Jan. 26, 2005
The Gamecocks endured a travel week to forget. And not even 30 inches of snow were involved.
Consider this medley of mechanical and meteorological mishaps:
* In Tuscaloosa, bad weather delayed the arrival of the team’s plane by two hours. Including the one-hour time change, the team didn’t return to Columbia until 2 a.m.
* In Fayetteville, a busted fuel pump idled the team’s charter bus Sunday morning. To reach Bud Walton Arena, the players had to cram, clown car-like, into an airport shuttle van (fitting, considering the Barnum & Bailey Circus played inside the Colonial Center last week, causing Carolina to play twice on the road).
* After the game, the team reached the airport, only to learn that its plane was experiencing mechanical problems.
There were so many traveling violations, you’d think Patrick Ewing was involved.
The problems also foreshadowed Carolina’s struggles on the court. Limited by 13 first-half fouls, the Gamecocks could not dent a first-half deficit against Arkansas, losing 61-49. The Gamecocks also could not reverse a double-digit halftime deficit against the Tide, falling 75-62.
“We’ve got to work harder on the boards. We’ve got to work harder for loose balls. [We’re] still looking for that vocal leader on our team to step up, and really want our team to step out on the floor and compete together,” head coach Susan Walvius said in our pre-game interview Sunday.
Competing may not be the problem. Competing without a conscience may be. Point guard Lea Fabbri summed it up best.
“We all want to do good things so badly. We think about mistakes, and that’s why we make more and more mistakes,” Fabbri said.
Walvius also knows that the Gamecocks need to play to their strengths.
“We have some of the best post players in the league,” Walvius said. “We need to take advantage of that, put the ball in their hands in a position where they can score.”
Center Ilona Burgrova offered a tasty example of that talent on Sunday. Against Arkansas, the 6’6″ freshman sank a sweeping, Jabbar-like skyhook in the paint, drawing a gasp from the notoriously stingy Fayetteville fans. Burgrova finished with 14 points, one shy of a career high.
Gamecock coaches recognize the need to feed the post. Before practice last week, assistant coach Michelle Marciniak designed a drill for Fabbri and sophomore Lauren Simms. Placing two folding chairs about two feet apart on the low block, Marciniak forced Fabbri and Simms to bounce the ball inside without clanging a chair.
“We hit a lot chairs,” Marciniak said afterwards.
As long as it gets the Gamecocks traveling in the right direction.
Tip Drill
$15.00
– face value of a 1981 Cotton Bowl ticket, as seen at the Bear Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa. The museum also featured a replica Bryant houndstooth hat made entirely of Waterford Crystals. Needless to say, there was no price tag on that one.
Name That Tune:
The Alabama pep band regaled fans with the “A Team” theme song during timeouts.
Stat That May Only Interest Me:
South Carolina has faced three of the top 10 teams in the nation in steals per game (Arkansas #1, South Carolina St. #6, Birmingham-Southern #10).
Worth Knowing:
Among the Gamecocks’ road opponents, famous faculty and alumni include both a President (Bill Clinton – Arkansas) and a head of Parliament (George Clinton – Middle Tennessee State).
(Cricket sound.)
Anyone?
