Beginning Monday, June 21st, 2004 CHN began unveiling 144 Team previews in 144 Days. CHN ranked the nations top 144 teams, and is unveiling one per day leading up until the opening day of the 2004-05 Season.

Bookmark the 144 Teams in 144 Days home page, and check back each day to see which team is previewed next.

#73 South Carolina Gamecocks

SEC

 2003-04: 23-11, 8-8, 5^th

2003-04 postseason: NCAA

By Joel Welser

South Carolina started the season off 18-2 before losing nine of their last fourteen.  Going .500 in the SEC is pretty good.  The Gamecocks beat Alabama and Vanderbilt, twice.  In one week they lost by a total of five points to top ten ranked Kentucky and Mississippi State.  The schedule never gets much easier in the SEC and they fell to a tough Memphis team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.  While the Gamecocks lose a few key pieces of last years’ team, there are plenty of experienced players ready to step into staring roles. 

Who’s Out: Playmaker Michael Boynton will be the toughest to replace.  The 6-2 point guard averaged 9.9 points and 3.4 assists.  His floor leadership and intelligence were quite valuable for the squad.  Rolando Howell was injured much of the year, but managed 9.0 points and 5.4 boards per contest in 16 appearances.  Kerbrell Brown started 27 games for the Gamecocks as a small forward.  The 6-8 Brown averaged 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds.  Ivan Howell saw limited minutes in 16 games for the Gamecocks.

Who’s In: Point guard Stephen McDowell won’t be asked to replace Michael Boynton at the point, but he will add more depth to the backcourt.  Fellow incoming freshman Dwayne Day will do the same.  The 6-4 Day is a tremendous shooter who can play the 2 or 3 spot for Dave Odom’s squad.  Junior college transfer Roderick Trice is a solid all around player and should see time at either wing position.  Antoine Tisby will add some more depth to the frontcourt.  At 6-8 and 225 pounds, Tisby is a strong presence in the post.  He can play either the power forward or center position for the Gamecocks.

Who to Watch: Carlos Powell played in all 34 games, starting 31, for South Carolina.  He led the team in points and rebounds averaging 12.2 and 6.2, respectively.  The 6-7 forward loves to run the floor and will shoot from anywhere on the floor.  Powell has the ability to make those shots, but can be criticized for concentrating too much on the jumper instead of using his skills more efficiently under the basket.  Powell started slumping from the floor late in the season.  The shots weren’t falling.  He’ll need to get back into his early season form in order to lead South Carolina back to the post season.

Projected Conference Rank: The loss of point guard Michael Boynton will hurt.  The other losses don’t help either.  If junior Tre Kelley can take over the point guard position then it shouldn’t be that bad of a turnaround in Columbia.  Another trip to the big dance might seem out of reach at this point, but an 8^th finish in the SEC, and a visit to the NIT, aren’t out of the realm of possibility. 

Projected Post-season Tournament: NIT

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Email Joel Welser: jwelser_chn@ameritech.net

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