C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
South Carolina beat Army 105-75 Wednesday afternoon and are 9-3 on the season. Their next game is Dec. 29 against SC State at 3 p.m.
--This was exactly what the Gamecocks needed after losing to Clemson. The Gamecocks, still very much short-handed cruised and drubbed an inferior opponent and continue stock-piling wins. This Army win won’t be the feather in any tournament resume but it avoids a bad loss and the Gamecocks are doing exactly what good teams need to do to inferior ones and that’s win and win easily. The Gamecocks eclipsed 100 points for the second time in eight days and hit triple digits for the first time against a Division I opponent since the 2007-08 season.
--Devin Carter has a chance to be really, really special at South Carolina and if he continues to play the way he has been, then he won’t be a four-year player. Carter is in attack mode non-stop and ultimately finished with 22 points. He’s someone the Gamecocks can rely on to get to the rim and create chances at the line. He might be the Gamecocks’ best player right now.
--Give Chico Carter a lot of credit for his play not only Wednesday but over the last week. He finally seems to be getting comfortable and playing well. He finished with 20 points on 7-for-13X shooting and made all three of his three-pointers. He seems to be better in an off-ball guard role where he’s able to space the floor and just be tasked with making shots. When Jacobi Wright is playing like he did for the majority of Wednesday’s game, Carter Jr. doesn’t have to be that point guard type.
--Defensively the Gamecocks were up and down but did a lot of things to get Army off of its game. Army’s point total score might not look like it but Army got a lot of points because it had a lot of possessions. What South Carolina did well, which needs to continue coming along, is force turnovers. They forced 18 turnovers that lead to 19 fast break points. Army hit a handful lof threes and the Gamecocks need to be better on ball and in rotations. What was good was Army likes to get to the line and South Carolina only let Army shoot 16 free throws.
--After coming out really sluggish start where they trailed by eight to Army, the Gamecocks offensively really turned things on. They looked sped up and out of sorts and it created some stagnation. They started cutting and moving off the ball and making better decisions, which helped the offensive flow and better shots followed. It also helps hitting 66.7 percent of your shots, but those looks came from solid offense.
--South Carolina continues to need more people to step up outside of Wildens Leveque down low. There were flashes from Josh Gray and Tre-Vaughn Minott but it was inconsistent. Josh Gray has a lot of untapped potential that’s still getting molded but the Gamecocks need more guys to continue developing down low to take some of the pressure off of Leveque. Ta’Quan Woodley and Ja’Von Benson also had solid, productive days as well.
--These are the kind of games the Gamecocks need from Erik Stevenson. He didn’t try and do too much offensively and had a really good day: 13 points, 4-for-6 from the field and 1-for-2 from three. He does just about everything else really, really well and the Gamecocks just need him to be more efficient shooting the ball. He was against Army.
--Even with some other guys stepping up against Army the Gamecocks are going to need much better play out of Keyshawn Bryant. He didn’t look comfortable out there at the four and will need to be a lot better for the Gamecocks as the season goes on and the team gets healthier. He finished with eight points and went 3-for-6 from the field with a handful of bad shots and just poor play. The Gamecocks need more out of him and he has the capability to do it. Just seems to be forcing things at the moment.
--This was exactly what the Gamecocks needed after losing to Clemson. The Gamecocks, still very much short-handed cruised and drubbed an inferior opponent and continue stock-piling wins. This Army win won’t be the feather in any tournament resume but it avoids a bad loss and the Gamecocks are doing exactly what good teams need to do to inferior ones and that’s win and win easily. The Gamecocks eclipsed 100 points for the second time in eight days and hit triple digits for the first time against a Division I opponent since the 2007-08 season.
--Devin Carter has a chance to be really, really special at South Carolina and if he continues to play the way he has been, then he won’t be a four-year player. Carter is in attack mode non-stop and ultimately finished with 22 points. He’s someone the Gamecocks can rely on to get to the rim and create chances at the line. He might be the Gamecocks’ best player right now.
--Give Chico Carter a lot of credit for his play not only Wednesday but over the last week. He finally seems to be getting comfortable and playing well. He finished with 20 points on 7-for-13X shooting and made all three of his three-pointers. He seems to be better in an off-ball guard role where he’s able to space the floor and just be tasked with making shots. When Jacobi Wright is playing like he did for the majority of Wednesday’s game, Carter Jr. doesn’t have to be that point guard type.
--Defensively the Gamecocks were up and down but did a lot of things to get Army off of its game. Army’s point total score might not look like it but Army got a lot of points because it had a lot of possessions. What South Carolina did well, which needs to continue coming along, is force turnovers. They forced 18 turnovers that lead to 19 fast break points. Army hit a handful lof threes and the Gamecocks need to be better on ball and in rotations. What was good was Army likes to get to the line and South Carolina only let Army shoot 16 free throws.
--After coming out really sluggish start where they trailed by eight to Army, the Gamecocks offensively really turned things on. They looked sped up and out of sorts and it created some stagnation. They started cutting and moving off the ball and making better decisions, which helped the offensive flow and better shots followed. It also helps hitting 66.7 percent of your shots, but those looks came from solid offense.
--South Carolina continues to need more people to step up outside of Wildens Leveque down low. There were flashes from Josh Gray and Tre-Vaughn Minott but it was inconsistent. Josh Gray has a lot of untapped potential that’s still getting molded but the Gamecocks need more guys to continue developing down low to take some of the pressure off of Leveque. Ta’Quan Woodley and Ja’Von Benson also had solid, productive days as well.
--These are the kind of games the Gamecocks need from Erik Stevenson. He didn’t try and do too much offensively and had a really good day: 13 points, 4-for-6 from the field and 1-for-2 from three. He does just about everything else really, really well and the Gamecocks just need him to be more efficient shooting the ball. He was against Army.
--Even with some other guys stepping up against Army the Gamecocks are going to need much better play out of Keyshawn Bryant. He didn’t look comfortable out there at the four and will need to be a lot better for the Gamecocks as the season goes on and the team gets healthier. He finished with eight points and went 3-for-6 from the field with a handful of bad shots and just poor play. The Gamecocks need more out of him and he has the capability to do it. Just seems to be forcing things at the moment.
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