The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 06, 2005, Page 17, Image 17
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Patre 17 I ^ II k | i WOMEN’S TENNIS at Francis Marion, 2 p.m.
\\ta A a -1* ->nnc 1 I I LI MEN’S TENNIS vs. Clemson, 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 6,2005 _I_ V^/ _ ^ BASEBALL vs. The Citadel, 7 p.m.
Defense dominates practice
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
The football team’s defense has gotten the better of coach Steve
Spurrier’s offense so far in the first spring practice.
By AJ BEMBRY
FOR THE GAMECOCK
Another day of practice for the
USC football team, another day in
which the defense dominated the
drills and scrimmage.
Co-defensive coordinators
Tyrone Nix and John Thompson
have installed a gritty, quick and
strong defense in their mutual first
season at Carolina.
Though the practice was in
shoulder pads and shorts, it
consisted of different scrimmage
type drills, ranging from 11-on-ll
to just backs and receivers vs.
defensive backs and linebackers.
No matter what the composition,
the defense set the pace, routinely
getting through the offensive line
to pressure the quarterback, and
surrounding wide receivers in
double and triple coverage.
OFFENSE
Despite the defense outshining
the offense in general play, the
offense wasn’t without merit.
Blake Mitchell took the majority
of the snaps Monday with the first
team offense and was rather
accurate, completing the majority
of his passes to former quarterback
and current wide receiver Syvelle
Newton. The two players
connected for several passes and
look to be developing a fair
amount of chemistry.
Mitchell wasn’t without fault,
however, as USC coach Steve
Spurrier broke down a few plays
for him and had a few brief lectures
on his passing mechanics. Fellow
quarterbacks Brett Nichols,
Antonio Heffner and Mike Rathe
also took snaps, with Nichols
showing a good grasp of the routes.
Running back Albert Ashcraft has
solidified himself as the most
impressive newcomer in spring
practices. The lanky 6-foot-3, 199
pound redshirt freshman from
Monroe, N.C., has blazing speed
and the ability to turn the corner,
leaving linebackers in the dust. His
quick feet and well-timed jukes
allowed him to dance through four
defenders on a sweep to the left
side Monday. The redshirt
freshman has not run many plays
up the middle, as Daccus Turman
took most of the interior snaps.
DEFENSE
The defense’s early drills
focused on turnovers and blitzing.
For the better part of practice the
defense showed good team
cohesion. During interception and
pass coverage drills, the secondary’s
members relayed the ball’s position
♦ Please see SPRING, page 18
Tar Heels Complete
Carolina title
weep
UNC outlasts pesky Illinois
to wrap up first championship
for battle-tested veteran coach
)
By MATTHEW NAGY
FOR THE GAMECOCK
The University of North Carolina held
up its end of the bargain Monday night,
joining USC as the only two NCAA
basketball teams to end their seasons with
wins.
It was like-father, like-son as Sean May
led UNC to its first basketball national title
since 1993, defeating Illinois, 75-70.
The Illini fought hard in the second half,
making two comeback bids, but Bruce
Weber’s team never led after coming back
from 15 points down with less than 10
minutes left in the second half.
The Tarheels went up 18-17 with just
about 11 minutes left in the first half and
trailed after that point. May, UNC’s junior
, forward, was the big reason for UNC’s
* success, as he scored 26 points while
making 10-of-ll shots from the floor. It
was quite a birthday present for May, who
turned 21 Monday, as he went on to
become the tournament’s Most
l* r»l_ i i i i*
vuuiaiiuiug i iajvi aim wdd lilt mduuig
scorer and rebounder for the tournament
— the only player since Danny Manning in
1988 to lead both categories and win a
national championship.
May, whose father also led his 1976
Indiana team to a national championship
with 26 points, was the focal point in the
second half to keep the Illinois surge at bay.
With Illini senior James Augustine in foul
trouble all game long, the Illini had no
answer in the paint as Roger Powell Jr. was
overmatched by the bigger and stronger
May. Augustine, the Big Ten Tournament
>\r\i 11_ mnntnnw i nt vjruyituuurx, c.r\ u«w i nc. noouumi cu rncoo
USC senior forward Carlos Powell, left, and UNC junior forward Sean May, right,
led their teams through postseason tournaments and finished with a title.
MVP, got in foul trouble early trying to
handle May and never recovered, finishing
with no points in five minutes.
The Illini did not go down without a
fight, however, as they rallied from a 13
point halftime deficit, as well as a 15-point
second-half deficit to tie the game, but
were unable to take the lead from a
Tarheel team that never doubted its ability
to stave off the Illini comeback. Luther
Head, who led Illinois with 21 points, hit
the back of the iron with 17 seconds left to
go on a 3-pointer that would have tied the
game.
That, like many other Illini 3s, did not
fall Monday night, as the team made only
12 of its 40 attempted 3-pointers. The 40
attempts also set an NCAA championship
game record. Illinois’ shooting from the
field was not impressive either, as the
Illini shot only 39 percent from the field
and only attempted six free throws,
whereas on 16 fewer shots, UNC was able
to shoot 50 percent on the evening as well j
as 56 percent from beyond the 3-point
line.
Despite the loss, Weber was proud of
what his team has accomplished this season,
finishing 37-2 with both the Big Ten
regular-season and tournament titles.
“It goes down in history,” Weber said.
“Not only Illinois history, NCAA history.
Tied the most wins ever, No. 1 for all the
time. You get to the championship game.
You know, I mean, if you’re not happy with
this, I feel sorry for you, because life ain’t
getting better.”
For Roy Williams, his team was able to
silence doubters and bring a championship
back to Chapel Hill for the first time since
the 1993 Tarheels did it. Williams also
made the jump from being the coach with
the most wins without a championship to
the coach with the most wins before his
first championship. Prior to Monday,
Williams had been involved in two
national championships with the Kansas
Jayhawks, losing first to the Duke Blue
Devils and then in 2003 to the Syracuse
-o
The game will be remembered mainly for
May’s play, but most importantly for May
and his teammates, as they won the game
and they won it as a team, proving their
season-long critics wrong.
“A lot of people said we were just
talented, but not a team,” May said. “But
when times got tough, we banded together
and came through. We showed we’re not
just talented. We’re a team.”
Comments on this story? E-mail
\amecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
USC, The Citadel to tangle at Sarge Frye
By BRIAN DAVIS
FOR THE GAMECOCK
The USC baseball team will
play host to The Citadel in hopes
of earning its 25th win tonight at
Sarge Frye Field.
The Carolina baseball team is
6-0 against in-state rivals this
season, including a series sweep
against Clemson, a two-game
series sweep of Wofford and a 4-2
victory against The Citadel in the
teams’ initial meeting in
Charleston.
USC outscored its opponents
36-13 in these games.
In their first contest this season,
USC and The Citadel played
before a record 5,803 fans at Riley
Park in Charleston. The
Gamecocks jumped out to a 3-0
lead before the Bulldogs put a run
on the board. Individual
performances by sophomore
outfielder Jon Willard, who had a
double and a home run, and
senior right-hander Cliff Donald,
who allowed four hits in five
innings, generated USC’s 19th
wift of the season. .
USC is coming off a three
game sweep of the Georgia
Bulldogs, this past weekend. The
much-needed victories boosted
USC to 5-4 in the SEC from a
previous 2-4 record, and came in
convincing form.
After battling to a 7-5 victory in
Friday’s initial contest, the
Gamecocks went on a tear,
holding the Bulldogs to three runs
in the final two games. Carolina
scored 23 runs in this span.
Stand-out hitters Jon Willard,
Steve Pearce and Steven Tolleson
were at the forefront of the
obliteration. The trio combined
for 10 RBIs in the final two days.
After a mediocre series start on
the mound in senior right-hander
Aaron Rawl, Carolina pitching
allowed only nine hits and three
runs in the final 23 2-3 innings of
the series against Georgia.
The Citadel (11-15) won most
recently last weekend, going 2-of
3 against Wofford in Charleston.
Before this, the Bulldogs were
stuck in a seven-game drought in
the middle of March, displaying
the team’s inconsistency.
The team is led by senior third
basemen Chris Ard (.364, 18
RBIs) and freshman first basemen
Chris Swauger (.333, 20 RBIs).
These two sluggers have not been
able to carry the load brought on
the team by its pitching staff, as
the Bulldogs have given up 11
more runs than they have scored
this season. This should be cause
for concern for the Southern
Conference team as it travels to
Columbia to face the No. 8 team
in the nation.
The Bulldogs have scored 138
runs on the season and given up
149, while Carolina has scored
230 runs and allowed just 89 on
the season. Considering the
numbers, the team will clearly
have to attack at every
opportunity against USC.
Facing Carolina pitching is no
breeze either. The USC pitching
staff has a combined 3-30 ERA,
while the Bulldogs give up nearly
6 1 -2 runs per contest.
The game begins at 7 p.m.
tonight at Sarge Frye Field.
Starting pitchers have yet to be
named.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksportsWgwm.se. edu
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
Senior first baseman Stewj Pearce, left, and junior shortstop ,
Steven Tolleson congratulate each other during Saturday’s win.
It’s OK—
Tigers claim
they’re only
about football
■ Clemson nut blames
basketball mediocrity on
false football success
We all know I’m addicted to
college sports. Well, I mean, if
you didn’t know ... um ... I’m
addicted to college sports.
Anyway, there comes a time every
few days when I actually rim out
of Carolina-related stuff to read
and talk about. During such times
□ I orten
frequent a
Clemson Web
site
recommended
to me by a
friend that
plays football
for Clemson. I
usually just
read what they
BROOM are talking
about, take joy
SECOND-YEAR in their defeats
POLITICAL ,
science and
STUDENT complaints
and
sometimes
float out the occasional cow
related insult. No big deal.
Friday, April 1 was one of those
days where I had totally exhausted
my Gamecock reading material,
so I took a trip over to the
Clemson Web site to see their
reaction to our NIT
championship. Since they were
practically dancing in the streets
(wait, it’s Clemson, make that
“dancing in the pastures”)
celebrating the fact that they
actually got invited to the NIT, I
expected a few respectful
congratulatory posts. What I got
was the exact opposite.
After a slew of posts talking
about how the NIT is not
important, I saw the most simple
yet hilarious post in internet
history: “Thank God we’re a
football school.”
Huh? Do my eyes deceive me?
Since it was April Fools, I
abruptly pulled out my sarcasm
meter and scanned the post.
Surely this was some sort of sick,
twisted joke.
Nope. This guy was dead
serious. i name uoa we re a
football school.”
So what exactly makes a school
a “football school”? I did a little
research on
www.cfbdatawarehouse.com and
found a few answers for you, the
reader, to contemplate.
All-time, Virginia Military
Institute holds a 5-5-2 record
versus Clemson, “a football
school.” Villanova holds a 1-1
record versus Clemson, “a football
school.” Vanderbilt holds a 3-1
record versus Clemson, “a football
school.” Tulane holds a 6-4
record versus Clemson, “a football
school.” Kentucky holds a 7-4
record versus Clemson, “a football
school.” Pacific holds a 1-0 record
versus Clemson, “a football
school.” Baylor holds a 1-0 record
versus Clemson, “a football
school.” Centre (wherever that is
...) holds a 3-0 record versus
Clemson, “a football school.”
And, my personal favorite,
Sewanee holds a 1-0 record versus
Clemson, “a football school.”
In the world of college football,
Clemson is known for two things:
winning the National
Championship in 1981 and
cheating to win the National
♦ Please see BROOM, page 18