South Carolina Season's Success Questionable

Following a 20-10 inaugural season at USC, second year Head Coach, Darrin Horn is facing a challenging task to compete and win in the SEC this year. The SEC East has Kentucky 15-0, Tennessee 11-2, Florida 11-3, Vanderbilt 11-3, Georgia 8-5 and South Carolina 9-5.  USC will have to play each of these teams twice this season.  The good news, Coach Horn has only lost four games in Columbia.  The SEC West has Ole Miss 12-2, Mississippi 12-3, Alabama 10-4, LSU 9-5, Auburn 9-6 and Arkansas 7-8.  The Cocks play western division team once during the regular season.  USC will play MSU, Bama and LSU at home.  They will then travel to Auburn, Ole Miss and Arkansas, venues that have been tough for the Gamecocks in past years. 

Throughout the summer, there has been great anticipation over the prospect of seeing a basketball team with highly promoted newcomers, four returning starters and a host of regulars returning.  Devan Downey and Dominique Archie said no to professional careers and the promise of an improved season was on the horizon.  After three impressive wins against Alabama A&M, Georgia Southern and LaSalle, along with a close encounter with South Florida to start 4-0, South Carolina faced an athletic Miami squad that was also coming off 4 impressive victories.  In the early minutes it looked like these teams both coached by good young coaches would be in a race to the baskets, until Dominique Archie sustained a knee injury, following a steal and dunk play, that eventually ended his season.  Without Archie and the first noticeable signs of former shooting guard, Zam Fredrick, the Gamecocks begain to struggle with offense resulting in the 85-70 loss to the Hurricances.  The team returned home, only to require a superior game by Downey, with 34 points, to squeak past a pesky Jacksonville team 97-93.  Then, to add insult to injury, Mike Holmes sustains an eye injury during the Thanksgiving holidays and is slated as indefinite as an active player.  After this setback, an athletic but undersized Western Kentucky squad fell to the Cocks 74-56, but the game was much closer during the majority of the game.  A trip to Clemson seemed to ignite Brandis Raley-Ross, but the more physical Tigers maintained home court with a 72-61 victory.  Following a 10-day layoff the Gamecocks entertained a good Richmond Spider team that scrapped with the host team, but an impressive team effort wore the Spiders down in the second half and they cruised to a 76-58 win and a 7-2 record going into the holiday break.  An in-state token visit to the small division II Wofford was met with a well coached, hungry but athletic team that was not intimidated, as the Terriers handed South Carolina a 68-61 upset that shocked everyone but Wofford.  The Gamecocks punished Furman 81-57 two days later in a game that saw an undermanned Paladin squad make South Carolina look like a powerful SEC team with a deep bench.  That myth was dispelled after Christmas when the Gamecocks travelled to Boston College only to be manhandled by the Eagles 85-76.  Proir to that ballgame, Holmes is dismissed from the team for team rules violations and another key player is loss for the season.  The Baylor Bears arrived in Columbia three days later and continued to bring the Gamecock hopefuls down to earth with another USC beat down 85-74.  Kamakaze defense in the second half, along with strong offensive scoring by Downey allowed the latter two games to finish with respectable scores.  Coach Horn finished the non-conference schedule with a bench clearing victory over Longwood 88-58, as his team prepares for the opening of SEC play Saturday at Auburn University.  The Auburn game may just define if the 9-5 Gamecocks can win enough games in the conference to have a chance at post season play, in the NCAA's or even the NIT.  The chance to win a minimum of the 11 games now needed to reach the magic number of 20 seems extremely dismal at this point.  With 10-6 being very respectable last season, but short of the necessary totals to carry the team to the dance, the prospects of a losing season in the SEC could leave this team completely out of the post season picture after the SEC tournament.  A 6-10 SEC record may be a morale victory for the season, but a disappointment to all who support the program.

HS Holiday Hoops Back In Midlands

The 8th Annual Chick-fil-A Classic is back again and it's bringing new national names.  Tournament Director, Gary Fulmer, is also the visionary behind this nationally recognized basketball spectacle is the Athletic Director of Richland Northeast High School, the host of the annual event.

This year promises to be a very star studded gala of basketball starting December 18-22, 2009.  The event takes a day off on Sunday December 20th and resumes on Monday December 21st.  Admission for the tournament is $7 for General Admission and $4 for children ages 11 and under.  The majority of the proceeds go towards the financial support of the Greater Columbia Educational Advancement Foundation (GCEAF pronounced gee-cef). Since its formation in 2003, GCEAF has awarded $60,000 in educational scholarships to deserving students who live within the Greater Columbia area.

The Tournament will offer a field of 16 teams (7 teams from SC and 9 teams from other states).  The teams from South Carolina are Richland Northeast, Lower Richland, Keenan, Dreher, Ridge View, Irmo, and Fairfield-Central. Out of state teams are: Rice High School (New York City NY), Christ School (Asheville NC), Westlake High School (Atlanta GA), Trinity Christian School (Fayetteville NC), Lexington Catholic High School (Lexington KY), Vance High School (Charlotte NC), Robert Taft High School (Cincinnati OH), Charlotte Christian School (Charlotte NC) and Norfolk Christian School (Norfolk VA).  Look for some marquee names in college coaching to be in the gym as well.

Some of the featured players are;
James McAdoo - Junior (6’8 forward from Norfolk Christian School, Norfolk, VA- committed to North Carolina) *Consensus Top 5 Junior
Marquis Rankin - Junior (6’1 guard from Vance High, Charlotte, NC)
Marshall Plumlee – Junior (7’0 center from Christ School, Asheville, NC)
Anthony Gill - Junior (6’7 forward from Charlotte Christian School, Charlotte, NC- committed to South Carolina)
Damontre Harris - Senior (6’9 forward from Trinity Christian School, Fayetteville, NC- signed with South Carolina)
Eric Smith - Senior (6’0 point guard from Christ School, Asheville, NC-signed with South Carolina)
Marcus Thornton - Senior (6’8 forward from Westlake High School, Atlanta, GA- signed with Clemson)
Shane Southwell - Senior (6’7 forward from Rice High School, New York City, NY- signed with Kansas State)
Akil Mitchell - Senior (6’8 forward from Charlotte Christian School, Charlotte, NC- signed with Virgina)
Anthony Jacobs – Senior (6’8, 310 lb forward from Westlake High School, Atlanta, GA-committed to Central Florida)
Michael Green – Senior (6’8 forward from Ridge View High School, Columbia, SC- signed with Tennessee State)
Malcolm Rhett – Senior (6’6 forward from Lower Richland High School, Hopkins, SC- signed with Tennessee State)

For more on the Holiday Classic visit http://www.chick-fil-aclassic.com/

107th Meeting Of Clemson - USC A 34-17 Charm

The 38th victory for USC against Clemson on Saturday was a charm for more reasons than one.  With the victory margin 65-37-4 in favor of Clemson, any victory would seem sweet, but this game had a lot of emotions and season long trash talking among friends, neighbors and radio listening junkies.  But this year has been the challenge of rather this is even a rivalry any more.  If South Carolina is in the wrong conference or even capable of playing competitively in the ACC.  Clemson was on a six game winning streak, South Carolina was on a four game losing streak.  Dabo Swinney represented the new wave of young coaches having successful seasons and careers, while Steve Spurrier, once considered the Guru of offensive play calling and synonymous with winning and championships, was being questioned for his capability to produce a championship caliber team or at least get South Carolina past their arch rivals.  Not to mention the Tigers went into this game ranked 18th, with the Cocks having fallen from the graces of national rankings. [watch game or highlights]

Well it turned out that the Ole Ball Coach, used his experience, enhanced with a two preparation period, and established a game plan and a relaxed but prepared team focus that allowed the Gamecocks to basically dominate the Tigers in all aspects of the game, following the second chance opening kick, that saw C.J. Spiller set a NCAA record for career kick-off touchdowns, with his 88 yard return for touchdown.  After that play South Carolina went on to deliver its' own blows, more frequently and more powerful.

South Carolina overcame early penalties and miscues, to dominate the game.  Some will say this was no domination, but Clemson is on its' way to the ACC Championship game, sporting an offense scoring over 30 points a ballgame in the last six weeks.  But South Carolina held Spiller to 18 yards on 9 carries, Jacoby Ford to 49 yards on 5 catches.  The Tigers could only generate 260 yards on the day, with 48 yards total on the ground.  USC held the ball for over 36 minutes while Clemson was able to play with the ball for less than 24 minutes.  While Tiger QB Kyle Parker managed 22-42 passing for 212 yards most of the yards were gained on a pass frequent, late offensive, drive for Swinney's ball club and often other drives were held to movement only in the middle of the field.  Even though prepared for the Wildcat formation, or "Wild Roost" if you're looking for the South Carolina branding, Clemson could not stop the second possession offensive wrinkle when Stephon Gilmore led the Cocks on a run oriented "Wild Roost" scheme.  The package, that all have been looking for all season, included a nice 39-yard down field post strike to freshman sensation, Alshon Jeffrey, which set up a Brian Maddox touchdown a couple plays later and the Gamecocks seemed extremely poised to control the remainder of the game which they did.  Missing out on an opportunity late in the first half to place more points on the board, after a Clemson's forced bad punt of 14 yards was touched but not recovered by USC's Antonio Allen on the Clemson 29 yard line.  Clemson retained possession but could not move the chains but dodged another score by the host team.  USC won the first half 17-7 and the second half 17-10, to claim complete dominance of the rival game, and reestablish the in-state rivalry by giving Gamecock fans "Bragging Rites" (bragging rights) for one year.

Spurrier's play calling was great, Steven Garcia played well, but Kenny Miles was a star carrying the ball 17 times for 114 yards.  Eric Norwood, who had a fumble recovery, provided tons of pressure, along with defensive stars Clifton Geathers and DeVonte Holloman.  Many players stepped up to become a part of this most memorable game, now in its' 100th consecutive meeting.  Guys like Tori Gurley and Weslye Saunders made significant contributions, along with the intangibles not seen in the stats from the offensive line.  This team victory amassed 388 total yards (223 rushing/165 passing), 6-16 in third down conversions (1-1 on 4th) and only 4 penalties. [videos]

Horn's Plan, Replace By Committee, A Team Concept

All week, Head Coach Darrin Horn told anyone asking that you don't just replace a player as valuable and versatile as Dominique Archie, who injured his right knee in the only USC (4-1) loss, in this early season  last Sunday to Miami in the finals of the Charleston Classic.  He required the team to respond by stepping up and each player contributing to the level of his best at this point in the season.  The first sense of confidence in knowing your team and specifically knowing your players, became evident in the game against the Jacksonville Dolphins which found the 6'7" Archie, replaced by 6'2" Brandis Raley-Ross, who finished with 18, on 60% shooting.  The starting lineup was a very good adjustment, the rotation and minutes distribution was just as tailored as the custom threads worn by the young basketball engineer.  If you haven't noticed under the shadow of Steve Spurrier and the Gridiron Division, is the developing of a very competitive basketball program by Athletic Director Eric Hyman's visionary hire that is defying all who chose to question, criticize or complain.  This writer falls in that category initially, but gained early appreciation for the autocratic Head Coach.

Horn made firm size, speed and teaching match ups that allowed him to place continuous and extended pressure on the feisty Dolphins of northern Florida.  The Gamecocks received a very balanced performance throughout the ballgame allowing the young shooting freshman, Stephen Spinella, to acquire more competitive minutes to assist in his early development.  This new minutes distribution allowed Sam Muldrow to assert himself with outside to inside movement; Raley-Ross exploited his inside and outside value in the same game, while Mike Holmes, Lakeem Jackson and Austin Steed pounded the glass, challenged shots, came up with loose balls and finished inside.  Ramon Galloway filled his roll, solidly relieving Devan Downey, taking and making good shots, while protecting the ball.  Galloway's utilization allowed Downey the late game energy to take over just inside the 6 minute mark and score 17 or his game high 34 points and establish the scoring space to hold off a well prepared and competitive unit coached by Cliff Warren.  At times Downey appeared unstoppable and the basket must have appeared larger and larger with each possession to the 5'9" superstar.

Horn formed his replacement committee with eight players playing 11 minutes or more, and two others playing 7 minutes.  The second half use of Galloway allowed Downey rest minutes on and off the court.  This was a win through strategic coaching and player aggressiveness.  These are the team victories coaches talk about.

Game Positives; four players in double figures scoring, 57.4% shooting percentage, 50% from 3-point range, 6 blocks, 9 steals and 21 defensive turnovers, to go with the 97-93 win.

Game Negatives; allowed 4 players to score in double figures, allowed 50% shooting, 53.8% from 3, allowed 11 offensive rebounds, including being out rebounded 30-35, committed 17 turnovers and only 5 total assists.

This is a hard working, scrappy, energetic and talented team, but there are some areas that cannot be replaced by committee.  What was accomplished took 4 player contributions and a superstar finish.  If this attitude and philosophy holds up, the return of Archie could reward volumes with players having realized their contribution capabilities against quality opponents.  Next up Western Kentucky, the former employer of Horn's leadership services.

Loss Of Dominique Archie Is Costly

The loss of Dominique Archie for the next few weeks, just as the last segments of the game against Miami on Sunday, has a real negative affect to the offensive chemistry for the Gamecocks.  The multi-position swing Senior can play the 2, 3 or 4 position in any period of a game or during various transition possessions.  His mere presence creates defensive match up challenges and his perimeter shooting will spread the floor and make it difficult for teams to pack the lane to prevent general and forced penetration.  Something the Gamecocks need in their offensive scheme under the floor leadership of Devan Downey, who creates problems for all teams if he can get into the middle of the lane.  Secondly, other than Downey, Archie is the only player on the roster that has consistently proven his capacity to create his shot off the dribble against set defenses.  The loss of Archie was a clear cause for the success of the Miami game plan that was not affective until Archie went down after the first seven minutes of the Miami (5-0) loss 70-85, when the Gamecocks (4-1) were leading 9-2, building to 19-4 before the defensive scheme and superior post presence took over, following the Archie steal, dunk and injury removed Dominique for the remainder of the night.

With the Gamecocks already struggling to find a consistent perimeter shooter outside of Archie.  The transition game is now missing a fast swing player who can finish strong and get into the fast break lanes as quickly as the average back-court player in the college basketball.  This temporary loss will encourage all teams to utilize active and match up zones often to prevent the penetration and force USC to make long range shots they have not made so far this season.  Archie is leading the team in 3-point shooting(46.2%), first in rebounding on both ends of the floor, second in field goal percentage (53.3%) second in free throw shooting (81.8%), second in scoring (14.4 ppg) and second in steals.  I'm sure you get my drift; this young man is possibly the most valuable player on this team.  Without Archie the team shoots 27% from the arch and 41.4% from the field, while drooping from another 3.5% points from the charity stripe.  Not to mention the contribution on the glass.

Brandis Raley-Ross has shown signs of a capability to return to his shooting form of two seasons back before a knee injury derailed his strong shooting at the start of the season.  He has been gradually working his way back to shooting form and confidence.  Recruited as a scorer, Ramon Galloway converted on 4 3-pointers in the loss to Miami, but his consistency has not yet surfaced.  Senior Evaldas Baniulis offers hope from his previous seasons when he was able to drop 3 pointers in key situations, but these opportunities were created by strong post play and Downey penetration leaving Baniulis to spot and drop long range shots.  However, off the dribble, Baniulis cannot create shots, so Sam Muldrow will have to make some perimeter shots along with taking his post game to an enhanced level.  Muldrow has been playing very well, but his play along with Austin Steed and Johndre Jefferson will have to improve immediately to continue to control the outcome of the non-conference schedule.
 
Great coaches of great teams have said that during the loss of key or great players a good team becomes great when players step up and contribute in the absence of the key player.  South Carolina will have an opportunity to apply the theory as the undisclosed knee injury appears to have the South Carolina star sidelined for at least a couple of weeks, currently rated as indefinitely, which gives the Gamecocks, a projected 3-4 games (Jacksonville, Western Kentucky, Clemson and Richmond) to find the key contributors without an Archie in the ballgame. 

Gamecock head basketball coach Darrin Horn was quoted as saying that.....
"Dominique Archie is one of the hardest working players I've coached and I'm confident he will work just as hard in his rehabilitation with this injury as he does on the court," Horn said. "As a family, this is a time when we will pull together and continue to work toward our goals in his absence."   Somehow you have to believe Horn can motivate a couple of his athletes to step forward and fill a portion of the void, while Downey raises his level of play as expected.

Some Clemson-USC Games Will Never Be Forgotten

A rivalry built on politics, geographics, curriculum, pre-game traditions, family feuds, brawls, mascots and school colors has been tabbed in a recent book as the most underrated rivalry in the nation.  While Clemson commands a 65-37-4 record against the University of South Carolina, the rivalry continues to generate trash talking, season and life-long hatreds and simply office and bar room debates that consume the respective fan bases.  Clemson's victory edge often gives their fans the most opportunity for strong trash talking, there have been moments when the Gamecocks of South Carolina have had the upper hand just enough to keep the fire in this rivalry alive.  Some of the more memorable moments are captured from the Clemson-USC archives.  Do you see any that you will never forget?

1961: The Prank

In 1961, the USC fraternity Sigma Nu pulled what some have called the greatest prank in the rivalry's history. A few minutes before Clemson football players entered the field for pre-game warm ups, a group of Sigma Nu fraternity members ran onto the field, jumping up and down and cheering in football uniforms that resembled the ones worn by the Tigers. This caused the Clemson band to start playing "Tiger Rag," which was followed by the pranksters falling down as they attempted to do calisthenics. They would also do football drills where guys would drop passes and miss the ball when trying to kick it... Clemson fans quickly realized that they had been tricked, and some of them angrily ran onto the field. However, security restored order before any blows could be exchanged. Carolina won the game 21-14, although Clemson was on the Gamecock one-yard-line when time expired.

1975: Most Points Scored by Carolina

On November 22, 1975, Carolina defeated Clemson 56-20 to set a Gamecock record for most points scored in a football game against the Tigers.

1977: "The Catch"

On November 19, 1977, Clemson WR Jerry Butler made a diving, backwards, 20-yard touchdown reception on a pass from QB Steve Fuller with 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give Clemson the 31-27 victory in Columbia. This play is known as "The Catch" and is one of the most memorable plays in the rivalry[56].

1980: Orange Pants

In the last regular season game for the 1980 season, a heavily favored Carolina team traveled to Death Valley to take on the Tigers. In a surprise to both the players and the fans, Coach Danny Ford unveiled new orange uniform pants for the Tigers to wear. This was the first time in Clemson's history that they wore orange pants in any combination for a football game. Inspired by the pants, the underdog Tigers defeated the Gamecocks, 27-6.

1981: Clemson wins a National Championship

In 1981, Clemson defeated Carolina 29-13 en route to the National Championship.

1987: Highest Ranked Match-Up

On November 21, 1987, with the highest combined rankings of the two football programs entering the game (the Gamecocks were No. 12 and the Tigers were No. 8), Carolina beat Clemson 20-7 on national television (ESPN).

2000: "The Catch II"/"The Push-Off"

In 2000, Trailing late in the game 14-13, Clemson quarterback Woody Dantzler connected with wide-receiver Rod Gardner for a 50-yard reception to South Carolina's 8-yard line with 10 seconds remaining. Carolina fans point to a replay that seems to show Gardner pushing off the Gamecock defender, but Clemson fans contend that the contact was mutual and incidental. No penalty flag was thrown on the play, leaving Clemson kicker Aaron Hunt to kick a 25-yard field goal that gave Clemson a 16-14 win. Clemson fans remember this game as "The Catch II" while Carolina fans call it "The Push-Off Game".

2003: Most Points Scored by Clemson

In 2003, Clemson defeated Carolina 63-17, and Clemson's 63 points are the most scored by either team in the series. Interestingly, South Carolina was a slight favorite according to odds-makers.

2004: The Brawl

The South Carolina-Clemson brawl during the 2004 football game is the most recent eruption of hostilities in this rivalry. It is also the last time Lou Holtz coached, having retired shortly thereafter. Clemson won the game 29-7. Each team had won a total of six games that year and were technically bowl eligible. However, both schools elected to forfeit their postseason because of the shameful nature of the fight.

2005: A Quarterback Wins 4

In 2005 the two teams showed an unusual gesture of sportsmanship by meeting at midfield before the game to shake hands, putting the mêlée of 2004 behind them. Clemson won this game 13-9, marking quarterback Charlie Whitehurst's 4th win versus the Gamecocks, which is the first time a starting quarterback from either team notched four wins against the other team.

2006: Wide Left Stops Streak

Clemson ranked 24th going into the game watched a 14-point lead dwindle away as the Gamecocks rallied for a come-from-behind victory over their arch rival on two touchdowns by Mike Davis and a Ryan Succop 35-yard field goal.  The game was finally decided on a missed 39-yard field goal try by Jad Dean that sailed wide left to end the game 31-28 USC.  Snapping the four-game win streak against the Tigers.  The Gamecocks had been 0-5 against ranked opponents that year.

2007: Last-Second Victory

On November 24, 2007, Clemson kicker Mark Buchholz hit a 35-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 21 Clemson a memorable 23-21 victory over South Carolina and leave Gamecock's coach Steve Spurrier with the longest losing streak of his college career. The defeat completed a late season collapse for the University of South Carolina, who lost their last five games and fell from No. 6 in the national polls to finish at 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the Southeastern Conference. The win lifted Clemson coach Tommy Bowden to 7-2 all-time against the Gamecocks and 2-1 all-time against Spurrier, and prevented the Gamecocks from receiving a post-season bowl invitation. The 2007 game is notable as the first in the series with the winning points scored on the game's final play.

This year's season, full of ups and downs for both squads, finds Clemson on the brink of its' highest "up", while South Carolina finds itself at one of it's all too common last season low.  One established "Ole Ball" Coach and another Young Head Coach trying to establish himself.  Both teams have had great wins and unacceptable losses in this season, but unfortunately for this game, regardless of highs and lows, a loss will be a low for either squad, offering state bragging rights for the winner.  For Clemson it would end the dominance for now if USC wins.  For South Carolina it could end the season if Clemson wins, after being bowl eligible five weeks ago.  Either way, this year's game offers another opportunity to establish a game or moments that will not easily be forgotten, this rivalry seems to create that special moment more often than not.

USC-Clemson Ticket Give-A-Way At Ale House In The Vista

Come Join ESPN Radio "The Zone" at Columbia Ale House in the Vista on Monday November 23, 2009 from 3:00PM-6:00PM and register to win various prizes to include a pair of USC-Clemson Football tickets.  The prizes and tickets will be given away on Monday, so don't miss out on the fun, the bragging, the on air challenges, great food and drinks at the Ale House.  Come join Jimmy Dorsey, Matt Younginer, Wes Mitchell and Duane Everett this Monday.  There will be a special presentation at halftime of the Monday Night Football Game.  Don't miss the fun!!

Visiting USC and Clemson fans will have the opportunity to broadcast live with the Show Hosts and to talk about their favorite team and some of their favorite memories about this annual football event.  Former players and alumni will be on hand to give their game predictions as well.  This will be a Monday in the Vista you won't want to miss.

Remember Clemson is heading to the ACC Championship game and a BCS bowl, while South Carolina is trying to end the season on a strong note and get to a major bowl and stop a recent three week slide.

Tigers say they will continue the domination, the Gamecocks say this is the year that the streak stops.  What do you say?  Come by and let all the listeners and on-location viewers know what you think.

The Ale House is located at 708 Lady Street, Downtown Columbia, in the Vista.