Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks, it's baseball opening weekend. Women's basketball has a huge matchup, and men's basketball falls short yet again. Okay, here we go.
[00:00:55] Okay. Welcome to episode 298 of Cox Talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 1801 to 2001. And if you're listening to this on Valentine's Day, Happy Valentine's Day, Gamecock Nation. Hope y'all get cakes, cookies, chocolate, flowers, whatever y'all might get. And if you don't have a Valentine, that's okay, because look no further than your favorite podcast host. I will gladly be your valentine. You're special and amazing, and so are the Gamecocks. Absolutely. Here, got a big episode for y'all. A lot to cover here, but a couple of housekeeping notes first. Don't think there will be a show on this upcoming Monday. I'm doing some traveling. Sometimes it gets a little wonky with the equipment and things like that. So probably no show on Monday. So then it'll just be back to the regular schedule on Friday. And if you noticed, I'm on episode 298, which is crazy to think. So, coming up on 300, and I'm gonna tease out a little. A little thing here where 300th episode, that feels like a milestone yet again. And I'm gonna be bringing on a guest for the third time. Gonna be a third time appearance for this specific guest, a now former South Carolina player. So if you listen to this show for long enough, you'll probably be able to figure out who I'm talking about. But we'll drop that episode in a couple of days when it's the 300th episode. But let's jump right into things here. Like I said, got a. A lot to cover here. So really excited to dive into this with y'all, but. But first, let's do a quick week in review here from Gamecock Athletics. Starting out on Tuesday, unfortunately, women's tennis had a tough one. They lost to Clemson four to one. That's okay, ladies. Screw the Tigers. We'll get them next time. At least you don't live in the upstate there. And then on Wednesday, men's golf finished third in the Puerto Rico Classic. So that's awesome. I mean, a top three finish, we'll absolutely take that. But just. That's the life right there. I feel like I say this every year. There's a Puerto Rico classic, but like, you're playing golf in college and you get to go to Puerto Rico like that. That's the dream. Like, I'd pay good money to go to Puerto Rico and play some golf. Right now these guys are doing it with their buddies, representing the Garnet in black. That's just sick right there. But outside of that, there wasn't anything too much to cover. But there is a ton of action going on this weekend, so you will have no shortage of entertainment. You got basketball, you got softball, you got baseball. Gonna dive into that in a second here. So any which way you have it, you're gonna have Gamecock sports in action here. So let's change gears a little bit and we're gonna go to the hardwood, starting with women's basketball. Now they're keeping up with their tradition of playing on Thursdays while I record. Now they're taking on Florida. So I felt comfortable enough to record while they are tipping off here. But we're, as always, sending good vibes there. The ladies are of course, looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Texas. But the big time story for the ladies is their matchup this Sunday afternoon in Colonial Life arena against the seventh ranked UConn Huskies. I mean, there is coverage on this on ESPN, banners and everything like that. It's going bananas. And I don't need to say what this matchup means. You know, this has happened a few times in recent years, both in the regular season and postseason. It's usually a really competitive game. You have the old guard versus the new guard. You have elite players versus elite players. You have a legendary coach versus legendary coach. And yeah, I mean, this is the type of high powered matchup that you would see in March and we're getting it now in February. So it really is a teaser for some of the great games that might be coming our way once the season ends. So really, really excited for this one. The huskies are currently 23 and 3 overall. Paige Beckers is healthy and leading their team in scoring, but as always, they have talent everywhere on the court, including the post. They will certainly present a challenge for Don Staley and company. But you already know that Colonial Life is going to be the fortress that it is. The fams are gonna be out in full force and it's just a really cool thing that our university and our arena and the support that we have for women's college basketball gets to be put on display yet again on a national stage. I mean, it's important. You know, it's really cool to see the growth of women's basketball at various levels, but then from A South Carolina perspective.
[00:06:19] You know, a rising tide lifts all boats, right? But a rising tide means that there's going to be more competition everywhere. Just look out west where you're seeing these teams, USC, UCLA, that are good. You have Texas, that's good. US, UConn, LSU, the list goes on.
[00:06:35] And so now you got to almost look at it from the things that we talk about for football, where how can you get in front of as many people as possible and how can you get your program and what life is like as a potential student athlete in front of these recruits? And this is a great way to do so, getting on national tv, having a fantastic environment and going out there and kicking ass, you know, I mean, everyone knows Dawn Staley already, she's a legend. But if you can show the fams and the support that the community has on national tv, it goes a long way here. And so now really, the Gamecocks are in an interesting position where these games down the stretch here, they have serious implications for seeding and where these ladies will play in the tournament. So big, big game here. My crow to the game is to have elite guard Play. You know, UConn has sharpshooters aside from Paige, so the Gamecocks will need to answer that and then also have elite defense against this talented team. So you're looking at Brie Hall, Raven, Powell, Powfo, Wiley, Tessa. All these players need to come prepared to play two way basketball at the highest level.
[00:07:56] So it's going to be a great one. Buckle up Sunday afternoon. Absolutely. Sign me up. Super excited for that one.
[00:08:06] But then on the other end of the spectrum, as I feel like I've said a thousand times this season, I just feel like a broken record at this point. But we have to talk about it. Talking men's basketball here, there, I, I, I do preview some more this weekend. If you wanted to hit Skip, I wouldn't, I wouldn't blame you there.
[00:08:24] But here we are talking again about another heartbreaking loss from, for this team. I mean, there's only so much we can take. There is only so much we can take. This is insane. I mean, truly, this is crazy. How many of these close games, late leads, whatever it is, down the stretch, losses coming up just short.
[00:08:56] There's only so much one fan base can take.
[00:09:01] You know, I mean, I'm sitting there watching the game and, you know, I'm cheering, you know, I got my hands up, I'm getting excited, but in the back of my head, it's just like we've done this before. We've been here like, you know, like, are we finally going to get over the hump here? I don't know because you haven't been able to do that yet.
[00:09:27] It's just tough. It's just tough. Carolina dropping that game at home against Ole miss Wednesday night, 72 to 68. It actually is crazy because the first half, it kind of looked like it was going to get ugly. Ole Miss looked like the prime warriors with their shooting. I mean, they just could not miss.
[00:09:48] But credit to the Gamecocks, we held tough and we're down only by 10 at the break, which I know you might be sitting here saying only 10. Well, compared to how Ole Miss was shooting, that was a victory. And then whether it was coaching adjustments or cooling off at the half or both. But Ole Miss struggled for large parts of that second half. They got into foul trouble early. South Carolina crawled back, hitting shots, getting to the line and just jostling for a little bit to try and take the lead. Eventually you do late in the second half and again it just brings these thoughts of is this it? Like, is this the time when we are set to get that win?
[00:10:31] But alas, it was not.
[00:10:34] Ole Miss hits a three pointer with just over two minutes to go, which proves to be the difference. But the Gamecocks again had a chance and a last minute turnover yet again and you fall just shy. And it's just, it's just brutal. It's hard out here, man. It is hard out here. We talk about the roller coaster of emotions that it is being a Gamecocks fan. And a lot of times that will talk about just like, you know, the given sport that we're talking about. You know, like South Carolina football, you have highs, you have lows. South Carolina men's basketball, highs, lows. Well, I mean this is a, is a roller coaster ride because you'll watch one team and the ladies for 95% of the games this year kick ass. Then you turn right around and you're excited to watch hoops. You got Don Staley in attendance there and you just can't, you just can't win. It's tough. It's tough out there in these streets, man. I tell you some player highlights from this game. CMB 20 points. Nick Pringle, I shouted him out. He had 12. Zach Davis, seven points and 10 rebounds. Up next for Carolina, the road does not get any easier as they take on third ranked Florida on the road Saturday night. You'll remember these two met up. Feels like a couple weeks ago at this Point. And, you know, there's only one way that that game went. South Carolina lost my crow to the game here. You know, like, we're just. We're just gonna shoot for the moon here. Like, no pun intended there. Like, just shoot the lights out of the gym. Like, you know, I've been trying to be reasonable in some of these crows to the game, but there is no reasoning with the SEC this year, and there's no reasoning with whatever juju is around this men's basketball team for these last however many games, right? So, like, let's just hope that, like, the guys can just come out of there and look like the warriors and just, let's see Zach Davis have a legacy game. Let's see Jamari Thomas go for 18 plus. Let's see CMB get in the mix with a couple of threes. Ugasuk, can you. Can you. Can you bring us 15 points? Arden Conyers, like, let's just shoot the lights at the gym and just. And just shove it up there, right? Like, let's go.
[00:13:04] But anyway, aside from that, aside from that moonshot of a crow to the game here, maybe the biggest news of all is that Gamecock baseball is back. It is opening weekend in Gamecock country. The Yardcocks are back. Absolutely love it. It's a really cool time of year for our fan base that takes so much pride in their college baseball program. Not everyone can say that. I mean, I think we know that. But I think sometimes being in the SEC and going up against teams like lsu, Tennessee, etcetera, that take their baseball program seriously, you know, Florida, it's easy to forget that there's a lot of people and a lot of college sports fans who this time of year, if their basketball teams are not doing much, they don't really have anything else going on. Not us. We have the pleasure of attending a great ballpark under a now new legendary coach with a storied program, and we get to get excited for that and it's really, really cool. And we get to watch great baseball, especially once conference play rolls around.
[00:14:21] But yeah, the Palm and Air officially underway Friday afternoon as the boys kick off a weekend series against Sacred Heart, where they will also officially unveil Ray Tanner Field at Founders Park. So that's really cool. And if you haven't seen the shot of it, just the graphic, if you will, on the grass with Rey's signature. Really, really nice. They did a great job with that. I'm sure there's going to be some fanfare throughout the weekend. I Think I saw the Koozie giveaways with his face on it, and it's really cool. You know, I've talked at length about Ray and some of the things he did as ad, and I know that maybe he wasn't always the most popular athletic director, but there's no denying his legacy as a baseball coach and the things that he did. Bringing national championships to this program and elevating this program to the standard that we have. You know, a lot of the things we talk about and the benchmarks I'm going to get into and, you know, the expectations that a lot of fans have for the program is because of the sustained success that Ray Tanner brought. So it's really, really cool for that. But looking at this season, if we're going to do a little preview of the roster and things like that, you know, let's call it the spark notes version of what we're thinking for this year. Again, it is always a measure of hitting some benchmarks at South Carolina, and the first one is regionals. And obviously the goal of bringing in Monary was to set up greater success than just that. But in his first season and losing some veterans from past teams, that has to be the first benchmark to hit, right? You're not going to put expectations of Omaha on this guy right out the gate.
[00:16:16] He has that experience, he has that savvy.
[00:16:20] I think he can get us there one day. But let's start small and let's just repeat some of this success and hitting that mark of getting to regionals. And with that, there's usually the magic number of around 15 or so sec wins. And we have seen that be a little less if your regular season is strong enough there. So that's the kind of. That's the mark that you're hunting offensively. There's some familiar names that I'm really excited to see. Of course, top of the list there is Ethan Petrie. Guy has been electric ever since he got on campus as a freshman, and it's interesting now because each year he's had to, his role has changed a little bit year over year. But now he is sort of the face of this lineup, and he's going to be the guy anchoring it, and he's going to have a big, big, big role where he's going to need to come up with clutch hits. He's gotten better and better, and he's already on these preseason all SEC watch lists and things like that. So if things continue like they have been and he can continue to be Steady, that's his thing. He doesn't slump too bad.
[00:17:28] So just be steady. He's a big strong guy. You know, he can hit for power. Let's see if he can continue those RBIs, and it's just going to be a lot of fun to watch him. But then you also have Talmadge Lee Croy, my boy, looking to take the next step in his game. Kennedy Jones as well. And these guys really serving as stewards in the lineup, if you will, sort of. The guys, you can base everything around veteran presence. There's also a lot of excitement around freshman infielder K.J. scobee, so that'll be really neat to see. And I wouldn't be surprised if we saw improvements from guys like Blake Jackson, Evan Stone, maybe two. This lineup, I really do think can be deep if the guys continue to develop. And we brought in some strong transfers, too, so don't be surprised if you see a couple of newcomers make impacts right away. And for pitching, you have an opening weekend rotation. This is in order. Dylan Eskew, Matthew Becker and Jake McCoy. I think those first two guys are probably set for a little while at least. Wouldn't see surprised or, excuse me, wouldn't be surprised if we see movement in that third spot. Eli Jersenbeck is a guy working back from injury, same with Eddie Copper. So maybe they work their way into the weekend. Maybe they're more of those midweek guys. But you also have Parker Malotte was a guy that had some good innings last year, so maybe he continues to develop. So, yeah, I mean, really, all told, I think this team has talent. Maybe not as much proven veteran guys as we've seen in the past. You know, you talk about a guy like Moose, right? But I think that this team is deep enough to compete and I think the leadership of Paul Manieri will be the key in a lot of these matchups.
[00:19:18] I don't think that this team will be a juggernaut, per se, that's just going to roll through everybody. But I do think this team will be able to manufacture runs, play good defense, get some solid pitching, and teams like that can be tough outs. You know, if you can just manufacture some runs, do things the right way, don't give your opponents extra bases, things of that nature, you can be tough out. So I'm super excited for this season. It's very fun time of year. Spring is right here. Let's go. Let's go, Cox. And with that, that wraps up this episode. Please follow me on social media, Twitter or X is Cox Gamecocks. Instagram is just the name of the show. Cox Talking Gamecocks. And please like subscribe and review the podcast. I appreciate all y'all. Go Cox.
