BLOG: Random Thoughts After A Busy Day
posted by Scott Hood, Saturday, February 21, 2009
1. I don’t get involved much with recruiting and I’m far from an expert at talking to 17 and 18 year old boys or reading their body language, but I’d be extremely surprised if OL AJ Cann of Bamberg-Ehrhardt signed with any school other than USC. When I interviewed him today, you could tell his genuine excitement about the Gamecocks and OL coach Eric Wolford. Cann’s coach loves Wolford as well. I have been told by multiple people that Wolford has made a very positive impression on numerous potential OL recruits. So, his hiring appears to be paying dividends already. I also spoke with Eric Mackand I think Alson’s Jeffery decision to sign with USC will influence his decision to go with the Gamecocks as well. I will have a couple of reports later this week.
2. I don’t think the result of Saturday’s baseball game should have been a shock to anyone. Duquesne had barely practiced outside prior to the season opener. However, every Gamecock fan should be excited about what they saw out of some of USC’s freshman players today, including Jackie Bradley Jr., Adam Westmoreland and Michael Roth. One thing that’s remarkable about those players is how they respond to pressure. Ray Tanner gushed today about Bradley’s maturity, and after talking with him on a few occasions, I can honestly say it’s not just coach speak. Bradley speaks well and is incredibly mature for an 18-year old. He’s confident but not cocky. He also understands the proud history of the USC baseball program and that he has certain standards he must live up to both on and off the field. Frankly, Bradley could be a superstar before he finishes his career here. Here’s a nice thought for USC fans: out of the 17 players that stepped on the field Saturday, only one (Andrew Crisp) is a senior and definitely won’t be back next season.
3. I must confess Westmoreland’s dominating performance in relief of Dyson surprised me a little bit because I had watched him struggle in multiple scrimmages over the past two weekends to get people out. But to his credit, he answered the bell when the real games began. You could make the argument that, well, it was only Duquesne. But the Westmoreland I saw on Saturday was much different – and much better - than the one I had seen earlier. If he continues to pitch that well when he becomes a mid-week starter, he’ll win a lot of games for the Gamecocks. Remember, Dyson went 8-0 in 2008 while being used mostly in non-weekend games.
4. The biggest hit for USC in Saturday’s game came in the first inning when Parker Bangs fought off a few pitches before lining a RBI single to LCF for the first run of the game. It seemed like USC calmed down after that with an “everything will be all right” attitude. Tanner acknowledged after the game he was a little nervous going into the game after Rhode Island stunned N.C. State in Raleigh on Friday. But he had nothing to worry about. Duquesne’s starting pitcher had a bulldog mentality but he simply threw too many pitches early in the game. Heck, he had almost 60 in the first inning.
5. It’s not often you see a team get outrebounded 46-27 and give up more offensive rebounds (21) then they had defensively (19), and still win the game. But USC was able to beat Arkansas on Saturday night largely because of excellent free throwing shooting (20 of 26) and turnovers (Arkansas had 25). And they shot the basketball well in OT, making both 3-pointers. It was certainly a big win, one they had to have. Losing to the lowly Razorbacks would have been devastating, but somehow they survived. Of course, you could ask why USC was locked in mortal combat with a team that came into the game with a 1-10 conference mark. Hey, that’s the SEC. Coaches are paid too much money in this league to have their teams just surrender and lay down when things don’t go well. That’s what happened at Georgia and Dennis Felton was unceremoniously removed.
6. Could Wednesday’s home game against Kentucky have the wildest, craziest atmosphere in the seven-year history of Colonial Life Arena? I think so. Not only is it a critically important game for the SEC East standings, but it’s also key for USC’s NCAA hopes. No, a loss to the Cats won’t be fatal but the win would go a long ways towards securing an at-large berth to the NCAA Tourney. When you’re in the SEC, sweeping Kentucky, by far the league’s most celebrated basketball school, will raise more than a few eyebrows around the country.
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Some random thoughts after one of the busiest days in recent memory:
1. I don’t get involved much with recruiting and I’m far from an expert at talking to 17 and 18 year old boys or reading their body language, but I’d be extremely surprised if OL AJ Cann of Bamberg-Ehrhardt signed with any school other than USC. When I interviewed him today, you could tell his genuine excitement about the Gamecocks and OL coach Eric Wolford. Cann’s coach loves Wolford as well. I have been told by multiple people that Wolford has made a very positive impression on numerous potential OL recruits. So, his hiring appears to be paying dividends already. I also spoke with Eric Mackand I think Alson’s Jeffery decision to sign with USC will influence his decision to go with the Gamecocks as well. I will have a couple of reports later this week.
2. I don’t think the result of Saturday’s baseball game should have been a shock to anyone. Duquesne had barely practiced outside prior to the season opener. However, every Gamecock fan should be excited about what they saw out of some of USC’s freshman players today, including Jackie Bradley Jr., Adam Westmoreland and Michael Roth. One thing that’s remarkable about those players is how they respond to pressure. Ray Tanner gushed today about Bradley’s maturity, and after talking with him on a few occasions, I can honestly say it’s not just coach speak. Bradley speaks well and is incredibly mature for an 18-year old. He’s confident but not cocky. He also understands the proud history of the USC baseball program and that he has certain standards he must live up to both on and off the field. Frankly, Bradley could be a superstar before he finishes his career here. Here’s a nice thought for USC fans: out of the 17 players that stepped on the field Saturday, only one (Andrew Crisp) is a senior and definitely won’t be back next season.
3. I must confess Westmoreland’s dominating performance in relief of Dyson surprised me a little bit because I had watched him struggle in multiple scrimmages over the past two weekends to get people out. But to his credit, he answered the bell when the real games began. You could make the argument that, well, it was only Duquesne. But the Westmoreland I saw on Saturday was much different – and much better - than the one I had seen earlier. If he continues to pitch that well when he becomes a mid-week starter, he’ll win a lot of games for the Gamecocks. Remember, Dyson went 8-0 in 2008 while being used mostly in non-weekend games.
4. The biggest hit for USC in Saturday’s game came in the first inning when Parker Bangs fought off a few pitches before lining a RBI single to LCF for the first run of the game. It seemed like USC calmed down after that with an “everything will be all right” attitude. Tanner acknowledged after the game he was a little nervous going into the game after Rhode Island stunned N.C. State in Raleigh on Friday. But he had nothing to worry about. Duquesne’s starting pitcher had a bulldog mentality but he simply threw too many pitches early in the game. Heck, he had almost 60 in the first inning.
5. It’s not often you see a team get outrebounded 46-27 and give up more offensive rebounds (21) then they had defensively (19), and still win the game. But USC was able to beat Arkansas on Saturday night largely because of excellent free throwing shooting (20 of 26) and turnovers (Arkansas had 25). And they shot the basketball well in OT, making both 3-pointers. It was certainly a big win, one they had to have. Losing to the lowly Razorbacks would have been devastating, but somehow they survived. Of course, you could ask why USC was locked in mortal combat with a team that came into the game with a 1-10 conference mark. Hey, that’s the SEC. Coaches are paid too much money in this league to have their teams just surrender and lay down when things don’t go well. That’s what happened at Georgia and Dennis Felton was unceremoniously removed.
6. Could Wednesday’s home game against Kentucky have the wildest, craziest atmosphere in the seven-year history of Colonial Life Arena? I think so. Not only is it a critically important game for the SEC East standings, but it’s also key for USC’s NCAA hopes. No, a loss to the Cats won’t be fatal but the win would go a long ways towards securing an at-large berth to the NCAA Tourney. When you’re in the SEC, sweeping Kentucky, by far the league’s most celebrated basketball school, will raise more than a few eyebrows around the country.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.