morgan n' 7™
02-20-2008, 03:04 AM
Downey a big problem for opponents
Published: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 2:00 am
By Rick Scoppe
COLUMBIA BUREAU
rscoppe@greenvillenews.com (rscoppe@greenvillenews.com)
COLUMBIA -- University of South Carolina point guard Devin Downey can't remember the man's name, but his words were unforgettable.
They were words he worked by, words that helped the 5-foot-9, 175-pounder become one of the top players in the Southeastern Conference.
As a freshman at Chester High School, Downey thought he was good. Others only noticed his size.
"Everybody was like, 'You're small and you can't do this, and big schools are going to look over you,' " Downey said.
Then, he said, he got on the "AAU circuit," where he faced some of the best players in the state and nation. Downey believed he was getting the better of them, but still they were taller ó and stronger.
"I'll never forget. I went to the Nike Hoop Jamboree in St. Louis," he said. "I played good, but everybody was just so much stronger."
Then a man came up to him.
"He said, 'Son, you can be special," ' Downey said. "So those words kind of stuck to me, and ever since then I was in the gym every day, just working."
That work paid off.
Downey, who sat out last year after transferring to USC from Cincinnati, leads the SEC in scoring (19.8 points a game) and steals (3.42) while ranking second in assists (5.17) and minutes played (36.88).
Downey, a Cousy Award finalist, is relentless on the court, and not just in games.
"He's yet to have a bad practice," coach Dave Odom said.
He's had plenty of practice at practicing hard. After his trip to St. Louis, Downey came back and set up his own drills on the court. In one he would dribble full speed through chairs at intervals from baseline to baseline, which he credits for being seemingly as quick with the ball as without it.
"I said to myself, 'As a defender, what's hard to guard?' And it's hard to guard a fast person coming at you if he can control the ball," Downey said. "He can hit you with a move on a dime and cut. I just worked hard, and it just kind of comes natural now."
For all his speed, Downey never competed in track in high school, instead choosing cross country for the conditioning.
"The only reason I didn't run (track) is because ...
• I'm not fast," he said. "I'm quick. We can run 10, 20 yards, and I might get you. But when we get into the distance, you get me."
Either way, Downey is a blur -- and a burr -- on the court to foes, although he's not a 20-point-a-game practice player.
"In practice, that's when I try to build guys' confidence up," Downey said. "Like Coach Odom says, dish and do things like that. Once you get your teammates believing in practice, it'll carry on to the game."
Obviously, there are still lessons to learn for Downey, although he is USC's undisputed leader, statistically and emotionally. That has been an adjustment since as a freshman at Cincinnati he was surrounded by a host of veterans.
"I didn't have to take that big of a leadership role," he said. "I was just the point guard. Just about everything, they knew what to do. They put me in position on defense, things like that."
That isn't the case with the younger Gamecocks, whom he hasn't hesitated to lead vocally or physically. In one game Downey yanked away USC's lone senior, Dwayne Day, during a mild confrontation with a Georgia player.
"In Cincinnati, I probably would have just stood back," Downey said. "But I've learned so much."
As USC's leader, Downey also serves as the team's unofficial spokesman. After games, the media flock around him. Downey is always quotable and usually forthright, although there are some questions he won't answer.
During a one-on-one interview, he was asked if he went to Cincinnati in part because Odom and USC didn't recruit him aggressively. Downey said he saw a chance to play earlier with the Bearcats -- which he did -- and left it at that.
"When I first got here, me and the coaching staff agreed that was old (news)," Downey said. "I'm here now. That's the most important part."
Downey took a similar tact when asked whether he would still be at Cincinnati if Andy Kennedy, who replaced Bob Huggins as interim coach Downey's freshman year, were still coaching the Bearcats.
"That's not really important, because I'm here," Downey said. "The only thing that matters is I'm in a Gamecock uniform."
http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080220/SPORTS0102/802200388/1026
Published: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 2:00 am
By Rick Scoppe
COLUMBIA BUREAU
rscoppe@greenvillenews.com (rscoppe@greenvillenews.com)
COLUMBIA -- University of South Carolina point guard Devin Downey can't remember the man's name, but his words were unforgettable.
They were words he worked by, words that helped the 5-foot-9, 175-pounder become one of the top players in the Southeastern Conference.
As a freshman at Chester High School, Downey thought he was good. Others only noticed his size.
"Everybody was like, 'You're small and you can't do this, and big schools are going to look over you,' " Downey said.
Then, he said, he got on the "AAU circuit," where he faced some of the best players in the state and nation. Downey believed he was getting the better of them, but still they were taller ó and stronger.
"I'll never forget. I went to the Nike Hoop Jamboree in St. Louis," he said. "I played good, but everybody was just so much stronger."
Then a man came up to him.
"He said, 'Son, you can be special," ' Downey said. "So those words kind of stuck to me, and ever since then I was in the gym every day, just working."
That work paid off.
Downey, who sat out last year after transferring to USC from Cincinnati, leads the SEC in scoring (19.8 points a game) and steals (3.42) while ranking second in assists (5.17) and minutes played (36.88).
Downey, a Cousy Award finalist, is relentless on the court, and not just in games.
"He's yet to have a bad practice," coach Dave Odom said.
He's had plenty of practice at practicing hard. After his trip to St. Louis, Downey came back and set up his own drills on the court. In one he would dribble full speed through chairs at intervals from baseline to baseline, which he credits for being seemingly as quick with the ball as without it.
"I said to myself, 'As a defender, what's hard to guard?' And it's hard to guard a fast person coming at you if he can control the ball," Downey said. "He can hit you with a move on a dime and cut. I just worked hard, and it just kind of comes natural now."
For all his speed, Downey never competed in track in high school, instead choosing cross country for the conditioning.
"The only reason I didn't run (track) is because ...
• I'm not fast," he said. "I'm quick. We can run 10, 20 yards, and I might get you. But when we get into the distance, you get me."
Either way, Downey is a blur -- and a burr -- on the court to foes, although he's not a 20-point-a-game practice player.
"In practice, that's when I try to build guys' confidence up," Downey said. "Like Coach Odom says, dish and do things like that. Once you get your teammates believing in practice, it'll carry on to the game."
Obviously, there are still lessons to learn for Downey, although he is USC's undisputed leader, statistically and emotionally. That has been an adjustment since as a freshman at Cincinnati he was surrounded by a host of veterans.
"I didn't have to take that big of a leadership role," he said. "I was just the point guard. Just about everything, they knew what to do. They put me in position on defense, things like that."
That isn't the case with the younger Gamecocks, whom he hasn't hesitated to lead vocally or physically. In one game Downey yanked away USC's lone senior, Dwayne Day, during a mild confrontation with a Georgia player.
"In Cincinnati, I probably would have just stood back," Downey said. "But I've learned so much."
As USC's leader, Downey also serves as the team's unofficial spokesman. After games, the media flock around him. Downey is always quotable and usually forthright, although there are some questions he won't answer.
During a one-on-one interview, he was asked if he went to Cincinnati in part because Odom and USC didn't recruit him aggressively. Downey said he saw a chance to play earlier with the Bearcats -- which he did -- and left it at that.
"When I first got here, me and the coaching staff agreed that was old (news)," Downey said. "I'm here now. That's the most important part."
Downey took a similar tact when asked whether he would still be at Cincinnati if Andy Kennedy, who replaced Bob Huggins as interim coach Downey's freshman year, were still coaching the Bearcats.
"That's not really important, because I'm here," Downey said. "The only thing that matters is I'm in a Gamecock uniform."
http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080220/SPORTS0102/802200388/1026