The College of Charleston drops their third straight

I didn't make it to Columbia for Cremins's second return to his alma mater this year, but I did catch the game on the tube. It was a great day for college basketball with Memphis taking on one of our old favorites, the Georgetown Hoyas and showing why the Tigers deserve to be ranked second in the nation. Memphis is quick, strong and aggresive, they just have such a great squad. (Photo courtesy of the Bushido)

But back to the College, the Cougs took on the Gamecocks and had three different 15 point leads but unfortunately the Cocks had hot hands from behind the arc, keeping them in the game and the College just couldn't answer. At times, I felt the old "live by the three, die by the three" mantra nagging the Cougs. Tony White Jr. had another great game, but the Cougs still didn't get the extra pass around the horn to find the open shot. We kept falling into traps on the wings and simply took deep shots that we just didn't have a chance to drop. And I hate to put it on the refs, but they simply made a bad call on a foul against the Cougs at the end of the game, which put the nails in the coffin. Cougs lost 82-85.

Cougars face the Gamecocks tonight @ 7 pm, Bobby Cremins squares off with his old friend and basketball rival, Dave Odom

The College of Charleston (3-5, 0-1 SoCon) travels 110 miles up the road to Columbia tonight to face the 2006 NIT Champions, South Carolina Gamecocks (4-2, 0-0 SEC) at the Colonial Center. Both teams are coming off of a loss: the Gamecocks are coming off of a (53-74) loss to Clemson. The Cougars lost to Appalachian State last Saturday, 57-68. (Photo of Bobby Cremins at USC from SCETV.org)

Game Time:
Tip-off is at 7 pm and will be broadcasted on television by Fox Sports Net South, (Channel 28 in Charleston and Channel 31 in Cola). The radio broadcast will be on ESPN Radio: WTMZ-910 AM and WTMA 1250 AM, our friends, Nate Ross and Everett German will be the courtside analysts and the voice of the Cougars, Tony Ciuffo will handle the play-by-play action-this will be the same broadcast available on-line via SoCon.Tv.

The Series:
Currently, South Carolina leads the Cougars 25-1 (all time), 0-2 (since both joined the NCAA)-USC won in OT against the Cougs in a 65-53 victory (Dec. 22, 1993) and USC beat the Cougs in Charlotte, 55-44 (Dec. 4, 1998). The last time the College of Charleston beat the Gamecocks was Jan. 17, 1930, when the College won 40-32-a major blowout! This series has been played over a span of 89 years now, and with two friends, yet old ACC-rivals (Cremins @ Ga. Tech & Odom @ Wake) at the helms of both great schools, the series will just get better.

Recon:
I hate to use the phrase the Cougars are due, but I think we had enough time off this week for everyone to get focused and the Cougs are due. Obviously, we need Dontaye to get back into his rhythm and put the kind of points on the board that he had in the first three games. He’s matched up pretty evenly with his 6-foot mirror on the Gamecocks squad, Tre’ Kelley. (Kelley is the only Cock to put up double-digits in every game this year). Hopefully, Draper will have the opportunity to hit his shots as Tony White, Jr. is really coming into his role as point guard and taking off a lot of the pressure. (Tony, do me a favor, don’t stare down your passing targets so hard, I see where the ball is headed, and I think everyone else does too). Finally, we are going to need our big men, David Lawrence and Jermaine Johnson to beat the boards and stop USC’s center Brandon Wallace from getting his 8.5 rebounds per game. Finally, our guys need to hold USC freshman, (small) power-forward, Dominique Archie to similar stats as what he put up in his first 3 starts this year (7-points total).

USC is tough, no doubt about it. Their losses came from UC Irvine by 15-points and Clemson by 21-points. However, USC knocked off the other USC (Southern California) by a 6-point margin in OT this year, but the Gamecocks only beat the Citadel by 15-points (who hasn’t?), narrowly beat SC State by 3-points and beat Lipscomb by 7. Meaning, I think the Cougars will finally get hot and shoot better than the lingering median 30 percentile range that has plagued them for the past two-weeks. Also, enough with the Coach Cremins persona non gratis saga (I am talking to you Post & Courier) the older kids on these teams were in the 4th grade in 1993. Meaning, this will have just about the same effect on the Cougars’ players, as CofC fans chanting “Shannon Faulkner” during a Citadel game has on the Bulldogs’ players today. I think the Cougars have a strong chance to bring home a win from Columbia. The Gamecocks seem to already have their heads turned towards their trip to Waco, TX to face Baylor, so we might just be able to catch them snoozing tonight! Go Cougs!

Btw, for the record, I think the State newspaper’s Seth Emerson did a better job at downplaying the Cremins returning to Columbia issue than the Charleston Post & Courier. Special thanks to the Charleston staff of Charles Bennett and David Caraviello: (843) 937-5588 for putting that one together.

And Roche pulls for the Cougs!

Who does John Roche want to win in tonight's matchup between CofC and USC? The Cougs of course! Although there is much speculation why arguably the greatest college basketball player to wear a South Carolina jersey (#11), John Roche (pronounced Roach) has returned to the Palmetto State (on official basketball visits) only twice since graduating in 1971, he did come to the Holy City this past weekend with his wife Jackie to watch the Cougs play App. State and to visit with their friends, Bobby and Carolyn Cremins. Don’t take it (that Roche is pulling for the Cougars in tonight’s game) personally Gamecocks, because as Mr. Roche told the State Newspaper, "That personal connection supersedes any institutional connection."

Roche's stats: John Roche was one of legendary Gamecock coach Frank McGuire's "Starting Five", a 6'3", 170 lbs, shooting guard who left his mark as a 3-time All American, twice voted ACC Player of the Year ('69 & '70) and he helped lead the Gamecocks to their first #1 ranking in college basketball, only ACC Title and their first NCAA Tournament. Roche was drafted in the 1st round (14th overall) into the NBA in '71 by the Phoenix Suns, was traded to the ABA's New Jersey Nets in '72 (where he met Coach Kresse) played for the Kentucky Colonels from '73 to '74 (see photo: courtesy of Remember the ABA). Mr. Roche then played one year for both the Utah Stars and the Los Angeles Lakers in '76. Roche finished his career playing for the Denver Nuggets where he also earned his law degree (Univ. of Denver College of Law). After retiring from pro-ball in '81, he and his wife made their home in Denver, Roche now works as a complex commercial and securities lawyer for Snell & Wilmer, LLC.

John Roche was elected into the Univ. of South Carolina Hall of Fame in 1979.

Directions to the Colonial Center for tonight's game!

Driving Directions to the Colonial Center
Heading in on I-20 East or West:

Take SC-277 South towards Downtown Columbia & USC. SC-277 merges into Bull St. . Turn Right on Gervais St. Turn Left on Assembly St. Turn Right on Greene St.Colonial Center is located at 801 Lincoln St. at Greene St.

Heading in on I-77 South: Take SC-277 South towards Downtown Columbia. SC-277 merges into Bull St. . Turn Right on Gervais St. Turn Left on Assembly St. Turn Right on Greene St.Colonial Center is located at 801 Lincoln St. at Greene St.

Heading in on I-26 East or West:

Take I-26 to 126 towards Downtown ColumbiaTake 126 to Elmwood Ave. Turn Right on Assembly St. Turn Right on Greene St. Colonial Center is located at 801 Lincoln St. at Greene St.Alternate Route

Heading in on I-26 West:

Take SC-1 East towards West Columbia & USCContinue SC-1 heading toward Downtown Columbia & USC Turn Left on Assembly St.Turn Right on Greene St.Colonial Center is located at 801 Lincoln St. at Greene St.Heading in from Sumter on Hwy 378/76 West Take Hwy 378/76 WestContinue on 378 WestStay Straight to go onto Devine StreetTurn Right on Blossom StreetTurn right on Lincoln StreetColonial Center is located at 801 Lincoln St. at Greene St.

(Photo compliments of USC Sports)