TheState.com: GoGamecocks: Menand#39;s Basketball

Recruiting: USC issues concern Clowney

Mon, 02 May 2011 01:45 EDT

THE COUNTRY’S top-ranked recruit, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (6-6, 247) of South Pointe, told reporters after Saturday’s ESPNU game against Northwestern he still has USC and Alabama as his top two schools.

Clowney said he has no favorite, but did indicate concern about the off-field issues at USC.

“You’ve seen the Roll Tide,” Clowney said. “They just play hard. South Carolina is in a little bit of trouble right now, so I don’t know right now. I’m still thinking about where I’m going to go to. I haven’t decided yet. It will be a big decision, though.”

Clowney is still considering Clemson, LSU, Florida State and Miami. He plans to be at the Alabama-USC game in October.

Quarterback Tanner McEvoy (6-6, 205) of Oradell, N.J., has cut down his list and says USC will be one of his official visits. McEvoy will not take any official visits until his season is finished because all but one of his games are on Saturdays.

USC gets Vandy first on SEC home slate

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:39 EDT

Vanderbilt will be South Carolina's first guest during the Southeastern Conference portion of the upcoming basketball season, with Kentucky not too far behind.

The Southeastern Conference released its men's basketball schedule for the 2011 on Thursday.

After the Commodores on Jan. 8, South Carolina hits the road for SEC games against Alabama and Florida. The Gamecocks return to Colonial Life Arena to face Kentucky on Jan. 22. It will be the teams' first meeting since South Carolina pulled off a 68-62 upset of the then-top-ranked and unbeaten Wildcats.

The Kentucky game is sandwiched around home games against Arkansas and Auburn.

South Carolina ends its home SEC season against Tennessee on March 3 and closes the regular season at Mississippi State on March 5. Below is a complete listing of South Carolina's SEC games for the 2011 season.

USC hoops to visit a dream destination

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:16 EDT

Darrin Horn looks at the Michigan State basketball program and sees what he wants his South Carolina to become.

In less than three months, the Gamecocks will get a close-up look at the Spartans during a trip to the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich.

Speaking Tuesday about his team’s nonconference schedule, Horn couldn’t hide his excitement about playing Michigan State coach Tom Izzo’s powerhouse program, which has played in each of the past two Final Fours and reached the NCAA tournament 13 consecutive seasons.

Horn campaigned to have the Gamecocks included in ESPN’s “College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon” and was rewarded with a Nov. 16 game at 10 p.m. The marathon is comprised of 12 live games covering 24 consecutive hours.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to be on the national stage against a nationally prominent program that has performed and done things in a way that we’d like to be doing them one day,” said Horn, whose second USC team finished 15-16 last season.

Gamecocks are in Leonard's final two

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:45 EDT

Damien Leonard (6-5) of J.L. Mann has eliminated Arizona and will choose either South Carolina or Oklahoma State, his AAU coach said Monday.

Arizona recently picked up a shooting guard commitment, so Leonard is turning his focus to the Gamecocks and Cowboys.

USC will have its in-home visit with Leonard on Sept. 9. He will make his official visit to USC that weekend.

He is scheduled for his official visit to Oklahoma State on Oct. 21.

“USC has got the edge,” Willis Holiday said. “It’s a little edge.”

Holloway joins USC as a walk-on

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:55 EDT

Murphy Holloway has officially joined the Gamecocks' men's basketball team as a walk-on for the upcoming season.

The school announced the addition Friday.

Holloway (6-7/230), a native of Irmo who spent two seasons at Ole Miss, will sit out the upcoming season due to NCAA transfer rules.

He will be eligible to play during the 2011-12 season as a redshirt-junior. Holloway will not receive any athletic department financial assistance from South Carolina during the 2010-11 academic year.

He ranked fifth in the SEC in rebounding and eighth in steals (1.5 per game) last season, while he finished sixth among league players with eight double-doubles. As a sophomore he averaged 10.1 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds, starting 30 of 34 contests. In two seasons at Ole Miss, Holloway amassed 606 career points, 464 rebounds, 86 steals and 33 blocks. He played in 65 games with 47 starts.

USC part of ESPN’s 24 hours of hoops

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:07 EDT

For the second straight year, ESPN will mark the start of the college basketball season with 24 consecutive hours of live game coverage.

South Carolina at Michigan State at 10 p.m. on Nov. 16 will be part of the schedule

The schedule was announced Monday and three teams from last season's Final Four will be part of the marathon that begins Nov. 16 at midnight EST.

National champion Duke hosts Miami of Ohio. National runner-up Butler is at Louisville. Michigan State, which lost to Butler in the Final Four, is home against South Carolina.

Also on the schedule is the debut of St. John's coach Steve Lavin, an ESPN analyst the last seven years.

Downey signs with pro team in Turkey

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:38 EDT

Former South Carolina star Devan Downey has signed with a pro team in Turkey.

Here’s a link to the story, which those of you who speak fluent Turkish will be able to understand.

Meantime, here’s another link to a story on Ridiculousupside.com. It’s actually a pretty good write-up, with analysis on why Downey is better off going overseas.

Interestingly, Downey will have a familiar teammate on Antalya, his new team: Former Tennessee forward Wayne Chism, who was also a teammate in the NBA summer league earlier this month.

The bottom line is Downey’s performance for the Sacramento Kings’ summer league team didn’t leave things hopeful that he would get a legitimate shot in training camp, if he even got an invite.

USC makes final cut with Leonard

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:31 EDT

6-5 Damien Leonard of JL Mann has cut his list to a final three his AAU coach revealed Tuesday. Leonard is down to USC, Arizona and Oklahoma State according to Willis Holiday. He has eliminated Clemson and Virginia Tech.

"It has been a tough process over the last two months," Holiday said. "Damien wanted to see where the majority of recruits were coming in at and where coaches feel they are going to play him. We really like Arizona and Sean Miller and his staff are absolutely amazing. We love USC and Darrin Horn and his staff have been incredible. And then you have Oklahoma State and Travis Ford. The coaches there are very young and have a lot of energy. We just felt like this was the best for Damien at the time."

Leonard will take official visits to his final three schools with his mother beginning in September and finishing up in early October. He will go first to Arizona followed by Oklahoma State and then USC.

"A couple of days afterwards, we'll go over the process of elimination where Damien will feel what's the best fit for him and go ahead and name our school. Hopefully we'll be doing that just before the November 1st deadline."

The entire interview with Holiday is available at SportsTalkSC.com.

Downey makes NBA Summer League debut

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:43 EDT

Former USC star Devan Downey made his NBA Summer League debut on Monday as the Sacramento Kings beat the Detroit Pistons 97-68.

Downey played the final four minutes for the Kings and missed his only shot.

He finished with one rebound, two assists and two fouls.

The Kings play again Tuesday against the Lakers.

Holloway eager for fresh start

Thu, 20 May 2010 00:46 EDT

Murphy Holloway started thinking about coming home to South Carolina last October, when his daughter Rihanna was born.

The basketball player’s sophomore year at Mississippi had not even begun, but he had a successful season, finishing fifth in the SEC in rebounding and steals.

All season, his mind and his heart remained focused on returning home.

After an eventful few weeks, when it first appeared he would end up at Clemson, Holloway announced his intention Wednesday to walk on at South Carolina for the 2011-12 season and start playing for the Gamecocks.

“It’s crazy how things work out, but now fortunately I’m here, I’m glad I’m here,” Holloway said in the library at Dutch Fork High School, his alma mater. He spoke after a news conference, an unusual occurrence for a transfer and a walk-on.

Holloway ready to announce decision

Tue, 18 May 2010 13:47 EDT

Murphy Holloway said he has "an idea" of where he plans to go to school next year, and is planning to announce his decision at a Wednesday news conference.

The former Mississippi starter said he hasn’t made a firm decision, after being told it was reported that he would walk-on and pay his own way at USC for one season.

"I haven’t decided what I’m going to do, but I do have an idea," Holloway said Monday night. He said the news conference would be at his former high school, Dutch Fork in Irmo.

Holloway would have to pay his own way at USC for one season because Mississippi refused to release him to USC or Clemson. He would then have two years of eligibility remaining.

Mississippi athletics director Pete Boone last week said the denial to USC was because it was an SEC rival, while Clemson was because of "drumbeats" about Holloway and Clemson before he was officially released.

Morris: Holloway case shows inequity with NCAA rules

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:04 EDT

The unfortunate case of Murphy Holloway represents the perfect example of the oppressiveness and inequities that exist for NCAA athletes. His case also harks to how petty and pathetic an athletics department can be in punishing an athlete who opts to transfer to another school.

In Holloway's case, Mississippi is the institution that stooped to new lows. Even though Holloway no longer was a student or athlete at Mississippi, the athletics director and basketball coach denied his transfer to either South Carolina or Clemson - his first two preferences.

Should we be surprised? Hardly. This is the state where only in the past decade have fans stopped waving the Confederate flag at Mississippi home football games. This is the school that until a year ago hung on to its mascot, Colonel Reb, a caricature of what appears to be a white antebellum plantation owner.

But this is not to single out Mississippi. Its athletics department simply acted within the rules set down by the NCAA, rules written solely for the benefit of member institutions. Athletes are second-class citizens under NCAA rules.

If you do not believe that, the picture of exploited labor, restricted free trade and general tyranny within the NCAA becomes clear when you take a closer look at Holloway's case.

Rebels block Holloway's appeal

Thu, 13 May 2010 21:14 EDT

Murphy Holloway's transfer options are now limited.

His former school, Mississippi, denied his appeal of an earlier ruling that declined to release him to his top two choices: South Carolina and Clemson.

Holloway still could play basketball at one of those two schools, but only after paying his own way while he sat out a year.

The Dutch Fork High graduate could go on scholarship at a smaller instate school. Two sources said if Holloway chose Coastal Carolina, Mississippi likely would sign off on his hardship request to play right away.

Attempts to reach Holloway on Thursday were unsuccessful.

Graduation day for USC's five hoops seniors

Fri, 07 May 2010 21:20 EDT

The five seniors on this year's USC men's basketball team came to campus at different times, but they are leaving together.

Devan Downey, Dominique Archie and their three senior teammates are all graduating. Downey, Archie and fellow starter Brandis Raley-Ross are scheduled to walk across the stage this morning, while Evka Baniulis and Robert Wilder did so Friday.

"That's just a tremendous feat," Wilder said. "I don't know how many teams are really doing that this year. We have all five of our guys graduating this year. That's really a compliment to (athletics director Eric) Hyman and coach (Darrin) Horn and coach (Dave) Odom."

Last season's seniors, guards Zam Fredrick and Branden Conrad, also graduated on time.

This year's five seniors all took different roads to graduation. Downey arrived four years ago as a transfer from Cincinnati, while Archie came five years ago and redshirted his first season. The other three took four years to graduate, but Wilder didn't join the team until his sophomore year.

Horn high on Geathers' potential

Wed, 05 May 2010 20:26 EDT

Story continues below video From The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News

Most recruiting analysts believe Carlton Geathers is a project. Perhaps it is that challenge that has endeared him to his future coach.

The 6-foot-11 Carvers Bay center signed with South Carolina last month. Gamecocks basketball coach Darrin Horn raved about Geathers' potential before speaking to members of the school's booster club on Tuesday.

"We're really excited about Carlton," Horn said. "He's a young man that we think his best basketball is ahead of him. The great thing from him is that we've seen great strides from him. We'll get him on campus and get to work with him. We know about the bloodlines, and I think he's going to fit in really well with what we do."

Horn's recruiting class is ranked 17th nationally by Scout.com. The Gamecocks signed three four-star prospects - Bruce Ellington, Damontre Harris and R.J. Slawson - but Geathers was the only player that did not earn at least three stars or an individual position ranking.

Holloway's situation is unclear

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:34 EDT

Murphy Holloway was watching ESPN on Monday when he saw an item on the scroll stating he was transferring from Mississippi to Clemson.

That caught the Irmo native by surprise.

Holloway is transferring, but his destination remains in the air as he awaits his release papers from Mississippi, which he had not seen as of late Monday evening.

"I don't know about these rumors, because I don't know about my release," Holloway said. "So I'm just taking it day by day really, waiting on the call, waiting on until I get the release. Something got out about Clemson; that's a rumor. I don't know where it came from."

Holloway announced Friday he was transferring after two productive seasons at Mississippi, hoping to play at a school closer to home. Ideally, that would be USC, but Mississippi is reportedly reluctant to release Holloway to another SEC school.

An informed vantage point of USC's hoops future

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:14 EDT

As the page turns to a new era of USC men's basketball, one man with insight into what lies ahead has no connection to the program, or even the state of South Carolina.

David Gaines is the coach and athletics director at Christ School in Asheville, N.C. Lately, that small private school has become famous for churning out Plumlee brothers: Mason and Miles, who play for Duke, and Marshall, a junior at Christ School who is considering joining his brothers in Durham.

But Gaines' program also has become a feeder for the Gamecocks.

Lakeem Jackson was a freshman at USC this past season. Malik Cooke sat out 2009-10 after transferring from Nevada and becomes eligible next season. Eric Smith is a member of the incoming class.

Throw in the fact that Christ School often played against Brian Richardson, a USC signee, and Gaines is practically an expert on the Gamecocks and their future:

Downey, Archie take aim at NBA

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:49 EDT

Dominique Archie and Devan Downey each walked into Colonial Life Arena on Monday night for the last time as college students. Both are about to embark on pro basketball careers a year after deciding to return to school.

After that, however, their stories and paths diverge.

Downey, one of the top players in USC history, has been working out in earnest, attending one camp and lining up workouts with NBA teams.

Archie, however, is in a holding pattern. His surgically repaired knee is still healing, but it probably will not be healed in time to try out for any teams before the June draft.

The 6-foot-7 forward tried to get an extra year of college eligibility, but he was turned down by the NCAA a few weeks ago. Speaking publicly for the first time since that happened, Archie said he had been "ready for both" possibilities and was taking his uncertain future in stride.

Horn makes no excuses, looks to future

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:07 EDT

GREENVILLE - Despite losing Dominique Archie to a knee injury early in the season, then dismissing starting power forward Mike Holmes from the team, South Carolina men's basketball coach Darrin Horn did not make excuses for his team's 15-16 record on Thursday at the Greenville County Gamecock Club meeting.

Instead he chose to look to the future.

"We're really excited about our incoming recruiting class," said Horn, coming off his first losing season as a coach. "It is a big class with six guys. It has a lot of home-grown kids, which we are really excited about. It addresses all of our needs, too, from a position standpoint and athletically and it gives us depth."

Leading the class is Berkeley point guard Bruce Ellington, Goose Creek forward R.J. Slawson and two players from North Carolina, forward Damontre Harris and shooting guard Brian Richardson.

Horn also is high on Malik Cooke, a transfer from the University of Nevada.

Commentary: Expanding NCAAs is true March madness

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:18 EDT

There are bad ideas. There are strange ideas. And then there are those that are both - such as the expansion of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

This is going to happen, barring a late change of heart by the NCAA. But it appears this decision isn't being made by the heart - or even the head.

As soon as next year, the field will be expanded to 96 teams - much to the chagrin of many fans, media and anyone in general who believes there is no need to fix the best postseason in American sports.

So why is this about to happen? The easy answer is money. More teams and more games mean a more valuable TV contract.

But South Carolina athletics director Eric Hyman, who on Monday said expansion was a "high likelihood," cautions that it's not about just money. There are other factors involved, though he was coy about what they are, saying he was "privy" to some discussions and has been asked not to speak publicly about them.