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Don’t be Quick to Vilify Broussard

Randall Stewart — May 1, 2013 — Leave a comment

Jason Collins shook the sports world with an announcement years in the making on Monday, becoming the first ever openly-gay active player in a major professional sport. It was truly a groundbreaking event, shattering a glass ceiling for members of the LGBT community. Perhaps even more importantly, the announcement gives young people struggling through depression stemming from questions about their sexuality a role model that can empathize with everything they’re experiencing.

As part of the inevitable deluge of discussion on the topic, ESPN reporter Chris Broussard made comments that some considered to be homophobic in nature. When prompted for his view on the announcement, Broussard stated: Continue Reading…

In Basketball, Sports

Comparing SEC Football to the NBA Playoffs

Avery Wilks — April 27, 2013 — Leave a comment

For football and baseball-crazed residents of South Carolina, it can be difficult to appreciate the NBA for all that it is worth – especially when the closest franchise around is the Charlotte Bobcats. But it is about that time of year when “NBA fans” around the nation actually start watching the games, so here’s a quick comparison of the teams in the playoffs to SEC football programs. We hope this makes watching the NBA playoffs a little bit more interesting as the first round draws to a close.

NBA Playoffs

East	West
Miami (66-16)	Oklahoma City (60-22)
New York (54-28)	San Antonio (58-24)
Indiana (49-32)	Denver (57-25)
Brooklyn (49-33)	L.A. Clippers (56-26)
Chicago (45-37)	Memphis (56-26)
Atlanta (44-38)	Golden State (47-35)
Boston (41-40)	L.A. Lakers (45-37)
Milwaukee (38-44)	Houston (45-37)

2012 SEC Standings

East	West
Georgia (12-2)	Alabama (13-1)
Florida (11-2)	LSU (10-3)
South Carolina (11-2)	Texas A&M (11-2)
Vanderbilt (9-4)	Miss. State (8-5)
Missouri (5-7)	Ole Miss (7-6)
Tennessee (5-7)	Arkansas (4-8)
Kentucky (2-10)	Auburn (3-9)

West

Can anyone stop the Heat?

Alabama – Miami Heat (1-seed). Similarities abound here. Both teams have an incredible amount of talent and only seem to get better every year. The Tide have won three of the past four BCS National Championships, and the Heat are well on their way to starting a dynasty of their own.

LSU – Oklahoma City (1-seed). Both teams have the talent to contend for supremacy, but always seem to be one step behind. LSU was one miraculous screen pass away from beating Alabama last season, and the Thunder won game one of the NBA Finals last summer, but were swept by the Heat the rest of the way and went home empty-handed. While LSU becomes the perennial second-place finisher in the West behind the TIde, the Thunder–especially after the James Harden trade and Russell Westbrook injury–don’t appear ready to cool down the Heat and grab a title of their own.

Texas A&M – New York Knicks (2-seed). At any time, brilliant flashes of offense can have either of these teams can look like the best in the business. 2012-13 NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony compares well to Johnny Manziel, as both score virtually at-will and neither plays any defense. Over the past season, both teams have owned the No. 1 contender in their respective sports. The Knicks took three of four against Miami in the regular season, and the Aggies came away with possibly the greatest upset in SEC history last season in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Nothing went right for the Lakers this year.

Arkansas – L.A. Lakers (7-seed). The outlook was incredibly bright for these programs entering the past season, but both hit rock-bottom multiple times this year–prompting coaching changes. Enjoy watching the Kobe-less Lakers get swept by the Spurs in the next few days.

Ole Miss – Houston (8-seed). These two teams finished just above .500 this year, but the real story came from the work in the front office. Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze pulled in an incredible recruiting class (ranked No. 5 by ESPN) over the past winter, and the Rocket’s general manager Daryl Morey made waves–and brought some excitement to an also-ran–when he traded for James Harden and signed point guard Jeremy Lin in the offseason. The Rockets are competing in the playoffs for the first time since 2009, and Ole Miss could make some waves in the West with the new players coming in.

Mississippi State – Memphis (5-seed). Neither team has an eye-pleasing style of play, but they are both scrappy enough to get the job done and shock a good team every once in a while.

Auburn – Boston (7-seed). Both teams were extremely relevant just two years ago, but have fallen off since. The outlook does not appear bright for either squad either, as the Celtics continue to break down with age and Auburn faces another NCAA investigation into its 2011 BCS National Championship.

East

Georgia – San Antonio (2-seed). These are two consistently-solid contenders, as neither are ever the most dominant team, but they also haven’t seen the bottom of the standings in rememberable history. Both are loaded with talent, but are lacking the “something more” that would push them over the top.

The Pacers are a close-knit group.

South Carolina – Indiana (3-seed). Like USC, Indiana is a team that relies on teamwork and great defense to grind out tough wins. The Pacers have their own “Clowney” in Roy Hibbert, the 7’2″ center who was a NBA Defensive Player of the Year nominee. Both are teams that play to their potential when facing premier opponents.

Florida – Denver (3-seed). Florida and Denver are two teams built almost entirely of raw athleticism, which allows them to make their livings off of defense and the fast break (which we’ll equate to special teams for the purposes of this article).

Vanderbilt – Brooklyn (4-seed). These are two teams who are turning their fortunes around in a hurry. James Franklin and Jay-Z comparisons abound. Franklin is trying to build a culture of winning at Vanderbilt, while Jay-Z played a huge role in the Nets’ move to Brooklyn among other notable changes for a franchise in desperate need of a refresher.

Missouri – Milwaukee Bucks (8-seed). The comparisons between these two teams are admittedly unflattering. Missouri DT Sheldon Richardson said before playing Georgia that his Tigers couldn’t be stopped if they played to their potential, and Milwaukee point guard Brandon Jennings recently predicted his Bucks to beat the one-seeded Miami Heat in six games in round one. Both teams failed miserably, as the Bucks are down 3-0 to the Heat and will likely be swept out of the playoffs Sunday afternoon.

Tennessee – Atlanta (6-seed). I’m led to believe that every year will be “the year” for both of these teams, but it never, ever happens. The Hawks had a solid team not long ago, but the loss of Joe Johnson and many of the key role players resulted in a loss of team character – a feeling all too familiar in Knoxville as well. Neither team will return to any former glory in the near future.

Kentucky – Charlotte (not seeded). Obviously the Bobcats didn’t make the playoffs, and that serves to reinforce my point.

Photo Credit: NYDailyNews SneakerNews

In Basketball, Football, Sports

Rixon’s Top Seven Articles of the Year

Rixon Lane — April 25, 2013 — Leave a comment

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started working with Garnet Report last November.

When I was offered the job as the site’s Basketball Editor, I had no clue about the amount of work it would require, or the amount of satisfaction it would bring me. I was able to cover the beginning of a new era for Gamecock basketball and see the peaks and valleys of Frank Martin’s first year in Columbia. Working for Garnet Report has been a wonderfully rewarding experience and I can not wait for next year. We have a terrific team of writers and advertisers and we will continue to bring you improved coverage of Gamecock athletics.

I am confident that this website will continue to grow and gain new readers on campus and throughout the city of Columbia. As the spring semester winds down, here are my seven favorite articles from my first few months with Garnet Report.

7) No More Streaking: Gamecocks Knock Off Ole Miss

Without a doubt, this was the signiture victory of the season for South Carolina on the basketball court. Marshall Henderson was yapping, Murphy Holloway was back in Columbia after leaving without ever playing a minute for USC and the Gamecocks desperately needed something good to happen. While the win may not have been on par with USC’s upsets of Kentucky and Florida in recent seasons, this victory was huge for Martin’s squad. A win over an eventual NCAA Tournament team proved that the Gamecocks could compete when they played on at their highest level. Although USC couldn’t ride the momentum to a run in the SEC Tournament, the win over the Rebels validated Frank Martin’s team. The damage done to the visiting locker room door was well worth it.

6) 2012-2013 Forecast

Before South Carolina began the 2012-2013 basketball season, I had an idea of what I expected from the Gamecocks. However, I wanted to do something more than just predict wins and losses. Instead, I went with best-case, worst-case and realistic scenarios.

I had forgotten about this article until late in conference play when the Gamecocks were struggling mightily. After hearing so many people talk about how disappointed they were with USC’s season, I went back and took a look at this article. It turned out that the Gamecocks had surpassed my realistic expectations and had crept closer to the best-case scenario I had laid out in November. Ultimately, this article reminded me that Frank Martin’s first season was more successful than many people may have believed.

5) Steele and Phillips Send A Message

This article was written out of frustration. After South Carolina took another SEC loss at the hands of Texas A&M, I realized that I was fed up with the negative comments about USC’s program that I was reading on social media and hearing at Colonial Life Arena. Surprisingly enough, I had more fun covering this game than any other contest all year because of Frank Martin’s decision to give significant minutes to walk-ons Brian Steele and Shane Phillips. I wanted fans to see what Martin was building and that the blocks of a successful program were being laid at USC.

4) Frank Martin is Not Impressed

South Carolina stormed to a 3-0 record to begin the year and everyone in Columbia was happy. Everyone except for the head coach. Writing this article was the first time that I began to understand what Frank Martin looks for in a basketball team. The thought that I might possibly understand what goes on inside of Martin’s head still haunts me.

3) A Musical Look At South Carolina Basketball

This article took longer to write than any other I’ve written for Garnet Report, but was one of the most enjoyable. After several weeks of writing game previews and recaps, this article was a way to unwind as conference play began. I also started to look at players on USC’s roster in a new light as I tried to pick songs that would fit them best.

Looking back at this piece, I clearly had no idea what Brian Steele would become for this team (but, then again, neither did anyone else). He will go forth with far more memories about his freshman season than I ever imagined.

2) Why Carolina-Clemson Trumps All College Rivalries

I wrote this on the eve of South Carolina’s annual three-game series with Clemson on the baseball diamond. I have argued for years that Carolina-Clemson is one of the most underrated rivalries in all of college sports and that the series between the Gamecocks and Tigers is the best in college baseball. With USC’s recent success and the numerous storylines between the two schools, I firmly believe that the Palmetto State baseball rivalry is the best in the NCAA. Obviously, not everyone is going to share this opinion, so I decided to take a look at some of the prestigous rivalries in college athletics and make a case for why they don’t stack up against USC-Clemson. After some research, I realized that I had more of an argument than I previously thought. I understand that plenty of people will never put Carolina-Clemson atop the list of elite college rivalries. However, I do hope that this article made people stop and think about how this rivalry measures up against others across the country.

1) South Carolina’s All-Millenium Basketball Team

The premise for this piece started out as a simple question: How much talent has USC’s basketball program actually had since the turn of the millenium? I heard many people during the early part of the season say that Michael Carrera was the best player the Gamecocks had seen in years. After taking a look back at recent rosters, I realized that South Carolina had seen more talented players than some may have realized.

Going back through the careers of former Gamecocks made me remember how much I enjoyed going to USC basketball games growing up. Many of the players who made it into this article were my heroes of the hardwood. Reliving thier exploits and recalling those great memories made this my favorite piece of the year.

In Baseball, Basketball, Sports

Avery’s Top Seven Articles of the Spring Semester

Avery Wilks — April 24, 2013 — Leave a comment

It has been another great semester for Garnet Report, and I’ve had an incredibly rewarding experience serving as the site’s Managing Editor and Lead Writer in charge of baseball and football coverage this spring. It’s been a long road since Garnet Report’s launch in January 2012 (though I was hired as the “stupid intern/errand boy” a month later in February), but I’ve never been prouder to be a part of this team.

I hired a few new writers to my team this semester (Will Tilley, Chris Stanley, John DelBianco, Tanner Abel), and I’ve been really impressed with their work so far. We’ve gotten to publish a lot of fun stories, many of which were not written by me at all–which could be the best part. Three semesters since its founding, the future of Garnet Report seems to get brighter by the day, and we’re looking forward to providing quality of coverage of USC sports throughout the summer and into next fall semester. Until then, here’s seven of my favorite articles of the past semester, plus a little back-story for each one. Continue Reading…

In Baseball, Basketball, Football, Sports

Garnet Report Bracket Challenge Grand Finale

Randall Stewart — April 9, 2013 — 1 Comment

The tournament is over and Louisville will head home with the hardware, but the real winners in the NCAA Tournament were the top three performers in our Bracket Challenge.

The forecast here in Columbia is Partly Clowney, with user dabrain13′s bracket by that name claiming our grand prize of two tickets to see Kenny Chesney, the Zac Brown Band, the Eli Young Band, and Kacey Musgraves perform at Williams-Brice Stadium on May 4. Daniel Fischer will walk away with a $25 iTunes gift card, and ESPN user The_Julk wins a $15 iTunes card.

Thanks to all of you that participated in the Bracket Challenge and made it a huge success. Now that basketball’s officially over, we can all focus on cheering our Gamecocks to a third national championship in four years. We can’t wait to be there with you through all the great moments, from Carolina Stadium to TD Ameritrade Park. Go Cocks!

In Basketball, Sports

Dawn Staley Stays Put

Avery Wilks — April 2, 2013 — Leave a comment

Last Wednesday, USC women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley’s future with the program was in doubt, as USC Athletics Director Ray Tanner had granted Ohio State permission to speak with his coach about taking the same position in Columbus, Ohio. Five days later on Monday, Staley sat at a press conference in Columbia explaining all the reasons she had chosen to stay.

Staley, who owns a 92-66 overall record as head coach at USC, was admittedly interested in the Ohio State job, citing the challenges of working for a bigger school in a more competitive basketball environment as attractive to her. Continue Reading…

In Basketball, Sports

A Look at the Journey to the 2013 Final Four

Zach Crowl — April 1, 2013 — Leave a comment

This week, Clemson freshman, Ryan Hall, is making his first appearance writing for Garnet Report. After many years of devoted fanhood to NCAA Men’s Basketball, Ryan has provided his own personal insider analysis into the Final Four of the tournament. Although this guy may be a Tiger, he is one of the few that knows a thing or two about sports. Be on the lookout for more of Ryan’s work to come.

By Ryan Hall

Syracuse

The Syracuse Orange entered the NCAA Tournament with a lot of momentum after making a Big East Championship Final run. That continued into the second weekend as Syracuse downed number one seed Indiana 61-50 in the sweet 16, then three-seed Marquette 55-39 in the Elite Eight to reach the Final Four for the first time since winning the national title in 2003. After several disappointing tournament runs since 2003, Syracuse finally made it to the final four, carried by intense defensive effort.

Boeheim’s trademark 2-3 defensive zone held Indiana, a team ranked third in the nation in points per game to 50 points, and held Marquette to 30 points below their season average of 69. Although Syracuse certainly didn’t light the scoreboard up over the weekend, they did score enough to make it to the next weekend of play. Syracuse were led offensively by Michael Carter-Williams’ 24-point game against -Indiana and his 12-point, eight-rebound effort against Marquette.

Wichita State

SI.com

The Shockers turned out to be the shock of the tournament in 2013. After beating number one seed Gonzaga last weekend, Wichita State kept on rolling by beating another tournament darling La Salle, 72-58 in the Sweet 16, then number two seed Ohio State 70-66 in the Elite Eight. Want to know the last time a MVC team made the final four? That would be Larry Bird’s Indiana State team in 1979. There were questions about whether or not Wichita State should have even made the tournament, but now any and all doubters have been silenced. Wichita State controlled nearly the entire game against La Salle, and were led by Jerrell Wright and Tyrone Garland’s 16 points each.

After winning the battle of tournament darlings in the Sweet 16, very few people expected Wichita State to knock off Big Ten Tournament champ Ohio State, who were riding an 11 game winning streak. A balanced scoring effort for Wichita State, with six players scoring more than eight points–and none over 14–helped lead the Shockers over Ohio State. Although Wichita State could not slow down Deshaun Thomas, who scored 23 points, they did hold Aaron Craft to nine points on 2-12 shooting.

Michigan

Michigan was fortunate to escape against Kansas in the Sweet 16, but won with a convincing performance over Florida in the Elite Eight to advance to it’s first Final Four since 1993 when with the “Fab Five.” Michigan beat Kansas 87-85 in overtime in the Sweet 16, though the Wolverines were down by as many as 14 points with seven minutes left, and by five with 21 seconds left. Michigan fought back tremendously to get the game back into striking distance, catching a break when Elijah Johnson missed a free throw with 4.2 seconds left. If it had gone in, Kansas would have clinched the game. Instead, he missed the free throw and Trey Burke hit an insanely deep three-point shot to send the game into overtime.

In overtime, there were five lead changes, but the Wolverines prevailed. Mitch McGary, who was highly recruited out of high school and only averaged roughly seven points and six rebounds per game on the season, had a monster game against Kansas, scoring 25 points and recording 14 rebounds. Trey Burke also had a monster game with 23 points and 10 assists. In the Elite Eight game against Florida, Michigan jumped ahead with a 13-0 run and cruised from there, ending the game at 79-59. Nik Stauskas led the way for Michigan with 22 points. Michigan will now take on Syracuse in the Final Four.

Louisville

BleacherReport.com

Louisville was awarded the number one overall seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, and they certainly showed their worth by dismantling Oregon 77-69 in the Sweet 16, then number two seed Duke 85-63 in the Elite Eight to advance to their second straight Final Four. The Cardinals were led by Russ Smith, who scored 31 points against Oregon and 23 against Duke. Smith now has 104 points in four NCAA Tournament games, with an average of 26 points per game.

Louisville was in charge the whole way against Oregon, leading 66-48 with nine minutes left. Oregon cut the lead to 70-64 at one point, but Louisville took over from there to advance to the Elite Eight.

After a tight first half between Duke and Louisville, it looked like it was going to be the close slugfest we all wanted to see, but Louisville outscored Duke 50-31 in the second half to blow the game wide open. Dieng, who did not play in the first matchup between Duke and Louisville earlier this season, came up strong with 14 points and 11 rebounds. After losing to Kentucky last year in the Final Four, Louisville should be the favorite to win it all, as they ride a 14-game winning streak into Atlanta. They will take on Wichita State in the Final Four.

Photo Credit: BleacherReport SI.com WCPO.com

In Basketball, Sports

The Best of the Best: Gamecock Professionals

Chris Stanley — March 29, 2013 — Leave a comment

The University of Miami has the NFL, Duke has the NBA, but where’s the pro love for the Gamecocks? Throughout the years, South Carolina has put their own number of pros in many of respectable leagues. You’d be hard pressed to find a school that has had an NFL All-Pro, MLB All-Star and Olympic Gold Medalist that once walked their halls.

Here’s the best South Carolina has put in five major sports: football, baseball, basketball, soccer and track and field. Continue Reading…

In Baseball, Basketball, Football, Sports

Garnet Report Bracket Challenge Update

Randall Stewart — March 27, 2013 — Leave a comment

There’s a clear-cut favorite, about twenty people that have a realistic shot to win, and a whole lot of busted brackets in our contest for free Kenny Chesney concert tickets and iTunes gift cards.

Haleigh005 (which, Haleigh, I suspect isn’t your real last name) is in first place all by her lonesome, and is comfortably in the 99th percentile of all brackets submitted to ESPN. Pretty impressive stuff.

We’ve also got a couple of people tied for second, a couple tied for fourth, and a whole slew of folks coming in at #6 and #13. The most amazing part of the contest, however, is to look through the possible points remaining column. Despite all the whining about Florida Gulf Coast notching a couple of wins and Gonzaga doing their best Gonzaga impression by once again fizzling out in the first weekend, a surprising number of people still have a healthy number of possible points remaining, and only five of the 74 entries have seen their national champion eliminated.

There are, of course, those unfortunate few who have seen any chance at a victory erased. We offer you our condolences, and also our gratitude for giving us something to laugh at while we try to feel better about our own subpar prognosticating performances.

The Sweet 16 begins on Thursday and promises to provide another healthy dose of scintillating action before the field is whittled down to four teams on Sunday. Keep your remote handy all weekend, and keep checking back to Garnet Report for more bracket challenge updates.

Full group standings can be viewed here.

In Basketball, Sports

Garnet Report Bracket Challenge

Randall Stewart — March 19, 2013 — Leave a comment

It’s NCAA Tournament time, and the whole world is going crazy analyzing college basketball teams’ bodies of work, seedings, and looking for this year’s George Mason. For many sports fans, this is as good as it gets. Garnet Report is joining in on the madness, and we want you to be a part of it!

We’re sponsoring a group on ESPN’s Tournament Challenge that’s just for our readers. You can click the blue link or go to the ESPN Tournament Challenge page and search for the “Garnet Report” group. Easy. There’s no password, no crazy rules, and no hassle. Just submit your bracket to our group, sit back, and wait for your bracket to reign supreme.

But here’s the best part: there’s a prize for the winner. A pretty fantastic prize. A pair of tickets to see Kenny Chesney at WIlliams-Brice Stadium on Saturday, May 4. The concert features three fantastic opening acts as well: Kacey Musgraves, the Eli Young Band, and the Zac Brown Band. Basically, it’s a country music lover’s paradise.

We’ve got prizes for second and third place, too. The runner up will receive a $25 iTunes gift card. Third place gets $15 to iTunes.

So what are you waiting for? Head over to ESPN, fill out that bracket, and join the group. Do it!

In Basketball, Sports