The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 21, 2006, Page 9, Image 9
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___ ^ ^ Game schedule
GAMECOCK '
__ —> Baseball @ Kentucky, 6:30 p.m.
f ""I *V k r I FNi Women’s Tennis vs. Florida - SEC Tournament, 10 a.m.
1 J J ■ P [ I 1 Men’s Tennis vs. Florida, 10 a.m.
Friday, April 21,2006 —I— — L. J— ^3 Page 9
Odom talks up program
w ■
■ Coach reflects on season,
I forsees bright future
I for USC basketball
I Michael figuilar
B THE GAMECOCK
■ The school year is coming to a
I close and it’s time like these when
I many look back and reflect on the
I past year. What went right? What
B went wrong?
B Head basketball coach Dave
■ Odom did the same thing with
■ reporters Wednesday. Odom
| reviewed the basketball season and
I talked about the many different
B issues that the program will be
■ facing next season and in the
■ upcoming off-season.
I “When you look at our season,
B it was a season that was filled
with just about everything,”
Odom said. “We had several
highs and at least an equal
number of disappointments
and a lot in between.”
If USC’s men’s basketball team
could be described as anything this
past season, it would be described
as almost there. The Gamecocks
lost 15 games this season; out of
those 15, seven were decided by
three points or less. In seven of
the losses, the team was within a
single bucket of sending the game
into overtime or winning.
There were high expectations
after USC won the National
Invitation Tournament a year ago.
Many saw an NCAA bid ahead.
However, that was no't to be,
and the Gamecocks returned to
New York to win another NIT
championship.
Odom was not disappointed
with the end of his team’s season,
but that was by no means the
highlight of the yeaf. .
“You might asic, ‘What will k
I remember most about this M
season’ and it won’t be (the NIT 9
championship) although that was 9
a special moment,” Odom said. “It 9
would be the determined resolve jk
of our team as a whole, particularly '/J
our two seniors, Tarence (Kinsey) 9
and Rocky (Trice).” 9
Odom reinforced what any 9
Gamecock fan had already seen in
the two most experienced players 9
on the team. Kinsey and Trice led 9
the team through the lows, such as I
a big loss to Clemson. 9
“As I look back on that game, I 9
really think that it took a lot out 9
of us ... it continued to serve as an I
anchor over the course of the rest 9
of the season,” Odom said. 9
Kinsey and Trice also led the 9
oDom • 10 I
Juan Bias / THE GAMECOCK
Juan Bias / THE GAMECOCK
Renaldo Balkman, winner of the NIT's Most Outstand
ing Player award, wants to leave USC to play pro-ball.
Balkman requests
draft scenario
from NBA panel
Senior forward hopes to enter drafi early
Alex Riley
and dlichael Aguilar
THE GAMECOCK
Dave Odom’s talent
cupboard might be about
to take another hit.
With the departure of
Tarence Kinsey, Antoine
Tisby and Rocky Trice to
graduation, the Gamecock
basketball roster was
already starting to thin out.
Now rising senior Renaldo
Balkman is weighing his
option on a career in the
NBA.
Balkman, who won th^
NIT Most Outstanding
Player award, submitted
his request to be evaluated
by the NBA advisory
panel.
“After talking with my
family and Coach Odom,
I have decided to submit
a request to the NBA
advisory panel, which
evaluates undergraduates
interested in entering the
NBA draft before their
senior year,” Balkman said
in a statement released
through the USC Athletics
Department. “My request
was submitted to the NBA
office today (April 19), and
I would hope to hear back
from them in the next
couple of weeks.
After finishing the year
averaging just less than 10
points per game, Balkman
had a strong showing
brum • 10
I Sports
Womens
basketball to visit
Meadowfield
The USC women’s
basketball team
will pay a visit
to Meadowfield
Elementary on Friday
April 21 to honor the
school for winning
the “Lets Read with
the Gamecocks”
program. The school
has 284 participants
who combined to read
Kover 129,000 pages of
books this year.
“I am so excited
for the students
of Meadowfield,”
coach Susan Walvius
said. “Our team is
always excited about
an opportunity to
mentor young people
in our community.”
The students get
Juan Bias / THE GAMECOCK
Catcher Ian Paxton tries to beat out the throw to first
during Wednesday night’s game against the Citadel.
USC won 11-2 against the in-state rival.
USC topples Citadel
at Sarge Frye Field
fl.J Bembry
STAFF WRITER
What began as a
miserable day slowly
morphed into a gorgeous
spring night for the 3,953
baseball fans on hand
at Sarge .Frye Field for
Wednesday night’s 11-2
Carolina victory over The
The Bulldogs took a 1
0 lead in the top of the
second when catcher Brady
Mashak’s double down the
right field line allowed
shortstop Matt Matulia to
score from first. Carolina
pitcher Will Atwood was
able to stop the bleeding,
as he forced Cappelmann
RfCRROI I * IIL_
Volunteers offer helping hand
in series sweep of softball
Tennessee’s big bats,
stingy pitching put
USC below .500
Saw Smith
THE GAMECOCK
Tennessee proved itself an
unbeatable force this year
against the Gamecocks.
USC gave up all three
games of a three-game
series to the Volunteers,
who are on a nine-game
winning streak. This year,
Tennessee boasts a 44
6 overall record and a
dominating 15-6 record in
SEC play.
In the first game of the
series on Tuesday, the
Volunteers started off with a
commanding 3-0 lead after
the first inning. A two-run
homer in the sixth inning
by Tonya Callahan pushed
r i . -i_ i _-L i
Tennessee victory.
The Volunteers’ All
American pitcher, Monica
Abbott, left USC hitless
for the first 6.2 innings
until Chrissy Schoonmaker
and Christie Hamilton
responded with a hit each.
The Gamecocks were
not able to battlfe back
in the front end of
the . doubleheader, and
Tennessee earned the win.
In the second game of the
doubleheader, USC looked
a little more alive with its
five hits and three runs.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t
enough to battle out
the victory against the
Volunteers, who won the
close game, 5-3.
Gamecock catcher Ashley
Smith was the driving force
behind the USC offense,
hitting a two-run homer in
the second inning, and then
another blast in the seventh
inning.
Tennessee scored their
_ ._!_._»J_• ■—
to push their lead to 5-2,
but Smith’s homer in the
seventh led to the final
score of 5-3.
The Gamecocks set out
on Wednesday to take the
win in the last matchup
of the three-game series
against the Volunteers.
USC started the game
off solidly with two hits in
the first inning, but Abbott
got the next 10 runners
out before USC could get
another hit.
Jennifer Griffin of the
Volunteers led off the
second inning with a
homerun and then Sarah
Vaughn stole home and put
Tennessee up 2-0.
They chalked another
run up on the scoreboard
to make it 3-0 in the fourth.
USC recorded their third
loss of the series, and their
record dropped to 4-16 in
SEC play, 24-25 overall.
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