Team confidence remains high despite inexperience and loss to Vanderbilt
After the 67-57 loss to Vanderbilt Tuesday night, South Carolina's youth was more evident than ever.
Trailing by only 10 points at halftime, despite just a 12-point first half, the Gamecocks started the second half flat, allowing the Commodores to build a large deficit — a dangerous thing to do against a team of Vandy's caliber, according to USC head coach Darrin Horn. For a USC team that has played beyond its years against some of the top teams in the country, the inexperience was transparent against Vandy.
"It's a case of us needing to grow and mature," Horn said after the game. "We were locked in defensively and incredibly active in the first half, but after scoring only 12 points, I think we let it affect us."
As USC prepare for No. 19 Florida, the caliber and level of competition doesn't get any easier, but the Gamecocks will strive to not be affected by their youth as they hope to avoid starting SEC play 0-3.
Against a Florida team that is coming off a 70-48 win over Georgia, the Gamecocks will have their hands full. The Gators have one of the more experienced lineups in the SEC, led by junior guard Kenny Boynton, who's averaging 18.9 points per game. Boynton shot 45.3 percent from 3-point range, which will be something USC will have to focus on after allowing 13 3-pointers against Vandy.
"Against a team like this, of this caliber, that's a huge deficit to overcome," Horn said of the second half after the game. "Especially when they're making shots and we could have defended better. We'll have to watch the film and see why that's the case."
On the offensive end for USC, Horn chose to start guard Bruce Ellington over Eric Smith in the second half, though he wasn't sure if he will carry that over into the Florida game. Ellington was the starter for most of last season, as well as the team's leading scorer, but missed most of the nonconference play for the Gamecocks, choosing instead to stay with the football team as a wide receiver.
The inside presence for the Gators centers around sophomore forward Patric Young. Young is averaging 11.8 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game. While the game against Vandy wasn't an overall positive one for USC, the play of forward Damontre Harris was; he had a double-double against the Commodores and has continued to improve this season.
"Just trying to distribute and do what I can do to help my team win basketball games," Harris said of the double-double. "Try to crash the glass as much as I can, and when I get opportunities to score, just try to score the basketball."
Horn continues to desire overall team improvement in the same way he has seen Harris grow this season. Though the Gamecocks are 0-2 in SEC play, he's not worried about their confidence because he believes that while his young team is trying to move past the growing pains and are striving to get better, the confidence is still there, even as they prepare for another top squad.
"We've got to keep getting better," Horn said. "I think we've done that to this point. We've continued to see some individuals get better, but we've got to start seeing some consistency because of the level of competition that we're playing. There's just not a lot of opportunity where you can have two or three guys that [do] not play like they're capable of and expect to be as good as you can."