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South Carolina's Mike Holmes (24) dunks over Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado (32) during USC's loss to the Bulldogs on Friday.
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Morris: Clemson, USC still worthy of praise
Posted on 03.15.09
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- Bulldog rally renders Gamecocks speechless
- Morris: USC's bubble bursts, leaving path to NIT
survey:
Will USC make the NCAA basketball tournament?
A FINE LINE exists in athletics between celebration and disappointment. The South Carolina and Clemson teams are making their fans straddle that line this college basketball season.
Let’s see, do we celebrate USC’s surprising success in Darrin Horn’s first season as coach, one in which the Gamecocks won more than 20 games in the regular season for the first time since 2004? Or, do we focus on a late-season dip that likely will leave USC out of the NCAA tournament and in the NIT?
On the Clemson front, do we celebrate a 23-win season that included a 27-point demolition of mighty Duke, the Blue Devils’ largest margin of defeat in 18 years? Or, do we bemoan four losses in the past five games that leave Clemson limping into the NCAA tournament after a first-round exit in the ACC tourney?
The common equation in these psychological puzzles goes something like this: Low preseason expectations plus unexpected successful results plus late-season slips in performance equals a high disappointment quotient. It is D plus A plus C equals F, if you follow me.
Unfortunately, we live in a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately sports culture, where coaches such as Maryland’s Gary Williams face questions about his job security just seven years after his club won the national championship. Ten years from winning a national title at Kentucky, Tubby Smith might as well have gotten a one-way ticket out of town from Big Blue fans.
Of course, no one is calling for a coach’s job in this state. Horn is quickly proving to be one of the game’s bright young minds. Oliver Purnell is one of the more respected coaches in the ACC through six seasons at Clemson.
Where both coaches might have failed this season was having their respective teams perform at or better than expected. USC, picked to finish fifth in the SEC East, finished in a tie for first place with Tennessee. Clemson, also picked as a fifth-place finisher in the ACC, finished in that exact spot at the end of the regular season.
Along the way, USC thrilled its fans, going so far as to fill the oversized Colonial Life Arena several times. USC did it with an attacking defense that created fast-break opportunities and an exciting brand of basketball. It helped having a star player, Devan Downey, who gained consideration for SEC player of the year honors.
USC’s 21 wins marked the fourth-highest regular-season total in program history. In a late-season win against Kentucky, USC looked like world-beaters. The Gamecocks might have beaten any team in the country that evening, sending the Wildcats home with their tails between their legs and an 18-point defeat.
At that point, USC fans began to believe anything was possible, most certainly a bid to the NCAA tournament. With Downey and Zam Fredrick in the backcourt, it was conceivable that USC could do some damage in the postseason. Heck, an NCAA tournament win for the first time in more than three decades was more than a pipe dream.
That’s the trouble with success. It breeds unrealistic expectations. Before anyone knew it, USC was thought to be better than it probably was. As the grind of the long season continued, USC’s weaknesses were exposed. The Gamecocks are not a strong rebounding team, they do not shoot the ball well from the perimeter and they are not particularly athletic.
Clemson followed a similar course. In bolting to a 16-0 start, Clemson counted wins at Illinois, Miami and South Carolina. The peak was the blowout of Duke that left Clemson 19-2 and its fan base with visions of a Final Four appearance.
Since then, Clemson has lost six of 10 games. The Tigers outside shooting often goes the way guard Terrence Oglesby goes. Their inside game is a one-man show with Trevor Booker carrying much of the load, which can sometimes be neutralized by deeper and more athletic front lines.
So, basketball fans in the state are left with teams reeling as post-season play begins. Disappointing? No doubt. Nevertheless, no matter what happens beginning next week, there should be some sort of pause for celebration in South Carolina.
This marks the second time in history that both teams posted more than 20 wins in the same season. The previous high-water mark for hoops in the state was 1997 when USC won 24 games before bowing out in the first round of the NCAA tournament, while Clemson won 23 games and reached the Sweet 16.
This time, it appears USC is headed to the NIT. Clemson could prove to be a dangerous opponent in the NCAA tournament. Regardless of what happens, the two programs have made a statement that college basketball is now more than a diversion from football.
That alone should help fans fall on the side of celebration rather than disappointment.
Listen to Morris Tuesdays from 4-5 p.m. on ESPN Radio 93.1 FM.
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