1. why should I take a pessimistic look at it?
2. we do not get decimated by injuries like we have the past 3 + years.
3. our offense is both good and varied. teams cannot simply stack up to stop the run.
4. our D is better to much better than last year.
5. our Special Teams are light years better than any time since Sterling Sharpe or Dickie Harris with the exception of the the healthy Deebo Samuels years.

Eastern Ill. - USC WIN
they just aren't that good and we're playing our home opener. 1-0

East Carolina - USC WIN
the Pirates are seemingly always tough at home for games they set their sights on. this is such a game. I think it'll be closer than we'd like and that Special Teams will be the difference. 2-0

UGA - USC LOSS
they are loaded up like cord wood. We are not. It'll take CSB prolly 3 to 4 yrs to get the roster like he needs it to be to hang with UGA. He's seen it 1st hand and will build it up again. 2-1

UK - USC WIN
UK is as physical a team as there is in the SEC. This will be a slug fest. We have to throttle their run game enough to make them as 1 dimensional as possible. Being at Willie B will be a huge advantage. They have a new QB and we can take away their audibles if we are rowdy enough. This could well be another one determined by Special Teams. 3-1

Troy - USC WIN
We're a better team and should win pulling away in the 2nd half. 4-1

UT - USC WIN
Payback is sweet. They have been semi-gutted by guys transferring out. They've brought several in but are at a net deficit of 20 players +. It's at Rocky Top and that's the only thing they have going for them. My biggest concern is Doty and Brown having so little experience facing a team in a hornets nest environment.
5-1.

Vandy - USC WIN

We cannot take them lightly. They simply do not have the skill players to threaten defenses. That keeps everyone in the game. We grind them down as the game progresses and become bowl eligible. 6-1

aTm - USC LOSS

they are loaded at every position. Next to UGA they will be the most talented team we'll have played. I do not see how we can pull the upset in College Station. 6-2

UF - USC LOSS

Though I think it'll be a close game, I do not feel good calling this one a USC win. They lost a lot but they simply reload. They won't have the QB play they had last year and that's where our opportunity lies. 6-3

Mizzou - USC WIN

Under Muskrat, we played horribly against Mizzou. They were a solid team but they have tended to beat us soundly and have not been all that much better. I see us getting some revenge. 7-3

AU - USC WIN

this is not the Auburn program we're used to getting slaughtered by. Will the Boise State type system (Harson came from there) work well on the Plains? I think Bo Nix is what he is. He's a runner who is not a good enough passer to strike fear in the heart of a DC. They have a great RB and a QB defenses can stack up against. I see us winning b-2-b games them for the 1st time ever. 8-3

Upstate School - USC LOSS

It pains me to say that. They simply have that much more talent than we do right now. The bridge will be gapped. I simply want to see us play them competitively and make them crap the bed it is such a close game. They really have 1 QB. Their back up tore his Achilles. Then you have a walk-on and 2 true Fr. 1 of those might opt for baseball. He's projected to be a 1st rounder with a salary slot near $3.0 Mil. They have some serious losses but back fill pretty nicely. Their defense was not quite as salty as it's been the past several years. Their new QB is good but not Lawrence. Whomever lines up at RB will not be as good as Etienne. This is a year where a few unfortunate injuries could really hurt them. Particularly at QB. IMO this comes down to can we cover their WR's. That translates to (1) can we pressure their QB and (2) have we added enough speed to run with their WR's. Film at 11. 8-4.

All in all this is a spectacular 1st year for CSB. It sets up yr 2 recruiting superbly. We land in a bowl similar to the Outback Bowl and Beamer has us off & running. I choose to think of this optimistic scenario. If you choose to be pessimistic, be my guest. I'm not having any.

Said he's going to workout tomorrow with the Magic. Been on the road the last 10 days working out for teams and has gotten some good feedback. Will have a lot more on him tomorrow.

"Recruiting confidential" on South Carolina. 10 anonymous in-state coaches.

Too long to copy and paste, but if you have a subscription check it out.

The skinny on it is basically what we already know -- Spurrier's staff was fantastic until the end (one coach specifically mentions Beamer, as well as Ellis Johnson, as being the driver of the recruiting effort), CWM's staff did a bad job fostering in-state relationships, and the new staff has immediately made a huge difference.

??

I don't normally use message boards for this type of situation, but a family I have known for many years just lost everything in a house fire. The mother lost her husband recently, and now has lost her home of almost 50 years. This is a huge Gamecock family...the mother and father met at USC many moons ago. If you are able to give anything at all, I can assure you the family would be extremely grateful. Also, prayers, thoughts and positive vibes are always appreciated! Thank you to everyone!

McCoy family fundraiser

So...after USC was eliminated from the regionals I decided to pull for Arkansas. My reasoning was sound.
1. My husband's family is from Arkansas so there are ties.
2. Arkansas has never won a college world series.
3. I really really really like their coach.
4. I found a razorback hat in an old closet when I was helping my widowed 88 year old father do some cleaning.

Then we all know what happened. The #1 seed eliminate by NC State in the supers in Fayetteville.

I think I spread the CHICKEN CURSE to Arkansas. The curse is strong.

Not sure why Harris didn't get the nod

--This was the first weekend of the July live period, a chance for coaches to see guys play with their AAU teams over the course of the weekend. All of South Carolina’s assistants were out and evaluating players with Frank Martin making multiple stops in multiple towns to watch guys play.

For starters, a look at some of the key guys the staff watched over the course of the weekend:

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--I got to watch Jazian Gortman and Malik Reneau play and left impressed with both of them. Gortman is obviously a top 15 player and looked like it despite losing the game he played Thursday afternoon. He’s an explosive athlete and is getting plenty of other interest. South Carolina is fighting tooth and nail to land him and gain traction in his recruitment and Gortman is at least willing to listen. He’s planning trips to Alabama, NC State and Miami and mentioned talking with his dad about coming back to South Carolina for another visit sometime in August and September. He was already on campus in June for an unofficial.

Nate Oates, Steve Forbes, Jim Larrañaga were all on hand to watch Gortman Thursday along with Frank Martin. We’ll see if South Carolina can get back into the thick of it, but the staff is actively pushing hard in his recruitment.

--Reneau still needs to work some on his body but is fluid in the post and looked good around the rim as well. I like his game a lot and he’s hovering around No. 50 in the 2022 class. Reneau is from Miami where Frank Martin obviously has connections, and I spoke with him and Chuck Martin is the assistant handling a lot of his recruitment. Frank Martin watched him multiple times over the weekend and Reneau, from when I watched him, looked impressive.

--We had something up today on GG Jackson, who took an unofficial visit near the end of June and the Gamecocks watched him play some this weekend, including both of his games Friday night. The Gamecocks have done well getting in and getting in early with Jackson and are one of the few schools standing out early in his recruitment. It’s still a very long way to go in his recruitment, but South Carolina is again positioned well and Jackson’s been receptive to what they’re saying.

--A 2023 guy to keep an eye on is guard Jaylen Curry, who was watched by Frank Martin and Chuck Martin Friday night in the same game as GG Jackson. He’s getting interest from USF, Pittsburgh, Xavier and others and South Carolina’s shown some interest but they haven’t offered yet. Frank Martin is the one who’s reached out.

--A guy I left impressed with was Wesley Tubbs III, who took an unofficial visit to South Carolina the final week of June. He’s someone Will Bailey is recruiting and taking the lead with him. Tubbs is incredibly quick and athletic with a projectable frame. He’s already up to 6-foot-7 as a high school junior and can operate as a guard or a wing (he played some guard this weekend but probably projects more as a wing).

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--We mentioned it in a post last week, but Josh Gray is officially on campus and going to start workouts with the team. He’s right around 7-feet tall and the hope is he will be able to help defensively especially this year just because of his size. He probably fits better into what Frank Martin likes to run compared to Will Wade at LSU. The Tigers like to play small and Gray doesn’t necessarily fit that mold. Ta’Quan Woodley is the last remaining guy on the team to not make it down to campus just yet but the Gamecocks are hoping to get him down here this week as his high school year finishes up.

We’ll have much more this week on almost all of these targets and potentially some team notes now that workouts have been going for a while.

Wish him all the best. Morgan State was one win away from the tournament last year and I think the top 3 scorer's (Ware, Baxter, and Miller) for the team is returning. He should get a good shot at the tournament with Morgan State.

He's a Bear

Today's date is 7-14-21

Nick Muse and JJ Enagbare.

South Carolina saw a host of current guys and signees in the 2021 class plucked over the last three days in the MLB Draft with things going almost as expected with some good and bad news mixed into the 20-round draft.

Here are a few notes from the draft with the caveat things can change as guys get into negotiations. A reminder guys have until August 1 to decide what to do and if they’re going to either return or come to school.

Current team:

--South Carolina had six guys on the roster this year picked in the first 10 rounds of the draft—Brett Kerry, Brady Allen, Thomas Farr, Brannon Jordan, Andrew Peters and Wes Clarke—then two more on day three in Daniel Lloyd and Julian Bosnic. Seeing a lot of guys on the team be drafted was anticipated (and actually the second-most in the SEC and tied with two teams for third-most in the country) and it’s a lot of production from the 2021 team. I would say it’s all but a certainty seven of those eight sign, and potentially all eight.

--Really the only big question mark of the draft from a current team standpoint is Julian Bosnic, who was drafted by the Giants in the 16th round. Bosnic entered the draft with a very high price point and teams knew what it was and how unlikely he was to back down from that number.

I’ve gotten some conflicting information immediately after Bosnic being picked if he will be back or not and will update things more as they come, but I will say the fact the Giants drafted him means they know what his asking price is. The biggest question now is if the Giants are able to match what he wants or if he does lower his signing bonus price. I can’t see him right now lowering his asking price. If they can match his money asking price, the feeling is he’ll sign.

If Bosnic does come back, it’d be a big boost for the Gamecocks’ pitching staff already set to lose a lot. He’d be in the conversation for the Friday night starter at the beginning of the fall. At worst he’ll likely be the Saturday starter behind Will Sanders.

--What happens next with the team are free agent negotiations with some graduating seniors or guys who might want to start their professional careers. Andrew Eyster is someone who could potentially sign a FA deal, although there’s been a little bit of talk about the outfielder returning for one more year at South Carolina. All of that is to be determined at the moment and should come out over the coming days.

Recruiting class

--Two signees were picked the first two days of the draft, both expected, in infielder Cooper Kinney and right-hander Hunter Parks. Both were entirely expected entering this three-day stretch. Kinney had first round buzz about him entering the draft and he ultimately did go in the top with a slot value at over $2.1 million. The staff had been preparing for a very long time that Parks wasn’t going to make it to campus and made preparations for that. Losing Kinney was expected but a big blow, given his left-handed bat and hit tool. If Kinney did make it to campus, he’d likely factor into the opening day lineup somewhere.

--The only other signee drafted was junior college right-hander Andrew Baker, taken in the 11th round by the Phillies. Right now, given the fact as to how early he was picked and teams knowing a player’s asking price it would seem likely just assessing the situation he would sign professionally. If I get concrete information on that to pass along, I will. Baker would likely be a key piece of the Gamecocks’ bullpen if he were to get on campus.

--South Carolina did get some good news from the recruiting trail Monday, getting two top 100 prospects to campus in Michael Braswell and Thad Ector, both of which announced their decisions to pull out of the draft and get to school. Both of these were somewhat expected entering the week and became official day two on the draft. With Braswell (No. 63 in PerfectGame’s rankings), his asking price signing bonus-wise was really high. Braswell’s family is very education-heavy and the shortstop put a high value on coming to school and enrolling at South Carolina.

Ector (No. 74 by PerfectGame) had been trending towards school for a while; even saying on the record before the draft he thought Columbia was the right move. Ector knows South Carolina’s situation in the outfield and knows there are ways to get innings and at-bats early in his career if he comes in and hits.

With Braswell, he might be penciled in as the team’s starting shortstop entering the fall, and will compete likely with Jalen Vasquez there. He needs to add some weight and continue to get better offensively, but he makes contact consistently and has a solid understanding of the strike zone.

Defensively it’s hard to project where Ector will go—he likely projects right now in the corner outfield but hopes to play center—and is an athletic switch-hitter. He has the tools to hit and has done it well for the most part. He’s a switch hitter, which certainly adds value at the plate.

--The rest of the class should begin arriving in August with the Gamecocks having signed seven top 500 high school prospects: Braswell, Ector, infielder Carson Hornung (102), infielder Vytas Valincius (173), catcher Cole Messina (266), outfielder Elijah Lambros (299), right-hander Sam Simpson (346), right-hander Aidan Hunter (402).

Other classmates are: catcher Talmadge LeCroy, lefty Matthew Becker, righty/infielder Owen Washburn, right-hander Elijah Jones, outfielder Evan Stone, outfielder Dariyan Pendergrass. Then there are three junior college commits outside of Baker and Parks: outfielder Wilson Galvan, right-hander James Hicks.

All I can say is I feel sorry for ppl who pay for PFF

South Carolina will have availability tomorrow afternoon where we're able to ask questions to the new transfer players (freshmen will be available after the first semester in December). Guys scheduled to speak tomorrow: Chico Carter Jr., Josh Gray, Brandon Martin, James Reese, Erik Stevenson, AJ Wilson.

If you have any questions you want answered, post and we'll try and ask them. Guys are only available for 8-10 minutes so time will be cramped.

Need to watch LSU and Burrow from 2 years ago. They threw it into some tight windows.

There's movement in Antonio Williams recruitment - we dive into the latest on the four-star wide receiver target and more on Gamecocks recruiting.

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This is one in which the prospect is readying an announcement, so we will let that play out.

It’s another our subscribers will be happy with…

Twitter is abuzz over Tuffy III. My GF just Facetimed me to show me and apparently getting pics with him is a priority for our visit in Sept. Even NC State's rivals are crushing on twitter.

Ahhhh social media marketing.

I spoke with someone yesterday with some behind the scene's knowledge of our baseball program. He told me Kingston is feeling the heat. 2 coaches, one a HC at another school and one a pitching coach, have already had back door discussions on the job. He also said if Kingston stays, expect a new pitching coach. He had some interesting notes on the transfers as well. Coto was apparently talking to other schools while he was here. Fields there was more going on behind the scenes than anyone really knows about and he was leaving before the season ever started.

He also had some inside knowledge of the upstate team and said he thinks Lee gets one more year but will have to replace most if not all of his staff if he wants to stay.

Take it all with a grain of salt, but I can tell you this guy has conversations weekly with both coaching staffs and multiple players on both teams.

Take a guess.

With Ferris Bueller’s father and then went outside after lunch catching a cab….

- Team USA began its Olympic training camps this week in Las Vegas for the 3x3 and 5x5 Olympic teams.

- Allisha Gray is in Las Vegas for the training camp, which began Tuesday. The 3x3 team does not have any exhibitions scheduled, and will begin play July 24 against top-seeded France.

- The 5x5 national team, featuring A’ja Wilson and coached by Dawn Staley, has its first exhibition Wednesday night against the WNBA All-Stars. That game is at 7:00 pm eastern and is on ESPN. There are two more exhibitions: Friday afternoon against Australia. That game is at 2:30 pm eastern on NBC Sports Network. The third and final exhibition is against Nigeria on Sunday at 5:30 pm on the Olympic Channel. Both the Opals and Nigeria are also holding training camp in Las Vegas, and former gamecock Sarah Imovbioh is on the Nigerian roster. The national team’s first game of the Olympics is on July 27 against Nigeria.

- I will have more on USA Basketball and the Gamecocks closer to the Olympics.

- No, I still can’t reveal who the Birdie is.

- No, I don’t know when/if anyone else will commit this summer. Everyone was on the road last week and I’m still catching up with folks.

- File this one under unexpected results. I understand why fans are getting impatient with the lack of recruiting news, and I understand some are worried that Dawn Staley’s USA Basketball commitments might have a negative impact on recruiting. I figured I’d look up UConn’s recruiting rankings from 2013 and 2017, the last two recruiting cycles that overlapped with Geno Auriemma coaching Team USA. I figured I’d do a story on how UConn’s recruiting didn’t suffer.
Well, actually…
In 2013 UConn signed only one player and was not ranked among the top 20 classes. That player, Saniya Chong, was part of three national championship teams, and started 33 games as a senior, but averaged 5.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game for her career. The 2017 class was ranked second, but two players transferred during their freshman season, another transferred after her sophomore season, and only Megan Walker became an impact player (albeit a very good one). In fairness, overall the 2017 class had a lot of busts so UConn was not alone. Still, that’s two relatively weak classes, so maybe there is a precedent to be concerned about.

- Of course, UConn balanced out those classes by signing the likes of Breanna Stewart and Katie Lou Samuelson, while South Carolina has its collection of talent, so there is a big gap between concern and panic.