Earnhardt! Rambling Thoughts On The 3 Major Sports
posted by Scott Hood, Monday, March 09, 2009
FOOTBALL: Whoever reported (thankfully, it wasn’t us) that Jarvis Giles was out for the entire spring due to a foot injury screwed up. Giles is fine and ran pretty well on Thursday, even though the practice wasn’t in pads. The first thing you notice about Giles is his speed. He has a lot of it. But that’s good because a back with great speed and good size is something USC has lacked in the last several years.
But Steve Spurrier told a small group of reporters (including yours truly) afterwards that Giles’ foot problem was, apparently, caused by a bad pair of shoes. A quick change of shoes and, presto, no more foot problems. Spurrier said Giles is close to 100 percent, so look for him to be a major participant when spring practice resumes on March 17.
As for Ladi Ajiboye, he may not play for USC this year because of some personal issues he is dealing with. But the good news is the D-Line is exceptionally deep, so Travian Robertson and Melvin Ingram should be able to fill the void, if necessary.
Whatever happened with Ajiboye occurred recently because when I spoke with D-Line coach Brad Lawing about 10 days ago for the spring defensive line preview, he spoke highly of Ajiboye and looked for him to have a good season.
BASKETBALL: If you’re a Gamecock fan, you’re rooting like heck for as few upsets as possible in the mid-major conference tournaments, most of which are either completed or going on right now.
But it’s too late for the Southern Conference, which saw top seed Davidson fall to College of Charleston Sunday in the tournament semifinals. Naturally, the debate will begin nationally whether Davidson deserves an at-large bid.
Here are two words why Davidson has a shot: Stephon Curry. TV is all about star power and Davidson’s Cinderella run to the Elite Eight last spring behind Curry made for sensational TV.
You can be sure the executives at CBS want Curry in the tournament because of his name recognition. Would CBS do a little arm twisting to get it done? Don’t make me laugh.
You’re extremely naïve if you think CBS doesn’t have some influence in the decision-making process. They are paying billions of dollars for the right to show the NCAA Tournament. Like Bill Parcells used to say when he was a coach, when you’re the cook, you want to shop for the groceries.
There’s no question USC is one of the hotly disputed teams nationally among the so-called bracketologists like ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm of CBS Sports.
Of course, the Gamecocks can take care of business by winning the SEC Tournament this weekend. But, taking the worst-case scenario first, what happens if USC loses its first game in Tampa? In my opinion, it would be touch and go as to whether USC would make it to the dance.
Win one, though, and I think USC is in. I’ve maintained for a while that USC needed 22 victories to have a realistic shot at getting in. But, it’s not a guarantee. To reach that point, it would take two wins in Tampa.
Quantifying it, if USC loses Friday to either Mississippi State or Georgia, their chances of making the NCAA Tournament are less than 50/50. If they win one game in the tournament, the odds rise to 70 percent. Win two and it’s about 90 percent.
Right now, there are two things working against USC: 1) the national perception of the SEC is low and 2) the two wins over Kentucky won’t have the impact they should since the Wildcats’ RPI is in the 80’s.
The good thing is USC controls their destiny. Just keep winning.
BASEBALL: Anyone who is disappointed with winning two of three games against Long Beach State doesn’t understand the modern realities of college baseball. We now live in a world where Illinois can go to Baton Rouge and beat LSU two of three. Yes, there’s parity, thanks to the draconian 11.7 scholarship rule.
Except for one bad inning on Friday and a poor start by Blake Cooper on Sunday, the pitching was good for most of the weekend. Sam Dyson had another outstanding outing on Friday and Alex Farotto pitched lights outs as the closer on Saturday.
Nick Ebert is emerging as the feel-good story of the year in USC athletics. His apartment was totally destroyed in a fire two weeks ago and yet he has handled it spectacularly well. The fact he has been able to stay focused on baseball is remarkable.
While USC has three midweek games starting Monday night against Presbyterian, we won’t really get a true sense of this team until the opening SEC series at Mississippi State this weekend. Then, LSU, ranked in the Top 5 all season, comes to Columbia for a huge series March 20-22.
Big tests early in the conference. Ray Tanner wouldn’t have it any other way.
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After a weekend (OK, it started last Thursday with the first spring football practice) filled with Gamecock sports, here, in a tip of the hat to Dale Earnhardt, are a few thoughts on the three major teams:
FOOTBALL: Whoever reported (thankfully, it wasn’t us) that Jarvis Giles was out for the entire spring due to a foot injury screwed up. Giles is fine and ran pretty well on Thursday, even though the practice wasn’t in pads. The first thing you notice about Giles is his speed. He has a lot of it. But that’s good because a back with great speed and good size is something USC has lacked in the last several years.
But Steve Spurrier told a small group of reporters (including yours truly) afterwards that Giles’ foot problem was, apparently, caused by a bad pair of shoes. A quick change of shoes and, presto, no more foot problems. Spurrier said Giles is close to 100 percent, so look for him to be a major participant when spring practice resumes on March 17.
As for Ladi Ajiboye, he may not play for USC this year because of some personal issues he is dealing with. But the good news is the D-Line is exceptionally deep, so Travian Robertson and Melvin Ingram should be able to fill the void, if necessary.
Whatever happened with Ajiboye occurred recently because when I spoke with D-Line coach Brad Lawing about 10 days ago for the spring defensive line preview, he spoke highly of Ajiboye and looked for him to have a good season.
BASKETBALL: If you’re a Gamecock fan, you’re rooting like heck for as few upsets as possible in the mid-major conference tournaments, most of which are either completed or going on right now.
But it’s too late for the Southern Conference, which saw top seed Davidson fall to College of Charleston Sunday in the tournament semifinals. Naturally, the debate will begin nationally whether Davidson deserves an at-large bid.
Here are two words why Davidson has a shot: Stephon Curry. TV is all about star power and Davidson’s Cinderella run to the Elite Eight last spring behind Curry made for sensational TV.
You can be sure the executives at CBS want Curry in the tournament because of his name recognition. Would CBS do a little arm twisting to get it done? Don’t make me laugh.
You’re extremely naïve if you think CBS doesn’t have some influence in the decision-making process. They are paying billions of dollars for the right to show the NCAA Tournament. Like Bill Parcells used to say when he was a coach, when you’re the cook, you want to shop for the groceries.
There’s no question USC is one of the hotly disputed teams nationally among the so-called bracketologists like ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm of CBS Sports.
Of course, the Gamecocks can take care of business by winning the SEC Tournament this weekend. But, taking the worst-case scenario first, what happens if USC loses its first game in Tampa? In my opinion, it would be touch and go as to whether USC would make it to the dance.
Win one, though, and I think USC is in. I’ve maintained for a while that USC needed 22 victories to have a realistic shot at getting in. But, it’s not a guarantee. To reach that point, it would take two wins in Tampa.
Quantifying it, if USC loses Friday to either Mississippi State or Georgia, their chances of making the NCAA Tournament are less than 50/50. If they win one game in the tournament, the odds rise to 70 percent. Win two and it’s about 90 percent.
Right now, there are two things working against USC: 1) the national perception of the SEC is low and 2) the two wins over Kentucky won’t have the impact they should since the Wildcats’ RPI is in the 80’s.
The good thing is USC controls their destiny. Just keep winning.
BASEBALL: Anyone who is disappointed with winning two of three games against Long Beach State doesn’t understand the modern realities of college baseball. We now live in a world where Illinois can go to Baton Rouge and beat LSU two of three. Yes, there’s parity, thanks to the draconian 11.7 scholarship rule.
Except for one bad inning on Friday and a poor start by Blake Cooper on Sunday, the pitching was good for most of the weekend. Sam Dyson had another outstanding outing on Friday and Alex Farotto pitched lights outs as the closer on Saturday.
Nick Ebert is emerging as the feel-good story of the year in USC athletics. His apartment was totally destroyed in a fire two weeks ago and yet he has handled it spectacularly well. The fact he has been able to stay focused on baseball is remarkable.
While USC has three midweek games starting Monday night against Presbyterian, we won’t really get a true sense of this team until the opening SEC series at Mississippi State this weekend. Then, LSU, ranked in the Top 5 all season, comes to Columbia for a huge series March 20-22.
Big tests early in the conference. Ray Tanner wouldn’t have it any other way.
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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 @.