TheState.com: GoGamecocks: The Magazine

Sorensen an imposing figure

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:23 EST

For as long as there have been helicopter parents and hometown schools, there has been a segment of high school students who extol the benefits of going away for college.

They have nothing on Justin Sorensen.

After accepting a scholarship offer from South Carolina five years ago, the native of Parksville, British Columbia, packed his bags and headed off for a different country, culture and, most significantly, a different climate. A common complaint among first-time visitors to the Southeast is, ‘It’s not the heat; it’s the humidity.’

For the 6-foot-7, 316-pound Sorensen, it was both.

“The worst thing when I first came down here was the heat. I came down here in July and the humidity just killed me that first month,” Sorensen said. “I never stopped sweating. I was so hot the first month I was down here.”

Q&A: USC women's hoops coach Dawn Staley

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:07 EST

USC's new women's basketball coach sat down recently with GoGamecocks the Magazine's Joseph Person and discussed Columbia's late-night dining options, her favorite movies and why you'll never catch her on a WaveRunner at Lake Murray.

QUESTION: What do you miss most about Philadelphia?

ANSWER: The restaurants. The access to the restaurants, they stay open pretty late. When I’m familiar with something, I’ll just continue to go to the same restaurants. That’s what I did in Philly, and I have yet to have enough time to go out and find those restaurants. Blue Marlin is one that I like to go to, though. And Villa Tronco.

Q: You’re something of a night owl. When did you start keeping that schedule?

A: It’s always been a part of me. I work best outside of my house. I work best at the office, mainly when no one’s there. I usually come in a little earlier than others and stay a little later after they’ve gone home. I just work best that way. I don’t work better during the day because a lot of people come in the office. When I have my time, I think better. I think clearer when I’m able to spend a little time with myself. Think about practice and the personalities of our team, the characteristics of our team and all that.

Who's who: Get to know the men's hoops team

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:24 EDT

Tallest: Mitchell Carter

The 6-foot-10 junior from Milwaukee has yet to make use of his height on the court. But the new coaching staff thinks he can help off the bench and is hoping for 5-10 minutes a game from Carter.

Shortest: Devan Downey

The 5-foot-9 junior has been playing (and beating) taller players since he was in middle school. Downey would test himself against the older kids in Chester, who would go from making fun of him to wishing they never had.

Smartest: Branden Conrad

Politics and technicals

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:24 EDT

Darrin Horn was introduced as South Carolina's new men's basketball coach on April 1, after five years as Western Kentucky's coach.

He sat down with Seth Emerson, GoGamecocks The Magazine's men's basketball beat writer, recently for some questions.

QUESTION: Did you and your wife buy a house yet in Columbia, and did the mortgage survive the Wall Street crisis?

ANSWER: Yes, and so far it has. We were a qualified borrower. I think it was OK.

Q: At Western Kentucky, everyone knew you, because you were an alumnus, and because basketball was the big thing there, it was No. 1. How is going out in public different here than it was there?

Where are they now: Blackie Kincaid

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:37 EDT

Call him by the name on his birth certificate, “James,” and no one would know him. Born with long, dark hair, he immediately became Blackie to the neighborhood folks in West Virginia.

His white hair makes a lie of his nickname today, but all the years have not changed Blackie Kincaid’s love affair with the University of South Carolina.

Maybe more than anyone, he appreciated the efforts of the USC department of athletics and Gamecock Club to bring former football players back to campus.

He gave up his annual trip to the Masters to attend a golf outing at Northwoods, football practice and dinner with past and present players.

“This getting together is so valuable,” said Kincaid who is 77 and spending his retirement years in Goldsboro, N.C.

Quarterbacks talk quarterbacks

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:09 EDT

So how would you like to be USC's quarterback in 2008?

First of all, know that your every move, wiggle or twitch will be analyzed and fretted over by 80,000-plus fans on fall Saturdays.

Know, too, that your coach will measure your performance against standards that produced six SEC championships and all manner of passing records at Florida - not to mention the Ball Coach, in his time as a college quarterback, won the 1966 Heisman Trophy.

Now, add this fact: Watching games from the USC radio booth will be Todd Ellis and Tommy Suggs, two of the top quarterbacks in school history.

Talk about tough audiences.

Experts: Defense good. Offense huh?

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:04 EDT

So you've read every preseason college football magazine, perused predictions, ogled opinions, studied statistics. All to answer the question: How will USC fare in 2008?

Here at GoGamecocks The Magazine, we don’t gather reams of research compiled by nameless or unknown “experts.” We go straight to the top – no, not Steve Spurrier, who probably reads those same magazines – but to two of the biggest of big-time analysts: Tony Barnhart, SEC/ACC reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and CBS, and author of the classic “Southern Fried Football,” updated for release in August (with new memorials to two late sports-information legends, USC’s Tom Price and Clemson’s Bob Bradley); and Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com, former Sports Illustrated writer and author of “The Maisel Report,” his new book on the overrated and underrated of college football.

OK, guys: How about those Gamecocks?

“South Carolina isn’t an easy team to pigeonhole,” Maisel says. “The questions aren’t on defense; it’ll be interesting to see how they fit into what (new coordinator) Ellis Johnson wants to do. But like everyone else, I don’t know what to make of the offense.”

Barnhart also cuts to the chase.

Q&A with Gamecocks' Ellis Johnson

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:20 EDT

Ellis Johnson, who grew up in Winnsboro and has coached in just about every corner of the state on the high school and college levels, finally made it to USC in January as the Gamecocks’ defensive coordinator. The 56-year-old Johnson sat down with GoGamecocks The Magazine's Joseph Person to discuss his homecoming and his thoughts on the Gamecocks’ defense.

QUESTION: What’s been the best part about being back home?

ANSWER: It’s been kind of strange in some ways. I really haven’t seen my extended family. Being here in a familiar area, it’s really been kind of funny. Every year we planned at least one week of our vacation time, we’d come over here and run around and see family and hang out. So that week got here, and we sort of didn’t know where to go.

The professional side of it’s been good. . . . We’re changing the scheme, changing some of the Xs and Os. I’ve got to get to know personnel. But I’ve worked with all three of these defensive coaches before, and that helps. Personalities-wise, we’d all met each other, knew each other and so forth.

Q: What’s been the most challenging aspect of the transition?

Playing favorites: Forecasting USC's season

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:27 EDT

Will be favored

-- vs. N.C. State, Aug. 28 | This isn’t your typical warm-up game, but it could end up being the perfect opener. N.C. State is well-coached by Tom O’Brien, who is starting his second season in Raleigh. But the Wolfpacks have just 10 returning starters from a team that went 5-7 last season.

-- at Vanderbilt, Sept. 4 | Playing in Nashville has become tricky, and this second consecutive Thursday night game could be played in front of an energized crowd. But USC is 8-1 at Vanderbilt, and this year’s Commodores are rebuilding.

-- vs. Wofford, Sept. 20 | Welcome to the annual small-school headache game. Steve Spurrier only needs to show film of the game against Wofford two years ago, when USC escaped with a 27-20 win, to provide motivation. The Terriers still employ their wacky ball-control offense. Left, Wofford football coach Mike Ayers.

-- vs. Alabama-Birmingham, Sept. 27 | UAB coach Neil Callaway is well acquainted with the Gamecocks and the SEC. The Gamecocks better be ready – despite a 2-10 record last season, the Blazers hung in there with FSU and Mississippi State.

Don't keep SEC superiority a secret

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:09 EDT

The votes are in, and pretty much every preseason publication has spoken: The Southeastern Conference is set to be king of college football again in 2008.

Not only outsiders think so; at the SEC meetings in Destin, Fla., every coach said the league will be better than in 2007, when LSU won the conference’s second consecutive national title.

It’s hard to argue with such a consensus. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution offers a dazzling array of supporting facts: Two 2007 BCS bowl teams (LSU, Georgia) both won; nine teams had seven-plus wins in 2007; eight have 14 or more returning starters, highlighted by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida.

Four SEC teams are in at least one preseason top 10: the Gators, Auburn, LSU and Georgia, which is ranked No. 1 or No. 2 on everyone’s list. Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina are listed among the top 30 by some.

It sounds great, and might even turn out that way. So why are most SEC teams intent on keeping their superiority a secret?

A fowl tradition

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:16 EDT

If you went to any weekend baseball game at Sarge Frye Field this past season, you’d see Sir Big Spur - or, these days, Sir Big Spur II.

The 7-year-old, 8-pound rooster strutted its stuff atop South Carolina’s dugout, flapping its wings and occasionally crowing, to the delight of most (but not all) Gamecocks fans.

Watching Sir Big Spur II from Row 3, Seats 14-15, Mary Snelling and Ron Albertelli wore “Sir Big Spur Crew” T-shirts and basked in their feathered mascot’s celebrity. It wasn’t always so, however.

Four years ago, the Aiken couple fought a “Roostergate” battle with another fan, Barton Dumas, over bringing the bird to games. Snelling, 54, and Albertelli, 63, said they mustered 6,000 supportive petition signatures, distributed fluorescent stickers backing their bird - and eventually won.

“(Former athletics director) Mike McGee told me to my face, 'You can bring the chicken,' " Snelling said. And they do.

Color commentator Tommy Moody is a walking baseball encyclopedia

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:03 EDT

Tommy Moody has the ultimate USC baseball trivia question. One only he and a handful of others know; one you can’t look up.

He had been saving it for one of his baseball broadcasts, but since we asked . . .

“The most stolen bases for South Carolina in a game,” USC’s color commentator said. “It’s not in the records book; Tom Price (the Gamecocks’ late sports information guru and baseball statistician) never put it in.”

The answer? Nine, vs. Wake Forest in 1970.

How does Moody know? “My mother saved the (newspaper) clipping,” he said, laughing.

Q&A with men's hoops coach Darrin Horn

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:29 EDT

QUESTION: What impression have you gained of your new players?

ANSWER: “The one thing that’s been really exciting is it’s a really good group of kids. They’ve got a good attitude, and they’re really working hard to adapt to what we want to do. That part has been really encouraging. It’s a transition in philosophy, transition in styles, terminology, all of those things. Some of them look like they’re going to adjust pretty well to it, the (Dominique) Archies and the (Devan) Downeys and those guys. And some other ones you know it’ll take more time.”

Q: Downey was among the nation’s leaders in steals last season, yet there has been a lot of talk about him struggling defensively. How do those two things mesh?

A: “There’s a difference between stealing the ball, which he’s really good at in terms of having good instincts and great hands. He’s really good at sneaking in and slapping it away. But to be a really good defender, you’ve got to learn that there’s a good time to do that and when you have to be solid.”

Q: He took too many chances?

USC commitment spreads Gamecock gospel

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:03 EDT

Chris Payne’s job on the football field is that of a hard-hitting safety who is not afraid to share his opinions.

While honing those skills and preparing this summer for his senior season at Columbia High, he is filling a vital off-field role as well.

Since becoming South Carolina’s first commitment for the Class of 2009 in March, Payne has been preaching the Gamecocks football gospel to whichever top players he can get in touch with.

“I’ve met a bunch of people from all over,” Payne said. “I try to talk to someone every other week. I try to get in touch (via phone, e-mail or text) with at least two every week.”

Payne is a hometown kid selling the attributes of his hometown college. But he didn’t agree to stay close to home and join the Gamecocks because he had no other options.

10 most intriguing people in USC sports

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:08 EDT

In the inaugural edition of GoGamecocks The Magazine, see who made our list of the 10 most intriguing people involved with USC sports.

STEVE SPURRIER, Football coach

If you know USC football coach Steve Spurrier, you know that right after football and family he loves golf. You might not know just how much, though — or how, as in football, he loves winning and hates losing.

At the 2007 Verizon Heritage, Spurrier competed in the pro-am with PGA Tour player and friend Chris DiMarco, a former Florida golfer. At the short par-4 ninth hole, the coach blasted his sand shot to five feet and, with a crowd watching, sank the par putt — for a net birdie — to give his team the apparent victory.

Spurrier Q&A: QBs, Jr. and the future

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:47 EDT

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier spoke with GoGamecocks The Magazine's Joseph Person during the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Fla., about the upcoming season, his decision to let Steve Spurrier Jr. serve as the primary play-caller and his unwavering goal to win an SEC championship at USC.

Q: You’re coming up on your fourth season. Is the South Carolina job harder than you thought it would be?

A: It’s about what I expected it to be. We’ve made progress. We’ve got better players and hopefully we’ll coach better. We’re looking forward to seeing what happens this year.

Q: You’re a guy who likes to win, expects to win. Have you reached a frustration point?

A: Well, no. There’ve been reasons we’ve not been quite as successful as we had hoped. And we’re trying to correct those areas. We’ve got some new coaches. I know we’ve got better athletes. So we’re going to kick it off and believe we’re going to have a very good team this year.

GoGamecocks The Magazine

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:52 EST

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