When it comes to my analysis of the Gamecock Basketball team, I've been called too much of an optimist or too close to the team to be objective. Well, partially, these things are true.
I am a very optimistic person in the game of life and the game of basketball. And I am very close to the program so I have a better understanding than most. I know how close they are and rather than panic, I choose to concentrate on the few things that need corrected as opposed to over-dissecting every facet of the game.
I can promise you that not many people outside of the South Carolina locker room thought the Gamecocks could go to Texas A&M and win yesterday. Very respectfully said, this is why the outside noise doesn't matter to teams. Teams come together and focus on the things that give them a chance to be successful. This is exactly what happened yesterday.
After the loss against Georgia, many people – and I'm talking about Gamecock fans – gave up on this team. Quite frankly, it was disappointing to me. I saw someone on Twitter yesterday after the game say: I don't understand this team.
What is it to understand? What about understanding the fact that they're 20-3 and have a chance to sit atop the SEC with a win against LSU on Wednesday. What about the fact that they'd just beaten the best team in the SEC at their place in front of a sellout crowd? What about the fact that this win is a great resume builder as we get closer to March? Ok, I think you guys get it.
Hopefully, yesterday's win made some nonbelievers into believers. Is this a perfectly built team? No! Does this team have deficiencies? Yes. Is this a pretty good team? Yes. I actually love listening to other coaches talk about their preparation for the Gamecocks. The two words they always use are physicality and toughness. That's a tribute to Frank Martin and those kids that believe in him. In the sports world, there's not a greater compliment than to be called tough.
Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said that his team got in foul trouble because of South Carolina's toughness. Translation: South Carolina imposed its will and forced the Aggies to play their style.
I said in my preview that the Gamecocks were taking a one-game-at-a-time approach. Some people think it's cliche but it's actually true. On Thursday night, Frank and I had a conversation about something that's coming up this week and he didn't even know when or who they played this week. I had to tell him that it was LSU on Wednesday. He was that locked in. If the last statement doesn't epitomize the one-game-at-a-time approach, I don't know what will.
Sindarius Thornwell and Michael Carrera willed this basketball team to a victory yesterday. They combined to score 45 points and if you're going to win on the road, your vets need that type of production. I said in my preview that the Gamecocks needed to pack their offense. They surely did as they turned in one of their best offensive performances of the year.
Thornwell was off the charts. His numbers were: 25 points, nine assists (on turnover) and six rebounds. Oh, and he was very good defensively as usual. Yep, that guy who doesn't do anything great was pretty darn good yesterday.
Frank told me that he had a two-way conversation with Carrera, Thornwell, Notice and Mindaugus Kacinas. He listened to their thoughts before letting them know that he was going to have to increase their minutes down the stretch. If you think back to yesterday, those guys were on the court a lot.
Carrera bounced back and played like the warrior he's been all year. He's fearless and is learning to help his teammates more by understanding that his efforts are a rarity and every player can't operate at that level. Some guys are just built with a motor like that but most aren't.
Freshman PJ Dozier continues to show flashes of brilliance. He had some timely baskets and plays down the stretch. He's earning Frank's trust. Much like the last few games, Frank is putting the ball in Dozier's hands and asking him to get in the lane to make plays. He can get there against anybody but is still improving in the areas of strength and decision-making. He's a gifted passer but it sometimes gets him in trouble.
The staff was ecstatic about the fact that the sellout crowd didn't play a huge role for the Aggies. South Carolina took the crowd out early. I'm told that the crowd really got loud twice last night and both were when Dozier and Carrera were at the line in the waning moments.
In closing, I'm so proud of those guys going on the road and coming out victorious. If I'm concerned about anything, it is the play of Laimonis Chatkevicious and Duane Notice. Those two guys are very important to this team's success. As good as Thornwell was yesterday, it's not realistic to expect those type of stat-stuffing numbers every game. Laimonis (Big Cat) missed a few point-blank layups and passes. Confidence seems to be his issue. I've seen Duane Notice miss key free throws the last few games. That's rare for a guy that was shooting 80 percent from the charity stripe.
The win yesterday served as a tasteful appetizer to what is the biggest week of South Carolina basketball in my years of following Gamecock basketball. UConn, LSU and Kentucky will all make the trek to Columbia for meaningful games. You all know this is heaven for me and it will be a fun week.
P.S. I'm looking forward to speaking to a couple of Gamecock groups: The Spartanburg Gamecock Club on Feb. 12 at noon and the USC in the Triad (N.C.) on Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m. At both events, I will provide insight about the men's and women's teams. I'll also talk about the Mac Credille Scholarship Fund for student managers of the Gamecock men's basketball team. Next month, there's also a tentative event planned for me to speak at on Daniels Island (Charleston) involving March Madness.
I am a very optimistic person in the game of life and the game of basketball. And I am very close to the program so I have a better understanding than most. I know how close they are and rather than panic, I choose to concentrate on the few things that need corrected as opposed to over-dissecting every facet of the game.
I can promise you that not many people outside of the South Carolina locker room thought the Gamecocks could go to Texas A&M and win yesterday. Very respectfully said, this is why the outside noise doesn't matter to teams. Teams come together and focus on the things that give them a chance to be successful. This is exactly what happened yesterday.
After the loss against Georgia, many people – and I'm talking about Gamecock fans – gave up on this team. Quite frankly, it was disappointing to me. I saw someone on Twitter yesterday after the game say: I don't understand this team.
What is it to understand? What about understanding the fact that they're 20-3 and have a chance to sit atop the SEC with a win against LSU on Wednesday. What about the fact that they'd just beaten the best team in the SEC at their place in front of a sellout crowd? What about the fact that this win is a great resume builder as we get closer to March? Ok, I think you guys get it.
Hopefully, yesterday's win made some nonbelievers into believers. Is this a perfectly built team? No! Does this team have deficiencies? Yes. Is this a pretty good team? Yes. I actually love listening to other coaches talk about their preparation for the Gamecocks. The two words they always use are physicality and toughness. That's a tribute to Frank Martin and those kids that believe in him. In the sports world, there's not a greater compliment than to be called tough.
Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said that his team got in foul trouble because of South Carolina's toughness. Translation: South Carolina imposed its will and forced the Aggies to play their style.
I said in my preview that the Gamecocks were taking a one-game-at-a-time approach. Some people think it's cliche but it's actually true. On Thursday night, Frank and I had a conversation about something that's coming up this week and he didn't even know when or who they played this week. I had to tell him that it was LSU on Wednesday. He was that locked in. If the last statement doesn't epitomize the one-game-at-a-time approach, I don't know what will.
Sindarius Thornwell and Michael Carrera willed this basketball team to a victory yesterday. They combined to score 45 points and if you're going to win on the road, your vets need that type of production. I said in my preview that the Gamecocks needed to pack their offense. They surely did as they turned in one of their best offensive performances of the year.
Thornwell was off the charts. His numbers were: 25 points, nine assists (on turnover) and six rebounds. Oh, and he was very good defensively as usual. Yep, that guy who doesn't do anything great was pretty darn good yesterday.
Frank told me that he had a two-way conversation with Carrera, Thornwell, Notice and Mindaugus Kacinas. He listened to their thoughts before letting them know that he was going to have to increase their minutes down the stretch. If you think back to yesterday, those guys were on the court a lot.
Carrera bounced back and played like the warrior he's been all year. He's fearless and is learning to help his teammates more by understanding that his efforts are a rarity and every player can't operate at that level. Some guys are just built with a motor like that but most aren't.
Freshman PJ Dozier continues to show flashes of brilliance. He had some timely baskets and plays down the stretch. He's earning Frank's trust. Much like the last few games, Frank is putting the ball in Dozier's hands and asking him to get in the lane to make plays. He can get there against anybody but is still improving in the areas of strength and decision-making. He's a gifted passer but it sometimes gets him in trouble.
The staff was ecstatic about the fact that the sellout crowd didn't play a huge role for the Aggies. South Carolina took the crowd out early. I'm told that the crowd really got loud twice last night and both were when Dozier and Carrera were at the line in the waning moments.
In closing, I'm so proud of those guys going on the road and coming out victorious. If I'm concerned about anything, it is the play of Laimonis Chatkevicious and Duane Notice. Those two guys are very important to this team's success. As good as Thornwell was yesterday, it's not realistic to expect those type of stat-stuffing numbers every game. Laimonis (Big Cat) missed a few point-blank layups and passes. Confidence seems to be his issue. I've seen Duane Notice miss key free throws the last few games. That's rare for a guy that was shooting 80 percent from the charity stripe.
The win yesterday served as a tasteful appetizer to what is the biggest week of South Carolina basketball in my years of following Gamecock basketball. UConn, LSU and Kentucky will all make the trek to Columbia for meaningful games. You all know this is heaven for me and it will be a fun week.
P.S. I'm looking forward to speaking to a couple of Gamecock groups: The Spartanburg Gamecock Club on Feb. 12 at noon and the USC in the Triad (N.C.) on Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m. At both events, I will provide insight about the men's and women's teams. I'll also talk about the Mac Credille Scholarship Fund for student managers of the Gamecock men's basketball team. Next month, there's also a tentative event planned for me to speak at on Daniels Island (Charleston) involving March Madness.
