A Positive Trend Is Developing

posted by Scott Hood, 7/07/2008 11:32:00 PM

I know the jury is still out because the games must still be played, but I’m certainly encouraged by the South Carolina coaching hires over the last eight months.

If you want evidence the USC athletic department is finally headed in the right direction, look no further than the previous hirings of Darrin Horn (MBB) and Dawn Staley (WBB) by Eric Hyman in order to jumpstart both basketball programs, as well as Steve Spurrier’s winter decisions to bring Ray Rychleski and Ellis Johnson aboard.

Another piece to the puzzle fell into place Monday when Chad Holbrook was introduced as the new associate head coach for the USC baseball team.

Every high successful Division I athletic department excels in five key areas: administration, coaches, players, facilities and fan support.

With Hyman, I believe USC has the administrator in place willing to make the tough decisions to take the Gamecocks to the next level and beyond.

In terms of facilities, that’s clearly a work in progress. But USC will eventually get there despite the steep price ($200 million-plus) which will be shouldered largely by the fans.

Fan support? That goes without question.

That means we’re down to coaching and players.

We’ve seen time and time again over the last decade how important coaches really are. This isn’t the NBA where players dominate the league and head coaches are – literally, except for a rare exception – discardable commodities.

Bottom-line, if you want to compete and win in the SEC, you have to have great coaches on the payroll. Athletic directors recognize this point, which is why the cost of retaining the top coaches has escalated rapidly over the last few years.

And the best coaches are typically the best recruiters. The truly irreplaceable ones can both recruit well and handle the in-game strategy.

We’ve experienced that reality first-hand in Columbia. Dave Odom was a good in-game strategy coach, but he and his staff failed miserably when it came to recruiting.

Brad Scott as a decent recruiter (remember, he signed most of the key players on the 2001 and 2002 Outback Bowl teams)

But the hyper-competitive SEC insists on, first and foremost, signing great players. That’s why I love Ray Tanner’s quick decision to hire Holbrook as the new associate head coach.

If you’ve paid attention to North Carolina over the last several years, you’ve seen the considerable talent the Tar Heels have compiled, particularly on the mound.

It’s hardly a quirk of fate UNC has participated in the last three College World Series, and reached the championship series twice.

They’ve had good position players, but the Tar Heel pitching staff was the difference. It’s not a gigantic leap to say UNC had one of the top five pitching staffs in the country from 2006-2008.

I can assure you that if USC had matched UNC’s quality on the mound the last four years, the Gamecocks would have advanced to Omaha multiple times.

As UNC’s recruiting coordinator, Holbrook heeded a philosophy of searching out and signing the best pitching arms he could. If he continues with that strategy with the Gamecocks, USC should be in good shape for the next several years.

With Holbrook directing USC’s recruiting, and the new ballpark serving as the bait, I believe the talent level on USC will rise rapidly over the next few seasons. The 2009 class will start the trend (thank you Monte Lee) and continue to get better.

I predict the same thing for both basketball programs. The 2008-2009 season could be a rough ride for both Horn and Staley considering the exodus of players following their respective hirings, but the long-term picture is bright.

The men’s basketball team has just nine true scholarship players. USC will handle the non-conference schedule, but approaching .500 in the SEC will be difficult considering the lack of depth.

The 2007-2008 year wasn’t the best of times for the USC athletic department. Too many close losses dulled the fans’ sensitivity by the time the middle of June arrived.

But the hiring of the aforementioned coaches and the completion of construction of three key facilities assures the 2008-2009 year will be more successful. It will certainly be more entertaining.

However, the road leading to USC becoming an elite SEC program across the board will be long, tiring and expensive.

But even a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. That step has already been taken. Now we’ll see where the road leads.

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A Little Different, A Little Of The Same

posted by Scott Hood, 7/07/2008 02:24:00 AM

Vacationing in the Pacific Northwest last week exposed me to a different world when it comes to athletics.

Portland, Oregon’s largest city, is a sporting mecca. But not in the way you would think.

About 10 miles outside of the city’s center in a town called Beaverton lies the world headquarters for Nike, one of the largest shoe and apparel manufacturers in the world.

Of course, how those goods are made and where they’re made is a subject of much controversy, but that’s another article for another day.

But there’s no questioning the considerable impact Nike has had on the sports world over the last 25 years.

One of the sports the company is deeply involved with is track and field. Therefore, it’s no surprise the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials were held last week in Eugene, OR, home of the University of Oregon, or that the local media is consumed with the sport.

Upwards of a half dozen pages per day in the local newspaper (The Oregonian) were devoted to coverage. Many of the stories were devoted to the high number of local athletes competing in the trials.

Many of the top long-distance distance runners in the world train in Eugene, which is renowned for its outstanding track facilities.

In the five days we spent in Portland, I didn’t read a single article in the local newspaper about either Oregon or Oregon State football.

I was also surprised by the lack of Oregon or OSU clothing on the streets. Portland is clearly not a college sports town, putting it on polar opposites with Columbia.

It was the same thing in Seattle, home of the University of Washington. Except you wouldn’t know it by walking through downtown.

Seattle is a major league sports city with three professional franchises.

Okay, make that two.

Within hours of our arrival in the Emerald City, the mayor held a press conference announcing he had reached a deal with the owner of the Supersonics allowing the franchise to move immediately to Oklahoma City.

Seattle got $45 million, and a promise to receive an additional $30 million if the city doesn’t obtain a new NBA team within five years.

The squabble had, apparently, lasted for several years. Even the Sonics’ previous owner, Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz, had attempted to get the city to build a new arena for the team at taxpayers’ expense just a few years after it has spent tens of millions of dollars on renovations.

When his efforts failed, a frustrated Schultz sold the team to Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett, who didn’t even try to hide his true intentions. Bennett and city officials battled continuously over the quality of the arena where the Sonics played.

The relationship deteriorated so badly that Seattle filed a lawsuit to force Bennett to honor the final two years of the team’s arena lease.

The agreement giving Bennett the right to leave town left thousands of Sonics fans without a team to cheer for. Undoubtedly, the people of Seattle learned a tough lesson when it came to the dynamics of pro sports.

But Sonic fans won a consolation prize. Sort of. As long as the arena was upgraded with $300 million in improvements, the city might get another team.

Or so NBA Commissioner David Stern said.

With the distinction between pro and college sports becoming more and more blurred every day, the Sonics’ plight propels me to ask this intriguing question: could a college conference do the same thing with one of its schools?

Consider this extremely unlikely scenario: could the SEC tell South Carolina in five years that the $200 capital campaign wasn’t enough, that the Gamecocks were being kicked out of the league and they had no chance to return unless they spent another $300 million in athletic facility upgrades.

A bribe? You bet.

With the facility arms race still ongoing, is it only a matter of time before in the not-too-distant future a powerful conference like the SEC informs a conference school that it must make the ultimate choice: upgrade or die?

In short, is the day coming when college conferences regard their member schools as little more than chattel, like franchises in a pro sports league?

It might be.

It would be a sad day indeed for college athletics, but one we couldn’t claim we didn’t see coming.

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If Fresno State Can Do It. . .

posted by Scott Hood, 6/26/2008 10:32:00 PM

Fresno State’s improbable run to the College World Series title in baseball reinforced - again – a couple of important viewpoints I hold when it comes to college athletics.

One of them is this: While talent alone can carry a team a long way, the ones with the best intangibles typically climb to the forefront during the post-season.

Was Fresno State the most talented team in the nation? Heck, no. Not even close. They lost 31 games, yet still managed to find a way to get the job done when they had to.

Georgia, the team they beat in the final best-of-three series, had better players overall. The Bulldogs (the ones from Athens) had two of the best players in all of college baseball in shortstop Gordon Beckham and closer Joshua Fields.

But, in my opinion, Fresno State walked away with the championship trophy because they won the battle of the things that ultimately matter most.

Night after night, the Fresno players displayed superiority over their opponents in the following areas:

-- Team chemistry
-- Senior leadership
-- Mental toughness
-- Ability to Make Clutch Plays
-- Great coaching

You could tell the FSU players had remarkable togetherness, as if they all knew beforehand they were a team of destiny. They all seemed to like each other. There was no evidence of jealousy, no spitefulness, no envy.

I’ve been a big believer for a long time in strong senior leadership, and Fresno State showed everyone why it’s such an important asset. Younger players usually need someone older – not a coach, but a peer - to point them in the right direction and make sure they stay on course.

Further, no team came from the depths Fresno State did (they were the No. 4 seed in the Long Beach Regional) without an incredible amount of mental toughness. They had a refuse to lose mentality.

They also did it all on the road, including the Super Regional victory at No. 3 national seed Arizona State.

ESPN had a great graphic Wednesday night showing all the ranked teams Fresno State had beaten on the long road to the title. It was a Who’s Who of college baseball.

But FSU didn’t care about reputations or whom they were facing; they went out and won anyways. Bottom line, they weren’t intimidated by the name of the opponent on the front of the jersey.

Of course, Fresno State isn’t the first team to make a magical run to a national title, as the four-letter network kindly reminded us on numerous occasions.

But they share many of the same characteristics with those clubs.

What lessons can South Carolina’s football team learn from Fresno State’s ‘miracle’ run to the national title? Plenty.

Steve Spurrier has already said on multiple occasions that USC has the players to contend with the best teams in the SEC. So, as the start of the 2008 season approaches, USC fans should be confident the Gamecocks possess enough physical talent.

But, what about the all-important intangibles? Will the Gamecock players mesh? Will they get along? Will they refuse to allow petty feuds to get in the way of progress, unlike some USC teams in the past?

Will seniors like Jasper Brinkley, Kenny McKinley, Mike Davis, Marque Hall, and Stoney Woodson step up and become the vocal leaders of the team? Or will they surrender that responsibility to the younger players?

Will USC achieve a refuse to lose mentality? Will they show the internal fortitude to overcome adversity? Will they allow one poor game to bleed over into the following week’s game?

Finally, will they show the ability to make plays when the games are on the line? Will the defense rise up and stop the opponent on third and fourth downs with the outcome in doubt? Will they fall on the football when there’s a critical fumble? Can the offense go on a time-consuming drive in the fourth quarter to kill the clock?

Those are all important questions. The answers will shape the course of the 2008 season. In the past, unfortunately, we’ve received the wrong responses.

All those questions boil down to the most important one – has USC learned how to compete? Unless the answer is in the affirmative, the Gamecocks will likely struggle again.

That’s a point Spurrier has made in the past, and one he’ll probably make again before the season starts Aug. 28.

Here’s a suggestion: If USC’s players ever need a gentle reminder that it takes far more than physical talent to win, Spurrier should just have his players watch Fresno State’s CWS highlights.

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The National Media Has Done It Again

posted by Scott Hood, 6/25/2008 01:36:00 PM

I always look forward to this time of the year.

Why?

Late June and July is when many national writers come out of the closest with their pre-season predictions for college football, most of which turn out wrong. Typically, they get around to talking about coaches on the hot seat or those most likely to resign or be fired at the end of the season.

More often than not, the discussion eventually comes around to Steve Spurrier, the favorite topic, it seems, of many star-struck journalists.

Since his first season in 2005, we’ve been treated to annual forecasts of how long Spurrier would last at South Carolina. Many of these national writers have confidently asserted it was only a matter of time before he threw up his hands in frustration and walked away.

Frankly, some of their predictions have been laughable, which is why I enjoy them so much.

In my opinion, the national media still fails to understand the reasons Spurrier came to USC, or that he chose USC and not vice versa. Then, to compound their horror, Spurrier ignored the overtures of Alabama and Miami in 2006 and decided to remain in Columbia.

The latest to fall into the trap of prognosticating Spurrier could leave USC prematurely is ESPN’s Pat Forde, who posted a column on the four-letter network's web site this week predicting either Spurrier or Tennessee’s Phil Fulmer were the most likely coaches to leave their respective schools when the 2008 season is complete.

Spurrier won’t be fired, so he’ll have to leave on his own volition. But, barring a total catastrophe, that’s not going to happen either, even if USC puts up another 6-6 record this season.

As I’ve said before, Spurrier knew exactly what he was getting into when he arrived in Columbia. He was well aware of the lack of a winning tradition in Columbia (remember, he joked about the lack of hardware in the trophy case) and the challenge he faced trying to pull the Gamecocks up to the level of Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.

Has he succeeded? Not yet. Sure, he’s beaten all three of those SEC East foes once and lost a heartbreaker to each as well, so USC has been competitive.

But, we should’ve all grasped the concept by now that it’s all about winning. Close doesn’t count. Giving a great effort doesn’t count. I can assure you no one understands that better than Spurrier, who emphatically reminded USC fans in 2006 that it’s not cool to cheer the players when they walkoff the field after a close loss.

However, insisting Spurrier won’t leave after this season doesn’t minimize the importance of the 2008 season. This is a vital year for the HBC and the entire football program. The Gamecock Nation is restless.

Few expected USC would finish only .500 and fail to earn a bowl berth in Spurrier’s third year. As a result, the pressure is building. USC plans to impose seat licenses at Williams-Brice Stadium in 2009. There is a major capital campaign going on.

It would certainly help convince USC fans to pull out their checkbooks if the football team had a successful season in 2008. The opportunity for an eight or nine win season is right in front of them with Arkansas and Tennessee sliding, and contests against Georgia (that one is always close) and LSU (major quarterback issues) at home.

Spurrier said repeatedly on this past spring’s Gamecock Club tour that USC has enough quality players on its roster right now to contend in the SEC. That's true, especially on defense, where I expect new defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson will make a major impact.

His recent statements certainly suggest Spurrier believes that if USC plays to its potential and makes plays in the clutch (a major problem in the past), they’ll have a very good season.

Forde is correct, though, when he says that there are two many top-shelf coaches in the SEC to keep everybody happy. Five current coaches (Spurrier, Miles, Meyer, Fulmer, Saban) have won a national championship.

Unfortunately, somebody has to lose every game. But tell that to the millions of frenzied football fans around the conference. My guess is Tennessee will finish around 7-5 and cut ties with Fulmer at the end of the season, no matter how costly the buyout will be. They can afford it.

Another coach or two could feel the pain, as well. But you can rest easy that one of them won’t be Spurrier. His contract runs through 2012 and the Board of Trustees approved a $1 million lump-sum annuity for him last year provided he remains with the Gamecocks through the 2011 season.

Here’s the twist: Spurrier has put a lot of faith in the highly-ranked 2007 signing class. He points to those players and proclaims USC is still building. Well, 2011 is when most of those players will be fifth-year seniors.

If USC enjoys a historically successful season in 2011, will Spurrier leave on a high note or will he stick around through the end of his contract or beyond?

That’s the relevant question.

Until then, USC fans can look forward to Spurrier strolling the Gamecocks for at least four more seasons, no matter what the national media says.

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