Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks, the men's basketball season is over. I recap the final game in the SEC tournament as well as the season overall. Baseball prepares for SEC play and a fun announcement about the show. Okay, here we go.
[00:01:01] Okay.
[00:01:03] Welcome to episode 305 of Cox Talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 1801 to 2001 and hope y'all are ready for a nice weekend. Gamecocks. If y'all are in or around Columbia. Very jealous as it is. St. Pat's in five points weekend. Gotta love it. Boy, I don't think I could hang now. That's. That's tough. You know, they don't tell you that's a thing about getting older, that you gotta admit defeat, that you can't go to the St. Pat's Festivities in Colombia anymore. But if anyone is going, I hope you have a lot of fun and think of me and think of all those who came before you and who had their time in Five Points and maybe just can't quite relive the glory days of like they used to. But yeah, fun weekend for that. Weather is fantastic.
[00:01:59] Sun is out later. Daylight savings time. Messed me all up earlier in the week, but nonetheless, very exciting times here. Got a fun announcement here before I jump into sports and recaps and all that jazz.
[00:02:17] Been working on a little bit of a side project for a few weeks now and finally decided to put myself out there and go live with it. But I opened up a little bit of an Etsy shop. Not a little bit. I opened up an Etsy shop where I'm gonna be selling tailgate accessories and things like that. Koozies, maybe hats, T shirts, things like that. And I had to start with a Gamecock themed accessory. I'm not gonna shy away from the fact that, you know, I am targeting other fan bases as well. But any new and exciting products or ideas will be exclusively started on the South Carolina theme. But go check it out. It is Shop ctgc. So you can kind of put together the words or the acronym there of the show, but Shop ctgc, I'm going to be posting on my social media. It's probably going to be a little annoying. I already did post on Instagram. I'm just going to make sure everyone is aware that they exist. But right now it's just koozies. And for the South Carolina koozie, it is in the official school colors of garnet and white. The exact pantone down to the exact number and it's very simple. It's a simple and effective message that orange is a stupid color. I've been saying that for years now, and it applies not just to the team in the upstate, but the teams that we play in Tennessee and Florida and so on. So nonetheless, go check it out. I'm not asking for any obligatory purchases or anything like that, but if you're in the market for a koozie, I think it'd be a great gift for graduation or birthdays, things like that. Spread the word. You know, it's practical, it's fun, and you get to show your school spirit in a kind of different way there. But yeah, shop CTGC on Etsy and I will be sharing on social media as well. But okay, with the housekeeping out of the way, let's go back little week and review here. Only a couple of sports to review here before we get into the major ones starting on Monday. Men's golf, they finished sixth in the John Haight Invitational, so decent showing I suppose there from the guys. And then Wednesday softball lost to Coastal Carolina, excuse me, five to three. So sort of a tough few games from the ladies after they were really rolling there. But they continue with SEC play this weekend as they take on uga. So will be great if the ladies can take this series. Just have a good showing this weekend against an SEC opponent. Again coming up just short against the number one ranked powerhouse Oklahoma last weekend. One run shy and I believe it was all three games. So if the ladies can get over the hump this weekend against uga, maybe they can find that groove again and then continue to really roll things along. So that'll be exciting to track this weekend.
[00:05:29] Also on Wednesday, talking men's basketball here pretty much exclusive action Wednesday afternoon, the eyes of Gamecock Nation were glued to their TV as the SEC tournament was in action up in Nashville. Wednesday afternoon, the guys took the floor against Arkansas, a team that they had beat in the regular season, but unfortunately it was the opposite event. An outcome this time as the guys lost to Arkansas 72 to 68. And if this game isn't a microcosm of this season, I don't know what is. And it feels like we've had that talk a few times, especially late in SEC play. Like wow, like this is exactly what we've seen and it just is true. I mean, the guys were down at the half. They had a slow first half. At one point in the game, South Carolina was down by 20.
[00:06:35] But the guys battled and they fought and they clawed and they Scratched, and they went on a big run and cut this thing down to single digits. And then they were right there trying to get over the hump and, you know, just couldn't quite do it. Arkansas woke up again.
[00:06:57] You had a couple of tough missed shots, couple of late turnovers, and you come up just short.
[00:07:06] You know what they say. The. The most dangerous lead in sports is up 20 against South Carolina men's basketball because the guys just did not flinch.
[00:07:16] And there you have it, right? I mean, it was a good effort. And one where you're sitting there and you're thinking like, wow, like this is March, like, this is it. Like, Arkansas is caving. Weird comments by Cal going into this one. You end up coming up short. And I feel like this four point differential is one we've seen multiple times with the same story arc. And unfortunately, it just was the case this year for so many games where South Carolina was just in too deep and couldn't quite get over the hump at the very end.
[00:07:54] I mean, CMB in this game, Kyle Murray Boyles, oh, my God. Absolute warrior. Like, this might have been his last game in the Garnet in black. We don't know what he's doing next year. He's going to evaluate everything.
[00:08:11] But the lore of CMB will last for a while around Columbia. This man in this game was an absolute warrior, and he was fearless. He was battling. I don't know if it was a thigh injury or a knee injury. He's limping around after every play and he plays physical.
[00:08:33] Then in the second half, he takes a elbow to the face and has a busted lip. Bleeding, swollen, and still continues to play at such a high level. And getting into the paint and absorbing contact, he was not ready to see this team go down.
[00:08:56] And again, I mean, you saw it with the team. You know, they battled and we've said that a lot. And, you know, I. I don't mean to sound like a broken record here, but I think it really is a testament to the culture in that locker room where it could have been easy to be like, all right, like, we're in the SEC tournament. Like, we're not going to the big dance. We're down by 20 points. Like, it just is what it is at this point and pack it in. But no, these guys came out and they battled and they really gave it their shot. It was just too little, too late. And in those late game situations, you know, couple of tough missed rebounds that really hurt the team. Couple of tough turnovers that really hurt the team. Just These, these little things that we've talked about so much this season once again reared their heads in a late game situation. And unfortunately you're not able to capitalize on having all of the momentum because, boy, did they.
[00:10:03] Anyway, player highlights here. CMB, he went for 20 and 12 basically on one leg and his face busted. Jamari Thomas went for 16, Jacoby Wright went for 13. Now, look, there still could be life after death here. The end. The nit, crazy as it sounds, is a possibility for this team. It depends on how the SEC tournament shakes out. It depends on how many teams the SEC gets into the big tournament, the NCAA tournament. With having such a deep and good conference this year, the remaining teams are going to be, you know, South Carolina is going to be one of them. So it is possible.
[00:10:49] We shall see. But it feels like an appropriate time to talk about this season here. And you know, I've talked a little bit about it, but it's a disappointment.
[00:11:01] Excuse me.
[00:11:03] How can it not be? You know, you're. I, I'm trying to get better at not holding one season's expectations compared to the previous. Right. Because they don't really have much correlation. But you came off a year last year where this team surprised a lot of people, had a fantastic season and made it to the NCAA tournament. I looked at the roster this year and on paper thought that this team returned enough that they would be able to carry any potential deficits that they had. It just didn't work out that way. You know, that team that went to the tournament was led by a lot of veterans who I think really understood exactly what they needed to do and exactly what Lamont Paris asked of them to do. And I think that while this, the, this team understood what they needed to do, we needed a little bit more veteran savvy.
[00:12:16] And I think the roster wasn't quite as good of a fit this year as we saw last. For example, Talon Cooper. Talon Cooper last year was your quintessential point guard. He was a distributor.
[00:12:32] You had Michi Johnson at the 2, who was a more of a natural scorer, you know, and you remember in Lamont Paris's first year when Michi had to be the one, he wasn't necessarily racking up a lot of assists.
[00:12:50] So that's something I think Lamont Paris really needs, is a genuine textbook point guard.
[00:12:56] You also had BJ Mack, who was very experienced, sort of an in between, between a four and five. Right. You know, sort of a tweener, but he could hit the three.
[00:13:09] Lamont Paris, I think really wants a big who has that capability.
[00:13:14] That was supposed to happen with cmb. He was working on it for his game. He had those shot attempts, but he was nowhere close to the efficiency that BJ Mack had.
[00:13:28] So that's a big gap there. I thought you might be able to make up for it with the addition of Nick Pringle. Nick Pringle is very athletic. He's just a low post guy and free throws something he should work to develop.
[00:13:44] You bring in Jamari Thomas, who's a scorer, was playing at a lower level, was a player of the year. I thought he could come in as a veteran and develop the next step of his game.
[00:13:57] He had a lot of good moments and there were times where he was the offense. You know, I mean, he went for 16 in this last one, but he's not the type of point guard that this system needs. And then also there, there were injuries. You know, Miles Studi, he, you know, he had to deal with the injuries or the issues that he had, rather the health issues.
[00:14:21] He was done for the year. He's a player who would have given a nice depth piece and another scoring threat and maybe even like a way just to have some more flexibility in the starting lineup. That's a big miss. I'm not saying he, his addition alone would make us, you know, middle of the pack in the sec, but I do think that there's a game or two that we probably win if he's healthy.
[00:14:47] You know, you talk about games you're losing by one point, two points, four points, having a guy that in his bag has the three, like, it certainly helps.
[00:14:58] So it is disappointing. And, you know, the more you read about it and more you hear about it, you see that some of these teams just dedicated more resources to men's basketball. You know, talking nil, talking, all that stuff, right? South Carolina just wasn't quite on par. Now, a lot of that's going to change with the potential house settlement that's about to hit college athletics. But I think Lamont was playing a little bit behind the eight ball just from the word go. And I think that's why you saw so many close losses, because we were well coached enough and we did have some talent. CMB is a guy that, whether it's next year or the year after that, is going to play in the NBA. Jamari Thomas is a natural scorer.
[00:15:49] You know, Nick Pringle, he had some, some games where he went for 15 points, right? You have talent.
[00:15:57] I just think when you're talking about beating a team you know, like an Auburn or an Arkansas in the SEC tournament. You know, these teams that have had good years, Tennessee.
[00:16:11] The difference there is that, is that in the close games, the depth and the exact roster makeup just wasn't quite there. And so looking forward, you know, I think Lamont Paris is a really good coach. I still believe in him. I know that there are folks out there who say he should be on the hot seat. Like, you know, we won two SEC games this year. Like, you're entitled to your opinion. I could see how you could draw that conclusion. I think context and circumstances matter.
[00:16:44] If it happens again, then big red flags. But we're not there yet. We have a couple of good recruits who are firmly committed to us. Eli Ellis comes to mind. Talk about a point guard.
[00:16:56] But I think that Lamont will continue to work the portal and I think this season shows him, like, hey, I. I need certain types of players here. And we did try that, right? There were tons of rumors last offseason about this guy's coming to South Carolina, this guy is visiting South Carolina. We just came up short. And that's when I talk about resources.
[00:17:17] So I think the basketball team is going to have some more resources heading its way. I think it's going to be a little bit more of an even playing field in terms of that if the house settlement does go through.
[00:17:28] So we'll see. I have faith there. You know, young players have already come out and said that they're sticking around. Arne Conyers, Cam Scott.
[00:17:39] So you could have a young, high ceiling group returning and then you take it from there. But nonetheless, look, it's a disappointing year. I think we all were hoping to be competitive in the sec. I think we all were thinking like, okay, well, we made it to the tournament last year. Should be fun this year. And it certainly was kind of the opposite. So tough year. We'll put a bow on it. We'll see what happens with the nit but tough way to end microcosm of the season. We'll see what happens next year.
[00:18:15] But switching gears here, moving over to baseball Wednesday night, guys were also in action. Busy day in Gamecock Nation. Uh, the Yardcocks beat Georgia State 7 to 1. Carolina put up six runs in the third to go up six to one. They tacked on another one in the fifth, and that was all she wrote. Jarvis Evans got the start, and when he seems to be settling into that midweek starter role, which was something we talked about going into this season, who would that be? I like what I see from him.
[00:18:45] Player highlights from this game, Nathan hall went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI, and Jordan Carrion went 2 for 4 with 3 ribbies. Up next for the Gamecocks, SEC play begins. How about that? As the guys take on Oklahoma at Founders Park. So entering league play, it's time to step up. Put your big boy pants on. Paul Monary. This is why we brought you here, right? Be able to navigate these waters. It's tricky. Every team is talented. Can you maximize our roster, our lineup here?
[00:19:20] Oklahoma is 15 and one going into this matchup.
[00:19:25] Couldn't tell you what that 15 one is consisted of, you know, but nonetheless, that is impressive. Little change up in the pitching rotation for the Gamecocks. Friday, Brandon Stone is getting the start. Moving into the rotation here, Paul Moneri talking about how he has a good repertoire of pitches. He pounds the strike zone, thinks he's ready and has the makeup to be that Friday starter in the SEC. So we will see how that goes. Saturday, Jake McCoy and Sunday, Dylan Eskew. My crow to the series here.
[00:19:56] Timely hitting with runners in scoring position. That's what we've seen when this team has been winning, you know, against Georgia State, the guys were a breeze the wrong way or an inch away from a couple of home runs, but the runs that we did score were manufactured. You know, sack flies, singles and doubles. And that's what I think we need to continue to do. You know, just be us, be patient, Get a guy on, move him over, drive him in. Let's see how it goes. SEC play. Absolutely love it with that, y'all. That wraps up this episode. Please follow me on social media, Twitter or X is Cox Gamecox. Instagram is just the name of the show. Cox Talking Gamecocks. And please, like, subscribe and review the podcast. Go check out the Etsy store. Appreciate all y'all. Go Cox.
