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March 11, 2008

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Devan Downey (top) and
Mike Holmes

Columbia, SC – South Carolina sophomore point guard Devan Downey has named to the Coaches All-SEC first team – the first Gamecock sophomore since BJ McKie was named to the All-SEC first team in 1997. It is the second straight year a USC point guard has made the All-SEC first team with Tre’ Kelley picking up the nod in 2007. In addition, freshman forward Mike Holmes was the third Odom-coached player to be named to the SEC All-Freshman team, joining Renaldo Balkman (2004) and Dominique Archie (2007). He is the seventh Gamecock to receive the honor since they joined the league in 1991.

Downey, who was named to Rivals.com five-man All-SEC first team on Monday, leads the team with 18.3 ppg, 3.2 spg, 5.2 apg and playing 37.2 mpg with 30 starts. In SEC play he scored 18.1 ppg with 5.1 apg, 3.1 spg and 2.3 rpg. He is No. 2 nationally in steals and should break the USC single season record with 3.2 spg. He has 19 3+ steal games this season, breaking Chuck Eidson’s single season steals record with his 94th steal vs. UT on Sunday (Eidson had 93 in 2000).

The 2007 South Carolina Mr. Basketball and the current SEC Freshman of the Week (March 10), Holmes is averaging 8.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.8 spg and 0.6 bpg while averaging 19.7 mpg in 10 career starts. In SEC play, he averaged 6.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.6 bpg and 0.8 spg in 17.3 mpg with 5 starts. He has three double-doubles this season (at UF, vs. MSU and vs. UK) and is the first freshman since USC joined the SEC to post three double-doubles in his first campaign. He had a career-high 16 rebounds vs. NC State including 8 offensive and 8 defensive. Holmes has 15 6+ rebound games this season.

Holmes is the first USC freshman to gather two back-to-back double-doubles since the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1991. Holmes grabbed 13 rebounds and scored 12 points vs the Bulldogs. He is the first Gamecock to grab back to back double-doubles since Rolando Howell did it back-to-back vs. MSU on Feb. 11, 2004 (24 points, 11 rebounds) and on Feb. 14, 2004 vs. VU (17 points, 12 rebounds).

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