Another Level The USC Women’s Hoops Team Has the Ultimate Prize in Mind BY CHRIS TRAINOR
T
he University of South Carolina men’s and women’s basketball teams have taken fans on one heck of a ride during the 2015-16 season. Rarely have both programs enjoyed so much success during the same campaign, having combined for 48 wins as of Feb. 23. Fans from the Capital City and beyond have rewarded both Gamecocks’ teams with their time and treasure, regularly showing up in big numbers to Colonial Life Arena on game nights. Take the week of Feb. 8-13, for example. During the four home basketball games that week — the women played UConn and Florida, the men played LSU and Kentucky — a collective 65,333 people flocked to the arena to watch the teams play. However, let’s be clear: Though Columbia has shown love for both programs this season, when it comes to goals and expectations on the court, the women’s team, led by Coach Dawn Staley, is playing at another level. While Coach Frank Martin’s men’s team would be celebrated for just making it to the NCAA tournament (and there is still work for Martin’s squad to do to make that happen), the women’s team has loftier pursuits: It’s gunning for a national championship. Staley’s group came tantalizingly close to realizing that goal a year ago. The Game-
SEC Champs — Again With a Feb. 18 victory over Georgia, the Gamecocks clinched an outright SEC regular season title. That marks the third straight season South Carolina has had at least a share of the SEC regular season championship. They won it outright in 2013-14, but had to share the regular season crown with Tennessee a year ago. Junior forward Alaina Coates, an Irmo native, says capturing the outright SEC championship was important. She says her team also has its sights set on finishing the SEC slate undefeated and avoiding any late-season conference defeats. In 2013-14, the team closed the regular season with a loss to Tennessee; in 2014-15, the Gamecocks
A Numbers Game
Coates. She is just the second Gamecock to hit both of those milestones before her senior year. The first was Sheila Foster from 1979-82.
player. A point guard, Staley was a member of the 1996, 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball teams. She was selected to carry the American flag at the 2004 Olympics opening ceremony.
– The number of consecutive winning 6seasons South Carolina has had under
– The number of Olympic gold medals 3South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley won as a
– The number of fans in atten18,000 dance for the Feb. 8 home game between South Carolina and UConn. It was the first sellout for women’s hoops at the Colonial Life Arena.
1,000 & 800 – The scoring and rebounding milestones, respectively, that
have been reached by junior forward Alaina
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cocks went 34-3 in 2014-15, earning a share of the SEC regular season title, winning the SEC tournament and blazing through the NCAA tournament to the Final Four in Tampa, Florida. South Carolina eventually fell in the national semifinals, losing to Notre Dame by a single point, 66-65. Despite the graduation of a trio of key contributors — forward Aleighsa Welch, center Elem Ibiam and guard Olivia Gaines — USC hasn’t missed a beat in 2015-16, and has spent the entire season near the top of the women’s basketball heap. As of Feb. 23, the No. 2 Gamecocks were 26-1 overall and a perfect 14-0 in the SEC .
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Staley. The Gamecocks were 10-18 her first year, then 12-15 her second year. After that, they took off and have never looked back. They’ve made the NCAA tournament each of the last four seasons, including two Sweet 16 berths and a Final Four.
– The average margin of defeat for 18.5 the women’s team against nemesis UConn the past two seasons. If USC wants to win it all, they’ll likely have to go through the Huskies at some point.
— Chris Trainor
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A’ja Wilson plays against Ole Miss in Columbia on Jan. 28. Photo by Travis Bell/Sideline Carolina
ended the regular campaign with a loss to Kentucky. “The past two years I’ve been here, we’ve had a claim on a title and we slipped up towards the end,” Coates said following a Feb. 17 practice. “So, this year we are just trying to continue the season without any hiccups, so we can just outright be [SEC] champions and be 16-0 [in league play].” The Gamecocks’ remaining two regular season games are at Ole Miss on Feb. 25 and at home against LSU on Feb. 28. The SEC Tournament is March 2-6 in Jacksonville, Florida. Coates, a 6-foot-4 center who played high school ball at Dutch Fork High School, says there are similarities between the SEC-winning squads of the past three seasons. “I don’t really think there is anything more unique or less unique about any of the teams [the last three seasons],” Coates says. “Everybody brings what they need to bring to the table. At the end of the day, we have one common goal we are reaching for. There’s a drive that everybody has. I guess that’s something that has been unique about all three of the squads: Everybody is going to do what they need to do in order to achieve our goals.” twitter.com/freetimessc
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South Carolina has beaten a schoolrecord 11 ranked teams this season. Those ranked foes have included non-conference powers (like Duke and Ohio State) and SEC foes (such as Tennessee and Florida) alike. Still, despite the team’s success, Staley said after a Feb. 17 practice that she still doesn’t think the Gamecocks have played up to their full potential. “We are still trying to play a full game, disciplined on both sides of the ball,” Staley says. “If we stay true to that, the wins will take care of themselves.”
The Mighty UConn Then there’s the villain in this story. The villain in seemingly every women’s college hoops story in the past couple of decades: UConn. Coach Geno Auriemma’s Huskies have won 10 national championships since 1995, including last year’s title. UConn handed the Gamecocks their only loss so far this season. The Huskies handled USC 66-54 at Colonial Life Arena on Feb. 8. But despite that loss, there were signs the Gamecocks might be gaining on Auriemma’s bunch. February 24-March 1, 2016
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Show your school pride everyyour timeschool you usepride your Show Wellstime Fargoyou Debit every useCard. your Wells Fargo Debit Card. To customize your card: • Sign on to Wells Fargo Online® To customize your card: • Select the Account Services tab • Sign on to Wells Fargo Online® • Click on Access Card Design Studio® service • Select the Account Services tab • Go to the Universities category in the Image Library • Click on Access Card Design Studio® service • Choose one of two great Gamecocks designs. • Go to the Universities category in the Image Library Stop by your nearest Wells Fargo to learn more. • Choose one of two great Gamecocks designs. Wells is a proud sponsor South Carolina Gamecocks. Stop byFargo your nearest Wells Fargooftothe learn more.
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For example, last year UConn stomped USC 87-62 in a regular season matchup. So, in losing by 12 to the Huskies this year, USC cut its margin of defeat by more than half. Also, Connecticut is scoring at a clip of 88.8 points per game this year, but was held to 66 points in Columbia. Small gains, to be sure — but gains nonetheless. But the fact remains: If Staley and her crew have designs on winning a national championship this season, it is highly likely they will eventually have to go through
UConn to get it done. Staley has taken USC a long way since 2008-09, her first season in Columbia. The Gamecocks were 10-18 that first season. Now they are a squad that has won three consecutive SEC regular season titles and went to a Final Four a year ago. But can Staley take them to the absolute pinnacle of the women’s college basketball mountain? If they get to the top of that mountain, chances are Auriemma and UConn will be waiting for them there. We’ll see if USC can knock them off.
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More than just USC’s top player, Wilson is one of the best post players in America. A sophomore from Hopkins and a Heathwood Hall alum, the 6-foot-5 Wilson has lived up to the hype that surrounded her McDonald’s All-American high school career. The left-handed forward is averaging nearly 17 points and nine rebounds per game. If the Gamecocks run across UConn again in the NCAA tournament — and if they have any hope of taking down the Huskies — they are going need Wilson to play nearly 40 minutes and have the game of her life.
If you are going to win SEC championships and compete for national championships, you’ve got to have a few players who aren’t afraid to mix it up and get physical in the paint. Alaina Coates is one of those players. The junior from Irmo leads USC with about 10 rebounds per game, and she’s second on the team in blocked shots. She’s also third on the squad in scoring, at about 12 points per game, with almost all her field goals coming inside the paint. Even when she struggles to score, she contributes in other ways. For example, in a Feb. 15 game at Tennessee, she failed to score any points, but her 10 rebounds and 4 steals were invaluable in helping USC to a 62-56 win.
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A two-time first team All-American and backto-back SEC player of the year, Mitchell was slowed slightly at the beginning of this season, as she was coming off a foot surgery last summer. But the shooting guard has picked up steam as the season has gone along. She’s USC’s second-leading scorer, at more than 14 points per game, and is one of the team’s stingiest defenders on the perimeter. Also, on a team that struggles to make free throws, Mitchell is an exception, shooting better than 80 percent on the year. If there is one trouble spot for Mitchell, it’s that she can get sloppy with the basketball at times, as she far and away leads the team in turnovers.
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Sarah Imovbioh Though her statistics don’t jump off the page at you, Imovbioh could be an extremely important role player as the Gamecocks go down the stretch. Though she averages less than five points per game, Imovbioh provides a formidable presence off the bench for South Carolina. Originally from Nigeria, the 6-foot-2 senior transferred to South Carolina after first playing at the University of Virginia. Imovbioh showed just how valuable she can be during a Feb. 8 game against UConn. With A’ja Wilson slowed by a leg injury, Imovbioh came in and showed moxie and aggressiveness, scoring 13 points and pulling down eight rebounds. February 24-March 1, 2016
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Michael Carrera shoots over LSU in Columbia on Feb. 10. Photo by Travis Bell/Sideline Carolina
The Season We’ve Been Waiting For Men’s Basketball Program is Finally Poised for Greatness BY JAMES HARLEY
G
amecock basketball fans have been waiting for a breakthrough season like this one for quite a while, enduring the heartache, headache and hardship of perennial mediocrity under the guidance — or lack thereof — of the team’s recent previous coaches. Not since the Eddie Fogler era of late 1990s have the Gamecocks shown anything February 24-March 1, 2016
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close to the level of post-season promise that Frank Martin has cultivated in his four years at the University of South Carolina. And while nothing is guaranteed at this point, it would take a major late-season failure for this team to miss the cut for the 2016 NCAA tournament. The media polls have generally understated the strength of the Gamecocks, with voters citing a relatively weak schedule; the Feb. 22 AP poll did not list the team in free-times.com
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the Top 25 at all. But it says a lot that the coaches — the true experts — have shown Martin’s team some respect in their poll, with the Gamecocks ranked No. 23 in a mid-February USA Today poll. After all, these are the guys that may actually have to face the Gamecocks on the court — or who already have.
It’s All About the Wins Of course, unlike college football, it’s not really opinions that dictate how the post-season is determined — but rather the numbers. So, with several recent conference losses (to Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri), the Gamecocks will need a strong finish to be awarded a favorable slot in the NCAA tourney, which begins March 15 and includes 68 teams. Just making the cut at all would be nice — especially given that the team has not managed to do so in more than a decade (2004) — but earning a position in the top half of the field would greatly increase the chance for advancement. Fortunately the Gamecocks’ remaining schedule is fairly promising, with the team
A Numbers Game
– The number of years since South 43 Carolina has won an NCAA tournament
game. The Gamecocks, then led by Coach Frank McGuire, last won a game in the Big Dance in 1973.
– The number of years since South 12 Carolina last appeared in the NCAA
tournament. Coach Dave Odom and USC lost in the first round to Memphis in 2004.
number of sellouts the men’s 3team– The has had at Colonial Life Arena this
season. Home games against Alabama, Kentucky and Florida have been sold out this year. According to USC’s athletics department, this marks the first time Colonial Life Arena has been sold out three times in one season for men’s hoops.
– The career point-scoring 1,000 milestone reached this season by two
Gamecock players, guard Sindarius Thornwell and forward Michael Carrera.
– The number of basketball wins 90 USC has against archrival Clemson. The
series tally is 90-76 in favor of South Carolina. The Gamecocks added to their tally in the rivalry with a 65-59 win over the Tigers on Dec. 18 in Greenville.
The number of NCAA tournaments 4USC– Coach Frank Martin’s teams went
to during his five seasons at his previous coaching stop, Kansas State. The best of those seasons was in 2009-10, when the Wildcats went to the Elite Eight. Martin is looking for his first NCAA tournament trip at South Carolina.
— Chris Trainor
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thesideline | basketball
facing two of the league’s bottom four teams (Tennessee on Feb. 24 at home, and Mississippi State on Feb. 27 away) and closing out the regular season against mid-level Georgia. While both the Vols and the Dawgs have handed Carolina upset losses on the road this year, both of these remaining games will be in Columbia where the Gamecocks have been nearly unbeatable with a 14-1 record, losing only to traditional powerhouse Kentucky. A strong finish to the regular season would also be highly advantageous for the Gamecocks in the SEC tournament March 9-13, where the top four teams receive an automatic bye to the quarterfinals and thus avoid the potential embarrassment and negative impact of a first-round loss. While USC currently qualifies for the bye, several other teams are competing on the verge, including upcoming opponent Georgia. None of the current top four teams are a lock yet, however, as Kentucky must still face an LSU squad that pummeled the Wildcats by 18 points in January, as well as Florida, which has shown surprising strength at various moments throughout the season. LSU, perhaps the team closest to a guaranteed bye, must also face the Gators.
Martin’s Philosophy Begins to Pay Dividends Getting into the NCAA tournament would be a major milestone for USC, reflecting the program’s steady progress under Martin, who is no stranger to tournament play, having gone to the playoffs in four of his five years as head coach at Kansas State, where he coached from 2007 to 2012. Indeed, any evaluation of USC’s particular strengths has to include Coach Martin himself, as he has a history of winning postseason games. In those four trips to the playoffs at Kansas State he never lost a first-round game, advancing twice to the third round and once to the Elite Eight. The one year that he failed to make the NCAA, he made it to the second round of the NIT. At South Carolina, he has managed to guide the Gamecocks to the second round of the SEC tournament in two out of three seasons — even with dismal regular season conference records of 5-13 and 6-12 in those two years. It’s safe to say that he knows how to make the most of his opportunities. Other signs of Martin’s coaching strength include the fact that USC sits near the top of the conference in road wins and is also undefeated (4-0) at neutral-site games, which is an obvious advantage when it comes to tournament play. The Gamecocks have several weaknesses — yet Martin’s coaching and recruiting philosophy has helped to minimize the effect of them. One of the team’s biggest weaknesses is a lack of shooting consistency. The Gamecocks have no exceptional shooting guards, a fact that has plagued the team in virtually all of its losses. It also suffers from a lack of free-times.com
Two to Watch … Michael Carrera A senior from Venezuela, the fiery Michael Carrera has come into his own in his final season under Coach Frank Martin. The forward is South Carolina’s leading scorer, pumping in more than 14 points per game, and its leading rebounder, at more than seven per game. Carrera also paces the Gamecocks in 3-point field goal percentage, at better than 46 percent. Carrera has had some huge games for USC this season and has been a major part of what has made the team the surprise of the SEC. Of particular note was his monstrous performance Jan. 26 against Mississippi State, when he scored 34 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
Sindarius Thornwell While Carrera has been an important piece of USC’s season, it is junior guard Sindarius Thornwell who is actually the straw that stirs the Gamecocks’ drink. As Thornwell goes, so go the Gamecocks. If he’s on, they’re hard to beat. If he’s off … look out. For example, in South Carolina’s Feb. 6 win at then-No. 8 Texas A&M, Thornwell had a massive game, scoring 25 points, dishing out nine assists and pulling down six rebounds. Conversely, in USC’s ugly 62-57 loss at lowly Missouri on Feb. 16, Thornwell had only nine points, shooting just two of 11 from the floor. As tough as the Gamecocks have been this season, the truth is they will only go as far as Sindarius Thornwell can take them. He needs to have a great March.
But Don’t Forget… Duane Notice Frank Martin asked junior guard Duane Notice to take on a different role this season: sixth man. For the most part, the sharpshooting swingman from Canada has excelled in his new task. He is third on the team in scoring, at just more than 11 points per game, and he is one of the squad’s most valuable ball handlers. Even on nights when the rest of the team struggles shooting the basketball, many of Notice’s shots manage to find the bottom of the net. For instance, in the Feb. 16 loss to Missouri, a low point in
dominant big men. While forwards Mindaugas Kacinas and Laimonas Chatkevicius are playing far more aggressively than in previous seasons, neither gets off the ground enough to intimidate the opposition or control the lane effectively on either offense or defense. Yet, these apparent shortcomings are offset by the overall style of play that Martin pushes. To put it bluntly, the team’s success is not a product of its skill but rather of its spirit, which is very strong. This team hustles and scraps like champions, fighting for the ball at every turn and never giving up. This might seem to be an intangible quality — but the number of wins despite poor shooting says otherwise. Coach Martin turns competitive spirit into a sort of skill by building the right attitude on the team and choosing players who reflect it. As his success twitter.com/freetimessc
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Duane Notice scores over Clemson in Columbia on Dec. 19, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell/Sideline Carolina USC’s season, Notice managed to keep the team in the game, hitting five 3-pointers and dropping in 21 points.
PJ Dozier Much is expected of PJ Dozier. The 6-foot-7 point guard, who played high school ball at Columbia’s Spring Valley High, was the most heralded recruit to choose to play at USC in two decades. A McDonald’s All-American in high school, PJ is the son of former USC player Perry Dozier and the nephew of former Gamecock Terry Dozier. PJ’s sister, Asia Dozier, plays for South Carolina’s women’s hoops team. While he had a slow start to the year, the lanky point guard has gotten better as the season has gone on, and is now averaging more than seven points and nearly four rebounds per game. — Chris Trainor
at Carolina continues, he will likely be able to add more fundamentally skilled players to the mix and take the team to the next level. Even if the Gamecocks were to melt down in the final days of the regular season, which ends March 5 at Arkansas, this already has to be considered a breakthrough year for USC basketball, which has not recorded a winning season in the SEC since 2008-2009, with the previous one coming in 1997-1998. There have been some letdowns and a lot of inconsistency on offense, yet the team shows enough promise that it isn’t hard to imagine not only making it to the NCAA tourney but also advancing a round or two, depending on the match-ups. But, first things first: Let’s see how the rest of the regular season goes. Let us know what you think: Email editor@free-times.com.
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