Game #2 - University of South Carolina Gamecocks
November 11th, 2012 - 2 p.m CT
Fox Sports Net
Columbia, South Carolina
Last year's low men on the totem pole in the SEC, the Gamecocks of South Carolina are a team in transition. Head coach Darrin Horn of last year was fired after the former Western Kentucky coach was unsuccessful in turning around the lackluster Gamecocks program. They weren't blown out a lot in the SEC - it looks like the ten-point loss was common - so I wouldn't expect these guys to be pushovers in their own gym, especially for a national TV game with their brand new big-time head coach, Frank Martin, debuting here. Hopefully there's some spoiling to be done by Milwaukee heading into SC.
2011-12 Record: 10-21, 2-14 SEC
Statsheet RPI: 185
KenPom: 155
Lead Returnees (Place on team in 2011-12)
PPG: *Damien Leonard, 6.8 ppg (t-4th)
RPG: RJ Slawson, 4 rpg (4th)
APG: *Lakeem Jackson, 1.4 apg (3rd)
Biggest Loss - This is a team that is in complete transition mode. Not only did they graduate Malik Cooke, but the Cocks also lost two starters, Damontre Harris and Anthony Gill, to transfer. Martin is looking at major rebuilding mode.
New faces - In the meantime without Bruce Ellington to run point, the Gamecocks have brought in Tarik Phillip to run the point. He may not be the answer here; LaShay Page was granted the waiver to play his senior year after some hardship brought him home to South Carolina. Page should be a starter immediately, and it looks like Damien Leonard will share a lot of time at the shooting guard spot with incoming scorer Thaddeus Hall, a two-guard who can score in a variety of ways. The addition of those two should help Leonard get shots. Laimonas Chatkevicius gives them real size on the front line and talent to go with it.
Style of play - Disciplined. Frank Martin is a strong, demanding coach who always has teams that don't make mistakes, play the speed game and are always ready to punch you in the mouth (figuratively). It's going to be quite interesting to see how Martin's new team meshes with him. My guess is that the players remaining are willing to rise up to his demanding persona; Harris and Gill transferred out, and I'm guessing it had nothing to do with how nice Martin is. Whether or not the team that plays on November 11th will be a prototypical Frank Martin team, I don't know - the mold is only starting to grow in the petri dish.
Bottom Line - The fact is, Frank Martin became head coach at South Carolina and did not bring along his highly touted recruits. By losing three of five starters off last year's abysmal team, Martin had to do a lot of hole-plugging. Laimonas Chatkevicius will probably start because of lack of talent elsewhere in the post, but I expect that Kyle Kelm should do well against him; after all, we're now talking about Kelm as an upperclassman with experience and size instead of a young frame that needs to be filled out.
Milwaukee should be able to throw a lot of bodies at Chatkevicius that will make it hard for the big Lithuanian to stay on the floor. I expect that RJ Slawson will be the other starter on the block, and he's the kind of guy that James Haarsma excels against - barely any difference in height and significantly smaller.
Expect the Panthers to come out of Columbia with a victory, albeit a hard-fought one. I expect the Colonial Life Arena to be rocking with the season-opener under their brand new big-name hire a day after they will likely paste Arkansas in football. Frank Martin's team should be better than they were under Horn, but I doubt that it'll be that much better with the new-hire-recruiting-class meshed with an awful returning team.
Chalk up a W.
Let's not forget that even though he has two starters coming back, Ellington won't be with the team until after the Cocks' bowl game. He should be ready to go, though, because the training staff will make sure to keep an eye on him:
Link: Bruce Ellington has the trainer's attention
Fun Game - Since the game is across the country on TV, we'll be willing to bet that the PantherU Nation will be glued to the TV. If you're a fan of drinking, we've got a nice surprise in the gameday preview next month!
* Lead returnee is actually Bruce Ellington, but he will be unavailable for the Milwaukee game as his first commitment is Gamecock football.