas
owns a series sweep against
Minnesota, a win at Oklahoma
State and the SEC's third-best
team batting average, swinging
.344. The batting barrage is lead
by senior Casey Rowlett, who is
batting. 508, while four possible
starters in the field are still batting
better than .350.
Arkansas strong start is credited
to their bullpen depth, which
boasts a 2.41 ERA and has used 10
different arms to win.
All that said, Carolina stands a
chance of rising to the nation's
top-team spot in the polls next
week. A solid showing could
bolster the Gamecocks into the top
place, especially against a high level
of competition.
After a 3-1 week during spring
break, Carolina knocked off
archrival Clemson once in
Tigertown (6-3) and once In
Columbia (6-5) last weekend.
Those v^ins moved the
Gamecocks up in most of the
polls, as low as No.4 and as high
as No.2.
The Gamecocks offense also
packs a powerful punch, featuring
eight different hitters with +.350
averages, six of whom will most
likely start on Friday. The
offensive firepower is lead by
juniors Michael Campbell (.397)
and Stephen Tolleson (.415), who
have started every game thus far.
The lineup as a whole has a
collective .330 average.
The rotation for USC will have
to keep up its solid start, as the
Gamecock rotation clings to a 2.53
ERA, but 143 total strikeouts are
keeping opponents at bay.
Coach Ray Tanner said his
team has seen a lot of different
scenarios this season and that it
should be ready for anything.
"We've had a little bit of
everything happen to us," Tanner
said.
This is something we have
prepared for all year long,"
Tolleson said.
The series begins Friday at 7
p.m. at Sarge Frye Field and
continues Saturday at 4 p.m., with
Sunday's game being moved up to
12:30 p.m. The Gamecocks will
start senior Aaron Rawl on Friday,
senior Zac McCamie on Saturday
and freshmen Wynn Pelzer on
Sunday.
Comments on this story? E-maty
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK
USC junior forward Tarence Kinsey and the Gamecocks will play
another NIT home game Tuesday at the Colonial Center.
NIT grants Carolina
second round contest
The National Invitation
Tournament announced
Thursday that USC has been
chosen to host a second-round
game between the Gamecocks
and the winner of the Arizona
State vs. UNLV game that was in
progress at the time of
publishing. The game will be
held next Tuesday, March 22, at
7:30 p.m. in the Colonial Center.
"We are excited the NIT has
named South Carolina as the
second-round host," USC coach
Dave Odom said. "This will give
all of our students and Gamecock
fans time to get their tickets for
this second-round match-up.
Our team commented after the
Miami game how loud the crowd
was on Tuesday night and how
much they helped them in · the
second half."
Students can get tickets today
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the
Russell House and can also get
their tickets next Monday
starting at 10 a.m.
The Gamecocks are just two
wins away from advancing to the
NIT semi£nals, held in New
York's Madison Square Garden.
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
Junior shortstop Steven Tolleson knocks a p^itch into the outfield in
USC's home win against Clemson last weekend at Sarge Frye Field.