Here is the schedule that was released:
DAY/DATE TIME EVENT
Friday, December 16 6 p.m. Lift/Condition
Saturday, December 17 9 a.m. Practice
Sunday, December 18 4 p.m. Practice
Monday, December 19 10:15 a.m. Practice
4 p.m. Practice
Tuesday, December 20 4 p.m. Practice
Wednesday, December 21 10:15 a.m. Practice
4 p.m. Practice
Thursday, December 22 4 p.m. Practice
Friday, December 23 10:15 a.m. Practice
Men’s basketball prepares for Presbyterian:
The Gamecocks will play Presbyterian on Tuesday, in a game that coach Darrin Horn regards as one that is put on the schedule to make the schedule tougher, even though PC isn’t in a BCS conference. Earlier this season, Presbyterian knocked off No. 20 Cincinnati.
R.J. Slawson and Brenton Williams will both be available for the Gamecocks, as they have been full-go at practice, but Horn wasn’t specific as to how much they’ll play. Slawson played at Clemson with a strained foot, while Williams has been out since Nov. 20 with a left knee injury.
South Carolina is coming off a win at Clemson, but it has also had over a week off because of exams. Horn doesn’t believe momentum will be a factor heading into Tuesday’s game, but he does acknowledge that the exam week was helpful.
“I don’t think it’s momentum as much as it is understanding why you had a chance to win a game like that and can we go out and build on those things, in terms of offense and defense,” Horn said. “I told our guys, and we told them repeatedly this week, that the biggest key to that win was that everybody showed up and did what they were capable of doing. We didn’t do things to hurt us, like we did in so many other games, especially down the stretch. Hopefully, this isn’t a week so much about momentum, but that understanding of this is what makes us good, so let’s go out and build on that.”
A big change for the Gamecocks at Clemson was the play inside. USC took half as many attempts from 3-point range against the Tigers than they did in the loss to Providence in the game before. Horn had also started Lakeem Jackson at the wing in place of freshman Damien Leonard. Horn didn’t specifically say that he will stick with the lineup he used at Clemson, though he gave that impression. That lineup was forward Damontre Harris, forward Anthony Gill, point guard Eric Smith, guard Jackson, and forward Malik Cooke.
“I think it’s been obvious that the games where we played our best for the longest stretches of times have been when we’ve taken the ball and played inside out,” Horn said. “Whether it’s through post touches or getting the ball in the paint or getting out in transition and running or attacking the basket and flattening the defense out that way. I think it’s true for any team—defenses are easier to play against when the ball gets in the paint. That has been a continued focus for us and one that we need to continue to get better at.”
Horn also talked about point guard Bruce Ellington’s schedule, with Ellington also being a member of the football team and having bowl practices coming up. Horn said that the two figured out a way for him to be able to help both programs, but would not say if Ellington would miss any basketball games, as the team is focused on Presbyterian right now.
The Blue Hose are also coming off a victory, with a 72-64 victory over Radford. South Carolina owns the series with PC 30-7, with a 21-4 record in games played in Columbia.
Disclaimer: I’m at home for winter break, and so I was not personally at this media availability. I will be in Columbia for the game against PC.
Tweet of the Day: From the Heisman Trophy Presentation, @ClayTravisBGID: Tyrann Mathieu may not win the Heisman, but he can return to Earth from the moon without catching fire.
Story that will get overlooked because of other storylines: From The New York Times, Billionaire and Ex-Minister to Oppose Putin in Russian Presidential Election: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/world/europe/billionaire-to-oppose-putin-in-russian-presidential-election.html?hp
