Wrapping up SEC Media Days
posted by David Cloninger, 10/23/2008 09:06:00 PM
So, we're back from Birmingham. If you've never been, don't.
Nah, it's not that bad. Got to talk to every men's coach and most of the players (with the exception of Ole Miss, who had some travel difficulties) and re-connect with some of the beat writers from the other league teams. You get to really find out the lowdown when we're all out on the town -- it's like a sewing circle without the quilts.
Looking around, it should be an interesting season. Some talent returns, but not as much as the league lost. There are two new coaches coming into programs that have had tastes of success and want to get back to that point.
For South Carolina, without giving away too much of tomorrow's story, it's going to be a season of excitement and trying to match it. Obviously the fans are hyped for the arrival of a young, intense coach, and the Gamecocks have some talent returning.
But it's going to be a real thin bench. That conditioning program Darrin Horn installed will hopefully ward off a lot of the ding-ups that always occur during a full season, or it could be a sour one.
I think USC will be extremely competitive and try to force teams to play its style of basketball. Some games may be the run-at-all-costs, 90-point affairs we saw at the beginning of last season, some games may be the burn-the-clock, keep-it-close sessions like we saw at the end of last year.
I can't say how the Gamecocks will do, but the non-conference schedule was set up for this team. It's not full of a lot of challenges (not that that means they're automatic wins), so the team can get used to playing Horn's system for 40 minutes against competition its own age.
If all goes well, the team will have 10-plus wins by the time the SEC slate rolls around and a good conference record could boost that to the 20-win plateau. I have to say that an RPI with that non-con sked and 20 wins may not do the job, but 22 or 23 may get the Gamecocks into the NCAAs as an at-large.
Either way, it'll be good to see a fresh approach to the game. Horn will bring some fire to a program that had lost that in recent years.
Playing in the SEC East, as always, will be a bear. Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky and Vanderbilt are no pushovers, and each of them are on the slate twice.
But I have a feeling Horn will have a lot of leeway in his first season and still spring some upsets despite there being no big-time pressure to win. The players believe in him too much not to.
It'll be a countdown until Nov. 7 (the first exhibition), and we'll be splitting our coverage between hoops and football. But basketball's here, so get out the "Balkman's Buddies" T-shirts you've got hoarded away and meet us at Colonial Life Arena.
If we can just get rid of that damned Zombie Nation, it'll be a perfect start.
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Off the road, after avoiding deer by the dozens on Highway 72 from Clinton to Chester. I swear, if I ever get tired of being a sportswriter, I'm going to sell fresh venison on the side of the road.
So, we're back from Birmingham. If you've never been, don't.
Nah, it's not that bad. Got to talk to every men's coach and most of the players (with the exception of Ole Miss, who had some travel difficulties) and re-connect with some of the beat writers from the other league teams. You get to really find out the lowdown when we're all out on the town -- it's like a sewing circle without the quilts.
Looking around, it should be an interesting season. Some talent returns, but not as much as the league lost. There are two new coaches coming into programs that have had tastes of success and want to get back to that point.
For South Carolina, without giving away too much of tomorrow's story, it's going to be a season of excitement and trying to match it. Obviously the fans are hyped for the arrival of a young, intense coach, and the Gamecocks have some talent returning.
But it's going to be a real thin bench. That conditioning program Darrin Horn installed will hopefully ward off a lot of the ding-ups that always occur during a full season, or it could be a sour one.
I think USC will be extremely competitive and try to force teams to play its style of basketball. Some games may be the run-at-all-costs, 90-point affairs we saw at the beginning of last season, some games may be the burn-the-clock, keep-it-close sessions like we saw at the end of last year.
I can't say how the Gamecocks will do, but the non-conference schedule was set up for this team. It's not full of a lot of challenges (not that that means they're automatic wins), so the team can get used to playing Horn's system for 40 minutes against competition its own age.
If all goes well, the team will have 10-plus wins by the time the SEC slate rolls around and a good conference record could boost that to the 20-win plateau. I have to say that an RPI with that non-con sked and 20 wins may not do the job, but 22 or 23 may get the Gamecocks into the NCAAs as an at-large.
Either way, it'll be good to see a fresh approach to the game. Horn will bring some fire to a program that had lost that in recent years.
Playing in the SEC East, as always, will be a bear. Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky and Vanderbilt are no pushovers, and each of them are on the slate twice.
But I have a feeling Horn will have a lot of leeway in his first season and still spring some upsets despite there being no big-time pressure to win. The players believe in him too much not to.
It'll be a countdown until Nov. 7 (the first exhibition), and we'll be splitting our coverage between hoops and football. But basketball's here, so get out the "Balkman's Buddies" T-shirts you've got hoarded away and meet us at Colonial Life Arena.
If we can just get rid of that damned Zombie Nation, it'll be a perfect start.
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David Cloninger. David is a full-time staff writer for GamecockCentral, and covers Gamecock football, men's basketball, baseball and recruiting. He may be reached by email at david(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.