Jan. 5, 2009

Recap | Final Stats | Notes

South Carolina Head Coach Darrin Horn
Opening Statement…
This was our last pre-conference game that we’ll play. I thought we looked a little bit tonight like it was our third game in seven days, in terms of our energy level. We knew Wofford would give us some challenges that way. They have played every body they’ve played pretty tough. Our energy level was not what it needed to be. But to our guys’ credit, they did find a way to fight through it and win with a double-digit lead.

On the effort…
Our team found a way to fight through and do what they had to do. It is really positive considering the last seven days we’ve had, both physically and emotionally.

On SEC play…
Now everything we’ve done up to this point is to get us ready for Saturday. For us, it is what we’ve been looking forward to. For us, it’s always about league play. If you don’t do well in league play, the rest of the stuff doesn’t matter. Especially in a league like ours that is as strong as it is.

On the team’s progress…
I think we’ve seen progress in the areas that we want to. We’ve seen a lot of bright spots. We have to continue to get better. Our goal is to continue to get better every night out and find a way to win games.

For the most part we’ve made progress. We’ve seen areas that we wanted to grow, grow. There is a comfort level with what were trying to accomplish. We just have to continue to get better, individually and as a team. We’re only at our best when everyone counts for us, and does what they can do. We saw that against Baylor. Were going to need that in league play.

South Carolina Player Quotes
Junior Guard Brandis Raley-Ross
On the importance of getting a win before conference play…
It’s always good to go into conference play on a winning note. It’s a mental thing, emotional. It’s good to be on a two-game winning streak and starting conference play on the right note is a good thing.

On the team’s success up to this point…
We’ve taken a few bumps in the road up to now, and I think we’ve fared well, but we’re still yet to play at full strength as a team. We still have a lot to improve. I think 11-2 is decent heading into the (conference) season, but we know we’re 0-0 now heading into conference play. It’s a new season.

Senior Guard Zam Fredrick
On being able to play with anyone…
We feel we can play with anybody. We still have some more gelling to do. We’re almost to where we want to be, but we’re taking steps every game to get there.

We’re going to be us regardless of who we play. If we’re missing shots, we might not score many points, but we’re going to take them. You’re going to see the same Gamecock team play night in and night out. We’re going to play hard on defense, we’re going to run, take shots, defend, and we’re going to play an up-and-down game at breakneck speeds.