C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
The Gamecocks lost 78-62 Saturday to open the season.
--On the surface, a loss to Liberty will not be the biggest black eye on a tournament resume; the Flames are a good team, went 30-4 last year (with a group of seniors) and should be another good mid-major this year after already beating Mississippi State. But, a loss by 16 points to Liberty is concerning. It showcased a lot of issues that the Gamecocks need fixing and need to fix in a hurry. This loss will not keep them out of the tournament, but there are things that need to be corrected before there is a bad loss on the resume.
--After having so many months off, South Carolina looked like a team that was rusty. The Gamecocks came out and missed shots, looked clunky and had a few easily avoidable turnovers and a few easily avoidable fouls. This game won't be the be all end all of the season, but the Gamecocks need to knock off some of that rust because a 0-2 start would not be good.
--In the first half, the Gamecocks needed way more ball movement than what they had. South Carolina seemed too content on not moving the ball and getting downhill without shifting the defense around. It resulted in a lot of contested and missed shots, which helped bury the Gamecocks early. It seemed like the Gamecocks wanted to play fast regardless of if it meant a good shot or not. Defensively South Carolina struggled to defend the three, and were getting eaten up sometimes in ball screens.
--South Carolina had no answer inside at times, and Liberty got to the rim far too easily and it really caused a lot of problems defensively. The Gamecocks didn't rebound as well as they could have, and that caused a lot of problems. Liberty got too many easy looks inside and the on-ball pressure needs to get better and not allow guards into the paint so easily.
--Simply put, the Gamecocks need to take better shots and, when they get those, need to knock them down. Far too often they got zeroed on in taking a contested jumper and far too often they missed. It was clunky to watch.
--Right now South Carolina doesn't have a guy that can take over games right now. Jermaine Couisnard was a little bit of that last year, but wasn't Saturday. The Gamecocks need someone who can take a game over and go off to get a team back into the game. AJ Lawson had a couple of timely threes, but it wasn't enough and the Gamecocks didn't do enough around him.
--I left really impressed with Keyshawn Bryant and Seventh Woods. Both had solid starts to their seasons, and Woods the start to his first season. Bryant looks to be better handling the ball, obviously can dunk the heck out of a basketball and even hit a mid-range jumper early. Woods made a few contested shots but needs to run the offense better. Had a few miscues and turnovers, but those should get better as he continues.
--South Carolina couldn't figure out or deal with Liberty's passing, which opened up a lot of shooting lanes for the Flames. They'd fail to rotate, opening up some threes, and then when they defended they'd foul. It was just an all-around not great performance defensively. They tried everything from pressing to trapping and halfcourt defense and none of it worked.
--One thing an exhibition would have helped with would be from a lineup perspective. The Gamecocks didn't get that, meaning Martin had to tinker in-game and it prevented some consistency. South Carolina needs to figure out its rotation quick.
--On the surface, a loss to Liberty will not be the biggest black eye on a tournament resume; the Flames are a good team, went 30-4 last year (with a group of seniors) and should be another good mid-major this year after already beating Mississippi State. But, a loss by 16 points to Liberty is concerning. It showcased a lot of issues that the Gamecocks need fixing and need to fix in a hurry. This loss will not keep them out of the tournament, but there are things that need to be corrected before there is a bad loss on the resume.
--After having so many months off, South Carolina looked like a team that was rusty. The Gamecocks came out and missed shots, looked clunky and had a few easily avoidable turnovers and a few easily avoidable fouls. This game won't be the be all end all of the season, but the Gamecocks need to knock off some of that rust because a 0-2 start would not be good.
--In the first half, the Gamecocks needed way more ball movement than what they had. South Carolina seemed too content on not moving the ball and getting downhill without shifting the defense around. It resulted in a lot of contested and missed shots, which helped bury the Gamecocks early. It seemed like the Gamecocks wanted to play fast regardless of if it meant a good shot or not. Defensively South Carolina struggled to defend the three, and were getting eaten up sometimes in ball screens.
--South Carolina had no answer inside at times, and Liberty got to the rim far too easily and it really caused a lot of problems defensively. The Gamecocks didn't rebound as well as they could have, and that caused a lot of problems. Liberty got too many easy looks inside and the on-ball pressure needs to get better and not allow guards into the paint so easily.
--Simply put, the Gamecocks need to take better shots and, when they get those, need to knock them down. Far too often they got zeroed on in taking a contested jumper and far too often they missed. It was clunky to watch.
--Right now South Carolina doesn't have a guy that can take over games right now. Jermaine Couisnard was a little bit of that last year, but wasn't Saturday. The Gamecocks need someone who can take a game over and go off to get a team back into the game. AJ Lawson had a couple of timely threes, but it wasn't enough and the Gamecocks didn't do enough around him.
--I left really impressed with Keyshawn Bryant and Seventh Woods. Both had solid starts to their seasons, and Woods the start to his first season. Bryant looks to be better handling the ball, obviously can dunk the heck out of a basketball and even hit a mid-range jumper early. Woods made a few contested shots but needs to run the offense better. Had a few miscues and turnovers, but those should get better as he continues.
--South Carolina couldn't figure out or deal with Liberty's passing, which opened up a lot of shooting lanes for the Flames. They'd fail to rotate, opening up some threes, and then when they defended they'd foul. It was just an all-around not great performance defensively. They tried everything from pressing to trapping and halfcourt defense and none of it worked.
--One thing an exhibition would have helped with would be from a lineup perspective. The Gamecocks didn't get that, meaning Martin had to tinker in-game and it prevented some consistency. South Carolina needs to figure out its rotation quick.
