Dabblin’ With the Cockspur: I Got Ya’ Tobacco Road Right Here!
posted by Roger Olivieri, 9/29/2009 10:12:00 AM
Apparently, he forgot to tell the neighboring states he’d be pulling off a heist rivaling that of Danny Ocean and his shifty friends.
In the state of North Carolina, of the top twelve recruits by order of RIVALS stars system, only eight have committed. Of those eight, three are waving to Pedro as they move south of the border.
Impressive? Um, to say the least.
Fayetteville’s Damontre Harris is a 6’9” forward who also fielded offers from Florida, Maryland and Wake Forest. He’s rated as the 56th best prospect in the nation.
Shooting Guard Brian Richardson of Wilson was offered by SEC West foes Alabama and Auburn. At 6’4” and 165 pounds, he’s a sharp shooting two who has been compared to Jamel Bradley. Not bad.
Richardson’s teammate, Jeremy Jeffers, is no slouch either. The 6’5” wing man has offers ranging from Harvard to SEC foe Auburn. He’s also contemplating an offer from the Gamecocks.
Then there’s North Carolina prep star Eric Smith, a 6’0” 185 pound point guard who was offered by some orange school in the upstate of South Carolina – pretty important to land this guy, right? No problem. He was also drawing interest from Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Penn State.
Just the other day, one of the nation’s elite High School Hoopsters, Stacey Poole of Jacksonville, FL announced his decision as it came down to Kentucky and South Carolina. He chose Kentucky, but make no mistake, South Carolina was a very real possibility until the very end. To be in the “final two” with the 27th best high school player in the country speaks volumes about where the state of Gamecock basketball is heading.
Sure, Poole is a Floridian, further away from Tobacco Road than Columbia, SC, but it serves notice that the “other Carolina” has become a legitimate recruiting competitor.
There are others still bleeping loud on the Garnet Army radar, like Luke Cothron of Red Springs, North Carolina. The 6’8”, 210 pound power forward is rated as the nation’s 33rd best high school prospect. Offered by just about everyone, the Gamecocks remain in the mix.
Are the Gamecocks ready to revive a once rich basketball tradition? Probably not immediately. There is work to be done – tons of it. But, honestly, no one thought they’d tie for the Eastern Conference title in 2008-2009 either. Not many expected to the see Colonial Life Arena almost bouncing into The Vista with consecutive sellouts, either.
Would Devan Downey have even considered returning to school if the future didn’t look so bright? He’d have probably taken the money, even if it were overseas, rather than risk injury in a sinking ship. You can’t blame him, can you? Instead, he chose to stay.
Anything is possible and pessimists everywhere seem to be noticing the once proud basketball school again – pessimists and big time recruits, that is.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
When Darin Horn took over the South Carolina program he said the goal was to “build of fence” around the state of South Carolina and make sure that the best players in South Carolina came to the University OF South Carolina.
Apparently, he forgot to tell the neighboring states he’d be pulling off a heist rivaling that of Danny Ocean and his shifty friends.
In the state of North Carolina, of the top twelve recruits by order of RIVALS stars system, only eight have committed. Of those eight, three are waving to Pedro as they move south of the border.
Impressive? Um, to say the least.
Fayetteville’s Damontre Harris is a 6’9” forward who also fielded offers from Florida, Maryland and Wake Forest. He’s rated as the 56th best prospect in the nation.
Shooting Guard Brian Richardson of Wilson was offered by SEC West foes Alabama and Auburn. At 6’4” and 165 pounds, he’s a sharp shooting two who has been compared to Jamel Bradley. Not bad.
Richardson’s teammate, Jeremy Jeffers, is no slouch either. The 6’5” wing man has offers ranging from Harvard to SEC foe Auburn. He’s also contemplating an offer from the Gamecocks.
Then there’s North Carolina prep star Eric Smith, a 6’0” 185 pound point guard who was offered by some orange school in the upstate of South Carolina – pretty important to land this guy, right? No problem. He was also drawing interest from Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Penn State.
Just the other day, one of the nation’s elite High School Hoopsters, Stacey Poole of Jacksonville, FL announced his decision as it came down to Kentucky and South Carolina. He chose Kentucky, but make no mistake, South Carolina was a very real possibility until the very end. To be in the “final two” with the 27th best high school player in the country speaks volumes about where the state of Gamecock basketball is heading.
Sure, Poole is a Floridian, further away from Tobacco Road than Columbia, SC, but it serves notice that the “other Carolina” has become a legitimate recruiting competitor.
There are others still bleeping loud on the Garnet Army radar, like Luke Cothron of Red Springs, North Carolina. The 6’8”, 210 pound power forward is rated as the nation’s 33rd best high school prospect. Offered by just about everyone, the Gamecocks remain in the mix.
Are the Gamecocks ready to revive a once rich basketball tradition? Probably not immediately. There is work to be done – tons of it. But, honestly, no one thought they’d tie for the Eastern Conference title in 2008-2009 either. Not many expected to the see Colonial Life Arena almost bouncing into The Vista with consecutive sellouts, either.
Would Devan Downey have even considered returning to school if the future didn’t look so bright? He’d have probably taken the money, even if it were overseas, rather than risk injury in a sinking ship. You can’t blame him, can you? Instead, he chose to stay.
Anything is possible and pessimists everywhere seem to be noticing the once proud basketball school again – pessimists and big time recruits, that is.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Previous Blog Entries
Roger Olivieri. Roger began working with GamecockCentral in December of 2007. He currently serves as the site's chief videographer. He may be reached by email at roger(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.