Dec. 17, 2002

Dec. 17, 2002

The Carolina men’s basketball team, finished with first semester finals and 5-2 on the season, traveled today to Laramie, Wyoming. USC sat down with two of its starters, Michael Boynton and Carlos Powell to talk about the trip west, their Christmas break and what they would buy for each other. Each day USC will update the fans on what’s going on, and what the team is doing.

USC: Michael, have you ever been to Colorado or Wyoming?

MB: I’ve never been to Wyoming, but I did go to Colorado about six years ago. It will be a different kind of experience because of the altitude.

USC: If you had a day off, would you want to go skiing?

MB: Definitely not. I am not a big ski guy. I didn’t like going up to Syracuse or Buffalo go ski and I probably wouldn’t like that here. I went skiing once, I didn’t like it and I probably wouldn’t want to do it again.

USC: What kind of skier would Carlos be?

MB: Probably a pretty good skier, he has good coordination and balance, run well.

USC: Carlos, have you ever been to either state? Your impressions?

CP: I haven’t been to either – I think it will be very cold. I’ve never been skiing. I’m really looking forward to playing basketball out there.

USC: What will you do when you have a few days off around Christmas (Dec. 22-28)?

CP: I am looking forward to seeing my family. We have a traditional Christmas with the whole family opening presents. I’m too big for presents so I don’t get much and I don’t look forward to it. I don’t have a lot of money for presents, so I will be doing the rest of my shopping when I go home.

USC: If you were going to buy Coach Odom a present what would you get him?

CP: Some shoes.

USC: Michael, if you were going to buy Carlos a present, what would you get him?

MB: I’d get Carlos some new hats. He’s kind of slacking on the hat collection so I have to help him out there.

USC: Michael, you are known as a cap guy. What’s your favorite cap and how many do you own?

MB: Without a doubt, the Classic Yankees cap. I have about 25 caps. I am not a collector, I just like different styles and colors – I like to coordinate them with my outfits. If I don’t have a hat on it’s usually a mistake, maybe I was in a hurry.

USC: Carlos, what would like to get Michael for Christmas?

CP: I wouldn’t buy him a hat because he has too many already. I would buy Mike some type of down south cd. He calls us country boys, down south boys, so I would buy him some of our music.

USC: What do you think the Gamecock fans think of the year Carlos is having?

MB: They probably hope he has enough energy leftover for the trip after last night. He was kind of animated and he’s going to use some rest. He’s great to play with. We don’t talk a lot to him, he says I talk too much so I talk to everybody else. He really gets the crowd involved and gets the other team depressed a little bit.

USC: What are you reading on this trip Michael?

MB: I have a few books, including Cedric the Entertainers ‘Grown Man’ and Nathan McCall’s ‘What’s Going On??’. Nathan McCall is one of my favorite authors. He writes things that inspire me as a young man. He targets specifically the young black male – that’s his audience. I would recommend him.

CP: I’d like to tell the fans Merry Christmas and to keep having faith in us.