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Magazines are cautious about USC

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:14 EDT

Sporting News Magazine

Predicted finish: 3rd in SEC East

Comment: “The Gamecocks’ program is in Stephen Garcia’s hands. That notion might be scary to some fans, but maybe he can get the job done. This offseason, South Carolina hired quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus to mold Garcia into an SEC-Caliber quarterback.”

southernpigskin.com

Predicted finish: 4th in SEC East

‘Gamefish’ trophy — who wants it more?

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:36 EDT

If you think Trey Dyson had any problems gathering former Gamecock players to compete in the third annual meeting between the USC Alumni team and the Columbia Blowfish, the city’s summer collegiate team in the Coastal Plain League, think again.

They couldn’t wait.

“They want to play,” Dyson said. “They love getting out on the field. They love looking at themselves in a uniform.”

For the third game between the two, Dyson — the first baseman turned mortgage banker — has promoted himself to “owner” and installed former teammate Garris Gonce as the coach. Gonce was critical of Dyson after last season’s loss to the Blowfish, so Dyson handed the managerial reins to his old friend.

Dyson, however, remains in charge of the roster, and he is pleased with his efforts . He again is bringing back a core group of players from the first half of the Ray Tanner years, including quite a few from the College World Series period of 2002-04.

Gronkiewicz replaces Medlin

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:36 EDT

Former USC pitcher Lee Gronkiewicz will take over as coach of the Columbia Blowfish for the second half of the year.

Gronkiewicz replaces Tim Medlin, who led Columbia for the franchise’s first 3½ seasons. Medlin’s record was 77-114.

Gronkiewicz pitched for South Carolina from 1999 to 2001 and was the closer on the 2001 team, going 2-1 with 19 saves in 61.2 innings pitched.

He has spent the past seven years in the minor leagues, reaching the majors with Toronto in 2008.

It will be Gronkiewicz’s first coaching job.

Former Vols QB facing burglary charge

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:30 EDT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. | Former Tennessee quarterback James "Jim Bob" Cooter was charged with aggravated burglary in Knoxville after a woman said he climbed through an apartment window and got into bed with her.

According to a police report from the early Saturday incident, officers found him in the woman's bed. Knoxville Police spokesman Darrell DeBusk says there was no indication in the report that the two knew each other.

He was released from jail on a $10,000 bond and will be arraigned on July 13.

Cooter played as a backup quarterback from 2003 to 2006 and served as a graduate assistant for the Vols during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. He currently works for the Indianapolis Colts as a staff assistant.

Bone at home in creating a new hoops buzz

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:02 EDT

Don't ask.

The 6-foot-5 woman with the big smile shooting baskets at "the Strom" wellness center or noshing on a burrito at Moe's is who you think she is:

The coolest thing to hit Columbia since central air and the reason to believe Dawn Staley has a chance to turn around the fortunes of USC's women's basketball program in her second season.

Meet Kelsey Bone, the Gamecocks' BWOC — Big Woman on Campus.

During the first session of summer school in June, Bone would be shooting at the Strom or the Gamecocks' practice facility when she'd notice a crowd of boys that had wandered over from Darrin Horn's camp to gather around the tall girl.

Big 12 ready to surpass SEC in football?

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:02 EDT

Fifteen years after its creation, the Big 12 stands on the brink of fulfilling the great expectations predicted at its birth.

In February 1994, the combination of the Big Eight and many of the top programs from the Southwest Conference seemed like great football synergy.

Texas. Oklahoma. Nebraska. Texas A&M. Colorado. While the conference has been more than competitive since its inception — producing three outright or shared national champions since it began play in 1996 — its best may be directly ahead.

There's just one obstacle: the Southeastern Conference. Or maybe two, if you count conventional wisdom.

Florida's 24-14 win gave a factual basis to the perception that the Big 12 wasn't ready to leapfrog the SEC. Ole Miss' 47-34 win over Texas Tech in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic also didn't help the Big 12's case.

Alshon Jeffery ready to enroll at USC

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:02 EDT

Alshon Jeffery’s enrollment at South Carolina appears just days away.

The Calhoun County High wide receiver, a star recruit for USC, received an A in an online science course and has improved his SAT score enough to be eligible as a freshman, Calhoun County High coach Walt Wilson said Wednesday.

With USC’s next session of summer school slated to start after the Fourth of July weekend, Jeffery is expected to receive clearance from USC’s admissions office as early as today.

“They’re trying to get him up there by Sunday,” Wilson said of USC’s coaches.

Jeffery graduated from Calhoun County with a 2.5 core grade point average, Wilson said. But he took an online science course through Edisto High to improve his core GPA.

Vols gain commitment from 13-year old

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:14 EDT

The 13-year-old brother of Tennessee safety Eric Berry says he wants to play for the Volunteers too.

That's without having played a single down of high school football.

Evan Berry will be an eighth-grader in the fall, but is expected to eventually play quarterback and safety at Creekside High School in Fairburn, Ga., like his older brother.

"Yes, I committed to Tennessee," Evan Berry told Rivals.com. "It's the only college I know right now and it seems the best for me."

No valid scholarship offer could be made by Tennessee under NCAA rules until a prospect has registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, which Berry has not, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

USC men to play Richmond

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:02 EDT

The USC men's basketball team will play host to Richmond next season, according to a published report.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Wednesday that the Atlantic 10 team will visit Colonial Life Arena. Richmond returns four starters from a team that went 20-16 last year and finished the regular season ranked 126th in the Ratings Percentage Index.

The Spiders become the sixth known nonconference opponent for the Gamecocks, along with home games against Western Kentucky, Baylor and Furman, and visits to Clemson and Wofford. South Carolina also will play three games in the Charleston Classic.

South Carolina coach Darrin Horn declined to comment, saying through team spokesman Emily Feeney that the program would not comment on scheduling.

— Seth Emerson

Men's swimming recruiting class ranked 21st

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:13 EDT

Coach McGee Moody has earned a top-25 recruiting ranking for the USC men’s swimming team for the first time in his tenure. The 2009-10 signing class was ranked No. 21 by CollegeSwimming.com.

Headlining the class are two top-100 recruits: Max Heinze is ranked 68th overall and Michael Flach is No. 91.

Pauly joins South Carolina softball

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:16 EDT

South Carolina softball has brought in former Spartanburg Methodist head coach Rick Pauly as pitching coach.

The school announced the move Wednesday. Pauly spent the past five seasons at Spartanburg Methodist, leading the Pioneers to two straight trips to the NJCAA Division I World Series.

South Carolina coach Joyce Compton said she was excited to have someone with Pauly's experience joining the staff.

Before coming to Spartanburg Methodist, Pauly was a volunteer assistant coach for Arizona high schools. He helped lead nationally regarded programs at Mount Point and Desert Vista high schools in Phoenix.

Tebow, Snead stand apart from unproven QBs

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:20 EDT

Nationally, this sets up as the year of the quarterback in college football. And two of the biggest names are in the SEC.

Be careful, though, to assume you can call it the year of the quarterback in the SEC.

Florida’s Tim Tebow and Mississippi’s Jevan Snead are good — that much is certain. Tebow is among the favorites, along with Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Texas’ Colt McCoy, to win the Heisman Trophy, which would be his second. Snead might be a better NFL prospect.

After that, the quality of established signal-callers in the SEC drops off the kind of cliff that Wile E. Coyote made famous.

Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett, Alabama’s Greg McElroy and, yes, USC’s Stephen Garcia might emerge as stars, but until the season starts, they are part of a group of unproven SEC quarterbacks.

South Carolina soccer upgrades field

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:20 EDT

South Carolina is installing a state-of-art grass field and drainage system at Gamecock soccer's Stone Stadium.

The renovations are expected to be completed by August and cost about $462,000, according to athletic administrator Kevin O'Connell who oversees department construction.

Men's coach Mark Berson said the improvements will make the surface one of the best and most reliable in the country.

There have been instances in the past where the field was unplayable.

Women's coach Shelley Smith remembered playing Florida in a 2006 game as the rain kept falling. It went into overtime and puddles of standing water squished up with every free kick and contested ball.

N.C. lineman commits to USC for 2010

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:21 EDT

Offensive lineman Corey Robinson (6-7 290) of Havelock, N.C., became USC's 12th commitment for 2010 Tuesday when he announced a pledge to the Gamecocks during a gathering at his school.

USC is Robinson's only offer, though he's also drawn interest from North Carolina, N.C. State, East Carolina and Duke.

Robinson says USC appeals to him for a few reasons.

"I like the coaches, and there's the chance to play in the SEC with great players," Robinson said. "I didn't know much about them, but they are bringing in coach [Eric] Wolford, and he had to come in having proven himself that he can develop players, and I think it will be great to work with him."

Robinson said his commitment is a firm one.

USC signee Payne leads Team USA

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:20 EDT

After a sterling first-round performance last Saturday, former Columbia High player and USC signee Chris Payne and Team USA will meet Mexico in the second round of the Junior World Championship football tournament at Canton, Ohio, on Wednesday.

Payne, playing safety, led the American team with eight tackles, including a sack, in a 78-0 thrashing of France before a crowd of 10,145 at Fawcett Stadium, which is adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Linebacker Tariq Edwards of Marlboro County was second on the team with six tackles and a sack.

Payne also returned one punt for 11 yards.

Team USA, seeded No. 2 in the eight-team tournament, plays third-seeded Mexico at 7 p.m. Earlier Wednesday, top-seeded France meets Japan in the other semifinal at 4 p.m.

Bradley catches more top baseball honors

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:58 EDT

South Carolina outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. has been named to the Baseball America 2009 Freshman All-American Team.

Bradley, a first-team selection, hit .349 (89-for-255) with 11 HR and 46 RBI and played in all 63 games on the year with 61 starts.

He ended the season on a high note with a productive NCAA Regional in Greenville, N.C., where he hit .500 (9-for-18) for the weekend with a pair of homers and eight runs scored.

Bradley's first season with the Gamecocks included 26 multi-hit games, the third highest total on the Gamecock squad. His 89 hits on the year is also a USC record for hits by a freshman in single season.

He was also a member of the SEC All-Freshman team and received Freshman All-America honors from both Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA.

Vikings sign Jasper Brinkley

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:07 EDT

The Minnesota Vikings have signed fifth-round draft pick Jasper Brinkley.

Brinkley is a linebacker from South Carolina. He received second-team All-SEC honors last year after recording 65 tackles with the Gamecocks. Terms of the deal were not disclosed on Tuesday.

Brinkley is expected to compete for time as a backup linebacker and be a big contributor on special teams. The Vikings like to use linebackers on special teams because of their combination of size and athleticism.

Brinkley is the second draft pick of the team's five-player 2009 class to sign a contract. The Vikings have also signed seventh-round pick Jamarca Sanford, a safety.

The Gamecocks had seven players picked in this year's draft, the second-most in program history and the most since the draft was shortened to seven rounds in 1994.

Charlotte infielder headed to USC

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:01 EDT

The USC baseball team Tuesday picked up a commitment for the 2010 class from middle infielder Jake Watson (5-10 165) of Charlotte.

Watson can play shortstop, second base and third base.

Positive buzz returns to SEC preseason

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:07 EDT

Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury sounded close to annoyed Monday when he was asked about John Calipari.

“I think it’s already obvious what kind of impact he’s had: He’s got you asking me a question about him in the middle of June,” Stansbury said of the new coach at Kentucky.

Stansbury had company during Monday’s SEC coaches teleconference as Calipari and Kentucky were a big topic of discussion. Another big talking point was the improved perception of the league, and Kentucky is not the only reason for that:

• SEC teams will return 44 of their 60 starters, including six who withdrew from the NBA draft.

• League teams signed eight of the nation’s top 30 recruits, according to Rivals.com.

Alshon Jeffery set to make the grade

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:04 EDT

Highly touted prospect Alshon Jeffery is poised to meet the qualifying requirements to become a South Carolina Gamecock.

According to a source close to Jeffery, the Calhoun County receiver had an improved SAT score and needs to maintain his current A this week in an online course.

Combined, the test score and online course are enough to meet eligibility requirements, the source said.

Barring any unexpected hitches, Jeffery would enroll at USC this weekend, according to the source.

Jeffery was one of the gems of the Gamecocks’ 29-player signing class — a 6-foot-3, 217-pounder who caught 35 passes for 740 yards and three touchdowns as a senior. He initially committed to Southern Cal — and donned a Trojans blanket during a Signing Day press conference before pulling out a Gamecocks cap.