MrSEC » South Carolina

SEC Headlines 4/28/12

Josh Ward — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:46:27 +0000

1. The NCAA chose not to add on to South Carolina’s self-imposed penalties.

2. Once highly-touted quarterback Phillip Sims has decided to transfer from Alabama.

3. Another Alabama defender, this time Courtney Upshaw, went quickly in the NFL draft on Friday.

4. Recruits were paying attention to Alabama’s success in the draft on Thursday night.

5. Here’s a look at the SEC defenders selected in the NFL’s first round.

6. Tony Barnhart of CBSSports.com believes Nick Saban’s team is helping provide hope to Tuscaloosa.

7. One writer believes former Gator Janoris Jenkins – taken by St. Louis - will be the next Pacman Jones.

8. Outside of Jankins, Florida saw its draft drought continue into the second day of the draft.

9. Here’s a preview for Texas A&M’s upcoming spring game at Kyle Field.

10. We’ll get a new look at Texas A&M’s defense on Saturday.

11. Mark Wiedmer of the Chattanooga News-Free Press shows us a nice side of Tennessee coach Derek Dooley.

12. Bill Belichick believes former Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette will be productive in New England.

13. Arkansas hasn’t had any receivers selected in the draft. That will change today.

14. Matt Hayes of Sporting News believes it’s time for college football to finally land a commissioner.

15. The LSU Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved an expansion of LSU’s Tiger Stadium.

16. SEC coaches can use the NFL draft as a three-day recruiting tool.

17. Former Georgia offensive lineman Cordy Glenn will help where needed in Buffalo.

Extra:

18. Here’s a look at the conference champion only idea for the future BCS.

19. Here’s another preview of Missouri’s offense as it enters the SEC.

20. Vanderbilt coach James Franklin will surely use Casey Heyward’s drafting in recruiting.

USC’s Spurrier Needs To Stop Whining About Scheduling

John — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:05:03 +0000

Steve Spurrier is a helluva football coach. He can be funny and entertaining to boot.

But he can also be a whiner. And that’s exactly what he’s being when — like so many other South Carolina fans these days — he starts talking about changing the way the SEC handles its scheduling.

Yesterday, Andy Staples of SI.com quoted Spurrier regarding an idea the coach says he’ll present at this year’s SEC Meetings in Destin. That idea is for only divisional games to count toward division championships. Laughably, he tried to make his pitch without mentioning how his own school would have reached the title game under said plan last year. Instead he tried to act as a benefactor for poor ol’ Florida and Tennessee:

“Your division champ should be decided on division games. Last year, it wasn’t fair for Tennessee and Florida. They both played LSU and Alabama. Us and Georgia didn’t. So, us or Georgia almost had to win the division simply because of schedule.”

Uh-huh.

Let’s look around the country and see who else might use Spurrier’s plan? The NFL? Nope, games outside the division and even conference still count. Ditto the NBA. Baseball? Yep, they count non-division games, too. So does the NHL. Throw in the other college conferences, too.

Schedules are never fair. That’s the first rule that every sports fan must accept (not to mention coaches). Over time you hope things all come out in the wash, so to speak. That they even out.

But in a given year, one team might have an easier home schedule than another. One might play a tougher road schedule. One might have tougher teams from the other division on their docket. One might just enjoy the cupcakes from the league’s other side. One team might face Squad X with their Heisman candidate in good health. Another might face the same team after its star player has been injured or dismissed from the team.

Them’s the breaks.

What’s so disappointing is not just the self-serving nature of Spurrier’s take. Coaches and fans will always find a way to explain away losses. If it ain’t the schedule, it’s the refs. Or the sun got in their eyes. Heck, in January one USC trustee suggested the SEC actually start awarding points for victories — one point for a division-win, half-a-point for a non-division-win. “Let’s come up with anything that would have gotten Carolina past Georgia into last year’s SEC title game!”

No, what’s so disappointing is the shortsightedness of this proposal. Let’s say Spurrier’s plan were put into place. Now let’s say that in the year 2015, for example, Carolina went 4-2 inside its division but 2-0 outside it (against the best two teams in the West, no less). Now let’s say that Georgia went 5-1 in division play — including a loss to Carolina — but finished 0-2 against the West.

Carolina would be 6-2 overall and would have beaten Georgia head-to-head. Georgia would be 5-3 overall and would have lost to Carolina.

Ah, but Georgia would be East Division champs based on its 5-1 division record as compared to South Carolina’s 4-2 division mark.

You know what would happen then, right? Spurrier and the USC board of the trustees and everyone else from Beaufort to Ninety Six would be screaming that the team with the better overall record should go to the SEC Championship Game.

As Staples correctly points out, if Carolina had just beaten an 8-5 Auburn squad on its own home turf last fall the Cocks would have reached Atlanta as East champs. But they didn’t… so they didn’t.

Spurrier joked that his proposal “probably won’t pass because I made it.”

No, it won’t pass because it’s a bad idea, a shortsighted idea, and an idea that no other major sports league uses.

That’s why it won’t pass.

Spurrier needs to stick to football and leave the scheduling to the league office and the whining to babies. He’s turned Carolina into a winner not by making excuses and rigging schedules but via hard work and smarts. He needs to stick to that plan.

USC Coach Martin Fights The Unwinnable Fight

John — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:18:09 +0000

South Carolina’s Frank Martin is asking for it.

The new Gamecock basketball coach has granted a release to 6-9 sophomore Damontre Harris who wishes to transfer. So far, so good. But he’s not going to let him transfer to NC State. And he’s going to take some heat for that stance.

Just ask Derek Dooley at Tennessee who tried to ban DeAnthony Arnett from transferring to Michigan or Michigan State. Or ask Maryland coach Randy Edsall who tried to ban a number of transfers from jumping to Vanderbilt. They learned that the court of public opinion usually comes down on the side of the teenager, not the millionaire coach and his multi-million dollar sports program.

In this case — as was also the case with Dooley and Edsall who both eventually buckled — it’s believed some tampering has occurred. You see, ex-South Carolina assistant Orlando Early is now at NCSU. Harris’ high school coach, Heath Vandevender, says he thinks that’s the issue:

“Frank told Tre that (Carolina AD) Eric Hyman would not release him to NC State… My opinion would be that Eric feels that Orlando tampered in some way with Tre.

That’s just simply not true. If that’s his reasoning, then that’s not very good. … I just think the whole thing is ridiculous.”

We agree. In this case, Harris has seen the coach he signed to play for — Darrin Horn — fired. He’s seen fellow starter Anthony Gill be granted an unrestricted release to transfer. And he’s now learned that fellow starter Bruce Ellington will once again play football and miss the start of USC’s hoops season.

There are a lot of things going on there and none are within Harris’ control.

“I know they struggled last year, but there’s a chance for them to struggle even more (next season),” said Vandevender, trying to explain why Harris wants out.

If Harris wanted to transfer inside the SEC, that would be one issue. But NC State is in the ACC. And surprisingly USC has apparently put no restrictions on other SEC institutions. (Harris’ high school coach said Florida and Georgia have contacted him about his ex-player’s services already.)

So it’s better to face Harris inside the conference than allow him to go outside it?

Martin’s position is understandable. He — and Hyman — don’t want other school’s coaches poaching their Gamecock players.

But coaches rarely win these types of PR battles. When the smoke clears, it’s still a millionaire coach at a mega-institution blocking the options and impacting the future of a kid.

Martin and Hyman had better be prepared to have this used against them on the recruiting trail… unless they cave like so many other coaches and schools have before them.

Better to cave now and get it over with.

Sidenote – The Tulsa World reports today that Jordan Clarkson — the Golden Hurricane’s leading scorer last season — has been “granted permission to contact a limited number of schools.” Of eight schools requested by the player as possible transfer destinations only Colorado, TCU and Vanderbilt have been given new coach Danny Manning’s seal of approval.

Spurrier Jabs Richt, Saban… Proving That He’s Winning Again

John — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:16:48 +0000

Steve Spurrier is an ass.

Whether he’s a laugh-riot smart ass or a loose-lipped jackass depends, of course, on whether or not he’s coaching your favorite team. The same South Carolina fans who love him now — and will rage against this site “for hatin’ him” — once despised his same barbs n’ bully routine when he was at Florida.

One thing about Carolina’s coach is that his level of assdom directly corellates with his team’s win total. At the 2010 SEC Media Days, for example, Spurrier was lower than the proverbial snake’s belly. The Cocks were coming off a 7-6 campaign and had lost 20-7 to UConn in a miserable Papajohns.com Bowl performance. With the SEC media on hand, the coach failed to crack wise. He had no insults for rival schools or coaches. Frankly he seemed down, like a man on the verge of tossing in the towel if his team didn’t perform in 2010.

Ah, but his team did perform in 2010. The Gamecocks whipped Georgia, Florida and Tennessee in the same season for the first time. They won their first-ever SEC division title. By Media Days 2011 Spurrier was feeling good enough to poke a little fun. Asked about Mike Slive’s idea — which has now become a reality — that schools award multi-year scholarships to players, Spurrier was the only coach willing to shoot down the proposal with both guns blazing. “No, that’s a terrible idea, Commissioner,” he said to big laughs.

The coach himself has even admitted during his mediocre and quiet years in Columbia — while he was building up his program — that he didn’t have much to talk about with his team losing. In other words, once USC got good enough, then he’d feel like taking shots at others again.

In many ways Spurrier — who we don’t hate, by the way, and who we’ve said has done an A-1 job at Carolina — is still like a teenager. He gets mad and pouty when he loses. He gets brash and braggadocious when he wins.

And he’s winning again.

In an interview with ESPN.com’s Chris Low posted yesterday afternoon, the Ol’ Ball Coach let fly with some gibes:

* On not playing Georgia early in the season this year: “I don’t know. I sort of always like playing them that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended.”

(Mark Richt, being the class act he is, simply responded: “How ’bout that; I think that that’s funny. That sounds like Steve.” Richt could have easily said, “That’s because we don’t give guys five and six chances that way he did with Stephen Garcia.”)

* On Nick Saban and his success at Alabama: “He’s got a nice little gig going, a little bit like (John) Calipari. He tells guys, ‘Hey, three years from now, you’re going to be a first-round pick and go.’ If he wants to be the greatest coach or one of the greatest coaches in college football, to me, he has to go somewhere besides Alabama and win, because they’ve always won there at Alabama.”

(Spurrier did go one to say that he believes Saban is the best coach in conference. “You are whatever your record is,” he said.)

Funny little tweaks to be taken with a grain of salt? Then you must be a Gamecock fan who’s in love with your coach now that’s he’s delivering wins.

Smart aleck remarks that make you hope Spurrier takes it on the chin this fall? Then you must be a fan of one of the other 13 SEC institutions.

As for this writer, I enjoy Spurrier on the rise. When he’s losing it’s sad to watch. But when he’s winning big — for two years in a row — he gets a little too mean-spirited. Somewhere in between is just about right. Like Media Days 2011.

Judging from his comments to ESPN this week, some of Spurrier’s Media Days 2012 quotes could be downright nasty.

Spurrier Rips Offense For Poor Practice

John — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:28:01 +0000

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Steve Spurrier just complained about his team’s offense, especially its passing game. Spring or fall, the Ol’ Ball Coach never lets up on his throwers and catchers. Connor Shaw, welcome to Stephen Garcia’s world.

Following practice yesterday in Columbia, Spurrier spilled his disgruntled guts:

“We had a sorry practice for the offensive guys. They looked pretty pitiful, pretty sad, couldn’t block anybody. As (linebacker) Damario Jeffery said, the defense whooped up. They whooped offensive butt out here in shorts today. Hopefully, we can get a little bit better on offense, but it was sad watching our guys try to play today. Maybe we’re practicing too many quarterbacks. They all looked pretty average. But anyway, it was sort of sad watching (the) offense attempt to play today…

I’m thinking about closing practices so you people don’t have to watch us try to throw and catch. I think we hit one out of 20 (in the passing skeleton drill with no pass rush). It was ugly. It was ugly. But anyway, I guess that’s why you practice. We’ve got to start throwing and catching better and see if we can look like a better passing team. I see why coaches lose practice now. They don’t want people to see how bad they are, I guess. But we were lousy throwing today and hopefully we’ll get a little bit better as we go.”

When quarterback Stephen Garcia was dismissed and tailback Marcus Lattimore was shelved by injury mid-2011, the Gamecocks had to refinagle their offense to better utilize Shaw’s spread-option talents. Over the final eight games of the season including a Capital One Bowl win over Nebraska, Shaw was able to rush for 485 yards and 8 touchdowns.

However, Spurrier pulled back the reins on Shaw the passer allowing him to attempt just 18, 25, 12, 18, 20 and 17 passes over the Cocks’ final six games… very Spurrier-like numbers. Call it the un-Fun-n’-Gun, but it worked as USC went 5-1 over that stretch (losing only the game in which Shaw put up 25 passes).

Carolina and Shaw will need to be better in the pass game in 2012 if they’re to contend for the SEC title.

Martin Takes Over At Carolina; Ellington Back To Football & Hoops

John — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:40:08 +0000

Frank Martin to South Carolina.

Admit it. You still can’t get used to South Carolina having a “name” basketball coach. No up-and-comer. No one on the downside of his career. Nope. A hot property who starred on CBS’ NCAA Tournament coverage just a week ago (where co-analyst Charles Barkley told him to take the Gamecock job).

Whether this one works out or doesn’t — and most Carolina basketball hires haven’t — you have to give AD Eric Hyman and the USC administration credit. Gamecock fans should know — with the hires of Steve Spurrier and Dawn Staley and now Martin — that their school’s leaders want to have an upper-echelon SEC program and they’re willing to spend to get it. Sure, that means fans will be paying more for tickets and parking and the like, but the effort of folks from president Harris Pastides on down should be appreciated.

You can bet not all SEC fans feel their school is doing everything possible to bring in top-notch coaches and build first-class facilities.

As for Martin, his contract is a 6-year pact — the deals for new coaches are getting longer and longer these days — worth $1.9 million the first year, $2.0 million the second, and $2.1 million annually from the third year forward.

Describing himself as “the most positive human being that you’ll ever come across,” Martin met the media yesterday for the first time during his introductory presser. He won that dog and pony show easily with comments like this:

“I don’t promise things. The only think I promise is that our guys will be held accountable every day. Our guys will be known as the hardest-working team in America. There is no out on that on…

If you told me right now that I have to run a marathon and you told me where the finish line is at, it’s going to be hard for me to finish. But if you show me where the next step is at, I’m willing to take that step. This is not something that’s going to happen because I’m standing in front of you today, but it’s a process that’s going to happen.”

Part of that process could be made easier with the addition of Missouri and Texas A&M to the SEC. Those programs are quality. And the league will increase its in-conference slate of games from 16 to 18 per season. But depending on the scheduling format chosen by the league’s athletic directors and approved by the SEC’s presidents this spring, Carolina might — emphasis might — avoid having to face Kentucky, Florida and Vanderbilt twice each season as is currently the case. That would be a plus for USC.

One possible minus, however, is the loss of Bruce Ellington… at least for a while. After announcing he would play basketball only prior to Darrin Horn’s ouster, the two-sport star began to have second thoughts about hanging up his football cleats. Last night, Spurrier said the point guard will indeed play football in the fall.

“He thought it over and thought he made a little too quick (of a) decision,” Spurrier told The Charleston Post & Courier. “He was quick out here (at practice on Tuesday). He was one of the fastest guys on the field today.”

While Spurrier gains a return man and receiver, Martin loses a veteran point guard who can score for the early part of his first season. That’s just the first hurdle of many that the new hoops coach will have to clear to build Carolina’s program.

But if Day One was any indication, he’s already off to a good start.

USC Announces Martin As Cocks’ New Hoops Coach

John — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:13:41 +0000

South Carolina AD Eric Hyman started today’s presser by saying that his school is determined to have a top-flight basketball program. He compared his hoops goals to those that were once set for the football program… goals that Steve Spurrier has met.

And then he confirmed what everyone already knew — Frank Martin is leaving Kansas State for Carolina.

Hyman said a major plus for Martin during the search was his ability to recruit nationally, something that will be necessary in the Palmetto State. He also said that he talked to everyone from players to coaches to the NCAA to shoe company reps during his search process.

Yes, it took a nasty breakup for Martin to split from KSU, but Hyman — on paper — has hit a home run with this hire. He managed to bring in a coach with a successful track record from a big-time basketball state.

Martin — during his portion of the presser — credited former USC coach and friend Eddie Fogler for helping his career. He also thanked numerous players and coaches who helped him get to this point in his career.

He also addressed the comments he made on CBS this weekend in which he said he sent money to former players at different schools. “I’ve never paid a player in my life.” That’s a little different than the quotes we showed you yesterday, but, hey, it’s an opening presser. Martin said USC will do things the right way on his watch. “Surprises will never happen and rules will always be respected.”

It’s hard to flunk an introductory presser and Martin didn’t. “Our guys will be known as the hardest playing team in America.” With comments like that, he aced it.

Any way you cut it, South Carolina basketball appears a lot healthier today than it’s been in a long, long while.

USC Board Meeting To Get Under Way, Martin Presser To Follow

John — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:01:16 +0000

The University of South Carolina’s board of trustees are scheduled to hold a conference-call meeting at 10am ET this morning to talk about a “contractual matter.” That matter is believed to be the near-$2 million contract that’s bringing Frank Martin from Kansas State to South Carolina. According to WIS-TV in Columbia, the hoops coach will ink a six-year pact worth $12 million.

One Martin’s deal is rubber stamped by the board, a press conference to “discuss the men’s coaching situation” will be held at the Colonial Life Arena.

The Martin era at Carolina is about to get underway. You can watch the presser right here.

(Sidenote — Speaking yesterday to a radio audience, Carolina AD Eric Hyman said his new coach told him during the interview process: “You know, you’ve got Steve Spurrier, you’ve got Dawn Staley and you’ve got Ray Tanner. Something must be going right at South Carolina.“)

Martin To South Carolina Is Official

Josh Ward — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 01:00:03 +0000

Frank Martin has confirmed to ESPN that he will leave Kansas State to become South Carolina’s basketball coach.

Martin told ESPN his communication with South Carolina officials began on Saturday. He agreed to become South Carolina’s coach after meeting with school officials on Monday.

South Carolina is reviewing a potential $2.05 million offer to hire Martin, according to ESPN. His contract at Kansas State paid him $1.45 million annually.

Martin arrives at South Carolina after compiling a 117-54 record in five seasons as Kansas State’s coach. He helped Kansas State reach the NCAA tournament four times and won at least one game in each appearance.

That success makes it even more surprising that Kansas State athletic director John Currie made minimal effort to keep Martin from leaving, according to multiple reports. That’s why Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com predicts a return to mediocrity for Kansas State.

And South Carolina fans will be more than happy to welcome a proven coach to Columbia.

Martin acknowledges meeting, denies agreement with South Carolina

Josh Ward — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:06:54 +0000

Kansas State basketball coach Frank Martin confirmed to ESPN.com Monday afternoon he was meeting with South Carolina officials to discuss the Gamecocks’ head coaching vacancy.

Martin told ESPN’s Andy Katz via text message that a deal is not done as has been reported by the Associated Press and other media outlets, including the Kansas City Star. Katz offered these details on a potential contract offer from South Carolina:

“According to a source with the direct knowledge of the situation, South Carolina is reviewing a potential $2.05 million deal to hire Martin. Martin’s Kansas State contract paid him $1.45 million a year. The source said the South Carolina board is reviewing the proposal and if the framework of the deal is accepted then a formal offer will be made to Martin and he would accept. A press conference would be held later Tuesday if accepted.”

Meanwhile, South Carolina’s Board of Trustees have called a meeting via conference call for Tuesday morning at 10 eastern time in Entertainment Suite A of the Colonial Life Arena. The school will allow television cameras to be setup at 9.

On the board’s agenda: a “contractual matter.” You can take it from there.

Further Confirmation: Martin To Carolina

John — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:45:28 +0000

The Kansas City Star has further confirmed the news that Kansas State’s Frank Martin has been hired by South Carolina and will be introduced at the school tomorrow.

The school’s board of trustees is expected to okay his contract at a special meeting in the morning.

Report: Martin To Carolina A Done Deal

John — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:53:49 +0000

According to the Twitter account of Kansas City Star reporter Kellis Robinett, Frank Martin to South Carolina is happening:

“Source close to Frank Martin just told me Martin has agreed in principle to become South Carolina’s coach. Press conference tomorrow.”

And if it’s on Twitter, it’s gold, Jerry, gold. In this case, it might actually be correct. GamecockCentral.com also says the deal’s done (behind a paywall). Ditto Columbia’s newspaper The State (also behind a blankin’ paywall).

Now granted it took Martin getting steamed at his Kansas State boss to make it happen. And, no, Martin has never built a program, he’s just sustained one. And, yes, he did just admit on national TV yesterday that he has sent money to players at other schools.

But this is a big splash hire for AD Eric Hyman. South Carolina basketball now has credibility, something it’s lacked since the school grabbed Dave Odom from Wake Forest (and hopefully for Cock fans this one will turn out better than that hire did).

Make no mistake, Carolina just got serious about basketball. Toss all those caveats and “yeah, buts” we mentioned earlier out the window. The school’s AD just put a whole lot more fannies in his arena’s seats next season.

In the end, that’s what it’s all about for athletic directors. And if Martin can bring Carolina the consistent success its so long lusted after, then the Colonial Life Arena should be packed for a good while to come.

Big hire.

(Sidenote — Last one outta the Big 12 please remember to turn off the lights.)

Martin-To-Carolina Talk Keeps Getting Hotter; USC Board Calls Special Meeting

John — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:18:07 +0000

Over the weekend, it was reported that South Carolina AD Eric Hyman formally asked Kansas State for permission to talk to basketball coach Frank Martin about the vacancy in Columbia. Given a chance to kill the talk on CBS during its NCAA Tournament coverage, Martin danced:

“In the age of social media that we live in right now, it’s crazy. I was scheduled to be at a press conference today in South Carolina and I was sitting watching a show in New York City last night. And obviously I’m sitting here with you guys today, so it’s… The stuff that gets out these days, I look at it as a compliment that we’re doing our job the right way at Kansas State that these sort of things get out.”

That statement from Saturday was not a denial of his interest in the USC job. It was not a denial of anything, in fact. The day before he did tweet the following: “I have not talked 2 anyone.”

Well, if a report from GamecockCentral.com is to be believed — that’s the Rivals site covering Carolina — then Martin’s agent sure must be doing some talking. On the same day Martin was tap dancing around the subject on CBS, GamecockCentral wrote the following:

“A source close to Kansas State coach Frank Martin told GamecockCentral.com on Friday that a deal to bring the coach to Columbia to replace Darrin Horn was 90 percent done. On Saturday morning, the same source said that the deal remains 90 percent complete, but is not finalized.”

The site also claims a contract was sent to Martin on Friday night. And the student newspaper for USC — The Daily Gamecock — reported late last night that “Frank Martin interviewed in Columbia” according to “a source.”

Could all the Carolina talk simply be leverage for the coach? It’s possible as he’s scheduled to open negotiations on a new deal with K-State on April 1st.

It’s also possible according to The Kansas City Star — and as we suggested last week — that Martin is ticked over his school’s decision to suspend a key player right before his team’s second-round NCAA tourney game with Syracuse.

PowerCat.com — the Rivals site covering Kansas State — reported yesterday that “a source close to Martin” said “It’s not about money anymore.” Meaning Martin’s relationship with KSU AD John Currie might be beyond repair after the suspension of Jamar Samuels. That site also suggests that if Martin leaves, “dirty laundry will be tossed everywhere” by the talkative, hot-headed coach. (Wonder what Hyman thinks about that?)

Meanwhile, Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall — a South Carolina native and the man most-often mentioned in connection to USC’s search as it got underway — has announced that he’s staying put in Kansas.

So the previous favorite isn’t in the running (and apparently never really was). Sources are reporting that Carolina has met with Martin, hammered out 90% of a deal, and sent him and his agent a contract. All just one week before the coach is set to negotiate a new deal with Kansas State.

Unfortunately for Cock fans, the only news this morning on Martin does not concern a signed document. Instead, ESPN is running a story with this headline as of 10:35 this morning: “Frank Martin paid his former players.”

Yikes. But it’s not exactly what you think.

In the story, Martin is quoted — from his CBS stint on Sunday — as saying that he sent money “to kids that played for me in high school when they were in college because I knew where they came from. I knew they didn’t have a father figure.”

“I’m not going to tell you who they were,” Martin said during the broadcast. “But I sent them a lot of money over the years to make sure they could take their girlfriend out to the movies, make sure they could wash their clothes and do all the things that scholarship money doesn’t cover.”

Martin was making the case for his own suspended player — who was given $200 by an AAU coach who had been a father figure to the young man growing up.

While Martin’s statement shows that he has a heart, it might also cause the NCAA to start asking some questions. No, Martin did not admit to paying his own players — a clear NCAA violation. But he did admit to sending money to other schools’ players. And that’s exactly the kind of action that led to one of his own players being suspended for fear of an NCAA violation.

That admission might throw a wrench into Hyman’s plans. You can bet he would have preferred the coach had never mentioned anything about his payouts to other schools’ players.

So, is Martin angry enough to bolt a traditional basketball school for a football-first school in a football-first conference? Is he simply using Carolina for leverage to get more money and more control in Manhattan?

And is Hyman ready to pull the trigger on a guy who can be a bit of hair-trigger himself and who’s just admitted on national television that he’s sent cash to college players? From Carolina’s side of things it looks like things are still all-systems-go. GamecockCentral.com is reporting today that USC’s board of trustees will hold a special meeting tomorrow morning to discuss “contractual matters.”

In other words, it looks like Martin may fly (to) the coop a few days before that scheduled negotiation with Currie and KSU is scheduled to begin.

Stay tuned.

KSU’s Martin Still Being Mentioned In Connection With The USC Job

John — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:48:50 +0000

Though the folks in Kansas don’t seem to be taking this one too seriously, people in the Palmetto State are still saying Kansas State’s Frank Martin might just wind up coaching in Columbia next season.

Three days ago, GamecockCentral.com — the Rivals site covering Carolina — reported that K-State’s coach had “heavy” interest in the job vacated by Darrin Horn’s ouster. The Kansas City media shrugged it off.

Wednesday, the same site reported that there had been contact between Martin and AD Eric Hyman and that “Martin is more than willing to come to Columbia.”

Today, there’s more speculation that Martin — who’ll be helping to cover the NCAA Tournament for CBS this weekend — could be high on Hyman’s list of candidates. This writer says “Frank Martin apparently is a possibility.”

Meanwhile WSPA-TV in Spartanburg reports that Martin and Minnesota’s Tubby Smith “are primary targets in USC’s head basketball coaching search, according to the South Carolina News Network.”

If Carolina lands Martin, you can color us surprised. Martin is coaching in a basketball hotbed right now and making more than $1.5 million per season. That deal runs through 2014-15, but he’s also in line — through contract stipulations — for an extension.

South Carolina’s job has been a Bermuda Triangle for coaches. The SEC is about to become a 14-team league (read: harder to win) while the Big 12 has now become a 10-team conference (read: easier to win). At Kansas State, there’s the shadow of Kansas to live under. At Carolina, Kentucky and Florida are the big dogs.

Add it up and it would probably take a hefty bag of cash — maybe even a Hefty Bag of cash — to lure Martin to Columbia. That or Martin could be hacked off enough at his current school’s decision to suspend a key player for an NCAA tourney game that he’s willing to bolt for any school making an offer. We think that’s doubtful, but we don’t claim to know what goes on behind closed doors in Manhattan, Kansas.

Taking everything into consideration, we’re not saying Martin to Carolina couldn’t happen, but if it does you’ll know that USC’s Hyman will have done some seriously heavy lifting.

Dickerson, Cooper Mentioned In Connection With USC Hoops Gig

John — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:25:12 +0000

When South Carolina gave the boot to Darrin Horn, hope took over for Gamecock fans. Messageboards were filled with mentions of Shaka Smart, Frank Martin and other “hot name” or proven head coaches.

Now reality is setting in. If Illinois can’t lure Smart from VCU for more than $2.5 million and Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall won’t leave Kansas for less than $2 million and — reportedly — a seven- or eight-year deal… well, then Carolina’s going to have to go another route.

Two such “other route” candidates are now getting more discussion. Both have ties to South Carolina. Both are African-American. Neither is a “name” candidate. (Both are bald, too, as you can see from the photo at left… not that matters.)

First is current Ohio State assistant Dave Dickerson (at right in the photo). A former Maryland player — who was actually a freshman the year Len Bias died — Dickerson served as an assistant at the school under Gary Williams until taking the head coaching job at Tulane in 2005. Think about that timing. Just months after accepting his first head coaching job, his program — along with much of New Orleans — was hammered by Hurricane Katrina. The Green Wave actually relocated to Texas A&M’s campus for a while.

He was fired after the 2009-10 season, but there aren’t many people who could’ve succeeded under those circumstances. His tie to the USC job? The 44-year-old — who’s been on Thad Matta’s staff for two years — is from Olar, South Carolina and was raised in Beaufort. He’s also said that he does “want to be a had coach again and I feel this time I will be able to right some wrongs.”

More importantly, The State is reporting that Dickerson has expressed interest in Carolina’s opening. “I have not been contacted by USC about their coaching job, but I would be very interested.” (Beware, that paper’s info is behind a paywall.)

The other coach who’s starting to get some ink in connection to the USC gig is 43-year-old John Cooper of Tennessee State. Cooper served as an assistant under Eddie Fogler in Columbia from 1995 through 2001.

The Kansas City native served as an assistant at Oregon and Auburn between his stops at Carolina and, now, TSU. Hired in 2009, Cooper led the Tigers to 20 wins this season, one of which was the only loss suffered by Murray State during the regular season. He also happened to come into the Colonial Life Arena and hand Horn a loss. That win was the first for Tennessee State over an SEC foe in 24 games.

Perhaps AD Eric Hyman can still pull a surprise and land a head coach from a large school. More likely, he’ll go the assistant route — on that front, Duke aide Jeff Capel can’t be ruled out as Hyman went after him four years ago. But Dickerson and Cooper are names to watch as the Cocks’ process continues to play out.

Rumor/Report: K-State’s Martin Interested In Carolina Job

John — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:48:59 +0000

GamecockCentral.com — the Rivals site covering South Carolina — is reporting that Kansas State head coach Frank Martin “has been confirmed as a candidate with ‘heavy’ interest in USC, according to a source close to the situation.” (That’s paywall stuff, folks, so you’ll need to buy a subscription for more.)

If true, it seems that Carolina AD Eric Hyman could book one flight to Kansas City and knock out a pair of interviews — one with Martin and one with believed-to-be-top-candidate Gregg Marshall of Wichita State.

Martin — a Miami native — is known for his drill-sergeant style (hell, in a movie R. Lee Ermey would play him… NSFW, by the way.). He is also known for taking Kansas State to four NCAA tournaments in his five years in Manhattan. The 45-year-old has never won fewer than 21 games in a season and has a .684 winning percentage.

But he currently makes $1.5 million in a basketball-loving state. Would he really have “heavy” interest in moving to a football-first league and a program that’s seen the downfalls of George Felton, Eddie Fogler, Dave Odom and Darrin Horn in the past 20 years?

If so — and if Carolina could offer him enough cash to make the move — he’d be the second ex-Bob Huggins assistant to coach in the league along with old colleague Andy Kennedy. Hmmm. Seems all those Huggins guys have tempers when you think about it.

USC’s Hyman Will Trust Hoops Men, Not A Search Committee

John — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:34:14 +0000

South Carolina athletic director Eric Hyman will go outside the box in his search for a new men’s basketball coach. Not in terms of who he’ll hire — that’s unknown — but in terms of how he’ll find the Cocks’ next coach.

Unlike so many ADs, Hyman will not be hiring an outside search firm to aid in USC’s coach hunt. Instead, The Charleston Post & Courier reports that he will consult “basketball coaches he knows.”

“I’d rather deal with basketball people (than a search firm). Basketball coaches have got a pretty good sense and feel for people. They’ve got a better feel for the marketplace than maybe a search firm would.”

We continue to believe that Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall — a man who’s from the Columbia area — will be high on Hyman’s list… if not at the very top.

Who Are The Candidates At Carolina?

John — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:40:35 +0000

Yesterday, Eric Hyman said that he would study a wide pool of candidates in his search to replace fired hoops coach Darrin Horn.

From our standpoint, South Carolina’s search will likely begin with one man — Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall. Marshall led tiny Palmetto State school Winthrop to seven NCAA Tournaments in nine seasons before heading to Kansas. He’s taken Wichita State from a losing team to a #5 seed in this week’s NCAA Tournament (with an RPI of 12) in five years.

He’s also from Greenwood, South Carolina which is just about 80 miles from Columbia. And during Hyman’s presser yesterday, he said that recruiting, player development, and connections to the area would all be factors in his decision.

Marshall makes sense. That said, being from South Carolina, he may wonder why he was never tabbed for the Gamecock head coaching job earlier in his career. And as a native of the state he would surely know that Carolina has been a graveyard for coaches since the Frank McGuire era came to an end in 1980.

Marshall might have the following choice to make: home and SEC money versus — according to history — probable doom.

If he’s not the Gamecocks’ choice — and through multiple interviews with SEC schools in the past, Marshall has not been the choice — then who will be on Carolina’s short list?

Columbia’s The State newspaper has posted an online poll that includes in addition to Marshall a number of coaches with ties back to the state (meaning the actual state, not the newspaper). Included on the list:

Dave Dickerson — current assistant at Ohio State and Carolina native (also fired as head coach at Tulane)

Tommy Amaker — current head coach at Harvard and former Duke player (also fired as head coach at Michigan)

Tubby Smith — current head coach at Minnesota (where he’s doing a so-so job) and a former Carolina assistant coach under George Felton in the late 1980s

Jeff Capel — an assistant at Duke and former player there (also fired as head coach at Oklahoma)

Stan Jones — an assistant at Florida State and former assistant at Mississippi State

Anthony Solomon — an assistant at Notre Dame and former assistant at Clemson

Shaka Smart — VCU’s head coach and one of the hottest names in the country

Smart could land better jobs than Carolina. He’s on everyone’s list for a second year in a row. One look at USC’s track record and he’ll likely turn his head in another direction.

Smith is 61-years-old and the Gamecocks went the veteran route with a 59-year-old Dave Odom back in 2001. Speaking as someone who’s now over 40, the older you get… the less you excite a fanbase.

If a lack of fan support helped do in Horn, would a coach who was fired from another program really generate excitement in Columbia? Would the hiring of an assistant?

It’s ridiculously early to be making guesses about who Hyman will wind up handing a contract to, but if you’re gonna do it, the smart money’s on Marshall.

USC’s Hyman Says Horn Fired Over Recruiting, Player Development, Lack Of Fan Support

admin — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:52:18 +0000

South Carolina’s firing of Darrin Horn is currently taking place in Columbia but AD Eric Hyman (at left) has already made it clear why he decided to make a change:

1. Horn’s recruiting wasn’t up to snuff.

2. He failed to develop players.

3. Fans had turned away from the program.

Hyman did, however, credit Horn for improving the program’s academic performance and for keeping his program off the NCAA hit list and his players out of jail.

But, “We have three of our four highly visible programs competing at a high level and we want our men’s basketball program to do the same thing.”

Hyman said that he is in a good position money-wise to make a good hire. He said the new coach’s salary will be market-driven. He also said the pool of candidates will be as wide as possible.

While saying that he wants to find a coach who can recruit and develop players, Hyman also stated that having a connection to the area will matter. Cue more speculation about Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall.

Here’s a good wrap-up of what went wrong for Horn in Columbia.

South Carolina has released a statement on the firing and it includes a comment from Horn himself.

Horn Out At Carolina; Marshall Already Mentioned As A Candidate

John — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:42:43 +0000

So much for the whispers that Darrin Horn would survive at South Carolina. The school has fired the coach after four seasons.

In the end, not even the decision by Bruce Ellington to become a hoops-only player could save Horn from his overall record in Columbia (60-63), the horrible season that just ended (the Cocks’ 21 losses tied a school record for futility), and dwindling fan support.

Athletic director Eric Hyman has scheduled a news conference for 1:30pm ET today. By firing the coach now — and not waiting until April 1st as some had suggested — Hyman will have to hand over a $2.4 million buyout to Horn, rather than $1.6 million. But as we wrote last week, what’s $800,000 bucks to an SEC school that’s raking in more than $20 million per year?

The State in Columbia is already naming potential replacements as Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall — a Palmetto State native — and current Duke assistant Jeff Capel. The paper reports that Hyman went after Capel — who was fired last spring from Oklahoma after five seasons — before hiring Horn four years ago.

Consider Marshall to be the fan favorite. He took Winthrop to the NCAA Tournament in seven of nine seasons at the school. His Wichita State program has gone from no tourney to the CBI to the NIT and now to the NCAAs in his five seasons in Kansas. The Shockers — a #5 seed — will face VCU and “hot name” coach Shaka Smart in their opening game on Thursday.

Early last week, most in Columbia believed Horn would be retained. But as the week wore on — and as Carolina nosedived out of the SEC Tournament — murmurs increased that Hyman might pull the trigger on his coach. We were told by a source as recently as yesterday evening that they believed Horn would “barely” survive.

Not so.

Carolina’s Ellington Gives Up Football For Hoops

John — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:59:43 +0000

South Carolina two-sport star Bruce Ellington has decided to focus on just one sport moving forward and that sport will be basketball. That move could help save coach Darrin Horn’s job.

Ellington played basketball exclusively as a freshman in Columbia. He started 30 games for the Cocks in 2010-11 and led them in scoring with 12.8 points per game. But last fall, Ellington gave football a go.

Running, receiving and returning kicks he put up 780 all-purpose yards and scored a pair of touchdowns for Steve Spurrier’s squad. But he also missed out on preseason basketball practices and the early part of the hoops season as Horn tried to break in several new players. Having a veteran like Ellington around would have surely helped on that front. (Sidenote — Ron Morris of The State was publicly called out by Spurrier last fall in part because he wrote that USC’s football coach had poached Ellington from USC’s basketball coach… a charge denied by Spurrier and Horn.)

Ellington returned in time to play in 24 games with Carolina this past season as a sophomore. He started just 15 games. His minutes played, scoring and rebounding were all down slightly from his freshman year.

“Basketball’s always been my first love,” he said in a statement. “After giving it a lot of thought, this is the decision I’ve made. If you want to be great at something, you have to commit to it full-time… I appreciate Coach Spurrier for giving me an opportunity to play football at South Carolina. It was a great experience, but right now I want to focus on basketball.”

This can only be viewed as a positive for Horn. Whether it’s enough to save his job — and from what we’re told he will likely hang onto his job — remains to be seen.

Ellington was good enough to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors in basketball and in football.

Will Horn Survive At Carolina?

John — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 18:28:54 +0000

South Carolina just finished 2-14 in the SEC (2-15 if you count yesterday’s tournament loss). No Carolina hoops squad had finished league play with just two wins since doing so in the old Metro Conference back in 1985-86.

The Cocks experienced just the fourth 20-loss season in school history. They tied the school record for losses with 21.

Attendance is down and that means ticket, parking and concession revenues are all down, too.

Can Horn survive all that? It’s been quiet on the Horn front the past couple of weeks, but two sources in Columbia have told us this week that talk of the coach being ousted has heated up this week. Athletic director Eric Hyman is believed to like the young coach and — we’re told — he does believe Horn is putting the Cocks on the right track. (Not unlike the Cockaboose Railroad.)

All that may be true. But revenue is King. And fan apathy can kill revenue which can kill a program.

For his part, Horn said last night that he’s ready to keep right on buildin’:

“Yeah, my thing right now is that we’re committed to building our program. That’s going to start with, now that our season’s over, hitting the recruiting trail immediately as the rules allow, and we’ll sit down and it’s customary at the end of the seasons and visit.

But we’re going to keep plugging forward and keep doing what we have been doing to be committed to building our program. And again, I think when you look at some of the guys that stepped up and played really well — that’s a NCAA Tournament team that we lost to just now — and we’re on the floor with a bunch of young guys that are only going to get better and smarter and stronger and all of those things. So we think there’s some positive things going on from that aspect.”

As we said earlier this week, we don’t think USC — if it’s going to can Horn — will wait until April 1st to do so. At that point, his buyout drops about three-quarters of a million dollars. Considering the money coming in from television these days, that’s chump change.

If Carolina’s going to make a move, we believe it will do so in the next few days rather than allow schools from across the country to get their own coaching searches underway and put to bed before the Cocks can even start theirs.

So if money and timing aren’t issues, it all comes down to whether or not Hyman truly believes the young talent Horn has put together can start to gain ground in the expanded SEC next season. And he’ll have to make that guess without knowing for sure what the league’s basketball schedule will look like. If Carolina no longer has to face Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Florida twice each per season, the slate might be considerably easier moving forward.

If a move isn’t made by Monday, we think Horn will return to Columbia for Year Five. Carolina’s board of trustees has already backed Horn, so this one’s all on Hyman.

Silence From Columbia, Horn Appears Safe At USC

John — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:26:37 +0000

Hear that?

It’s the sound of crickets chirping and it’s emanating from Columbia, South Carolina. After a 2-14, last-place finish in the SEC this season, it was expected that Gamecock coach Darrin Horn would be getting the boot.

If that’s going to happen, there’s no sign of action yet. And, heck, USC president Harris Pastides blabs about everything.

Horn is under contract to make $1.1 million through the year 2015. But his buyout is expected to drop from $2 million to $1.25 million in April. So maybe Carolina is just waiting a few weeks so they can save themselves $750,000.

We think that’s unlikely. USC would be firing a coach — at the earliest — right smack during the Final Four. Schools like to can coaches earlier than that, hire their search firms, make under-the-table contacts with prospective coaches, and then meet with those interviewees while at the Final Four site.

If Carolina waits til April to blow up Horn, the Cocks will be slow out of the coach-searching chute. So as long as silence continues to envelop the Palmetto State, we’re gonna think that Horn’s safe. Amazingly.

Horn’s four-year basketball record at Carolina is 60-63. Since a 21-10, NIT season in his first year, Horn has gone 6-10 then 5-11 and now 2-14 in the SEC. This year’s team was young. But two league wins and a mausoleum of a new arena would get most coaches canned.

UPDATE — Jay Phillips of WNKT-FM in Columbia tells us Horn’s actual buyout numbers go from $2.4 million to $1.6 million on April 1st.

So it’s an $800,000 difference, not $750,000 as reported in the piece we linked to. Obviously, that $50,000 difference doesn’t change our thinking on Horn’s status.

Carolina Reinstates Two Footballers

John — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 15:35:49 +0000

Two South Carolina football players have been reinstated to the squad after being handed indefinite suspensions last month. A USC spokesperson announced the return of defensive tackle Byron Jerideau and safety Brison Williams yesterday.

Jerideau was suspended after being arrested for “traffic/pedestrian on a controlled access highway and disorderly/public disorderly conduct.” In simpler terms, Jerideau walked out of a bar, into a street, stopped traffic and then cursed a police officer.

Williams had been suspended for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

Let’s enjoy a little John Sebastian in their honor…

Spurrier Says He’s Not Going Anywhere

John — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:44:12 +0000

Steve Spurrier may turn 67 in April, but he’s not interested in hanging up his visor just yet. Speaking to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Carolina’s football coach said:

“I didn’t hear much about my retirement this year. It was funny. There were talking to Tom Coughlin. We’re about the same age. They asked him if he was going to hang it up after winning the Super Bowl. He said I’m having more fun now than I’ve had in a long time, I’ve got plenty of energy and I’ve got several more years in me. Of course, that’s what I say. We’ve got the best group of players we’ve ever had at South Carolina since I’ve been here. It would be hard to quit after you’ve accumulated and assembled a strong team that won 11 games last year.

If the time comes when we start going bad, oh don’t worry, I will be the first to say they need somebody else in here. It won’t be any big deal or anything like that. Right now, I’m doing pretty well, physically and mentally. I feel as good as I did 20 years ago. I still call the plays. My mind is OK, I believe. So I don’t know what else I would do right now except for coaching ball.”

In other words, opposing SEC coaches can stop with the “he’s not gonna be there very long” negative recruiting. Not that that tack has worked too well in recent years anyway, as evidenced by the major upgrade in talent at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Carolina LB Arrested For Burglary

John — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:15:03 +0000

There are four seasons in the year of the common college football fan, and yes, there is some overlap:

1. Football season — August-January

2. Recruiting season — December-February

3. Spring season — March-April

4. Arrest and Dismissal season — January-August

Unfortunately the longest season is the last one. And we’re smack dab in it.

According to Columbia’s The State, South Carolina linebacker Angelo Watley was arrested on Sunday and charge with grand larceny, credit card theft, and “violent burglary second-degree.” Hell, that’s a full day’s work.

Keeping with University policy, Watley has been suspended from the Carolina team.

The sophomore-to-be linebacker was caught when two occupants of a home woke up, spotted Watley in their domicile, and phoned the police. He’s accused of stealing more than $2,700 in loot, including a laptop and an Apple iPad.

Ah, but this wasn’t his first run-in with the law. Last July he was arrested in his home state of Georgia on six charges of terrorist acts and threats. Here’s guessing Steve Spurrier wishes he’d not overlooked those charges now.

Watley did not play for the Gamecocks as a freshman. He takes a nice mug shot, though.

Lawmakers Won’t Force Carolina/Clemson To Play

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:10:37 +0000

A House subcommittee nixed a South Carolina lawmakers attempt to force South Carolina and Clemson to meet on the football field each season. While the rivalry — which has been played 103 consecutive years — looks safe now, conference expansion and realignment have interrupted other long-standing rivalries (Kansas-Missouri, Texas-Texas A&M, etc).

“This is important to the state,” argued Representative Nathan Ballentine, who sponsored the bill. “It is something the Palmetto State could be proud of, should be proud of.”

But in the end, his bill was crushed by a touchdown, 7-0. “These matters should be handled by the universities and trustees,” Representative Lester Branham said.

If Carolina or Clemson ever attempt to end their football rivalry, expect a number of Palmetto State lawmakers to rush to get involved.

Lawmaker Wants USC-Clemson Rivalry To Continue, No Matter What

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:38:41 +0000

The Atlantic Coast Conference has announced that it will go to a nine-game conference schedule when Pittsburgh and Syracuse enter the league (which should happen in 2014, if not sooner).

The Southeastern Conference is sticking with an eight-game schedule, but the league is adding two more teams this fall (which will lead coaches to say the SEC is just too tough).

BCS commissioners and ADs are kicking around the idea of raising the bowl eligibility standard from six wins to seven (which will lead all BCS schools to schedule more creampuffs and cupcakes).

Obviously, there are several reasons why the SEC’s South Carolina and the ACC’s Clemson could potentially stop scheduling one another. One Palmetto State lawmaker wants to insure that that doesn’t happen.

State Representative Nathan Ballantine has introduced a proposal that will be considered in the State House this week that would require the Gamecocks and the Tigers to continue their ancient football rivalry every year. (Recently, a Kentucky lawmaker raised awareness for a bill by tossing in a “UK-Louisville must play” clause to his legislation.)

“You saw Texas and Texas A&M,” Ballantine told Columbia’s The State. “That rivalry went by the wayside. Nebraska and Missouri dropped by the wayside (when Nebraska joined the Big Ten). No one wants to see that happen here to our two universities where families enjoy the annual game, and it’s great for our economy.”

School officials on both sides, however, would prefer the South Carolina House of Representatives not dictate their schedules to them.

“Athletic schedules need to be decided by athletic directors and coaches,” a USC spokesman said. Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips added, “Clemson would prefer to not have to legislate this issue as I cannot conceive of a realistic scenario that would prohibit Clemson and South Carolina from continuing our football series.”

Ah, but the legislature has actually stepped in and saved the rivalry in the past. In 1952, Carolina lawmakers forced the schools to meet… keeping alive a streak that’s now stretched to 103 consecutive seasons of USC-Clemson football.

Now usually we want politicians to keep their dirty mitts out of the sports world. In fact, 99.9% of the time we’re for keeping politicians away from spots.

This is the .1%

With Texas cold-shouldering Texas A&M and Kansas turning its nose to Missouri, it’s clear that schools sometimes act out of spite. And if schools can make decisions based on something as childish as spite, you can be certain that something as serious as greed might be a motivator, too. If a rivalry could come between a school and potential bowl money (as well as bowl exposure) even an historic rivalry might get kiboshed.

Pay attention — ’cause we don’t say this often — but bravo to the Carolina legislature for trying to keep this one on the books. Makes you wonder how long it will take politicians in Georgia and Florida to fire up proposals to force UGA-Tech and UF-FSU to play.

Just in case.

Ex-Carolina Aide Encourages USM Aide To Join Spurrier’s Staff

John — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:16:33 +0000

During the 2011 football season, Steve Spurrier raised eyebrows with occasional digs at his defense. The rumor mill began to spin. Spurrier and Ellis Johnson — Carolina’s de facto defensive coordinator — were no longer seeing eye to eye.

When Johnson left his home state of South Carolina to take over as head coach at Southern Miss, some took it as a sign that there really had been a growing gulf between the Cock’s top two coaches.

But the words of Carolina’s new secondary coach — former USM and Johnson assistant Grady Brown — suggest otherwise:

“(Johnson) was really good about me coming here. He had nothing but good things to say about his time spent here in Columbia. He actually encouraged me to take advantage of this opportunity. He told me about how Coach Spurrier was a great coach to work for and this town is a great town.

He hated to see me go, obviously, but he had nothing but good things to say about South Carolina and really encouraged me to take advantage of this opportunity. I’m definitely happy and pleased with how he handled it. We have a great relationship. He thinks a lot of South Carolina.”

Johnson had decided to hang onto Brown, convincing him to return to Hattiesburg rather than depart for North Carolina with Larry Fedora. Impressive then that he would encourage Brown to follow up on the opportunity presented by Spurrier and the Gamecock program.

More Schedule Whining: This Time From Carolina

John — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:29:14 +0000

Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings isn’t the only person in the SEC who doesn’t like the league’s scheduling practices. The folks at South Carolina aren’t happy about the way the SEC schedules its football games. They’ve come up with a solution, too.

USC trustee Chuck Allen has proposed an amendment to the SEC rules:

“For the purposes of football division rankings, intra-division games shall be valued as a whole (1.0) game and inter-divisional games shall be valued as a half (0.5) game.”

Why count cross-divisional games as a half game? Because South Carolina had to play one tougher West Division foe in 2011 than Georgia did. (And if the shoe were on the other foot, USC trustee Chuck Allen would be stone silent right now.)

South Carolina beat Georgia this past season and then knocked off every other team from the East Division. But the Gamecocks went just 1-2 against the West Division (beating MSU and losing to Arkansas and Auburn).

Georgia ran the table after its Carolina loss, including a 3-0 record versus SEC West opponents (beating Ole Miss, MSU and Auburn.) Next year, the Dawgs will again avoid Alabama, Arkansas and LSU, while the Cocks will have to face the Razorbacks and the Tigers.

But let’s face facts, if Carolina had won the SEC East last year, Allen isn’t making his proposal and AD Eric Hyman isn’t vowing to push it at the SEC meetings.

Here’s a problem with the logic, though — you could make a pretty good case that it wasn’t the Arkansas loss that cost Carolina last year… it was the 16-13 home loss to a 7-5 Auburn squad that hurt. Georgia did have to play the Tigers. And they crushed them 45-7.

If it sounds like we’re not big on schools and coaches whining about schedule slights, we’re not. When a schedule is made, there’s no telling who’ll be good and who’ll be bad (anyone think Florida would be 6-6 last year). There’s no telling who’ll be banged up or missing players due to academics or off-field transgressions when two teams meet. Which teams will start hot and cool off or start cool and heat up.

Beat the teams in front of you.

Until the SEC goes to a 26-game football schedule in which every team will face every other team both at home and away, there’s no such thing as a completely fair schedule. Someone will always have an advantage.

Championship teams rise above it. Others spend their time trying to cook up new point systems for the league’s football standings board.

Carolina just had a helluva 2011. Whining for rules changes is no way to start 2012.

Spurrier Celebrates 11-Win Season At Carolina

John — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:40:19 +0000

Steve Spurrier has done it. He’s turned around the South Carolina football program. In 2010, the Cocks won their first SEC division title. In 2011, they won 11 games for the first time and swept their East Division rivals. They also continue to do well on the recruiting trail.

And Spurrier knows it. A tip of the cap to FootballScoop.com for picking up this video from Saturday’s South Carolina-Florida basketball game. The coach was exuberant as he addressed a loud, fired up crowd and praised his team.

His closing comment? “Let’s try to go for 12 next year!” Twelve wins and/or an SEC title would be the only way to top 2011 — the best coaching job of Spurrier’s career.

Carolina Quickly Completes Coaching Staff

John — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:37:05 +0000

When things are rolling, it’s easy to hire assistant coaches. And Steve Spurrier has things rolling at South Carolina.

In a flurry of activity this weekend, the Gamecocks’ coach has filled three vacancies on his staff with two hires coming Friday and one more today:

* Joe Robinson as special teams coordinator and tight ends coach — replacing John Butler (left for Penn State)

* Everette Sands as running backs coach — replacing Jay Graham (left for Tennessee)

* Kirk Botkin as linebackers coach — replacing Ellis Johnson (left to become head coach at Southern Miss)

Johnson’s de facto defensive coordinator position has been filled by the recently-promoted Lorenzo Ward. Botkin will handle his role with USC’s linebackers.

Robinson comes to South Carolina from North Carolina where he served as the Tar Heels’ special teams coach and defensive line coach. Prior to UNC, Robinson was on Les Miles’ staff at LSU.

Sands joins Spurrier’s staff from NC State. Before his one season in Raleigh, Sands worked at The Citadel from 2005 through 2010. He is also a Palmetto State native, so he should have good ties across the state.

Botkin is a former All-SEC player at Arkansas. He coached defensive ends and special teams at his alma maer in 2008 and 2009 under Bobby Petrino. The past two seasons he’s been coaching high school in Texarkana, Texas. (Sidenote — I hear there’s beer in Texarkana. And the boys are thirsty in Atlanta.)

Former Texas A&M running backs coach Randy Jordan was also on Spurrier’s radar before he landed at North Carolina with new coach Larry Fedora. From the looks of it, Spurrier — like most SEC coaches — is eager to find someone with recruiting ties to the Lone Star State with Texas A&M now giving the league a foothold in that state. Botkin fits that bill.

Ex-USC QB Garcia Says He’s Praying For Forgiveness

John — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:14:14 +0000

Former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia is opening up about his midseason dismissal from USC’s football team and he admits that he failed to live up to the zero-tolerance policy placed upon him by the school’s administration:

“It was 100% my fault, and I just put myself in a terrible situation that I wish I could have taken back. … I feel like I could get away with a lot more stuff that obviously I couldn’t get away with.”

Garcia continues to work out in hopes of getting a shot with an NFL team. “I just pray for forgiveness. … I feel like I’m a pretty good leader on the field. Off the field, I struggled with that in college. This is a whole new season, a whole new me.”

Garcia also said he recently spoke to Steve Spurrier who told the quarterback to call him anytime he needed anything.

Here’s hoping Garcia won’t be needing much help in the future. Best of luck to him as he tries to pen a better finish for his football-playing legacy.

Carolina Loses Jeffery, Gilmore To The NFL

John — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:15:30 +0000

On Monday, South Carolina fans were reveling in a rump-kicking of traditional power Nebraska and the school’s first-ever 11-win season. This morning, a little cold water got tossed onto the celebration.

Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery — the MVP of the Capital One Bowl — and cornerback Stephon Gilmore announced that they would be leaving Carolina early for the NFL. Gilmore informed USC’s coaches of his decision yesterday by phone. Jeffery released a statement through ESPN.com’s Joe Schad:

“I would like to thank the fans, my teammates, Coach (Steve) Spurrier, everyone involved for all the opportunities South Carolina has provided me. I am proud to say I will always be a Gamecock. I’m ready for the next step. I’m physical and can make plays in the red zone. I can make big plays in big games. I can work on my speed and get quicker. I want to be like Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson and Andre Johnson.”

Jeffery is Carolina’s all-time receiving yardage leader with 3,042. He is also tied with for Gamecock Sidney Rice for the school lead in TD catches with 23.

Gilmore was a freshman All-American and a third-team All-American as a sophomore. He finishes his USC career with eight interceptions.

The Cocks are still waiting on a stay-or-go decision from junior defensive end Devin Taylor.

Carolina’s Best Season Ever Was Also Spurrier’s Best Season Ever

John — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:00:31 +0000

In the storied, hall-of-fame career of Steve Spurrier, his work in 2011 should be listed right atop his resume. Leading South Carolina to its first-ever 11-win season — and doing so while surviving the loss of two key players — was top-notch work. Fittingly, the coach was more than ready to praise his team and enjoy the aftermath of the school’s 30-13 Capital One Bowl rout of Nebraska yesterday:

“The record speaks for itself as the best team ever. … This is about as big as it gets for me. I love it.”

He should. The man who is now just three wins shy of 200 for his career came to Carolina to prove that he could still build a college football program. He had done so at Duke. He had done so at Florida. But a two-year foray into the NFL had left his reputation slightly dented. And when he took over in Columbia in 2005, not many people outside the Palmetto State believed the coach could strengthen a program that had spent most of the last century getting its beak kicked in.

Carolina needed Spurrier to put the school on the football map. Spurrier needed Carolina if he was going to regain his status as a master builder.

Done and done.

At Duke, Spurrier won an ACC title in 1989. That’s no easy feat, but even in the Blue Devils’ championship season, the team finished just 8-4 (2-3 out of conference). That’s great work, but certainly not Spurrier’s best.

At Florida from 1990 through 2001, the coach never won fewer than nine games in a season. He cracked the 10-win barrier nine times. He won six SEC titles. And in 1996 he won the school’s first national championship. Again, that’s a remarkable feat, but Florida is a recruiting paradise and the school itself has deep, deep pockets.

South Carolina? It’s a school that ranks in the lower-half of the SEC in athletic budgets in the middle of a state that ranks in the bottom-half for population. Facing those obstacles, it took Spurrier a while to gain traction, but there’s little doubt he’s done that now.

Credit should go to his recruiting and to former top defensive aide Ellis Johnson, who has now departed to become head coach at Southern Miss. The talent level has risen at Carolina (see: Marcus Lattimore and Jadeveon Clowney as two obvious examples) and Johnson’s defense allowed Spurrier to start winning even though his Fun n’ Gun offense failed to develop as it had at Florida.

But it was Spurrier himself who held everything together in 2011. When quarterback Stephen Garcia used up his ninth life and was finally dismissed from the Gamecock team, Spurrier leaned more heavily on Lattimore. When the phenomenal tailback was lost to a season-ending knee injury, Spurrier’s staff reworked Carolina’s attack to feature more zone read plays for new quarterback Conner Shaw.

When it appeared the Cocks would tumble minus Lattimore — he had provided 36% of the team’s total offense — USC instead found new ways to win. In other words, Spurrier wasn’t just plugging new players into his system. He adjusted his system to match the talents of his players. That’s quality coaching.

No, South Carolina didn’t win a national title this past season. And they didn’t win the SEC. Heck, USC didn’t even win the SEC East Division. But when you consider how far Spurrier has brought his Gamecock program in seven years — when you consider the “degree of difficulty” he faced in Columbia — there’s no question the coach did a tremendous job in 2011.

In fact, we at MrSEC.com feel he did his best job.

A Party Promotion Could Land USC’s Clowney, Whitlock In Deep “Doo Doo”

John — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:07:24 +0000

A Rock Hill, South Carolina business might have landed Gamecock stars Jadeveon Clowney and CC Whitlock in hot water with the NCAA. Club Cascade is using photos of both players to promote its “Christmas X-Mas Eve Explosion.” That’s a no-no.

The poster — photo at left, click the headline to enlarge — reads as follows:

“#TEAMCASCADE PRESENT

CAROLINA Christmas
X-MAS EVE Explosion
12.24.11

HOSTED BY CAROLINA GAMECOCKS OWN
CEE CEE WHITLOCK
& JADEVEON ‘DOO DOO’ CLOWNEY”

Etc, etc.

Wait. What?

Jadeveon “Doo Doo” Clowney? Good luck living that one down, Doo Doo.

As you probably know, it is a secondary violation for an athlete’s name or photo to be used to promote a business. The State reports that Carolina compliance officials are “looking into” the poster.

Most likely, South Carolina compliance officials will tell “Cee Cee” and “Doo Doo” to avoid the party and they’ll then send a cease and desist letter to Club Cascade in the hopes of keeping Clowney and Whitlock eligible for the Capital One Bowl.

Whitlock is a senior defensive back. Clowney was the SEC’s Freshman of the Year from his defensive end spot and he also made several freshman All-American teams.

Carolina’s Johnson To Be Head Coach At USM

John — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:41:23 +0000

In a blow to the South Carolina football program, the Gamecocks’ top defensive assistant, Ellis Johnson, will be taking over as head coach at Southern Miss according to The Jackson Clarion-Ledger. The hire is expected to be made official today. With Larry Fedora coaching USM once last time in their bowl game, it’s expected that Johnson will stay with USC for its Capital One Bowl date with Nebraska.

Johnson was in Hattiesburg interviewing for a second time with the school yesterday. The 59-year-old — who turns 60 on Friday — once served as an assistant at USM in 1988 and 1989.

He has served as defensive coordinator at Clemson (1995-1996), Alabama (1997-2000), Mississippi State (2004-2007) and at South Carolina since ’07. From 2001 to 2003 he served as the head coach of The Citadel.

Steve Spurrier’s turnaround of the Carolina program can be traced to two things: recruiting and defense. Oddly enough, the Ol’ Ball Coach’s offense has not just found a way to take flight in Columbia. A quick look at the Cocks’ D under Johnson shows how much improvement has been made on his watch:

2007 — 9th in total defense (SEC), 56th in total defense (nation)
2008 — 4th in total defense (SEC), 13th in total defense (nation)
2009 — 3rd in total defense (SEC), 15th in total defense (nation)
2010 — 7th in total defense (SEC), 46th in total defense (nation)
2011 — 4th in total defense (SEC), 4th in total defense (nation)

Clearly, Johnson has played a big role in changing the fortunes of his homestate school.

This isn’t to say, of course, that Spurrier can’t find a new coordinator to fill Johnson’s shoes. After all, he was the man who grabbed Johnson in the first place.

But it does mean the Cocks will have to wade out into the coaching pool and compete with the likes of Auburn for a top coordinator. Better get out the checkbook.

Johnson was making $750,000 in Columbia as the “assistant head coach for defense.” Lorenzo Ward actually bears the title of “defensive coordinator.” So it’s possible that Spurrier will simply promote Ward if he feels he’s got the chops to run the show on his own.

USC’s Jeffery Should Be “Full Go” For Bowl

John — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:15:56 +0000

From a numbers perspective, 2011 had to be a disappointment for South Carolina wideout Alshon Jeffery. Perhaps the most hyped SEC receiver coming into the year, Jeffery tallied 45 catches, 614 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns over the course of the season… good for sixth, seventh and fourth in the SEC in those categories, respectively.

Stephen Garcia’s struggles, his eventual dismissal, and the transition to Connor Shaw certainly didn’t make life easy on Jeffery. Neither did the fact that opposing defenses focused on shutting him down over the top.

Still, he managed about 20 catches and 300 yards more than Carolina’s second-leading receiver, Ace Sanders. So it’s good news for the Gamecocks that Jeffery’s surgically-repaired left hand “feels fine” and is “starting to get better.”

Asked if he’ll be ready to face Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl on January 2nd, the junior said, “I definitely feel good about that.”

Indeed, Steve Spurrier says his top offensive playmaker looks to be healing right on schedule.

“The docs say in another week or so, he should be full go.”

Jeffery broke a bone in his hand in Carolina’s season-ending 34-13 win over Clemson.

Carolina Falls On Sword, Self-Imposes Penalties In Response To NCAA

John — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:06:36 +0000

Remember the Whitney!

That will become the battle cry of South Carolina compliance officials following an NCAA investigation into the Gamecock athletic program. In response to allegations that the school failed to monitor housing arrangements for its athletes — and as a result Columbia’s Whitney Hotel provided some $47,000 in extra benefits (via reduced rent) to 10 football players and two track team members — the school has self-imposed a reduction of six football scholarships over the course of the next three years.

The school also will dissociate itself from three boosters, including two from the Student Athlete Mentoring Foundation who provided extra benefits worth more than $8,000 to Gamecock athletes.

In its letter of response, USC basically admits that all of the “major and serious” violations it was charged with did occur. The school also will pay a fine of $18,500 for four football player who played while ineligible in 2009. In addition, the school’s former head of compliance has been demoted.

Despite falling on their swords, South Carolina officials will still have to appear before the NCAA’s committee on infractions. That group includes president Harris Pastides, AD Eric Hyman, and head football coach Steve Spurrier. The hearing is set for February in Los Angeles.

According to the school, the former compliance director — Jennifer Stiles — made a “good faith error in judgement” when she approved the athletes’ lease terms.

Spurrier’s reputation has been a clean one over the years and the fact that others — especially the school’s compliance director — made errors around him shouldn’t do much to sully his name. In this case, he is not charged with any wrongdoing by the NCAA, in fact.

But still, it’s his program. And when you’re dealing with compliance officials, 100 athletes, assistant coaches, athletic department staff and various boosters, it’s always dangerous to make comments like these:

“Anyone can poke around our program. We don’t have anything to hide. Poke on everything — the hours we practice and train. They can poke everything we do. And our compliance people poke, too.”

That’s what Spurrier said when the Whitney story first broke last August. And as we said at the time, “most schools find that when the NCAA comes around, somebody does indeed get poked.” Now it’s happened to Spurrier and his on-the-upswing Carolina football program, too.

Spurrier Gets 2-Year Extension

John — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:22:33 +0000

Way back on November 1st, the website SportsByBrooks.com touched off a mini-firestorm across the SEC by tweeting a blind item that said:

“Hearing from multiple sources that high profile SEC coach will quit at end of season b/c of conflicts w/ AD”

The writer went on to say that the quitter wouldn’t be Mark Richt or Houston Nutt who were on the hot seat at the time.

Speculation swirled. Messageboards lit up. Talk radio shows buzzed.

Eventually, the spotlight fell upon South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier. The Ol’ Ball Coach must not be seeing eye to eye with AD Eric Hyman, the theory went.

Well, so much for the theory. And the blind item, for that matter.

Spurrier has been given a two-year contract extension by Hyman and USC this morning. Columbia’s The State reports that there is no raise attached to the extension, as the coach was given a $1 million bump last year. That move boosted his pay to about $2.8 million per year.

Amazingly enough, after just seven seasons, Spurrier is within 11 games of Rex Enright’s school record of 65 wins for a head coach.

As far as that wild dart tossed by SportsByBrooks in November, it’s getting a little late in the game for any other high profile SEC coaches to resign. Guess that’s why folks shouldn’t go believing blind items posted on Twitter.

But if you do…

This SEC football coach was spotted dining at Nobu last week with none other than Lindsay Lohan. When a paparazzo tried to snap their picture, the coach flung his sashimi tacos at him!

RB Coach Graham Leaves USC For UT

John — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:43:02 +0000

South Carolina running backs Jay Graham is going home. After serving on Steve Spurrier’s staff for three seasons, Graham will return to Knoxville to take over as running backs coach at Tennessee — a possibility we mentioned earlier today.

“Jay is not only one of the most accomplished running backs in Tennessee history, but he has also proven to be one of the top running backs coaches in the SEC,” Derek Dooley said via press release. “Jay understands what it means to be a Vol, and we are thrilled to have him on our staff.”

For Dooley, the hire is a sound one. He takes an up-and-coming coach from an East Division rival, he sends the message that his program isn’t so troubled that other coaches wouldn’t want to come onboard, and he earns some goodwill from the fanbase by hiring an ex-Vol.

For Graham, the decision is a bit tougher to decipher. Yes, he’ll get to help his alma mater. Also, you can bet he’ll get a hefty raise. But while Dooley and his staff will face a hot seat season next year, Spurrier has things on the rise in Columbia.

Be it for his heart or his wallet, Graham might be risking his rear — at least in the short term — by moving from the Palmetto State to the Volunteer State.

Miscommunication Leads To Clemson Coach Ranting About Spurrier, Carolina

John — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:28:14 +0000

Think before you speak.

Act, don’t react.

Those are two lessons I’m still trying to learn at age 40. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney is a couple of years older than me, but it’s pretty clear he’s still struggling with those wise rules, too.

Swinney unleashed a rant against South Carolina and Steve Spurrier yesterday because of a comment that had been attributed to the Gamecocks’ coach. Only, Spurrier never made the comment in the first place.

Here’s a handy timeline of what transpired:

* Last weekend, South Carolina beat Clemson 34-13 to nail down the school’s third-straight win over its arch-rival… the first time in decades that that had happened.

* During the broadcast of that game former Cock quarterback and current play-by-play voice Todd Ellis said “As Coach Spurrier says, we may not be LSU or Alabama… but we ain’t Clemson, folks.”

* Someone in the football offices at Carolina heard the comment and took to the official Twitter feed @GamecockFB to send out the following message:

“‘We aren’t LSU, and we aren’t Alabama. But we sure ain’t Clemson.’ — Steve Spurrier.”

* The problem? Spurrier has often said that Carolina isn’t LSU or Alabama, but it was Ellis who added, “but we ain’t Clemson.” “If I didn’t make it clear, then that’s regrettable. He did not say that,” Ellis said post-furor.

* Spurrier says his daughter told him about the tweet and how it was making the rounds on Wednesday. “I said, ‘Well, what do you want me to do? I didn’t say it.”

* But when Swinney was asked about the quote yesterday, he sure wasn’t aware that Spurrier had never said that last part. Here’s how he responded:

“I heard that. That’s the kind of things that gets back to you, and I don’t know if he really said that or not, but I guess he did because there has been no rebuttal. If he said that, that’s disappointing. I was taught to win and lose with class.

I guess I’d have to say I agree with him. If I had to say anything, he’s right. They’re not Clemson. They’re never going to be Clemson, to be honest with you. No three-game win-streak is going to change that. It’s not the first-time they’ve won three in a row. It won’t be the last time. It might be 50 more years, but it will probably happen again.

I’ve gone out of my way to be complimentary to them, complimentary to Coach Spurrier. I’m going to defend my program. I’m going to defend my players, my coaches. I’m going to defense Clemson University, because I believe in it. I think he’s exactly right. They’re not Clemson. They never will be.

You’re looking at the best era in the history of South Carolina football right now. I think they just had heir second 10-win season. They won a championship in 1969 and the 2010 SEC East. This rivalry, there’s a lot of rivalries out there. This is more of a domination. And that’s a fact. My kids’ grandkids won’t live long enough to see this ever really become a rivalry. It is what it is.

Again, I’ve got respect for their program. South Carolina’s not Clemson. There’s a lot of differences. This is a place that’s won a national title, 17 conference championships, two division titles. Heck, we’ve won more bowl games than they’ve ever even been to. I think our program has 100-plus more wins that South Carolina. That’s reality. That’s the best era they’ve had in 115 years of South Carolina football — right now. And they’ve done a great job. They’ve whipped our butt the last three years. It’s my job to change that.

Coach Spurrier’s been there seven years. After five years, I think he had 35 wins. New contract, all that kind of stuff. After five years and I have only 35 wins at Clemson, there’s going to be a new coach here. You know what? There should be, because there’s a different standard. He’s exactly right. They ain’t Alabama. They ain’t LSU. And they’re certainly not Clemson.

That’s why Carolina is in Chapel Hill and USC is in California. The university in this state, always has been, always will be Clemson. It’s right here in Clemson, South Carolina. Print that. Tweet that. Whatever.”

Aw, snap. So what did Spurrier say when asked about Swinney’s rant about a statement he reportedly didn’t make?

“I don’t know what he said, don’t even care really. I am not getting into any verbal (altercations) with anybody….

That crap can happen. They can stick quotes on you. As long as the story gets straight, that’s fine with me. I am not mad with anybody. We have a good relationship with those guys, and it’s going to stay that way.”

Well that was a calm, cool response. Good for Spurrier. I’m surprised he didn’t take any kind of shot back at Swinney.

He what? He said something else?

“Smart people don’t believe everything they read and they don’t believe hearsay. … I guess Dabo believed it.”

Oh.

Ironically, the question was asked just last week in a Palmetto State newspaper if the Clemson-Carolina game should be moved to Thanksgiving in order to give the game a bit more pep.

Doesn’t look like that’ll be necessary at all.

Thanks to Twitter.

What a surprise.

Carolina Sets A New Goal: 11 Wins; Staff Does Great Work

John — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:04:48 +0000

For a team that couldn’t repeat as SEC East champion, South Carolina has accomplished one major goal already — becoming just the second Gamecock team in history to log 10 wins in a season. Now Steve Spurrier says his team will have to start aiming for something else when they begin bowl practice:

“I think we had a goal to win eight, win nine, win 10. We didn’t set one to win 11, so we’re going to set a new one when we meet back up (today).”

This season will have to rank among Spurrier’s best efforts. Despite struggles at quarterback — including the dismissal of starter Stephen Garcia — and the loss of Mr. Everything tailback Marcus Lattimore, the Ol’ Ball Coach led his team to a 10-2 record and for the second year in a row beat all four traditional Carolina roadblocks: Clemson, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.

I have no problem admitting that I expected USC’s season to fall apart with the loss of Lattimore, a player who accounted for 36% of the Gamecock offense. But that didn’t happen. While the offense struggled, the defense became stronger. And on Saturday night against Clemson, quarterback Connor Shaw had what might be his breakout game.

Kudos to Spurrier and his staff for some excellent work in 2011.

Spurrier Says Clemson Is Carolina’s “Big Championship”

John — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:56:54 +0000

South Carolina has a better SEC and overall record in 2011 than it did in 2010, when the Gamecocks reached the SEC Championship Game for the first-time ever. But with Georgia reeling off seven consecutive league wins, there will be no trip to Atlanta for this year’s Cocks.

Instead, Steve Spurrier is focusing on Saturday’s regular-season finale with Clemson:

“I used to say if I could only win one of them, I’d always take the conference championship. To me, that’s what you play for no matter where you are anywhere. I know our fans don’t look at it that way, but we’re going to try certainly our best (to beat Clemson) because we have no conference championship. So this becomes our big championship of the year right now.”

Spurrier says his team wants to win on Saturday and in its bowl game in order to set a new school record for wins in a season with 11. The Gamecocks are currently 9-2. Clemson — which is headed to the ACC title game next weekend — has the same mark.

Carolina’s Clowney Keeps Improving

John — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:36:11 +0000

The top recruit in the country last year, freshman defensive end Jadeveon Clowney has played up to the hype at South Carolina this fall. He is second on the team with five sacks and he’s tops on the team in forced fumbles.

But he’s still getting better, according to defensive line coach Brad Lawing:

“He’s got so much room for improvement. He’s just touching the surface right now. It’s very exciting, because as he learns to practice consistently day to day to day, he’s going to keep getting better. He still hasn’t learned how to do that like he needs to. He’ll have a good day of practice and then sometimes a not-so-good day. But when you learn to ply your trade day in, day out, the entire time you’re out there, that’s when you really make big jumps of improvement.”

In SEC games, Clowney also ranks 10th in the league in the tackles for loss category as well as sixth in sacks.

5 Games, 2 Wins (1 Big) For SEC In Hoops

John — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:47:29 +0000

It wasn’t the best of nights for the SEC in basketball on Tuesday. Two ranked teams won. One lost to a Top 10 foe. And two, well, two seemed to pick up where they left off last year.

Here’s a quick re-cap of all last night’s action:

Kentucky 75, Kansas 65

Another year, another class of freshmen ready to compete immediately with the best teams in the country. But last night, it was a pair of sophomores who led UK to victory. Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones poured in 17 and 15, respectively, as the Cats clawed past the Jayhawks with an early second-half spurt at Madison Square Garden.

“We don’t believe we have to truly play together yet,” John Calipari said of his ever-young team. “It’s not talent that wins, it’s good teams that win. This is not a good team yet. We’re not bad, but we’re not a good team yet. We’ve got good players, but we broke off every play.”

And yet they still beat the #12 team in the country by double-digits. If Calipari wants his freshmen to learn to play as a team, a loss might have actually been better in the long run, because last night will only give positive reinforcement to what Coach Cal believes is “not good” play.

Vanderbilt 80, Bucknell 68

That’s more like it. With two starters out with injuries, the Commodores bounced back from this weekend’s upset loss to Cleveland State with a homecourt victory. Last night Vandy had to play without John Jenkins, the SEC’s leading scorer a year ago.

“It was a huge game for us after the performance against Cleveland State,” Jeffery Taylor said after scoring a team-high 14 points. “We were all real disappointed, kind of ashamed of it. So we put an emphasis on this game to just play hard and kind of let everything else take care of itself. We feel we’re talented enough offensively that if we play hard, then we’ll take care of most games.”

Five players hit double-figures for the Dores.

Ohio State 81, Florida 74

After a quick start, #7 Florida fell behind big to #3 Ohio State on the road. As in 16 points big. But facing a hostile crowd, the Gators managed to shoot themselves back to within five in the final minute of play. Freshman star Bradley Beal led the Gators with 17 points. Kenny Boynton added 15.

“Obviously, we got off to a really good start, which I think you want to do on the road,” Billy Donovan said. “The difference was our defense in the first half was really, really good. For a period of time there, shots were not going in for us and we needed to have a better resiliency in terms of understanding that we have to go back and play defense.

Coastal Carolina 71, LSU 63

Traveling to Coastal Carolina last night, Trent Johnson’s team looked no better equipped to handle the pressure of the road this year than last. The Tigers were owned on the glass — despite a size advantage — as the Chanticleers pulled away with a 23-6 first-half run.

Coastal Carolina won in Baton Rouge last year, but three players who led the team in scoring in that game are no longer on the Chanticleers’ team. With new faces, they still managed to outrebound the Tigers 53-34 and pull away for an eight-point win.

“It’s hard to win when you get outrebounded by 20,” Trent Johnson said. Yes, and it’s hard to keep your job when you keep losing to Coastal Carolina.

Elon 58, South Carolina 53

Usually in the case of early-season losses, we say “pay no mind.” Teams often look a lot differently in February than they do in November. We don’t say, “pay no mind,” when the coach is trying to win back his fanbase and hold onto his job. In those cases, early-season losses do hurt. An losing to Elon is a bad early-season loss.

South Carolina became the first power-conference team to travel to and lose at Elon. The Gamecocks — without footballing Bruce Ellington — missed all 12 of their 3-points shots in the first half and shot a chilly 31% from the floor on the night.

USC did recover long enough to lead for one possession in the first half, but that was it. Twice more Carolina closed to within a point in the second half, but they couldn’t get over the hump.

“I thought it would have changed things for both teams (if we could have gone ahead),” Darrin Horn said. “Credit them; thy made some big shots when they had them.”

So Kentucky tops Kansas and Calipari says his Cats aren’t very good. Florida and Vandy look as though they’ll be able to give UK a bit of a run in the SEC (depending on injuries). And Johnson and Horn see their teams drop games to Coastal Carolina and Elon.

Is this a new season or just an extension of 2010-2011?

Spurrier Won’t Call Saturday’s “Must Win” Game “Must Win”

John — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:49:39 +0000

Georgia is 5-1 in the SEC, South Carolina is 5-2. For the Gamecocks to repeat as East Division champions, they need to win Saturday at home against Florida and then hope that the Bulldogs are knocked off at home by either Auburn (on Saturday) or Kentucky (next Saturday).

If the Cocks and Dawgs finish 6-2 in league play, Carolina’s 45-42 win over Georgia way back on September 10th would break the tie and Steve Spurrier’s team would head to Atlanta for the league’s championship game.

So unless Carolina expects Auburn and Kentucky to knock off Georgia, the Cocks must win Saturday against Florida to keep hope alive, right? Not according to the Ol’ Ball Coach:

“We’ll try our best to win. I don’t like to use the word ‘must.’ Sometimes your guys get too uptight if you say we have to do this or do that. The only thing we say is play your best. When you look at the way our team has played this year, you have to say those guys are 7-2 (overall) and in position to achieve some things this year. We’re not moping around that we’re 7-2. We have to play the game and fire up some emotion.”

Fair enough. If the coach doesn’t want to put added pressure on his team — something he’s never worried about with quarterbacks — then that’s his call. But any Carolina player capable of reading a leaderboard knows what’s at stake Saturday.

As for the team he’s now chasing, Spurrier said yesterday, “If Georgia wins seven straight conference games, they probably deserve to be the Eastern Division champion.”

Probably so.

Carolina’s Secondary Has Improved, But The Schedule’s Helped

John — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:41:46 +0000

South Carolina’s pass defense is the second-best in the SEC to Alabama. It’s third-best in the nation behind Michigan State and the Tide.

Not too shabby, eh?

On the season, the Cocks have allowed just 1087 yards through the air and 508 of those came in Carolina’s first two games against East Carolina and Georgia.

So what changed from those first two games to the last six?

“There are not as many checks and audibles,” safety DaVonte Holloman told The Charleston Post & Courier. “We’re not making as many pre-snap calls.”

Steve Spurrier said that “there are fewer mistakes” as well. “I think that’s a big part of it, and just the guys playing hard, playing their assignments, playing with effort.”

Fewer pre-snap calls. Fewer mistakes. Better play.

Yes, yes and yes.

But there’s also this factor — take a look at who Carolina has played:

Opponent	Passing Offense National Rank	Yds Vs Carolina
East Carolina	#11	260
Georgia	#54	248
Navy	#119	61
Vanderbilt	#108	73
Auburn	#104	112
Kentucky	#115	17
Miss. State	#81	165
Tennessee	#45	151

There’s been a pretty steep drop-off in the passing ability of Carolina’s opponents over the past few weeks. And don’t forget, the Tennessee of that high national ranking is quite different than the Tennessee USC faced on Saturday night… the one with the true freshman quarterback making his first start.

This doesn’t mean that Carolina’s secondary hasn’t improved and hasn’t played well in recent weeks. But it does mean anyone expecting the Gamecocks to squelch Arkansas’ passing game on Saturday will likely come away disappointed.

The Razorbacks — for comparison’s sake — rank 9th nationally in passing offense. And unless Melvin Ingram, Jadeveon Clowney and the Carolina pass rushers can mount some serious pressure, Tyler Wilson will likely put up some passing numbers reminiscent of those posted by ECU and Georgia earlier this season.

Carolina President: No SEC Vote On Missouri Yet

John — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:32:45 +0000

While reports from the Show-Me State continue to suggest that Missouri and the Big 12 are finalizing an exit agreement today, South Carolina president Harris Pastides says the SEC has held no vote on MU yet.

“We’ve not even had a phone call scheduled yet. They may call me, and there may be a vote on Sunday, but I’m not aware of one at this second.”

Seeing as how the SEC mistakenly posted a “Missouri joins the SEC” news item last night… and Mike Slive said yesterday that his league is still looking at 14-team schedules for 2012… and the Big 12 didn’t list Missouri as being one of its members when it put out a press release today… the whole vote thing doesn’t appear to be too big of a hurdle.

And do you believe Pastides in the first place? Earlier this week Georgia AD Greg McGarity said the league was looking at 13-team schedules only. Then an ESPN exec and Slive admitted otherwise. So what’s to keep Pastides from fudging the truth a bit?

In fact, USC’s prez said this morning that he was “not aware of that at all” when asked about the SEC’s late night web gaffe. Uh, yeah. I’m sure no one mentioned that to the president of one of the SEC’s 12 current member institutions.

Pastides did tell The Daily Gamecock — hat tip to the student newspaper, by the way — that “there have been discussions” between the league and the school, but that those talks did not involve the presidents.

“There’s no scheduled vote, and they cannot do that (admit Missouri) until we vote. But again, I might go up to my office and there could be an appointment. I just don’t know.”

UT Players Tweet That They Want Black Jerseys For Saturday

John — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:26:54 +0000

Two years ago this weekend, Lane Kiffin recorded the biggest victory of his one-year Tennessee coaching career with a resounding 31-13 thumping of #22 South Carolina.

He did so with the help of some black jerseys that seemed to fire up his team. (Nevermind that nothing matched in the ghastly white helmet / black jersey / orange pants combination.)

Now a pair of Vols have tweeted their desire for another “black out” game, once again with Carolina heading to Knoxville.

Da’Rick Rogers: “just a little something to spark the team when we need it the most … black jerseys for halloween!!”

Tyler Bray: “Volnation needs to blackout Neyland stadium. That would really show your support in this must win game.”

Da’Rick Rogers: “I know yal want a black out! All black everything. Ha and the orange power T.”

Apparently someone in the UT athletic department got to Bray because moments after that exchange, he tweeted the following:

“Just to clear things up we want our fans to wear black.”

Uh, that’s not what Rogers said. In fact, Rogers’ initial tweet could be taken as news that the team has already been told they’ll be outfitted in black.

As we said yesterday regarding Kentucky’s new black unis… if everyone wears special black duds, what’s really special about wearing that color?