SB Nation - Mike Holmes

Western Kentucky at South Carolina: A Quick Recap

Gamecock Man — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:43:11 -0000

Well, maybe we can play basketball without two of our best players in the lineup, after all: after losing Dominique Archie, struggling against Jacksonville in his absence, and then losing Mike Holmes, the Gamecocks turned in a solid performance tonight against Western Kentucky, winning 74-56. Devan Downey led Carolina with 15 points, while A. J. Slaughter led the Hilltoppers with 12. Darrin Horn got the satisfaction of not losing to his old team.

Here are my thoughts on the game:

Defense. After giving up 93 points, .500 shooting, and 27 FTAs to Jacksonville, I thought we might be lost defensively without Archie in the lineup. Tonight, though, we buckled down a bit, holding the Toppers to 56, .34 from the field, and an abysmal .17 from beyond the arc. The Toppers don't appear to be a good shooting team, but the fact still stands that you did something right anytime you hold an opponent to those numbers. Two of the big names here are Sam Muldrow with a whopping six blocks and Devan Downey with his standard three steals.
Getting the young guys involved. Lakeem Jackson had a full stat line with nine points, ten rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Ramon Galloway had eleven points. Jhondre Jefferson was less prominent on the box score but did lend a hand on the boards. It's important for these guys to contribute like this with the two starters out. That's particularly true for Jackson, who is going to be required to fill multiple roles.
Everyone contributing. We had eight players who played at least 13 minutes. WKU, on the other hand, had seven players that played at least 14 minutes, and all of their starters played at least 30, with leading scorer Slaughter playing almost the entire game. As you can see, our improved depth is paying off for us even with two of our stars out. We had five players in double figures scoring; that's again important with two double-figure scorers out and with teams continuing to try to limit Downey's effectiveness by running zones to keep him out of the lane.
The Toppers aren't as good as they were the past two years. Before you go getting excited about beating a team that has advanced two straight years in the NCAAs, you should know that WKU has already lost to both LSU (who is rebuilding this year) and Indiana State. The Toppers have four of five starters back, but the one they lost is a doozy: Sun Belt POY Orlando Mendez-Valdes. Apparently they're missing him. I have no doubt the Toppers will do well in the Sun Belt, where they usually only get consistent competition from a couple of programs. (One is my South Alabama Jaguars, who whopped Arkansas the other day.) However, so far, this year's WKU doesn't look like a mid-major power, so don't expect this to be one of those elusive "quality OOC wins" come tourney time.

That's a wrap on this win, folks. While WKU may be struggling, I'll take this win. In fact, I'll take just about any win we can get with Archie and Holmes out and then hope we can make our run when they return. We can hopefully make our run at the NCAAs when they come back by storming the SEC. Now, it's on to the Upstate this weekend. Can we hang with the Tigers? It looks doubtful, but anything's possible.

Mike Holmes Out Indefinitely with Facial Injury

Gamecock Man — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:53 -0000

Per The State, Carolina big man Mike Holmes is now out indefinitely with a facial injury:

There is no timetable for his return, but "it won't be anytime soon," Horn said.

This is a tough blow to a team already hurt by the injury to Dominique Archie. The going could get rough for the next few weeks, as the Gamecocks have a number of tough OOC opponents coming up soon. Hopefully we can get through that slate without too many losses and be ready to compete with the SEC when Holmes and Archie return.

BtB 2009-10 Southeastern Conference Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:27:31 -0000

During the two weeks before Selection Sunday last March, I frequently heard these words (or something close) in conversation, "The SEC is going to get more than two or three bids to the Tourney. How can we not? We're the SEC." Of course, it took another surprising run through the SEC Tournament by a team nicknamed the Bulldogs to keep the Southeastern Conference from becoming (gasp) a two bid league. But Mississippi State became the league's second straight surprise auto bid winner. However, just like Georgia in 2008, the boys from Starkville also lost in the first round after getting a low seed.

But it's not like the two SEC teams who earned at-large bids did much better. Ninth seeded Tennessee fell to Oklahoma State in a tight first round contest, while eighth seeded LSU reached round two, where they were outclassed by North Carolina. Kentucky, Florida, Auburn, and South Carolina all ended up in the NIT, where none of the four managed to make it to New York. Vanderbilt won 19 games and didn't even get a postseason bid. All in all, it was a disappointing 2008-09 for a conference used to postseason success.

The good news for the SEC is that the league should be far better this year, thanks to a couple of major coaching hires (as explained in my Coaching Carousel column) and an infusion of new talent (some of whom are listed in my All-Transfer and All-Freshman team columns). But there's a lot more going on in the league than what happened in Lexington and Tuscaloosa this offseason, which I'll explain after the jump.

Let's first take a look at last season's SEC standings.

Southeastern Conference Standings

(updated 3.25.2009 at 10:42 PM EDT)

East	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
South Carolina Gamecocks	10	6	21	10
Tennessee Volunteers	10	6	21	13
Florida Gators	9	7	25	11
Kentucky Wildcats	8	8	22	14
Vanderbilt Commodores	8	8	19	12
Georgia Bulldogs	3	13	12	20

West	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
LSU Tigers	13	3	27	8
Auburn Tigers	10	6	24	12
Mississippi St. Bulldogs	9	7	23	13
Alabama Crimson Tide	7	9	18	14
Mississippi Rebels	7	9	16	15
Arkansas Razorbacks	2	14	14	16

Now, here are my picks for 2009-10, presented in reverse order. If a school's name appears in red, that's a link to its SBNation site. You can go there for more detailed analysis throughout the season.

West Division

Auburn (last NCAA: 2003) The Tigers fell to Baylor in the NIT quarterfinals last season, a disappointing end to a good season that could've ended in the NCAA Tournament with a marquee win or two. It's going to take a lot for Jeff Lebo's team to reach that level of success this season. Even with the graduation of Rasheem Barrett (9.9 ppg) and Quantez Robertson (6.0 ppg, 3.2 apg), DeWayne Reed (13.2 ppg, 3.7 apg) and Tay Waller (12.1 ppg) anchor a solid backcourt that will give the opposition fits. However, Korvotney Barber and his contributions of nearly 13 points and 10 rebounds a game will be severely missed in the frontcourt, even in Lebo's guard-oriented system. Seniors Brendan Knox and Johnnie Lett will have to step up to fill the void left by Barber's departure, and freshmen Rob Chubb and Ty Armstrong can expect to see playing time as well. Junior college transfer Kenny Gabriel should also see significant time, as he can be a true inside/outside threat for Auburn.

LSU (last NCAA: 2009) Expect the Tigers, last year's SEC regular season champs, to take a step back after the loss of three key starters. F Marcus Thornton and his 21 points per game are gone, so is C Chris Johnson, and the team's heart and soul, PG Garrett Temple. However, LSU still has Tasmin Mitchell, who averaged 16.3 points and 7.2 rebounds last season, while spending time at both small forward and power forward. Guard Bo Spencer is the other returning starter. He's a good shooter (averaging 11.4 ppg while shooting 40% from beyond the arc), but is coming off wrist surgery. Beyond those two, head coach Trent Johnson has his work cut out for him, as none of the other returnees averaged more than 2 points per contest. Expect the newcomers, like G Aaron Dotson (coming off a patellar tendon injury) and Fs Eddie Ludwig and Garrett Green (a medical redshirt last year), to see significant time during the rebuilding process.

Arkansas (last NCAA: 2008) It hasn't been the greatest of offseasons in Fayetteville, where head coach John Pelphrey will suspend at least one player after an offseason rape investigation that resulted in no charges. The possibility of suspensions will make the Razorbacks task of recovering from last season a bit more difficult. The Hogs were in full rebuilding mode last year, but managed to get off to a 12-1 start, featuring wins over regional rivals Oklahoma and Texas. It didn't last, and Arkansas finished bottom of the SEC West with a ghastly 2-14 record. This season, the Razorbacks will again roll out a three-guard lineup in their search for more consistency. That quest starts at point guard, where sophomore Courtney Fortson did a great job of distributing the ball (nearly 6 assists per game), while turning it over far too often (4.4 per game). Rotnei Clark led the nation's freshmen in three point shooting (39.3%), and Stefan Welsh contributed 11.5 oints per game. PF Michael Washington decided to stay in school, which means the Hogs keep their leading scorer (15.5) and conference-leading rebounder (9.8). The biggest reason Arkansas is this low is depth, with only six returning players from last season, Pelphrey will need a lot out of his newcomers to move up the SEC ladder.

Alabama (last NCAA: 2006) Bama alum Mark Gottfried resigned as head coach last January, when it was clear that the Tide would spend a third straight year outside of the NCAAs. Anthony Grant left a good gig at VCU to take the head job, and he's going to try to implement a more up-tempo style in Tuscaloosa. Alabama's biggest issue over the past few seasons has been inconsistent point guard play, especially with Ronald Steele's injuries and eventual departure from the program. Senior Mikhail Torrance (10 ppg, 2.3 apg) moved to the 1 slot after Steele left the program and performed well, though he's more of a natural shooting guard. As Grant implements his offense, watch for 5-9 Anthony Brock and Andrew Steele, Ronald's brother, to get time at the point, so Torrance can move over to his natural position. In the frontcourt, Grant has two 6-9 guys who will need to step it up. JaMychal Green had a decent freshman season, but will need to better his averages of 10.6 ppg and 7.6 rpg. Justin Knox, who averaged 5.7 ppg and 5.1 rpg, should be able to increase both those numbers with more time on the court.

Mississippi (last NCAA: 2002) Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy made headlines for all the wrong reasons last season, when he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a cab driver the night before the Rebels faced his former employer, Cincinnati, in the SEC/Big East Invitational. Things only got worse from there, as Miss lost All-SEC guard Chris Warren to a knee injury during that outing. Add in the fact that the Rebels had already lost Eniel Polynice and Trevor Gaskins to injuries, and it's amazing that they managed 16 wins last year. This season, all three guards are back, making the loss of Florida transfer David Huertas almost inconsequential. Zach Graham, the team's best three point shooter, is also back, giving the Rebels perhaps the best backcourt in the league. Kennedy's frontcourt isn't quite as strong. Sophomore Murphy Holloway will have to improve on his 8.4 points and 6.6 boards per game, while 6-8 freshman Reginald Bucker and 6-9 JC transfer DeAngelo Riley will have to contribute immediately. The fact the Rebels don't quite have the inside force to match Miss State's Varnado means they should finish behind their in-state rivals in the standings.

Mississippi State (last NCAA: 2009) Rick Stansbury recruited Renardo Sidney to provide some support for C Jarvis Varnado inside. However, it doesn't look like the NCAA is going to rule Sidney eligible. Stansbury also got a commitment from 7-2 Sudanese C John Riek, who was finally ruled eligible, but will have to sit out the first 9 games of the season. That means Varnado, who fell ill at one point this summer, will likely see some time as the lone big man on the court if Stansbury runs out a four-guard offense, as he did frequently last season. When you have guards like Dee Bost, Ravern Johnson, Barry Stewart, and Phil Turner who can shoot the three well, that offensive strategy isn't a bad idea. However, with the development of 6-8 Fs Kodi Augustus and Romero Osby (and Riek's eventual eligibility), you can expect to see Varnado get far more frontcourt help. Additionally, Varnado only needs 19 blocks to pass Shaquille O'Neal as the SEC's all-time leader in that category (though Shaq did it in fewer games).

East Division

Georgia (last NCAA: 2008) For some reason, Mark Fox decided to leave a Nevada program he (along with LSU head man Trent Johnson) made into a national name. Fox now replaces Dennis Felton at the helm of a Georgia program that has never fully recovered from the Jim Harrick era, which is now six years in the past. After the graduation of G/F Terrance Woodbury (14.0 ppg), Fox is left with only one double-digit scorer from last season. However, 6-9 F Howard Thompkins is a pretty good player to have on your roster. Thompkins averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 boards per game, and should be even better after an offseason spent on the USA's Under-19 World Championship-winning team. In the backcourt, Dustin Ware should start at point guard, as he averaged 7.2 points and 3.4 dimes per game in 2008-09. After that, Fox has a lot of decisions to make, and that means the Bulldogs will probably be rooted to the bottom of the SEC standings yet again.

South Carolina (last NCAA: 2004) In Darrin Horn's first year at the helm, the Gamecocks managed to tie Tennessee atop the SEC East. Even though they only lost guard Zam Fredrick and his 15.5 points per game, Carolina probably won't reach such heights this season. That's not to say that the Gamecocks won't manage to get back to the NCAAs, something they failed to do last year. Thanks to the return of G Devan Downey (19.8 ppg, 4.5 apg, SEC leading 89 steals) and F Dominique Archie (10.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg), the Gamecocks still have some real star power in the lineup. Returning starters Mike Holmes (10.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and Sam Muldrow (5.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg) should provide even more help to Archie in the frontcourt this season, while JC transfer Johndre Jefferson will be expected to spend time at both small and power forward. In the backcourt, Evaldas Baniulis, after averaging a bit more than 6 points a game while shooting 48 percent from behind the arc, is expected to take a more active role in the offense with the graduation of Fredrick, as is 6-5 swingman Lakeem Jackson, a heralded recruit from Charlotte.

Florida (last NCAA: 2007) Has it really been over two years since the Gators last featured in an NCAA Tournament game? While the days of back-to-back championships may be in the rear-view mirror, Billy Donovan's latest group has the chance to finally get off the bubble. Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin will be eligible this season, and he'll slide into the center position. That will allow Alex Tyus to move back to his natural position, power forward, which will allow Dan Werner to move to small forward. Kenny Kadji should be better in his sophomore year as well, giving the Gators more of a presence inside. More consistency is expected out of swingman Chandler Parsons, whose performances alternate between brilliant and frustrating. In the backcourt, Erving Walker (10.1 ppg, 2.4 apg) will lead the offense after Nick Calathes' departure for Greece. Israeli newcomer Nimrod Tishman could also see time at the point if the NCAA rules him eligible. Impact freshman Kenny Boynton will start at shooting guard. He's expected to be the Gators new three-point threat, though he can also really drive to the hoop.

Vanderbilt (last NCAA: 2008) The Commodores sat at home last postseason, despite finishing the regular season with 7 wins in their last 10. Vandy shouldn't be so unlucky this season. Chemistry should be good, as head coach Kevin Stallings gave up a $100,000 raise so the team could take a scheduled trip to Australia, home country of star C A.J. Ogilvy. Ogilvy averaged 15.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and those numbers should improve if he stays healthier this season. The 'Dores frontcourt boasts an international flavor beyond their Aussie star with Swede Jeffery Taylor (12.2 ppg. 6.2 rpg) a fixture at small forward, 6-9 Cameroonian PF Steve Tchiengang (3.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg) expected to spend more time in the 4 spot, and 6-11 Nigerian C Festus Ezeli (3.8 ppg. 2.6 rpg) expected to both backup and spend time on the floor with Ogilvy. 6-7 Andre Walker may also return to the starting lineup, after suffering an ACL tear early last season. The backcourt may be more US-centric, but it's still talented. Jermaine Beal (12.5 ppg, 3.2 apg) amd Brad Tinsley (11.0 ppg, 2.8 apg) will take turns running the offense, but 6-4 John Jenkins, the USA's highest scoring high school player last season, will get plenty of opportunities to showcase his inside/outside game. Even if he only manages 25 percent of his senior year average, Jenkins should provide plenty of scoring punch for the Commodores.

Tennessee (last NCAA: 2009) The Volunteers return all five starters in their quest to improve on last year's NCAA first round exit. The best news for the Vols this offseason was Tyler Smith's decision to skip the NBA Draft and return for his senior season. Bruce Pearl is glad he doesn't have to replace Smith's 17.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Wayne Chism (13.7 ppg, 8 rpg) will continue to be a force inside, while 6-10 C Brian Williams will need to improve his scoring (5 ppg) to match his rebounding (5.6 rpg). Bobby Maze (8.2 ppg, 3.2 apg) will run the offense, while J.P. Prince and Scotty Hopson, who were forces at both ends of the floor last year, are expected to continue their strong two-way play. Cameron Tatum (7.6 ppg) and Renaldo Woolridge, son of former NBA star Orlando, are going to be Bruce Pearl's key swingmen this season.. Woolridge, who only managed 2.6 points in a little more than 8 minutes a contest, should be improved in his sophomore season. The Vols only personnel loss is a sad story, as Nigerian F Emmanuel Negedu, as he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest last month.

Kentucky (last NCAA: 2008) During my Season Preview series, I've written a fair amount about John Calipari's arrival in Lexington and his stellar recruiting class. Patrick Patterson (17.9 ppg, 9.3 rpg) will lead a strong frontcourt that already features senior Perry Stevenson (7.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg), and will be bolstered by the arrival of the 6-11 DeMarcus Cousins and 6-10 Daniel Orton, two highly coveted recruits. And the backcourt will feature the most highly coveted recruit for this season, 6-4 point guard John Wall, who will be responsible for running Calipari's dribble drive offense. If the chemistry works, the Wildcats will quickly be on their way, and the blue half of the Commonwealth will quickly forget about the Gillispie period.

I'm picking Kentucky to win the overall SEC title, so they'll take the league's auto bid in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9. To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-SEC team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-SEC Team

Player of the Year: Tyler Smith, 6-7 F, Sr. (Tennessee)

Remainder of the Team
Devan Downey, 5-9 G, Sr. (South Carolina)
Tasmin Mitchell, 6-7 F, Sr. (LSU)
Patrick Patterson, 6-9 F, Jr. (Kentucky)
Jarvis Varnado, 6-9 F/C, Sr. (Mississippi State)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the SEC this season?

Alabama

9 votes

Arkansas

9 votes

Auburn

3 votes

Florida

14 votes

Georgia

2 votes

Kentucky

213 votes

LSU

3 votes

Ole Miss

7 votes

Mississippi State

57 votes

South Carolina

5 votes

Tennessee

68 votes

Vanderbilt

17 votes

407 votes | Poll has closed

Darrin Horn and the New Culture of Gamecocks Basketball

Gamecock Man — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:21:36 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

8 months ago: FILE - In this March 13, 2009, file photo, South Carolina guard Devan Downey (2) shoots around Mississippi State forward Jarvis Vernado during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Southeastern Conference men's tournament in Tampa, Fla. Downey is making himself eligible for the NBA draft without hiring an agent, meaning he can withdraw his name by June 15 and still return to school. The 5-foot-9 guard announced his decision Tuesday, April 7. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

Browse more photos »

In the wake of Dominique Archie and Devan Downey's decisions to return to South Carolina for their senior season, expectations for Gamecocks hoops are sky high. I think it's safe to say that this is the most experienced, talented team we will have had in Columbia in many years. We lose a key scorer in Zam Frederick. However, we have likely preseason All-SEC players in Archie and Downey, two big men in Mike Holmes and Sam Muldrow who could form a solid front line with a little more seasoning, and a cast of role players like Evaldas Baniulis who perform key functions for the team. We also have an incoming freshman in Lakeem Jackson who will be ready to contribute immediately and will be a key player on this team for the next few years. While this team doesn't have the raw talent of a Kentucky or even a Florida, the experience it brings to the table will make us a contender.

We also have Darrin Horn. Horn proved in his first year as our head coach that he could win in the SEC with this lineup using the up-tempo pressing style he developed at Western Kentucky. I expect his success using this system will only improve as he recruits more players like Jackson that fit the mold of what he's looking for. Horn wants mid-sized, rangy players that can play defense and score in transition, players much like Jackson. While in physical terms Downey isn't exactly the type of player Horn seeks, Downey has had success in this system precisely because he can do some of these things. Downey's great speed generates lots of steals and fast break opportunities, which is exactly the idea. Horn will find more players that can do these things and we will continue to get better.

The tactical advantages Horn provides us with, though, are clearly not the only thing he is contributing to USC. Many fans have commented that Horn has changed the feel of the program. He has installed new traditions like calling the student section the "Garnet Army." These changes invigorated the culture of a program that was plagued by a general lack of fan interest over the last few years of Dave Odom's tenure. Archie and Downey's choice to return to USC for their final year of eligibility further illustrates the success Horn is having in this area. We've had problems in the past with players like Renaldo Balkman foregoing their eligibility despite not being projected as lottery picks. And can you really blame them? It's not like they had a whole lot to play for, or at least that was the general perception. I feared that either Downey, Archie, or both might also leave to make some money in Europe instead of coming back to try to fight for USC's first NCAAs appearance in several years. However, both decided to come back. That says a lot about how these two players perceive this program. They see an excited fan base, the chance to be part of something. We have Horn to thank for part of that.

So, kudos to Horn and his squad for all that they have and will accomplish. I'm really excited about the future of this program, and you should be, too.

South Carolina at Georgia: A Quick Recap

Gamecock Man — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:08:04 -0000

Back in Black.

The Gamecocks netted that all-important 10th conference win today by beating UGA 68-51. Devan Downey led the way with 23 point; Zam Fredrick, Mike Holmes, and Evaldas Baniulis also made important contributions. Howard Thompkins and Chris Barnes both had 10 for UGA. The Dawgs had an awful offensive (or awfully offensive?) outing, shooting 18-66 from the field.

The keys to this win were great three-point shooting in the second half and good perimeter defense. Our offense was about as slow as UGA's in the first half, but in the second, we found some open shots and made the Dawgs pay. Doing that on the road in a game when our backs were against the wall is a credit to this team's fortitude and desire to get into the Dance. Defensively, I thought we played UGA's strengths well by selling out by selling out to make sure the Dawgs didn't get too many open threes balls. The Dawgs live and die (usually the latter this year) from downtown, and we let them heave them up but made sure we got a hand in their faces. The sometimes dangerous Terrance Woodbury was 4-21 with only nine points. Magic shots weren't falling for UGA, and they had no alternative or at least were unwilling to try to do anything else. Of couse, it's easy to say your defense did great when you play a team that was as cold as UGA was tonight, but I'd like to think Coach Horn's gameplan and our consequent perimeter pressure had a bit to do with that.

This win more or less puts us in a good position for the NCAA tournament. A win in the SECT quarters would be nice in that it would make us a lock, but a loss probably won't kill us unless other bubble teams make serious strides tonight and during their conference tourneys. (For those watching in the SEC, the 'Cats lost to the Gators today and Auburn is currently making its statement by leading LSU at the half. I like Aubie's chances a lot right now; that team has really come together.) Of course, to make sure we get in, it would be great to see us get that quarters win and perhaps more. When this team is playing well, there's no reason to believe they can't hang with any team in the conference outside of UT, who I believe presents major matchup problems for us. We'd have to have a magic shooting day to beat the Vols, but other teams are fair game on any night. It's time for this team to get a week of rest and make a run at an SECT Title!

Kentucky Wildcats @ South Carolina: Gameday Breakdown

Ken Howlett — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:56:37 -0000

Sole possession of first place in the SEC East is all that's at stake tonight in Columbia, South Carolina. With LSU defeating the Florida Gators 81-75 in a terrific game in Baton Rouge last night, UK and South Carolina (19-6, 8-4) find themselves tied at 8-4 in SEC play. And with only three conference regular season games remaining for each squad after tonight's 7:00 EST tilt, the winner will find themselves squarely in the catbird's seat.

78-77 Recap

It's only been a little over three weeks since UK lost 78-77 to Darrin Horn's team on a fade-away 12-foot jumper by electrifying Gamecock guard Devan Downey. In my post-game thoughts,"It's a 40 Minute Game," I thoroughly dissected what I saw as a six minute lapse of focus by UK. Other than those fateful few minutes of sub-par play, Kentucky (19-8, 8-4) played very well. Of course that game was in Rupp Arena; tonight, one can be sure Colonial Life Arena will not be nearly as friendly as the 'Cats legendary lair.

Here's a quick look at the unseemly statistics from the earlier UK vs. South Carolina game, played on January 31 (For a complete boxscore go here).

FG FG% FT 3-pt Reb. Off. Reb. Ast. Stl. TO Blk.

UK -- 25-48 52.1 24-29 3-8 40 9 16 5 21 8

S.C. -- 32-76 42.1 7-15 7-20 35 18 7 9 10 2

* -- South Carolina beat UK in points off turnovers 14-8, and in second chance points 11-5. That's minus 12 points in those two critical categories for Big Blue. Actually, the discrepancy in points could have been much, much worse, but the Gamecocks were not very efficient in converting their offensive rebounds, or UK's turnovers, into points.

South Carolina Personnel

Devan Downey: 5'9" 175 lb junior point guard -- On the year Downey averages 20.0 points (3rd in the SEC), 4.3 assists (4th in the SEC) and 3.6 turnovers (13th in A/TO Ratio in the SEC - 1.21). He averages 3.0 steals (1st in the SEC), and 2.8 rebounds per game. He makes 45.4% of his field goal attempts (11th in the SEC), 37.6% of his three-point tries (44-117), and 73.1% of his free throws (10th in the SEC).

In conference play Downey averages 19.5 points, 4.2 assists (4.1 turnovers), 2.9 steals, and 2.8 rebounds per game. He's making 39.8% of his shots, 35.9% of his three-point attempts (28-78), and 66.7% of his free throws -- In the first contest Downey scored 23 points on 10-21 shooting (3-5 threes), dished out four assists, had four steals and three turnovers. He played 35 minutes.

Zam Fredrick: 6'0" 203 lb senior guard -- For the year Fredrick averages 15.3 points (10th in the SEC), 2.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game (2.6 turnovers per game). He makes 39.5% of his shots, 36.2% of his trey attempts (46-127), and 66.1% of his free throws.

In SEC play Fredrick averages 15.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game (2.7 turnovers per game). He's shooting 39.0% from the field, 37.5% from behind the arc (24-64), and 62.1% from the charity stripe -- In the earlier contest Fredrick led the Gamecocks with 24 points on 9-20 shooting (4-8 threes). He also had one assist and two turnovers. He played 36 minutes.

Dominique Archie: 6'7" 200 lb junior forward -- Archie on the year averages 11.5 points, 6.7 rebounds (2.7 off. rebounds - 9th in the SEC), 1.4 steals (2.0 turnovers), and 1.0 block per game. He shoots 52.7% from the field, 34.6% from the three-point line (18-52), and 62.0% from the free throw line.

In league play Archie averages 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds (3.1 off. rebounds), and 2.4 turnovers per game (his conference steals and blocks are negligible). He shoots 52.5% from the field, 36.7% from the three-point line (11-30), and 61.2% from the free throw line -- In the earlier game, Archie scored seven points on 3-9 shooting (0-3 threes), grabbed three rebounds, had one steal, and four turnovers. He played 24 minutes.

Mike Holmes: 6'7" 220 sophomore F/C -- Overall, Holmes averages 11.2 points, and 7.8 rebounds per game (6th in the SEC). He also averages 3.0 offensive rebounds (6th in the SEC), and 1.2 blocks per game (10th in the SEC). He's shooting 48.1% from the field, and 46.2% from the free throw line.

In SEC play he averages 9.7 points, 6.8 rebounds (2.0 off. rebounds), and 1.6 steals per game. Holmes shoots 47.4% from the field, and 44.4% from the free throw line (24-54) -- In the first game he made 6-8 shots for 15 points, and 8 rebounds (3 off. rebounds). He played 32 minutes.

Evaldas Baniulis: 6'7" 210 lb junior forward -- On the year Baniulis averages 7.0 points, and 2.8 rebounds per game. The Lithuanian shoots 50.4% from the field, 50.6% from beyond the arc (42-83), and 65.2% from the charity stripe.

In league play he averages 5.4 points, and 2.4 rebounds per game. Baniulis shoots 40.8% from the field, 44.7% from the three-point line (17-38), and 66.7% from the free throw line -- In the earlier game Baniulis did not score (0-1 field goals), and had one rebound. He played only eight minutes.

Brandis Raley-Ross: 6'2" 193 lb junior guard -- For the season Raley-Ross averages 6.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game (1.5 turnovers). He makes 41.1% of his shots, 27.1% of his threes, and 70.6% of his free throws.

In conference play he averages 5.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game (1.6 turnovers). He's shooting 39.1% from the field, 23.5% from beyond the arc (8-34), and 68.4% from the charity stripe -- In the first game Raley-Ross scored one point on 0-6 shooting (0-3 threes), nabbed one rebound, dished out two assists and had two steals. He played 26 minutes.

Sam Muldrow: 6'9" 216 lb sophomore forward -- On the year Muldrow is averaging 6.3 points, 5.3 rebounds (2.7 off. rebounds), and 1.4 blocks per game. He's shooting 60.4% from the field, and 50.0% from the free throw line (18-36).

Muldrow's above numbers are his season, and SEC stats (he did not play in any pre-conference games) -- In the earlier contest against UK, Muldrow went 3-9 from the field for six points, grabbed 12 big boards (8 off. rebounds), and blocked one shot. He played 26 minutes.

Austin Steed: 6'8" 215 lb sophomore forward -- For the year Steed is averaging 4.1 points, and 3.9 rebounds per game (1.7 off. rebounds). He shoots 46.8% from the floor, and 68.2% from the free throw line.

In SEC play Steed averages 3.0 points, and 3.8 rebounds per game (1.8 off. rebounds). He's making 44.4% of his shot attempts, and 80.0% of his free throws -- In the first tilt Steed scored two points on 1-2 shooting, grabbed three rebounds (two off. rebounds), had one steal and one block. He played 13 minutes.

South Carolina Team Statistics - Season (SEC rank in parenthesis)

South Carolina Opponents

Points per game -- 79.8 (1) 70.6 (10)

Field Goal% -- 45.8 (4) 43.3 (9)

3-Point% -- 38.1 (1) 32.0 (3)

Free Throw% -- 63.2 (10) 72.5 (12)

Rebound Margin -- -1.0 pg (12)

Off. Reb. Per Game -- 13.5 (4) 12.9 (9)

Off. Rebound% -- 35.5 (5) 36.0 (12)

Def. Reb. Per Game -- 22.9 (12) 24.6 (10)

Def. Rebound% -- 64.0 (12) 64.5 (5)

Assists Per Game -- 11.3 (11) 12.6 (6)

Turnovers Per Game -- 14.1 (7) 19.7 (1)

Blocks Per Game -- 4.4 (5) 4.4 (10)

On the season South Carolina averages 75.1 possessions per game (6th in the SEC).

South Carolina Team Statistics - Conference Play (SEC rank in parenthesis)

South Carolina Opponents

Points Per Game -- 77.5 (3) 75.6 (10)

Field Goal% -- 43.7 (7) 46.2 (12)

3-Point% -- 36.1 (4) 31.8 (6)

Free Throw% -- 59.1 (11) 72.1 (12)

Rebound Margin -- -5.3 pg (12)

Off. Reb. Per Game -- 13.3 (3) 13.0 (9)

Off. Rebound% -- 32.8 (9) 37.5 (12)

Def. Reb. Per Game -- 21.7 (11) 27.3 (11)

Def. Rebound% -- 62.5 (12) 67.2 (9)

Assists Per Game -- 9.7 (12) 13.8 (8)

Turnovers Per Game -- 14.4 (6) 19.5 (1)

Blocks Per Game -- 4.2 (5) 4.8 (9)

In league play South Carolina averages 76.2 possessions per game (1st in the SEC).

CliffsNotes Analysis

Defensively, controlling South Carolina point guard Devan Downey will be the key to success for the 'Cats. DeAndre Liggins and Ramon Harris did a credible job of diminishing Downey's impact in the first half of the earlier contest, so it would not be surprising to see a similar defensive rotation tonight.

UK simply has to do a better job of keeping the Gamecocks off of their offensive glass. UK's big men will need to put their collective be-hinds into the mid-sections of the South Carolina board crashers, and not give up position by trying to block every shot within the paint. The Gamecocks took 28 more shots than UK in the January contest, in part due to SC's 18 offensive rebounds (a 40.9% offensive rebound conversion rate for a team that averages 32.8% in SEC play).

Offensively, UK needs to make hay in the paint. In the earlier game Patrick Patterson was 10-16 from the field and scored 28 points (his best game with the bandaged finger). Perry Stevenson was 4-5 and scored eight points. That's a combined 14-21 and 36 points for UK's primary big men.

Duplicating that effort on the road, though, may be tough. Holmes, Archie, and Steed had a difficult time controlling UK's big men so I look for ball-denial into the paint, and double and triple teams for Patterson. Making SC pay for helping-off on Patterson means that the big fella should be able to find open teammates, either on the perimeter, or with ball reversal.

Jodie Meeks will face the same dilemma he's encountered since his 54 point outburst earlier in the year -- A chaser who knows what he had for lunch. To counter that strategy, I really don't look for Billy Gillispie to do anything different than what he's done over the last several games: Run Meeks all over the floor in search of an open look, and hope when he gets the ball, he'll either be open for the split second that he needs, or find an uncovered teammate.

As always, it is so much easier to get Meeks open looks off the fast-break. But first Kentucky must get stops and steals. If UK can smother the Gamecocks with their defense (which they are capable of), it will be a long night for Hootie and his Blowfish.

Versus Tennessee Saturday, UK's "role players" performed exceptionally well. They played unafraid, and made shots at an exceedingly high rate (24-33 = 72.7%). That effort needs to become a trend, and not a one-night stand, if Kentucky expects to win tonight.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats!

Gamecocks Hoops Weekly Forecast: 2/8-2/14

Gamecock Man — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:12:23 -0000

South Carolina enters this week at 17-5 and 6-3 in conference. We're alone in second place in the Eastern Division, with Florida at number one at 6-2 and Kentucky and Tennessee right behind us at 5-3. This week we don't have a midweek game and take on Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. We're ranked 35th in the AP Poll and 34th in the ESPN/USA Today's Coaches Poll. I was a little surprised that we dropped so much in the AP, but such is life. If we beat Bama this weekend, we'll likely be knocking on the door next week. Lunardi moved us up this week, now having us as a 10 seed taking on Tubby Smith's Minnesota Golden Gophers. That's a game I think we'd have a shot at winning.

One thing to keep an eye on this week is the Florida-Kentucky tilt Tuesday in Lexington. This game looms large in the conference standings. Who should a Gamecock pull for here? It's hard to say. A Cats win would create a three-way tie for first between us, UK, and UF, and I think we'd be ahead by a tiebreaker over UK. It would also possibly facilitate a path for us to finish first, as we still have another game against the Cats but don't play the Gators again. If we could sweep the Cats (and beat UT), that would have us sitting pretty for the Eastern Division crown. A Gators win would help Florida solidify their hold on first and push Kentucky further down the standings. We'd be further behind Florida but would have a more solid hold on second place. Since a second place finish in the division would net us a first-round bye in the SEC tourney and possibly facilitate a deep run for the tourney championship, I'm going to cheer for Florida in this one, as much as I hate to do that.

Alabama

Bama will come into this game at 13-10 and 3-6 in conference. Their last game was a loss at LSU. The Tide are led by Coach Philip Pearson, who took over a couple of weeks back after embattled coach Mark Gottfried resigned. Senior shooting guard Alonzo Gee leads the Tide in scoring. Surprisingly enough, Gee also leads the Tide in rebounding, a rarity for a guard.

Alabama is not a very good team this year, as demonstrated by the fact that they're being run by an interim coach. However, there's talent in Tuscaloosa and the game is in the Coleman Colliseum, so the potential for the upset is there. The keys for us will be to shut down Gee and power forward JaMychal Green. The shifty, sharp-shooting, and, for his position, big Gee is a matchup problem for most teams, while Green could cause problems for us in the post. However, aside from guard Senario Hillman, the Tide don't have many scoring threats, so if we can shut down at least one of these players, they might not have many other options.

Offensively, I would like to see us get the ball inside more in this game. Bama plays a lot of smaller lineups, and while we lack a true, skyscraper center, we do play a larger lineup than Bama when we have Dominique Archie, Mike Holmes, and Sam Muldrow in the game. Our offensive strategy has typically been to create long range shots with dribble penetration and to have Holmes and Muldrow jockey for offensive board position, but, this time, I think we should actually try to let them post up a little. That is, unless Zam Fredrick or Devan Downey heat up, at which point I say you just give them the ball. It's also worth noting that our emphasis on offensive rebounding has paid off in a number of games, so perhaps we should just keep doing what we've been doing. I just like our bigs in this game and I fear that we won't shoot as well in a road atmosphere, even if excitement for Bama hoops is probably at an all-time low right now.

South Carolina at Florida: A Quick Recap

Gamecock Man — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:19:35 -0000

Well, we can't win 'em all on last second shots, even though I thought we just might for a moment. The Gators survived a late barrage of Devan Downey threes to beat us 97-93 in Gainesville. Hats off to the Gators for gutting out the win; Gators fans should thank their lucky stars that Walter Hodge managed to hit his FTs down the stretch. Downey ended with 33, tying his season high against Clemson. Nick Calathes led the Gators with 22; all Gators starters ended in double digits.

So, how did we lose this game, despite the fact that we played a pretty solid offensive game tonight, shooting for a high percentage and getting a lot of offensive boards? First of all, our turnover margin was pretty bad. We gave up 17 and took away 10, a far cry from the kind of margin we've gotten in the past few games. Many of these led to easy Gators baskets. The Gators get credit for forcing a few of them, but at times we played sloppily as we moved the ball up court against the Gators press. I'm sure Coach Horn will work with the team on this.

Second of all, we finally did what we all knew we would do eventually: we lost a game due to horrendous free throw shooting. We've gotten away with our poor percentages a few times this year, but you had to know it would come back to bite us eventually. We were 10-22 tonight, with many losses coming on 1-1s down the stretch. We knew coming into this season that players like Mike Holmes and Dominique Archie would be liabilities at the line, but things have gotten even worse than anyone could have possibly expected. Even players like Devan and Zam Fredrick are now missing lots of their shots at the stripe. You have to think it's in the team's head at this point.

Some people have criticized Coach Horn for not focusing enough on FTs. While I agree that it's more of an issue than Coach is letting on, we have to keep in mind that there's not a whole lot he can do to change things. Practicing free throws essentially involves just taking some time each day and shooting a bunch of them, and I gaurantee you that we're doing that. There's not much else we can do because most of our practice time has to be spent prepping for our next opponent. Players can work on their FTs during the offseason, and I hope our returning players do just that. It won't help us now, though. Let's just hope that we get over whatever is messing with our heads and go from being one of the worst FT shooting teams in the country back to being only a mediocre shooting team. If we don't, expect a few more losses like this down the stretch.

On a last note, while I would've loved to win this game, if won't kill us to have lost it. It's tough to beat the Gators in their house, and we've got many more winnable games to play down the stretch. Hopefully this loss will keep this team motivated and they'll start another winning streak this weekend against the Dawgs.

South Carolina 78, Kentucky 77; or, How I Learned to Forget About Jodie Meeks and Love Devan Downey

Gamecock Man — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 23:43:06 -0000

OK, we get it; you're the man.

Beating Florida was a big victory of sorts. However, and with no disrespect to the Gators and although there was no home crowd to please today, beating Kentucky in Rupp is a season-defining moment for these Gamecocks. Coming into this week, Kentucky was the best team in the conference, with no SEC losses. Now, they're behind us in the standings. Moreover, winning games in Rupp against the fabled Cats program is not something that comes often for the Gamecocks. I mean this will all respect to the Cats; it means something to win in their house. In fact, we had only won once before in Lexington, back in 97 during the heady days of Eddie Fogler's tenure as HC. In sum, this was both a historical win for us and a win that will go a long way towards getting us into the NCAAs for the first time since 2003-04.

For those on the national scene that were paying attention, this was also (or should have been) the game where Devan Downey arrived as a major player for props as one of the best in the nation. Gamecocks fans and fans of opposing teams have known Downey is a great player for a long time, but today, Downey should be recognized as one of the nation's best. Not only did he outplay POY candidate Jodie Meeks, but he also put in one of the most clutch performances in Gamecocks' history. Eight points in the final four minutes. Two straight threes. And then the game winner on a turnaround jumper with five seconds left. AMAZING.

This definitely isn't to say that it was all Downey. Several Gamecocks came up big today. Zam Fredrick hit some huge shots and actually outscored Downey by one. Mike Holmes played a good game. Dominique Archie made an important shot late in the game. This is a team that is greater than the sum of its parts, and it's a team that could very well win the SEC this year. They've gotta keep winning, but they've shown they can that.

I'll have a more nuanced recap up tomorrow. Obviously, a lot of things contributed to this victory, good defensive play in particular. Right now, though, let's just enjoy it. This was a HUGE win.

Ole Miss at South Carolina: A Quick Recap

Gamecock Man — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:37:26 -0000

Credit goes to the Rebels for playing the Gamecocks tough throughout the first half, but in the end Carolina took a relatively easy victory over Ole Miss on the strength of a 26-5 run that went for most of the first part of the second half. Devan Downey lead Carolina with 22 points, while Rebels star David Huertas led all scorers with 25.

As expected, this wasn't a very difficult game for Carolina. Ole Miss has been ravaged by injuries and lacks a scoring threat other than Huertas. As the Rebels lack a threat in the low post, they were unable to exploit our major defensive weakness. Their only hope in this game was to put the ball in Huertas's hands and hope that he might catch fire, and while Huertas got his points, his 8-18 / 3-11 percentage line didn't help Ole Miss, especially the 3-11 from beyond the arc. Carolina, on the other hand, played a decent, although not great, game offensively, with both Downey and Dominique Archie in double figures and the other starters with nine points apiece. We also continued to get lots of second-chance shots due to offensive rebounds, something we'll need to continue doing against tougher competition. The one dismaying point about this game is that we shot under 40% from the charity stripe, with Mike Holmes shooting 1-7 from the line. That's a percentage that even Shaq could laugh at. We've got to do a better job from the line, as close games--the kind of games we'll have to play in against tougher opponents than Ole Miss--often come down to which team made its free throws and which didn't.

All in all, though, it was good to see the Gamecocks get a commanding win against an SEC opponent. We're now 14-4 overall and 3-2 in conference, and we should begin getting more attention from the pollsters and the bracketologists this week. We have to keep winning if we want to make the tourney, though, as we'll likely need to go at least 9-7 with one win in the SEC tournemant to be on the right side of the bubble. We might even need to go 10-6, considering how down the SEC is and how little our non-con wins did to bolster our RPI. Our next game is at home against a reeling Vanderbilt team. That's a game we should win; Vandy lacks the shooters they've had in the past, and their star center A. J. Ogilvy has been hurt of late. I'll say more about the game tomorrow, but suffice it to say that this is a must-win game. If we win, we go to 4-2 in conference before we head to Gainesville and Lexington for games that we will likely lose. If we come out of that road trip at 4-4, we will be fine. If we come out at 3-5, we've got problems with having to dig ourselves out of a deep hole. We need to win against Vandy.