South Carolina Basketball

South Carolina basketball had promise after Darrin Horn arrived in Columbia, but it's been on a downward spiral since his first year as the Gamecocks basketball coach.

After sharing the SEC East title with the Tennessee Volunteers in the 2008-2009 season, the Gamecocks have finished with a losing record in back-to-back seasons. The energy appears to have left the program and fan support is dwindling down.

However, the new season always brings new hope and this year started off with promise for South Carolina. The young talent came to play in the season opener against Western Carolina, with a few underclassman leading the charge in a 75-50 win. True freshman Anthony Gill led the team in scoring with 14 points, while JUCO transfer Brenton Williams provided a spark off the bench for 13 points.

So far, so good.

Things were looking up for South Carolina. People began to hope this could be a turning point in South Carolina basketball with a young basketball squad growing up together and getting better over the year.

Up next: A road game at Elon. Yes, at Elon. Easy win, right?

Wrong.

South Carolina got away from their half-court offense that worked against Western Carolina and began to launch an array of three-point shots that didn't fall. There appeared to be no offensive game plan whatsoever as USC fell 58-53 to Elon. The Gamecocks shot 31.3 percent from the field while only shooting 11.1 percent from three-point range on 3-of-27 shooting.

It's amazing how this basketball team regressed from Friday to Tuesday night. A mere few days and all the optimism brewing from the opening game is demolished. Now the outlook has become grim, as the Gamecocks play North Carolina, Ohio State and Clemson in the coming weeks. They also play Kentucky, Florida and Vanderbilt two times each this season in SEC play.

This schedule isn't getting any easier.

If South Carolina can lose to Elon, then what happens when they play the number one North Carolina Tar Heels?

Darrin Horn will need to make some adjustments quick to give hope back to the Gamecock nation for the rest of the season. The talent on hand seems solid: Damien Leonard and Anthony Gill entered the starting lineup almost immediately as true freshman, and players like Malik Cooke, Lakeem Jackson and Damontre Harris should be better this season.

Bruce Ellington plans to return to the basketball team after he plays against Clemson in football on November 26 to give the Gamecocks its leader from the 2010-2011 team.

The pieces are there for this team to fight for, at the very least, an NIT bid but you can't give away what should have been a guaranteed win in Elon.

Now questions will arise when the Gamecocks play lesser teams this season, and the wonder of whether they will finish with a winning record in 2011-2012 will continue to cross the minds of Gamecock fans all season long.

Maybe it's too early to give up hope when the Gamecocks have only played two games, but fans won't put up with bad basketball for long. There needs to be some immediate results soon.

This basketball team needs to show improvement, or it will be essentially the same team from the past two seasons and there won't be any signs of growth in the program.

Darrin Horn appeared to be the right guy for the job when he was hired but if he can't pull it together this season, he could be looking for a job in the near future. The support behind him and this program has all but faded over the last few years, and another losing season will surely wipe out what remains.

South Carolina fans always have hope. They've been through a lot over the years. There will be hope this basketball team will come around this year, but they won't wait around forever.

It could be now or never for Darrin Horn and right now, unfortunately for him, it looks like it might be never.

South Carolina basketball had promise after Darrin Horn arrived in Columbia, but it has been on a downward spiral since his first year as the Gamecocks basketball coach.

After sharing the SEC East title with the Tennessee Volunteers in the 2008-2009 season, the Gamecocks have finished with a losing record in back-to-back seasons. The energy appears to have left the program and fan support is dwindling down.

However, the new season always brings new hope and this year started off with promise for South Carolina. The young talent came to play in the season opener against Western Carolina with a few underclassman leading the charge in a 75-50 win.

True freshman Anthony Gill led the team in scoring with 14 points while JUCO transfer Brenton Williams provided a spark off the bench for 13 points.

So far so good.

Things were looking up for South Carolina. People began to hope this could be a turning point in South Carolina basketball with a young basketball squad growing up together and getting better over the year.

Up next: A road game at Elon. Yes at Elon. That's an easy win right?

Wrong. South Carolina fell 58-53 to Elon Nov. 15.

South Carolina got away from their half-court offense that worked against Western Carolina and began to launch an array of three-point shots that didn't fall and there appeared to be no offensive game plan whatsoever as USC lost to Elon.

The Gamecocks shot 31.3 percent from the field while only shooting 11.1 percent from three-point range with 3-of-27 shooting.

It's amazing how this basketball team regressed from Friday to Tuesday night. A mere few days and all the optimism brewing from the opening game is demolished. Now that outlook has become grim as the Gamecocks play North Carolina, Ohio State, and Clemson in the coming weeks.

They also play Kentucky, Florida, and Vanderbilt each two times this season in SEC play. This schedule isn't getting any easier. If South Carolina can lose to Elon then what happens when they play the No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels?

Darrin Horn will needs to make some adjustments quickly to give hope back to the Gamecock nation for the rest of the season. The talent on hand seems solid. Damien Leonard and Anthony Gill entered the starting lineup almost immediately as true freshman and players like Malik Cooke, Lakeem Jackson and Damontre Harris should be better this season.

Bruce Ellington plans to return to the basketball team after he plays against Clemson in football on Nov. 26 to give the Gamecocks its leader from the 2010-2011 team.

The pieces are there for this team to fight for, at the very least, an NIT bid but you can't give away what should have been a guaranteed win in Elon.

Now questions will arise when the Gamecocks play lesser teams this season and then wonder if whether they will finish with a winning record in 2011-2012. It will continue to cross the minds of Gamecock fans all season long.

Maybe it's too early to give up hope when the Gamecocks have only played two games this season, but fans won't put up with bad basketball for long. There needs to be some immediate results soon.

This basketball team needs to show improvement or else it will be essentially the same team from the past two seasons and there won't be any signs of growth in the program.

Darrin Horn appeared to be the right guy for the job when he was hired but if he can't pull it together this season then he could be looking for a job in the near future. The support behind him and this program has all but faded over the last few years and another losing season will surely wipe out what has remained.

South Carolina fans always have hope. They've been through a lot over the years. There will be hope this basketball team will come around this year but they won't wait around forever.

It could be now or never for Darrin Horn and right now, unfortunately for him, it looks like it could be never.

Murphy Holloway, one of the most exciting things to happen to basketball in a long time, has now decided to go back to Ole Miss after one season of practice with the Gamecocks.  He never played in a game and wouldn't be eligible until next year.

Holloway would have given South Carolina a young star to add with another young star in Bruce Ellington. 

Wait a minute, Ellington is leaving as well, going to play football for the Gamecocks! 

Well, at least South Carolina has a backup that can score in Ramon Galloway.  Wait—what did you say?  He left as well?

Well, at least we have Stephen Spinella to rain threes down on opponents! (Sarcasm, but yeah, he is gone, too.)

This 14-16 team, which actually got worse as the season progressed, was supposed to make big strides next year with its young talent. 

Now, this team will struggle to win half of the win total from this year. 

This is getting bad, folks.  I know you can blow sunshine in any direction for any situation, but there is no denying that something is wrong with the basketball team at USC. I have been a huge fan of Horn and his plan, but his plan will not work in the SEC.

He has recruited well, but he loses players and a high rate.  With South Carolina's football, baseball, women's basketball and soccer teams having success, it is high time the basketball team does the same. 

South Carolina has a great arena and passionate fans—here is no reason for this team not to be competitive. 

Bring in Bruce Pearl.

I am kidding...or am I? 

South Carolina's basketball team is on life support, and it needs a jolt immediately. 

This ship is sinking, and unless something is done, it has only just begun to get bad.

(This idea came from a night of basketball watching with some of my closest friends... Clemson fans.  I got a laugh out of the idea... this is not to be taken SERIOUSLY, or as a personal affront against Horn... he literally is one of my favorite coaches of all time). 

Dear Darrin Horn,

I am one of your biggest fans.

I absolutely love what you have turned South Carolina's basketball program into. They aren't winning at the pace you want yet, but it is close. 

They are already the surprise of the SEC this year. A team with way more freshmen and sophomores than juniors and seniors, they have been competitive in every game...including two wins over ranked teams. 

The team plays extremely hard every game. That is a sign of your masterful coaching and I have no doubt that you will turn South Carolina into a SEC championship program.

However, there is one major flaw that must be addressed. 

Your hair. 

It has been dubbed the "1940's business man."

If I hear one more person call you "Bartleby the Scrivener," I think I may go nuts.  

You are a young man, who dresses well. This is why the hair is so jarring. 

Please, coach Horn: Cut your hair. 

A fan,

Alex Roberts

Since football season is now officially over, it is time to turn my attention and considerable writing prowess (ahem) to my second love...basketball.

When I taught middle school, I was the head coach of the basketball team and learned quickly as a coach how much more difficult it is as a sport and as a mind game.

For those that think basketball is a sport for stupid people who just need to put the ball in the hoop, think again.

In football, you learn a ton of plays...but unless you are the quarterback, you aren't making a whole lot of adjustments. In basketball, every player is making choices on every play. When you have the ball in your hand, you are making reads and choices every time...and there is no luxury of a huddle or pre-read assignments.

You can dribble to advance the ball, find an open man, reset...each player responsible for choices that make or break a possession.

This is why I am so impressed with what Darrin Horn is apparently building at South Carolina. At 10-6, the record doesn't exactly show this team to be world-beaters. Losses against Furman and Alabama show that this team is not really going to do much this season.

However, wins against Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky and Clemson, plus a close matchup with Michigan State, show the blueprint for a bright future.

It is next to impossible to predict how the team will perform night in and night out. This is due to the youth on the team. I don't predict many wins for them at this point.

I won't go game by game, but I can see a sweep of Auburn, winning a rematch against Alabama in Columbia, a win against Mississippi and then one or two miscellaneous upsets in SEC play. Maybe Georgia, maybe LSU or Arkansas...

The point is, 15-15 should be the goal. If that is attained, and it can, then Horn should be getting coach of the year consideration. Seriously. 

Nine of the 13 players on this team are either freshmen or sophomores. Six of them are freshmen. That is roughly HALF of the team. We aren't talking 5-star freshmen like Kentucky get...we are talking workmanlike, 3- to 4-star guys who are made for Horn's system.

You can see a vicious high-speed attack forming. If the shooting improves (a big if, but can come with time), this team could be a very difficult SEC out in years to come.

Add to this two Rivals top 150 players coming in next year—Anthony Gill and Damien Leonard—and Murphy Holloway, an established SEC defensive star coming from Mississippi, and you have the makings of a contender.

Give Horn a few more years before you start calling for his head. Basketball is a tough sport to build a winner in, and Coach has them on the right path.

I know I may get some heavy backlash from this article, but that's fine. I just want to point out that it is not THAT crazy to think the South Carolina Gamecocks can make some noise in the SEC this year.

The Gamecocks were picked to do nothing a couple years ago and went on to get a share of the SEC East title, so you never know.

The Gamecocks are off to a 7-2 start so far, and both losses are to potential Final Four participants (Also, Jared Sullinger of Ohio State is an absolute beast).

Do not get me wrong, the Gamecocks have their weaknesses (South Carolina was picked by the coaches to finish dead last in the whole SEC), but so do all the other teams in the SEC.

SEC West team weaknesses:

Auburn: Two losses to Big South (Probably the worst conference in D-1) teams (PC and UNC Ashville), losses to Campbell, Jacksonville, and Samford. Ranks 225th or below in almost all major categories. Yikes, you cannot tell me this team is better than South Carolina.

Alabama: Bad losses to St. Peter's College and Providence. Again, a team that struggles to score the ball (256th in NCAA in PPG), which always leaves you vulnerable to lose to anyone.

LSU: Bad losses to Nicholls State, Coastal Carolina, and Wichita State. The Tigers have not really played anyone, so it is hard to read them. They do not do anything really good or really bad, which is not a good sign considering how soft their schedule has been.

Arkansas: A bad loss to UAB and a tough OT loss to Texas A&M are the only blemishes, but they are the only decent teams Arkansas has played. Arkansas can score but lack an inside game.

Ole Miss: Lost to a decent Dayton team but was destroyed by a lowly Miami (FL) team. Ole Miss can shoot the three, but you live by the three and die by the three. Buckner blocks a lot of shots, but other than him there is no inside game.

Mississippi State: Bad losses to Florida Atlantic and East Tennessee State, without securing a decent win to date. They have suffered through suspensions and academic issues, so we have not seen this team whole yet. I do not care who you are missing, you cannot lose to FAU or ETSU.

SEC East team weaknesses:

Kentucky: Obviously this team is talented and has not had a bad loss yet. However, they are young, play a lot of one-on-one, and do not shoot the ball at a very high percentage. That is a good equation to be beat. No matter how good UK is or will be, they always seem to lose to South Carolina at least once a year.

Florida: I know, I know: UCF is a solid team, but losing at home to Jacksonville? Almost losing to Morehead State at home? Macklin is cooling down, and Chandler Parsons is invisible. This team seems to lack an identity on offense, which plays right into the Gamecocks' hands.

Georgia: Sorry, but I am not drinking the UGA Kool-Aid just yet. They squeaked by a down Georgia Tech team and also just got by mighty Mississippi Valley State, St. Louis, and Manhattan. This team plays hard, but they are sloppy at times on offense.

Vanderbilt: It is crazy to say, but this team has looked the best out of all the SEC teams so far. They lost heart breakers to a good Missouri team and a decent West Virginia squad. They are very balanced: they pass the ball well, they shoot the three, they rebound, and they are more athletic than Vandy teams of the past.

Vandy usually struggles on the road though, and they have yet to really play on the road (Missouri and Middle Tenn St are their only road games). So, if South Carolina could steal one at home, a split would be all South Carolina really needs.

Tennessee: Things were looking so good for them but now the wheels have fallen off with losses to Oakland, Charlotte, and Southern Cal. They are another team that cannot shoot the ball very well. Then factor in Bruce Pearl missing the start of the SEC season, and they could be buried by the 8th conference game.

Is it likely the Gamecocks can win the SEC? Probably not, but when you really look at the rest of the league, there really is not one team that makes you say, "Wow, they are so good". No one thought South Carolina football could win the SEC East this past season, but they did.

You just never know.

It's official.

Darrin Horn's South Carolina Gamecocks basketball team will be playing in the 2011 Las Vegas Invitational next holiday season.

But whom will they be playing?

According to http://www.gogamecocks.com/2010/12/09/57251/ggf-usc-heading-to-vegas-tourney.html, South Carolina could be facing basketball giant North Carolina the week after Thanksgiving.

The Gamecocks and Tar Heels will join Southern Cal and UNLV in the tournament. The bracket will also include the likes of Morgan State, Tennessee State, Mississippi Valley State and Cal Poly.

The two Carolina schools last met in 1996. They have met over 70 times on the hardwood and could meet again in the semifinals at the Orleans Arena.

South Carolina will stay home to compete against two of the lower-tier schools the week before Thanksgiving. The Gamecocks get a week off from play Thanksgiving week. The Gamecocks go to Vegas the following week.

Horn's young team should be excited to play in a tournament that would give them early national exposure. Plus, they have a chance to play the Tar Heels, who should also have a young, talented team.

In my mind, the Gamecocks may have the talent to win the tournament. It’s just another reason to look forward to the future of Horn’s basketball program.

South Carolina Gamecocks 68, #1 Kentucky Wildcats, 62

University of South Carolina

Location: Columbia, South Carolina

Nickname: Gamecocks

Reason For Nickname: There are many variations to how the nickname “Gamecocks” came about. According to the USC athletic department, one of those reasons came from the fact that war hero Thomas Sumter (for whom Fort Sumter in Charleston is named for) was known as the “Fighting Gamecock.” Not only that, the state is known for breeding gamecocks, which would explain the origin of the nickname, which has been popular since the early 1900’s.

Colors: Garnet and Black

Conference: Southeastern Conference

Arena: Colonial Center (built 2002, capacity 18,000) 

SEC Champions: 1997

SEC East Champions: 1997, 2009

ACC Champions: Regular Season (1970), Tournament (1971)

Southern Conference Champions: Regular Season (1927, 1933, 1934, 1945) Tournament (1933)

NCAA Tournament: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1989, 1997, 1998, 2004

NIT Tournament: 1969, 1975, 1978, 1983, 1991, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009

Coaching Legacy: Frank McGuire, who led the Tar Heels to their first national championship in 1957 against Wilt Chamberlain’s Kansas squad, is credited with the advancement of basketball in the Palmetto State, coaching the Gamecocks from 1965 to 1980 and winning 283 games, still the best in Gamecock history. The Cocks’ former home, Carolina Coliseum, was renamed in his honor in 1980 as Frank McGuire Arena.

Big Man On Campus: South Carolina’s greatest player was Columbia native Alex English, who is the second-leading scorer behind B.J. McKie. English starred for the Gamecocks from 1972 to 1976 and would later have a successful career in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets. He would later be inducted into the Naismath Basketball Hall of Fame for his career in 1997. Other greats to play for the Garnet and Black are Antonio Grant, B.J. McKie, and Ronaldo Balkman, who is currently with the New York Knicks.

Rivalries: Any Gamecock fan will tell you that without a shadow of a doubt the Clemson Tigers are the Gamecocks’ biggest rival in any sport, including basketball. In the all-time series, the Gamecocks lead 86-74 with the Tigers winning 72-61 this season against the Gamecocks in Clemson.

Did You Know?: The year that the Gamecocks last won an NCAA Tournament game was the same year that the Memphis Tigers made it to the Final Four for the first time, which was 1973. That team included English and a skinny white kid by the name of Mike Dunleavy

South Carolina Gamecocks basketball by the numbers

Seasons: 102

Wins (through 2009): 1,259

Postseason Appearances: 19

NCAA Tournament Appearances: 8

Conference Regular Season Titles: 7

Conference Tournament Titles: 2

The University of South Carolina’s Men's Basketball Team needed a win against Georgia badly for its NCAA hopes to continue in 2010.

But the pesky Bulldogs denied the Fighting Gamecocks, 66-61, who fell to 5-5 in SEC play on Saturday.

This one hurt for the Gamecocks, who were in disbelief as the Bulldogs pulled a 13-0 run in the final minutes.

South Carolina led by 10 points with nine minutes to play in the game, but the Gamecocks let this one slip away.

“There was a lot of disbelief,” Brandis Raley-Ross said after the game.

Travis Leslie’s amazing athleticism and Georgia’s wide-open three-pointers kept the Gamecocks off balance, along with Devan Downey’s sore ankle.

“I just missed the shots,” Downey admitted afterward.

South Carolina hits the road Wednesday to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Gamecocks will have time to dwell on this loss, with the NCAA selections coming up in a month. Hopes are slim, but they are still alive for the Gamecocks.

“The season doesn’t end today,” Raley-Ross said.

South Carolina will face a tough schedule in the next month, which includes three ranked teams. The Gamecocks must win on the road to remain in the postseason hunt.

The bubble might have burst for South Carolina, and the team needs to remember the feeling of Saturday's loss and rally around it. If not, the Gamecocks are going back to the NIT.