TheState.com: Ron Morris

Morris: ACC stands for more than just football

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:14 EDT

IN A SHOW of force against the leatherheads who are directing the future of college athletics these days, the Atlantic Coast Conference should bid Florida State good riddance as the rogue school seeks another league to call home. Oh, and tell Florida State to take Miami with it to the Big 12 Conference.

Neither school has been a good fit for the ACC, Florida State since it joined the league in 1991 and Miami when it jumped on board in 2004. The major problem with both schools is that the ACC continues to adhere to a standard of principles that integrate athletics and academics while not allowing football to rule the roost.

Beyond that, the ACC has separated itself from other big-time football conferences by not making decisions solely for the benefit of that sport. The ACC actually has concerns about how the latest shuffling of conference affiliations will affect other sports, and how these football decisions will further separate athletics from the schools they represent.

For that, the ACC has been chastised of late, ridiculed for not getting on board to be part of the evolving “super conferences” that kowtow to football, its coaches and the athletics administrators who believe the game played with a pigskin provides all the answers to their financial woes.

It is why Andy Haggard, chairman of the Florida State Board of Trustees, recently questioned the ACC and its purpose. Haggard made it clear that his school and its athletics department have come to a crossroads in dealing with the league.

Morris: SEC tournament not high on priority list

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:19 EDT

RAY TANNER’S STRATEGY of packing clothes for postseason tournaments can be interpreted a couple of different ways.

Tanner and his South Carolina baseball team are in Hoover, Ala., for this week’s double-elimination SEC tournament. Depending on how they fare, the Gamecocks could be there for as few as four days and three nights or as many as six days and five nights, concluding with the championship game on Sunday.

“Did I bring enough clothes to last to Sunday? No,” Tanner said before he boarded the team bus on Monday. “But I’ve got enough (clothes) to get to Thursday. So, if we win, I can recycle. You can’t jinx yourself and pack for a week.”

Is the packing strategy truly an effort to overcome a “jinx” or is it one more example of how Tanner and USC do not take the SEC tournament seriously? My guess is a little bit of the former and a whole lot of the latter.

Since USC won the tournament in 2004, the Gamecocks have posted a 7-14 record in Hoover. This from a program that has won more regular-season conference games (240) since 2000 than any other SEC team.

Morris: College game at its best was on display

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:13 EDT

COLLEGE BASEBALL does not get any better than what was on display Friday and Saturday at Carolina Stadium. Whether South Carolina or LSU won the series seemed irrelevant. So, too, did the SEC division and conference championships that were at stake.

This three-game series was all about the state of the college game. Two of the nation’s elite programs squared off before sellout crowds in excess of 8,000 in a state-of-the-art stadium with the deciding game shown to a national television audience.

Ray Tanner said he occasionally reminds himself — usually while driving his SUV from home to the stadium — of how far the game has advanced over the past decade or so. He got another reminder before Saturday’s game.

Tanner and LSU coach Paul Mainieri stood behind the batting cage and talked baseball, as they did before all three games and they do frequently throughout the season. This time, they were joined by Joe Alleva, LSU’s athletics director.

“Many, many years ago, your AD might not be at the game, most likely would not be at the game,” Tanner said, “nor would the stands be full, nor would television be anywhere close by.”

Morris: There’s a lot riding on USC, LSU matchup

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:53 EDT

SEC coaches and fans can talk all they want about winning divisions and capturing the league’s overall title. It is mere window dressing. The fact of the matter is, this week’s showdown between South Carolina and LSU is all about national seeding.

USC, LSU, Florida and Kentucky head to the final weekend of the regular season — and into the SEC tournament, for that matter — vying to be among the eight teams around the country awarded national seeds for the NCAA tournament.

Seedings are important because they assure those teams of playing host to both the regional and Super Regional tournaments. Home-field advantage is huge in baseball, particularly at programs such as USC and LSU where fans pack their parks for nearly every postseason game.

While a national seed does not equate to a free trip to the College World Series, it certainly provides pavement for a smoother ride to Omaha. Six of the eight top seeds reached the College World Series this past season.

As more and more importance has been placed on reaching the enchanted land of college baseball — and winning the national title at places such as USC and LSU — conference titles have increasingly lost their luster.

SC Hall of Fame: Davis’ legend never slows down

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:47 EDT

FORGET THAT Stephen Davis was a two-time, all-SEC running back at Auburn or that he was a three-time Pro Bowl performer over a 12-year NFL career. Davis deserved his induction Monday into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame based solely on his high school career.

You could make a case that Davis is right there with Freddie Solomon, the fabulous Sumter High football star of the late ’70s, as the greatest high school athlete in South Carolina history.

For three years at Spartanburg High, Davis was the state’s best running back in football and the state’s top sprinter in track. It could be he remains the all-time best in both sports.

“He was pretty special,” said Doc Davis, the head football coach at Spartanburg High when Stephen rushed for 4,501 yards. “Just the fact that he had the size and the speed. I’ve coached athletes who were that fast and some with that size, but never the combination of that.”

Davis was 6-foot-1 and weighed 215 pounds in high school. Despite his bulk and chiseled physique, he won the state Class 4A 100-meters three consecutive years and captured the 200-meters as a sophomore. His 10.4 time in the 100 as a junior stood as the state record for the next 17 years.

Morris: Clemson’s Wilhelm set the standard for ACC

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:47 EDT

THE RICH GREEN baseball field at Doug Kingsmore Stadium seems larger than most. Maybe it’s because there is no warning track in the outfield. Or maybe it’s because the hedges that encircle the outfield fence serve as foreground to a greater field that rolls into a valley and beyond.

Almost as striking is the lack of recognition at the stadium for the man who designed the ballpark, and assembled and guided teams that for nearly four decades made Clemson known from coast to coast for its outstanding baseball.

When the school hung a replica jersey No. 38 sign on the outfield fence to honor coach Bill Wilhelm, he had it removed. No player or coach has worn that jersey number since he retired from coaching following the 1993 season, and the school will never again permit a player or coach to wear it.

When athletics officials approached Wilhelm about naming the ballpark after him, he said, “Thanks ... but no thanks.”

“That’s just me,” Wilhelm said. “I don’t want that.”

Morris: Scuffle could prove positive

Thu, 10 May 2012 23:22 EDT

MOST TEAM squabbles remain in-house. Numerous are the incidents of athletes wrestling to the ground and exchanging fisticuffs on the practice fields in football. Shouting matches between teammates in baseball clubhouses occur more often than fans care to know.

The mantra that crosses all sports is that what happens behind the scenes stays behind the scenes. Families, or in these instances teams, do not air their dirty laundry in public.

On rare occasions do teammates fight in public. That is why the dugout skirmish between South Carolina pitchers Michael Roth and Evan Beal this past Sunday in Fayetteville, Ark., become quite the topic this week on the Internet and on sports talk radio.

“We had a scuffle in Arkansas,” Ray Tanner said Thursday by way of addressing the issue in detail for the first time publicly. “We’re together all the time. I yell at the coaches. They yell back at me.

“It’s more like a brotherhood than anything else, and you have to understand that. It’s part of it. But you also resolve things very quickly. If you’re together all the time, it’s only natural that you have some disagreements and issues. But then you have to have that resolve and leadership that, hey, we’ll keep this thing in perspective here.”

Morris: 3 homers on Senior Day!

Wed, 09 May 2012 22:44 EDT

Everything you are about to read is true. It has been verified by multiple sources. Nothing about the story is either exaggerated or embellished. Hard to believe, but true.

Caleb Brazell entered this past Sunday’s game with one single in 12 at-bats this season as a seldom-used reserve for the Newberry College baseball team. It was Senior Day, so Brazell’s name was written into the starting lineup by head coach Russell Triplett as a reward for the player’s two seasons of hard work and perseverance.

Brazell, a product of Blythewood High School who the day before had graduated from Newberry with a degree in sports management, proceeded to weave the most improbable of baseball stories. In four times to the plate, Brazell hit one home run to left field, one to center and one to right. By the time the third one rattled off the right-field scoreboard at the Smith Road Complex, he had driven in seven more runs than he had all season.

“All the guys told me after the game that this is like a fairy tale,” Brazell said. “Walt Disney couldn’t have written anything better and put it in a movie.”

To make things even more extraordinary, Brazell’s dream game came against Mount Olive, the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division II baseball. Two of the home runs were belted off Mount Olive gunslinger Matt Dillon, whose 9-0 record and a 1.82 earned run average earned him Conference Carolinas pitcher of the year honors.

MORRIS: Leave SEC system as it is

Wed, 09 May 2012 01:21 EDT

AGREE WITH him or not, you have to give it to Steve Spurrier for occasionally thinking outside the box. He is sometimes unconventional in a coaching profession that is as by-the-book as a Baptist minister.

So when Spurrier talks about opening his own wallet to pay college football players, as he did a year ago, the tendency is to give him credit for having an original idea. Those are as foreign to college football coaches as balanced budgets are to government agencies these days.

That said, Spurrier’s latest idea is way out there. Maybe it is because the idea did not originate with Spurrier, instead the brainchild of USC Board of Trustees member Chuck Allen.

One would think Allen could make better use of his time than figuring out how to determine an SEC champion in football. Conversely, Spurrier probably should have spent more time studying the issue before declaring that division records alone should count toward determining a division champion.

First the back story: USC swept its five SEC East opponents during the 2011 football season, but lost two of its three conference games against West division opponents. That 6-2 league mark fell one game short of Georgia for the Eastern Division title. The Bulldogs went 4-1 against the East and 3-0 against the West.

MORRIS: Martin rapidly spreading the word about USC

Sat, 05 May 2012 21:53 EDT

SIX WEEKS INTO his new job and Frank Martin already has spread the word about South Carolina basketball. He has appeared on numerous national TV and radio shows, making it known to all that he has shifted postal addresses and he is not in Kansas anymore.

That was part of the allure to USC athletics officials in hiring Martin. He brings name recognition to USC, much the same way Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier did in football. Most know of Martin’s coaching success at Kansas State, where he produced four NCAA tournament teams in five seasons.

The other part of the Martin legacy is that he can recruit, no matter where he is drawing his million-dollar paycheck. Heck, he wooed some of the nation’s top high school talent to the Manhattan not located in New York City.

It is far too early to pass judgment on Martin’s ability to recruit to USC. We will know for sure three or four years down the road whether those recruits will become bona fide SEC players or big-time busts. Such is the reality of college recruiting.

Still, most agree what Martin has done so far is impressive. He has commitments from two big men of Lithuanian descent and two guards from New York City.

MORRIS: Superstars plus chemistry equals elite program

Fri, 04 May 2012 01:15 EDT

A YEAR AGO at this time, the mantra coming out of South Carolina baseball circles was Ray Tanner’s team was one without a star. Talented center fielder Jackie Bradley was sidelined with an injury and USC was without a bona fide All-American either in the lineup or on the pitcher’s mound.

Now, with a second consecutive national championship trophy on display outside Carolina Stadium, that perspective midway through last season seems distorted. Then you remember that left-hander Michael Roth was establishing himself as a front-line starter. Outfielder Evan Marzilli was solid, but not thought to be in the Bradley stratosphere either as a hitter or outfielder. First baseman Christian Walker and closer Matt Price were working toward star status.

The assessment of this USC baseball team is far different at the same stage of the season. Tanner has four college baseball superstars. Roth might be the best Friday night starter in the country. Few would argue that Price is the nation’s top closer. Walker is among the most feared hitters in the college ranks, and Marzilli’s all-around game might have surpassed Bradley’s.

Add in a pitching staff that is so deep any of seven arms would be front-line throwers for most teams in the country. Then mix in a freshman class stocked with soon-to-be standouts and you have the most-talented team of Tanner’s past three, and perhaps of his 16 at USC.

“I wouldn’t argue that point if you went by Combine skills: ability to run, throw, hit and catch,” Tanner said. “We do have some guys with skills. But the experience is not nearly what it was the last two years.”

Morris: Another good move for BCS

Tue, 01 May 2012 20:15 EDT

ONCE AGAIN, the Bowl Championship Series got it right.

Just as it had done for most of the past 15 college football seasons in determining the pairing for the national championship game, the BCS knew what it was doing when it decided last week on a four-team playoff to begin after the 2014 regular season.

BCS officials, conference commissioners and TV executives met in Florida with a two-pronged order of business. First, they needed a college football playoff that would satisfy university presidents who generally oppose the idea because the sport already is spiraling out of control. Next, they needed to quell the annual uproar by media and fans who clamor for a playoff of any kind.

They departed Florida having pacified both camps.

University presidents are likely to approve the plan later this summer because it adds two teams — and two semifinal games — to the playoff mix. By playing the semifinal games on New Year’s Day as proposed, presidents will be further satisfied since it will mean not extending the season into the spring semester on college campuses.

MORRIS: USC takes high road with NCAA

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:56 EDT

MINUTES AFTER THE NCAA ruled that it had accepted all of South Carolina’s self-imposed sanctions for violating rules, the first Facebook post was out. The fan posting the message was thrilled to hear that the NCAA had exonerated USC on all charges.

Hardly.

The NCAA merely agreed with USC’s sanctions, meaning it accepted the school’s admitted guilt in giving $59,000 in extra benefits to athletes and recruits. The NCAA’s message in the case was this: A university’s willingness to come clean can play a huge role in granting leniency.

“In this case,” said Britton Banowsky, chairman of the NCAA infractions committee, “it was obvious to the committee that the university wanted to get to the truth. We see that less than we see the other approach.”

USC officials are to be heralded for taking the proper course in dealing with the NCAA infractions.

Morris: First-round talent means SEC victories for USC

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:02 EDT

STEVE SPURRIER once lamented the fact his teams were not funneling players to the NFL. His comments spoke to the lack of talent produced by South Carolina over the years.

As of tonight, those days are gone. That USC can produce a pair of first-round picks in the NFL draft, with an outside chance at a third, shows Spurrier’s program is now on par with its Southeastern Conference brethren as far as producing superstar talent.

In fact, having a couple of first-round picks is another indicator — besides solid recruiting classes — why USC has been in the mix for SEC Eastern Division championships each of the past two seasons.

“(We have) probably had the best group of players that we’ve had,” Spurrier said this week. “I would say our talent level here has certainly improved over what we’ve had in the past.”

Outside linebacker Melvin Ingram and cornerback Stephon Gilmore are expected to be first-round picks when the NFL draft unfolds tonight in New York. Had receiver Alshon Jeffrey not played his junior season overweight and, presumably, out of shape, he also could have been a first-round pick.

Morris: Benedict’s Walker ‘was a giant’

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:39 EDT

LeRoy Walker had long since traded a whistle and sweatpants for a jacket and tie. Walker, known most for being the first black coach of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field team, was in the front office at North Carolina Central University in the mid-1980s where he served as that school’s chancellor for four years.

Being a young reporter charged with covering N.C. Central football meant attending an occasional news conference at which Walker would speak. That was a treat in itself, if for no other reason than to hear Walker show off his vocabulary. Walker did not lecture, he “pontificated.” He introduced words like “apogee” and “perigee” to athletics.

“He was more than smart, he was brilliant,” said Chris Fisher, once the N.C. Central athletics director. Fisher reflected Tuesday on Walker, who died Monday at age 93 in Durham, N.C.

While Walker made his lasting mark in Durham and around the world through his track and field coaching and administrative duties with the U.S. Olympics Committee, he also left footprints at his alma mater, Benedict College.

“Dr. Walker was by far Benedict College’s most famous alumnus,” said David Swinton, president of Benedict College. “He was an outstanding supporter who contributed every year to his alma mater. He was also a strong member of the Board of Trustees who remained active until his later years, and a great golfer who, at the age of 85, could still beat me.”

MORRIS: Benedict’s base-stealing bandits

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:59 EDT

FASTEST SHOW ON DIRT

Benedict is set to lead the NCAA in stolen bases for a fourth consecutive season. A season-by-season look at Benedict’s theft totals:

Year

Games

Build it and they will come

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:51 EDT

The first tour of the Benedict College campus for Toure Harris in 2011 included a look at the new baseball park. Harris was coming on board as a student-assistant under head coach Selwyn Young.

Young drove Harris to an open field of weeds, rocks and dirt that served as an overflow parking lot for home football games at Johnson Stadium off Two Notch Road.

“There it is,” Harris recalled Young saying.

“Where?” Harris replied.

Nearly two years later, the ball park no longer is just a vision for Young, who has served as a virtual one-man construction crew in laying out the diamond, putting up a fence, and building a manual scoreboard, grandstand area, dugouts, clubhouse and indoor batting cage.

Morris: Put these books on your summer list

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:13 EDT

A WEEK OF furlough followed by a week of vacation got me well into my summer reading of sports books. Here are a few you likely will enjoy, whether while watching baseball on TV, sitting on the back porch or avoiding raindrops at the beach:

“WINNING JERSEY STYLE”

By Don Somma

142 pages, Authorhouse

$23.95 (hard cover), $13.95 (soft cover)

Morris: Coaching simply a business

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:50 EDT

JUST AFTER NEWS that Bobby Petrino was involved in a motorcycle mishap, lied to the media about it, withheld information from his bosses, was found to have at least one mistress and eventually was fired as the Arkansas head football coach, Steve Spurrier opined on the situation.

It did not used to be this way in college coaching, Spurrier said.

Although not his intention, Spurrier provided a rather succinct and worldly look at the dramatic and altering landscape of coaching at all levels over the past decade or so.

In fact, coaching generally is not what it used to be in just about every sport and at just about every level. For the sake of argument, though, let’s narrow the focus of discussion to coaching in major-college football and in all of professional sports.

There are no numbers to confirm this, but you have to believe there were fewer scandals involving coaches as late as the 1970s and 1980s. Most of the scandal then dealt primarily with violations of NCAA rules. If Bear Bryant was cheating anywhere other than in recruiting, it certainly was not reported.

MORRIS: Father Figure

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:52 EDT

20-WIN MARK

New USC coach Frank Martin won 20 or more games in each of his five seasons at Kansas State, including a high of 29 victories in 2009-10. A look at the 20-win seasons in Gamecocks history, listed by wins:

Year

Coach