Honeymoon Over For This Team

[BlackMagicCock]

This crap has to stop..this is two games in a row were we have control of the game and we lose it down the streach.. this is rediculous.

[M.C.]

its sickening

[U-Dub Gamecock]

They are a young team... that will only get better.. George Mason's experience was the difference.. Compared to last year... this team is a much better squad.. Will we make the dance, or finish in the top half of the SEC?? No.. but we will be better..

Give it time..

[crevil3lf]

They are a young team... that will only get better.. George Mason's experience was the difference.. Compared to last year... this team is a much better squad.. Will we make the dance, or finish in the top half of the SEC?? No.. but we will be better..

Give it time..

Sounds like the football team...but I think we will get together later on in the year and win the NIT:thumbsup:

[Bleedin'Garnet]

give it time?...wow

[XLcock86]

This crap has to stop..this is two games in a row were we have control of the game and we lose it down the streach.. this is rediculous.AGREE!!:clap:

[evilpoptart]

Whoever gets Odom's job next season will inheirit a ton of good players.

[CoverTwo]

Whoever gets Odom's job next season will inheirit a ton of good players.\

Thats exactly right..This team does have talent and if we can find that one guy that can be a force inside then we could have the ability to go a long ways as a program.

[akn4bkn]

WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!!!!

[evilpoptart]

That seems to be a common theme for all gamecock athletics outside of the Baseball team and Women's Equestrian team.

[gAmkok]

The season isn't over yet.... But it's not off to a good start. If we don't stop playing tentatively soon, we'll blow the chance for a respectable season. Starting off 3-3 puts us in a pretty deep hole already.

[evilpoptart]

good teams find ways to win. this is a team that so far as shown they are unable to do that.

[uscnoklahoma]

I think my 17 win prediction is looking like a tall order right now.

[FeartheSpur]

they are young..it will come together

[roosterrizk1]

Devon needs to quit looking to pass to Fredrick in crunch time. He needs to understand he IS our best player. As far as inside presence, Muldrow will be that person if he stays in the weight room. Sure was hoping Mitch Carter would help this year.

[87Cock09]

Just wait until next year, this is a young team Odom has only had 6 years to get his players, 6 "rebuilding" years lol.

[BlackMagicCock]

we need Todd Lickliter's Iowa's HC

[JM1984]

it's going to be a long season. I'm sick and tired of watching our stationary offensive plays, Downey dribbles the ball until 5 sec.s are left on the shot clock, everyone else stands around watching, then he drives the lane and misses the layup nor does he get the foul. This has been our offense for 6 years now, subsitute the names. It hasn't worked out too well in the past nor will it work in the future. Hopefully a change will come.

[womfalcs3]

Wait until 2040!

We're gonna get good.


Man... I'm sick of disappointment. I want to cheer not make excuses after games.

[M.C.]

This crap has to stop..this is two games in a row were we have control of the game and we lose it down the streach.. this is rediculous.honeymoon? barely a date

[willy]

This crap has to stop..this is two games in a row were we have control of the game and we lose it down the streach.. this is rediculous.


And we barely got past a Penn. St. team that is not so good. I think the long extended honeymoon for Odom is over. We will not even make it to the NIT this year, the fact of the matter is we are JUST TOO SHORT.

[SAETerrier]

Wow...didn't know we'd drop 2 at this tourney...just wait until the SEC season.....we'll see how Uncle Dave's Warchest stacks up then...

[bgallup]

BOOOOOOOOOOO! its a bad start...... where have i seen this before!

Time to move on IMO!

[Sides]

We played tough and lost to two tournement teams by two points and one point. Later in the year we will win those games and this experience will pay off. It is way too early, expecially with the length of the bball season, to start critizizing this team. I still think they will make a strong push at the tourney.

[Sides]

Whoever gets Odom's job next season will inheirit a ton of good players.

Comments like this make us sound like ignorant fans. It is embarassing.

[evilpoptart]

Comments like this make us sound like ignorant fans. It is embarassing.

This is Odoms what? 9th season? He is obviously happy with mediocrity and a lot of people are ready for a new direction in gamecock basketball. Its embarassing you would attack a fellow gamecock fan just because you dont agree with his opinion.

[evilpoptart]

We played tough and lost to two tournement teams by two points and one point. Later in the year we will win those games and this experience will pay off. It is way too early, expecially with the length of the bball season, to start critizizing this team. I still think they will make a strong push at the tourney.

NC state and George Mason were just a few games over .500 last season... Id hardly call them an NCAA tournament team. The team is just not good. The team hasnt been good for years. If USC cant beat teams like NC state and George Mason, they arent going to even get into the NIT.

[Sides]

This is Odoms what? 9th season? He is obviously happy with mediocrity and a lot of people are ready for a new direction in gamecock basketball. Its embarassing you would attack a fellow gamecock fan just because you dont agree with his opinion.

I didn't attack you, that is ridiculous. I think it shows a lack of taste, as a gamecock fan, to say he will not coach here next year when we have only played 7 games and we are fielding are most competitive team since Larry Davis, BJ Mackie, and Melvin Watson.

I am sorry if I offended.

[evilpoptart]

I didn't attack you, that is ridiculous. I think it shows a lack of taste, as a gamecock fan, to say he will not coach here next year when we have only played 7 games and we are fielding are most competitive team since Larry Davis, BJ Mackie, and Melvin Watson.

I am sorry if I offended.

Hes been here for 9 years and the most he has to show for it is 2 successful appearences in the NIT tournament. This team couldnt beat 2 teams that didnt make the NCAA tournament last season. This team has nothing on that Fogler team that was a #3 seed in the NCAA tournament. If anything, this team is just overhyped.

Odom has had enough time to show what kind of a coach he is. I dont feel like medicority should be acceptable when you have players consistantly going to the NBA almost every year.

[gamecocknva]

If we could make eight foot jump shots in the lane we would have won all three games we played. I wouldn't blame Odom for guys getting to the paint and not finishing. If you watched all three games you noticed we got open shots all weekend. We just went cold a few times.

[Sides]

Hes been here for 9 years and the most he has to show for it is 2 successful appearences in the NIT tournament. This team couldnt beat 2 teams that didnt make the NCAA tournament last season. This team has nothing on that Fogler team that was a #3 seed in the NCAA tournament. If anything, this team is just overhyped.

Odom has had enough time to show what kind of a coach he is. I dont feel like medicority should be acceptable when you have players consistantly going to the NBA almost every year.

All that may be true and I am sure a lot of people here agree with you. But I think it shows a lack of class to constantly bring this up when we have the potential for a bright season. This is a discussion for after the final game of this season is over. Are you hoping we suck this year to get Odom fired or are you excited about the potential of this new team?

[Sides]

Odom has had enough time to show what kind of a coach he is. I dont feel like medicority should be acceptable when you have players consistantly going to the NBA almost every year.

I don't think we can say we consistantly put players in the NBA. Name an NBA player before Odom was the coach. Odom has worked hard to build a program and it takes more than a couple of NBA bench players, whom I fully support and don't mean to knock, to get to the level we want to be. It has been a slow process but there are signs we are turning the corner and he deserves support throughout the season.

[Gamecock History]

NC state and George Mason were just a few games over .500 last season... Id hardly call them an NCAA tournament team. The team is just not good. The team hasnt been good for years. If USC cant beat teams like NC state and George Mason, they arent going to even get into the NIT.

What have you been smoking?

George Mason made it to the Final Four last year!

[Click]

This team is talented and will surprise some people this year. Don't give up on them just yet. I think some folks just look for every opportunity to bash Odom is what some of this is all about.

[uscnoklahoma]

What have you been smoking?

George Mason made it to the Final Four last year!

Un no they didn't. It was Ohio State, Georgetown, Florida, and UCLA I think.

[Click]

Un no they didn't. It was Ohio State, Georgetown, Florida, and UCLA I think.

It was 2 years ago they made it to the final 4

[gamecocknva]

George Mason and NC State will both make the tournament this year. Does that make me feel better about losing to them? No, but I wouldn't knock the players on those teams. They were good. If we had lost to Penn State, I would be mad at losing to them. I love Downey and won't say anything bad about him, but in crunch time you can't depend on a 5 9 player. With that said we had plenty of good looks at the basket inside 10 ft both games we lost and just didn't make the shots. I still think this is a good team that's a year away and with Downey and Zam we will be in every game we play this year. I don't see any blow outs like last year.

[IHateOrange]

I don't think we can say we consistantly put players in the NBA. Name an NBA player before Odom was the coach. Odom has worked hard to build a program and it takes more than a couple of NBA bench players, whom I fully support and don't mean to knock, to get to the level we want to be. It has been a slow process but there are signs we are turning the corner and he deserves support throughout the season.

Maybe our players were not going to the NBA but OUR TEAM was going to the tournament and some what competing in the SEC.

[willy]

It was 2 years ago they made it to the final 4


This was no-where close to the team that went to the final 4 2 years ago. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN SMOKING ?

[hardcock2]

If we could make eight foot jump shots in the lane we would have won all three games we played. I wouldn't blame Odom for guys getting to the paint and not finishing. If you watched all three games you noticed we got open shots all weekend. We just went cold a few times.

No, but I would blame him for our horrendous free throw shooting which also could have won those games.

[Click]

This was no-where close to the team that went to the final 4 2 years ago. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN SMOKING ?

Geez... all I did was correct the guy who said George Mason went to the final 4 last year... it was 2 yrs ago. I wasn't comparing that team to this one. Maybe you need to find some better stuff to smoke dude.

[LtSmokes1]

Carolina has had over 100 years, how much more time do we need?

[FinchMcCrunkNasty]

we ned to dump this weave offense crap and find us a big man - we have all the piece in place, odom must not believe in penetration and taking it to the hoop at all

[willy]

we ned to dump this weave offense crap and find us a big man - we have all the piece in place, odom must not believe in penetration and taking it to the hoop at all


I am certainly glad that someone else noticed the big gap in our BB team.

[IHateOrange]

we ned to dump this weave offense crap and find us a big man - we have all the piece in place, odom must not believe in penetration and taking it to the hoop at all

wasnt the last decent big man we had Tony Kitchins? (sp?)

[willy]

wasnt the last decent big man we had Tony Kitchins? (sp?)



The last DECENT big man we have had was Danny Traylor.

[IHateOrange]

The last DECENT big man we have had was Danny Traylor.

how long ago was that?

[willy]

how long ago was that?



Danny was during the Frank McGuire days.

[COCKDIESEL]

It's not so much losing the two tourney games but how we lost them. Both games we were in control but we found ways to lose. That has really been the mark of the Gamecock Bball program for the last couple years. We missed so many open layups agains NC State it was pathetic.

[JRob]

The last DECENT big man we have had was Danny Traylor. And even he had a reputation for being somewhat lazy

[Singaporecock]

Ok....so let me get this straight. We don't blame the coach for the missing of open shots. We don't blame the coach for missing free throws. We don't blame the coach for failing to get a shot off in the closing seconds. We don't blame the coach for close losses. We don't blame the coach for not having any tall people on the team. We don't blame the coach for the style of offense we run. We don't blame the coach for never having a winning season in the SEC during his 8 year run. We don't blame the coach for his inability to sign players out of highschool who can compete and win in the SEC. We don't blame the coach for players not having enough intensity. We don't blame the coach for having a young team. We don't blame the coach for having fans like myself who are not 'true fans' and will not accept mediocrity.
Blame me please...its all my fault...I accept full responsibility for not blindly defending someone who has accomplished nothing at our school.
I apologize to all...go ahead and delete this post and/or ban me.

[Sides]

The last DECENT big man we have had was Danny Traylor.

I would say the last quality big man we had was Nate Wilbourne. We have had at least one bust who was highly rated.

[Sides]

Blame me please...its all my fault...I accept full responsibility for not blindly defending someone who has accomplished nothing at our school.
I apologize to all...go ahead and delete this post and/or ban me.

There is plenty of blame to go around. What would you think if you were a recruit visiting south carolina and saw 10,000 people in an 18,000 seat arena for an SEC game. It has been that way since the colonial center was built. Odom has never had the fan support.

The point is that in spite of this he has found a way to field our most talented team in a decade and there is a contingent of fans who want to break him down 7 games into the season to get him fired. Would you rather us blow the season and get him fired or would you rather support the team and build the program to where it should be?

We start no seniors and it looks to me like we can get to the tournement. If Mike Holmes keeps improving we can make some noice. Why can't everyone support the team and bash Odom after the season if he deserves it?

[Forkcock]

They are a young team... that will only get better.. George Mason's experience was the difference.. Compared to last year... this team is a much better squad.. Will we make the dance, or finish in the top half of the SEC?? No.. but we will be better..

Give it time..

Good grief. We must have a fountain of youth flowing through the Athletic department. We have had the youngest teams, for the longest time, in the history of college sports.

[cockman97]

The basketball program needs to do some major changes.

[Singaporecock]

Sides...we all know how fickle fans are. If the team was playing an exciting and competitive brand of basketball...the seats would be filled...but that is not his fault either I am sure. Obviously I cannot attend with where I am currently working, but from the time I was 7 until I left a few years ago, I had season tickets to basketball, football, and baseball. I did not miss home games period. This is stated only to show that I am not a fairweather fan and that I support the team. Sometimes one can better support the team by wishing for a greater good. I do not want the team to lose but do know a change is needed. Thinking outside the box is a good thing.

[YouCanNeverTell]

We have lost close games to decent teams. I still fell good about this team. There is plenty of season left and we will only get better as we get more experience.

[Cockhornleghorn]

NC state and George Mason were just a few games over .500 last season... Id hardly call them an NCAA tournament team. The team is just not good. The team hasnt been good for years. If USC cant beat teams like NC state and George Mason, they arent going to even get into the NIT.

NC State won that tournament including a win over 18th ranked Villanova. They also had 4 starters back from last season. George Mason beat a ranked Kansas State team in the first round of the tournament. Our team is just learning to play with each other; we have a lot of newcomers. They will continue to improve over the course of the season.

[Singaporecock]

NC State won that tournament including a win over 18th ranked Villanova. They also had 4 starters back from last season. George Mason beat a ranked Kansas State team in the first round of the tournament. Our team is just learning to play with each other; we have a lot of newcomers. They will continue to improve over the course of the season.
Serious question...does anyone know if transfers can practice with the team the year they are sitting out or are they banned from all activities like that?

[BlackMagicCock]

they can practice just not play

[Sides]

Sides...we all know how fickle fans are. If the team was playing an exciting and competitive brand of basketball...the seats would be filled...but that is not his fault either I am sure. Obviously I cannot attend with where I am currently working, but from the time I was 7 until I left a few years ago, I had season tickets to basketball, football, and baseball. I did not miss home games period. This is stated only to show that I am not a fairweather fan and that I support the team. Sometimes one can better support the team by wishing for a greater good. I do not want the team to lose but do know a change is needed. Thinking outside the box is a good thing.

The only person who can take the blame is Mike Mcgee hiring odom 9 years ago. What do you do now? the window to fire him was when he wanted the Virginia job. Since then the program has been improving. It is at its best point since Fogler's tournement teams. With no seniors it is time to give him our full support. he will be the coach this year and next. If he doesn't make the tournement and make a decent run after next season he will be gone. Until then just give the team support. It is all you can do and it is what is deserved.

[brat]

Yes, I blame McGee for the hire. I guess he figured it was "safe" and he was never a basketball guy anyhow.

DO does not deserve any extra time, not one second after the final whistle after the last game, unless they make the NCAA's. Not the NIT, the Big Dance. With his last four years at Wake, he is what, 1 NCAA out of the last 12 years? Seems like some trend we can detect out of that span. If that makes for a war chest of credibility, obviously my conception of credibility and those of some others is vastly different.

Eight years is plenty of time and patience is vapor thin. Basketball is the one sport you can rebuild a team somewhat quickly, because the squads are so small and there is so much coaching involved in the game.

With that said, Hyman will keep DO. No doubt in my mind. Anything above the worst team in the SEC (as we were last year), will be proclaimed progress. Strictly speaking, he would be correct, but that is a sad vote of confidence we could do without.

[87Cock09]

no other SEC school would put up with these results, why should we?? Auburn, Ole Miss, LSU, MSU, UGA all similair programs to ours in bball would not hesitate to make a change, and would have already by now. If we don't make the dance this year he should be gone, no excuses. I don't care if we only lose one senior off this team. He has had more than enough time to make things happen.

[KCSuge]

Bottom line-no NCAA berth this year, time for a new coach.

[bhusc2002]

i agree with the past few posters. no NCAA tourney and he should be gone. something i was thinking about earlier in regards to how much time he's had... i've noticed in the smack forum, alot of gamecocks on here give the tigers hell because tommy has not won his conference/division in 9 years there. well in 8 (?) years here, DO has not even had a WINNING RECORD in the conference, much less won the division. if he doesnt make the dance this year he should be gone.

[ColaCock]

I just don't get too worked up over our basketball team. I mean, it's not like we are realistically going to compete for a championship anytime soon...so it is hard for me to get pissed off and fired up about it. We are good at baseball and (hopefully) getting better at the game of football. Guess we can't be good at all the Big 3 sports.

Actually, I can't imagine being a hardcore South Carolina basketball fan- I probably would be on lots of medication right now...football gives me enough to scratch my head about.

I am not gonna constantly call for Dave Odom's head though, because its a little unnecessary and his performance has spoken for himself...I think most are in agreement that he isn't getting the job done, but again- I just don't get too worked up about it. I tried hard when the Carolina Center opened but it just never happened...the games were boring...the fans were rarely into it (one end sitting down on opponent's FT shots...WTF)...and of course we obviously weren't winning games so that never helps.

Another thing is that we have the best basketball state in the nation on top of us...North Carolina. UNC, Duke, Wake...they'd wipe the floor with us every year that is why we never schedule them even with their close proximity. Its hard to grab recruits from that state or do the recruiting like they do...big name players just look right past Columbia and see Raleigh/Durham/Triangle. Yet again, on the flip side Duke, UNC, Wake, NC State all suck at football.

[willy]

I just don't get too worked up over our basketball team. I mean, it's not like we are realistically going to compete for a championship anytime soon...so it is hard for me to get pissed off and fired up about it. We are good at baseball and (hopefully) getting better at the game of football. Guess we can't be good at all the Big 3 sports.

Actually, I can't imagine being a hardcore South Carolina basketball fan- I probably would be on lots of medication right now...football gives me enough to scratch my head about.

I am not gonna constantly call for Dave Odom's head though, because its a little unnecessary and his performance has spoken for himself...I think most are in agreement that he isn't getting the job done, but again- I just don't get too worked up about it. I tried hard when the Carolina Center opened but it just never happened...the games were boring...the fans were rarely into it (one end sitting down on opponent's FT shots...WTF)...and of course we obviously weren't winning games so that never helps.

Another thing is that we have the best basketball state in the nation on top of us...North Carolina. UNC, Duke, Wake...they'd wipe the floor with us every year that is why we never schedule them even with their close proximity. Its hard to grab recruits from that state or do the recruiting like they do...big name players just look right past Columbia and see Raleigh/Durham/Triangle. Yet again, on the flip side Duke, UNC, Wake, NC State all suck at football.



A very good post ColaCock.

[87Cock09]

i agree with the past few posters. no NCAA tourney and he should be gone. something i was thinking about earlier in regards to how much time he's had... i've noticed in the smack forum, alot of gamecocks on here give the tigers hell because tommy has not won his conference/division in 9 years there. well in 8 (?) years here, DO has not even had a WINNING RECORD in the conference, much less won the division. if he doesnt make the dance this year he should be gone.

Its been posted before, but I believe since Dave Odom took over we have close to the worst conference record out of all SEC team during his tenure. I believe there might be one or two teams below us but both have made coaching changes to try to improve.

[reddot8481]

We haven't even made SEC play and we are already in the doom and gloom. I'm not an Odom apologist by any means but give the team a chance for god's sake before you flush the season. The team really needs to work on finding open shots since we have no inside presence, and Downey needs to learn that if the drive and dish is not there to dribble back out and reset not to force up offbalance prayer shots. But I still say that this team has room to grow in the next month and it should definitely get better from here on out.

[CoverTwo]

The team is going to get better..They are lightyears ahead of where they were last season.

[Spur20001]

The team is going to get better..They are lightyears ahead of where they were last season.

Exactly right. Some people can't see the forest for the trees.

[willy]

Exactly right. Some people can't see the forest for the trees.


Are they also going to get taller?

[CPAYNE]

look i am a die hard Carolina basketball fan and i know are team has a heart u just got to show up and support them and stop putting them down i know its hard cause they keep losing cause its hard for me. but i am tired of seeing all these fans complaining about them when i know they have talent.

[BlackMagicCock]

everyone knows they have talent but I posted this thread to say ok start winning, we know this team is loaded, but it dont mean anything unless you get some Ws

[uscnoklahoma]

Are they also going to get taller?

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Good one Willy! We sure need a big middle man with some meat on him to terrorize the boards.

[Cockhornleghorn]

I just don't get too worked up over our basketball team. I mean, it's not like we are realistically going to compete for a championship anytime soon...so it is hard for me to get pissed off and fired up about it. We are good at baseball and (hopefully) getting better at the game of football. Guess we can't be good at all the Big 3 sports.

Actually, I can't imagine being a hardcore South Carolina basketball fan- I probably would be on lots of medication right now...football gives me enough to scratch my head about.

I am not gonna constantly call for Dave Odom's head though, because its a little unnecessary and his performance has spoken for himself...I think most are in agreement that he isn't getting the job done, but again- I just don't get too worked up about it. I tried hard when the Carolina Center opened but it just never happened...the games were boring...the fans were rarely into it (one end sitting down on opponent's FT shots...WTF)...and of course we obviously weren't winning games so that never helps.

Another thing is that we have the best basketball state in the nation on top of us...North Carolina. UNC, Duke, Wake...they'd wipe the floor with us every year that is why we never schedule them even with their close proximity. Its hard to grab recruits from that state or do the recruiting like they do...big name players just look right past Columbia and see Raleigh/Durham/Triangle. Yet again, on the flip side Duke, UNC, Wake, NC State all suck at football.

That's about the most pathetic, loser post I've ever seen on here. There are plenty of us that care a great deal about Gamecock basketball. If you don't, then leave your negative energy to yourself.

I'm not much of a Dave Odom fan, but he's our coach and we need to support our team.

[Crazy_Gamecock]

I'm a little confused at the mass exodus only 6 games into the season. The 3 teams we have lost to are all teams we should've lost to. But we held our ground in every game and even though our defense is atrocious at times and our shooting goes cold we easily could be 6-0 right now, which to me is very impressive. We lost to Southern Cal, and a lot of that was inexperience plus letting Hackett run mad on us and one of the best freshmen in the entire nation. Tim Floyd is building a great program there and they will be in the field of 64. NC State ended up winning the OST over a good Villanova team and NC State also has one of the best freshmen in all of college basketball, and NC will get to the NCAA tourney too. George Mason is a very talented team and deep, they know how to win and know how to win the close games. They will be in the tourney too. So by my calculations a team that was picked to finish last in the SEC East has held its own for all 6 games of the year. We have an easy win against Campbell and then probably a loss to a good Clemson team that will go to the tourney. So out of our first 8 games 4 are tournament caliber and we held our own against all of them and I think we will hold our own against Clemson. Devon needs to mature a bit in passing the ball off when he drives in the lane and we need desperately to work on our defense, but right now we are not the Titanic sinking.

[JRob]

Until it has been determined (or obvious to all but the most unrealisticly optimistic) that there will be no NCAA berth for us this year, those of us who said "NCAA or good-bye " should refrain from for calling for his job.
Likewise, pasting the Citadel like we did is still a bit premature for Odom supporters to start with the chorus of "See, we were right about giving him a chance."
So far we've done only the minimum expected. Let's see what unfolds come January and February. Right now it's still a bit early to be making etched-in-stone predictions about this team.

[willy]

Until it has been determined (or obvious to all but the most unrealisticly optimistic) that there will be no NCAA berth for us this year, those of us who said "NCAA or good-bye " should refrain from for calling for his job.
Likewise, pasting the Citadel like we did is still a bit premature for Odom supporters to start with the chorus of "See, we were right about giving him a chance."
So far we've done only the minimum expected. Let's see what unfolds come January and February. Right now it's still a bit early to be making etched-in-stone predictions about this team.



Are we also going to grow taller in that period of time? This ain't JACK & THE BEAN STALK.

[ColaCock]

That's about the most pathetic, loser post I've ever seen on here. There are plenty of us that care a great deal about Gamecock basketball. If you don't, then leave your negative energy to yourself.

I'm not much of a Dave Odom fan, but he's our coach and we need to support our team.
It was simply the truth and how I feel. Don't call me pathetic because I don't share your enthusiasm for the basketball team. Trust me, I will rarely post in this forum just to avoid offending anyone- but my opinion is my opinion, and frankly- I feel it has more ground than the blind opinions some of you share. I never said no one cares about Gamecock basketball, I know there are plenty of people that do and that is GREAT!

If you read what I wrote, you would know that I am not the type to get on here after every game and say "we suck!" or "damn they need to fire Odom" or "we can't do this or that"...I just will usually not saying nothing at all because my mind is made up about the direction of our program and I will no longer continue to get angry about it.

I usually just check out the score and do this:
:club::roll::-o:-?...................:swingcoc::thumbsup:

[uscnoklahoma]

I'm a little confused at the mass exodus only 6 games into the season. The 3 teams we have lost to are all teams we should've lost to. But we held our ground in every game and even though our defense is atrocious at times and our shooting goes cold we easily could be 6-0 right now, which to me is very impressive. We lost to Southern Cal, and a lot of that was inexperience plus letting Hackett run mad on us and one of the best freshmen in the entire nation. Tim Floyd is building a great program there and they will be in the field of 64. NC State ended up winning the OST over a good Villanova team and NC State also has one of the best freshmen in all of college basketball, and NC will get to the NCAA tourney too. George Mason is a very talented team and deep, they know how to win and know how to win the close games. They will be in the tourney too. So by my calculations a team that was picked to finish last in the SEC East has held its own for all 6 games of the year. We have an easy win against Campbell and then probably a loss to a good Clemson team that will go to the tourney. So out of our first 8 games 4 are tournament caliber and we held our own against all of them and I think we will hold our own against Clemson. Devon needs to mature a bit in passing the ball off when he drives in the lane and we need desperately to work on our defense, but right now we are not the Titanic sinking.

You see that bold part....that's the problem. Carolina is expected to lose. You even expect to lose. Hell, we all expect to lose in every sport. We sit there on hands and wonder to ourselves...."I wonder how we will blow this one" And that's the truth. Maybe if the team would win some of these close ones those should've losses would turn into should've wons. I don't what point I am trying to make. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[bhusc2002]

You see that bold part....that's the problem. Carolina is expected to lose. You even expect to lose. Hell, we all expect to lose in every sport. We sit there on hands and wonder to ourselves...."I wonder how we will blow this one" And that's the truth. Maybe if the team would win some of these close ones those should've losses would turn into should've wons. I don't what point I am trying to make. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:dont know if this is the point you were trying to make but i'll make one based on that. from what i can tell, many of the people who are saying "we should've lost those games" (like the post you are referring to) are the ones who are saying "we're ok/there's nothing wrong with this team". and from what i can tell, it's because they dont expect more from this team because "they shouldve lost" which is a horrible attitude to have. and i cant speak for others, but i am mad as hell at those losses, because whatever we were "supposed" to do against those teams, we "should've" won all but maybe SoCal. I know against NC State and GM we had the ball late in the game with the lead, and lost it. I was about to throw something at my TV when devon (and i dont mean to call out a player but he had the ball at the time) drove the lane when we were down by 1 with about 25 seconds left, had it stolen/lost it and GM scored again. maybe i'm wrong, but i thought we should have held on for the last shot since the shot clock was off and we only needed two for the win. hell maybe we get lucky and get fouled and go to the line where we are much better than we have been in years past. ok well i'm done.

[Crazy_Gamecock]

dont know if this is the point you were trying to make but i'll make one based on that. from what i can tell, many of the people who are saying "we should've lost those games" (like the post you are referring to) are the ones who are saying "we're ok/there's nothing wrong with this team". and from what i can tell, it's because they dont expect more from this team because "they shouldve lost" which is a horrible attitude to have. and i cant speak for others, but i am mad as hell at those losses, because whatever we were "supposed" to do against those teams, we "should've" won all but maybe SoCal. I know against NC State and GM we had the ball late in the game with the lead, and lost it. I was about to throw something at my TV when devon (and i dont mean to call out a player but he had the ball at the time) drove the lane when we were down by 1 with about 25 seconds left, had it stolen/lost it and GM scored again. maybe i'm wrong, but i thought we should have held on for the last shot since the shot clock was off and we only needed two for the win. hell maybe we get lucky and get fouled and go to the line where we are much better than we have been in years past. ok well i'm done.

I was in no way referring in the term "should've lost" to not expecting anything from this team. If there was ever an Odom team to expect big things out of it is this one. What I was stating is that in the minds of many around college basketball the games we have lost are ones that they would've predicted a Gamecock loss and probably by more than what we actually lost. The fact that this is a young team chemisty wise is going to show that there are hiccups in our game, which we have seen clearly. My point was in each of the 3 losses they have all been possible to win and while I too was mad that we lost these games, it shows more optimism then pessimism in the fact that we held it tightly against these squads. I think the tough last second losses will help to make the team the old cliche "battle-tested" when it comes time to the SEC portion of our schedule, because that portion is the MOST important part of our schedule. After having said that, GO COCKS!!!!!!!!!!!! Beat Campbell! :woo:

[JRob]

Are we also going to grow taller in that period of time? This ain't JACK & THE BEAN STALK.
If we do get taller during that period I'ts a safe bet who the coach is will be the least of the basketball program's problems. We'll become the Barry Bonds of the SEC:lol: