University of South Carolina Libraries
TH#%AMECOCK SPfPTS Page 12 B ^ 1 Wednesday, Jan. 18,2006 Juan Bias / THE GAMECOCK USC coach Steve Spurrier addresses the crowd at the Colonial Center on Saturday. The Gamecocks played host to 22 recruits this weekend. Recruits come to town Spurrier makes pitch to visitors, lands several players this weekend nJBGIDBRV STAFF WRITER On the long, muddled road that is football recruiting, the Gamecock coaching staff is doing its best to steer a clear path. Since well-respected recruiting coordinator Rick Stockstill left the USC program to take the head coaching position with Middle Tennessee State, coach Steve Spurrier and company have been left to pick up the slack, and results indicate that they’re doing just fine. This past weekend saw Spurrier entertain many prospects at the USC Georgia basketball game at the Colonial Center. Among the 22 in attendance were four-star cornerback Chris Duvalt, four-star defensive lineman Adam Patterson and offensive lineman Kevin Young. Patterson, from Richland Northeast, has visited Tennessee and Carolina on his official visits, and still has visits to North Carolina State and Auburn on tap. “I toured all of the academic facilities for the first time, and I liked what I saw there,” Patterson told GamecockCentral.com. “I also spent a lot of time with coach (Tyrone) Nix, and we have developed a very nice bond. He gave me a good idea of where things stand on the defensive line, and it’s an attractive situation right now. I get the feeling that he (Nix) really takes care of his players.” Duvalt, a speedy comerback from Lakeland, Fla., left with similar impressions of USC after his official visit. With Ko Simpson and Johnathan Joseph both leaving Carolina for the NFL Draft, the secondary has some pretty big holes to fill. USC secondary coach Dave Wommack met with Duvalt over the weekend and forecast next year’s possibilities with him. “Coach Wommack was telling me that I’d have a chance to come in and compete right away,” Duvalt told GamecockCentral.com. Duvalt also met briefly with Spurrier. “He just talked to me a lot about how many commitments they have right now, and what kind of time frame I would have if I wanted to come to South Carolina. He said he’d like to know something in the next week or week-and-a-half.” The Nokia Sugar Bowl champions, West Virginia, are also heavily recruiting Duvalt. He has already visited Morgantown, W.Va., and coach Rich Rodriguez. He says that USC and West Virginia are the two leading schools for his services. Young, a standout from Clearwater, Fla., has already committed to USC but decided to take his official visit anyway. During the weekend, the 6-foot-5 inch monster played the role of recruiter. He helped to convince some of the recruits to strongly consider the school he hiipself will be calling home next year. “I spent a lot of time with guys like Gavin Smith and Hutch Eckerson,” he told GamecockCentral.com “Gavin was committed to NC State, but it looks like we’re going to get him at South Carolina now. With Hutch, it’s between us and Virginia Tech. He takes his official (visit) to Virginia Tech next weekend, but I know he really loved his South Carolina visit. He was having an awesome time.” Gavin Smith, a three star OL/DL prospect from Raleigh, N.C., had committed to coach Chuck Amato and the NC State Wolfpack shortly after last year’s signing day. He decided to end that commitment after his weekend visit to Columbia. “I am no longer committed to N.C. State,” Smith told GamecockCentral.com “My visit to South Carolina was awesome. It was all one big highlight. The players treated me like family. The coaches were great. I loved everything about it.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm. sc. edu » Have fun despite crummy refs, rules Cool names, berating officials key to wins in intramural hoops The Manchester Dogs Bollox throttled the Manitoba Moose Knuckles 68-35 last night. It was theKnuckles second consecutive loss, dropping them to STM third place FHSIEDfll) in the Black Third-year league. journalism This student scenario did not actually take place, of course, but now that intramurals are here again it’s time to talk about the highlight of my year — intramural basketball. first things first, get a good name. No one will respect you with a name like Mah Phuggers. Also stay away from names touting some ability when, in reality, your team sucks. Other names to avoid are those that include teammates’ or opponents’ girlfriends, moms and/or sexual orientation. juast year, our team went with Bunch of Short Kids because of the fact that four of our players were 6-foot 5 or taller. The deception factor works well. When in doubt, play down your team’s strengths. The best advice I can give when naming an intramural team is to be refreshingly original. Don’t go with something the rest of the school has already thought of. For example, instead of Blue Devils or Crossfade, go with the Motor Boatin’ Pimps from Oakland. Just make sure the uniforms fit the name. Other name possibilities include Zoolander’s Center for Ants and Spurrier’s One-Legged mmm • a SEC woes continue with loss to Dawgs Carolina drops conference matchup to Bulldogs on buzzer-beater in OT (Hex Riley ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Second half collapses. That had been the story of the USC men’s basketball team all season. The Gamecocks would build up a lead in the first half, only to lose in the second half because of bad execution. But against Georgia, Carolina not only built a halftime lead but also kept the game close during the second half. The team executed when it seemed to mean the most or so they thought. But in the end it was another loss on the Gamecocks’ record, 64-61. “The game will be written, talked about the last two possessions,” Odom said. “One that we didn’t execute and one that they did. We didn’t execute offensively on one end and didn’t execute defensively on the other. They did on both ends, and therein lies the difference between the two teams today.” USC took an early 3 -0 lead but quickly found themselves down by the game’s largest margin at 15-7. A late first half rally allowed USC to push ahead of the Bulldogs, and sent the Gamecocks into the locker room with a 32-28 advantage. The entire second period was a seesaw affair, as the Gamecocks and Bulldogs tied five times and traded leads on nine different occasions. Tied at 52 with 2:42 left, Georgia forward Younes Idrissi made both of his free throws following a Brandon Wallace foul. USC took three shots on their next possession before a Wallace lay-up and foul would give USC a 55-54 lead with 1:15 left in regulation. Rocky Trice fouled £undiata Gaines who made one of his two attempts, tying the game at 55. But a Tarence Kinsey turnover gave the Bulldogs a chance to win the game with less than 40 seconds left on the clock. After two timeouts, Gaines would miss his 3-point attempt and give USC the chance to win. Tre’ Kelley drove the floor following a timeout and threw up a shot from just outside the 3-point line that missed just to the right, sending the game into overtime. In the extra period, Georgia ran its lead out to four points following a Bill Humphrey lay-up. That lead quickly disappeared, as Kelley hit a 3-point shot to cut the lead to one at 59-58. After a Mike Mercer miss, Kelley would run the floor, making a lay-up and getting a foul shot to put Carolina up 61-59 with 1:40 left to LOSS • 13 * t mmmmm Juan Bias / THE GAMECOCK USC forward Brandon Wallace has his shot attempt blocked in the Gamecocks’ 64-61 loss against Georgia.