Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks, the football team learns their bowl game. Dowel Loggins accepts a new job. And both basketball teams have a good weekend. Okay, here we go.
[00:00:56] Okay.
[00:00:57] Welcome to episode 281 of Cox Talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 1801 to 2001. Hope y'all had a great weekend out there. Gamecock Nation. It was like I felt like Ricky Bobby. I don't know what to do with my hands.
[00:01:20] Saturday, no Gamecock football. The first one without a game or, you know, serious action in months. You know, regular season is done. Sad. It is sad. But obviously there was some action with Gamecock Sports throughout the weekend. So that did help for sure. And we had championship games for college football and obviously professional sports and things like that. So, you know, we're still able to get my fix, especially of college football. And there was other things going on to keep us occupied in the news of Gamecock football, which of course I'll get to in a second here. But even so, still felt a little sad. And we're in that time of year now where we can start to reflect on the year that we had and we can look forward to the next game that we have. And maybe you're already even thinking about some of the off season activities. We're seeing a lot of news from the transfer portal, not really so much with the Gamecocks at least, but you are seeing some big name players entering the portal from other teams and you're kind of thinking, well, what are they going to look like next year if they aren't able to reload? And I think it is continuing that trend. And we have seen it play out this year where there is more parity in the sport than ever. And yes, it's a different world where you might get a player who you really like and is at your team and then they decide to leave. And that sucks. But at the same time, you have teams that are able to reload and get better quicker and you might not have those same couple of teams at the top that you did for a long period of time in the past. So a lot of news going on and whatnot around the sport and then especially with conference championship games, setting the playoff, which is, I can't believe it's here and going to get into that in a second where South Carolina finished, but we did not make the playoffs, but we kind of knew that going into things last time. But nonetheless, playoff field is set. You kind of look at it.
[00:03:41] I've shared enough thoughts on this. I think the auto bids need to be reworked a little bit. I think when you look at top four seeds, why aren't those getting the buys right? Like, I think that would make sense. If you want to have an auto bid, that's fine. You want to put an emphasis on winning your. Your conference. That makes sense. But I don't necessarily think you should have a team that is not ranked top four receiving that automatic buy just because they happen to be a little higher ranked than another conference champion. I don't know. Very complicated.
[00:04:18] Nonetheless, the playoff field is set. It's going to be wild. It's going to be a lot of fun. And do I necessarily agree with all of the rankings and the total field? No. But we are where we are, and it's going to be pretty fun to see some of these unique matchups. And if there is a team like in Indiana or like an Arizona State that can make a run and can make a little noise and the original point of the playoff even going back to the four team was can we put a team that has a good year that would never play one of these traditional powerhouses, can we get them in a setting to get hot and end up deep in the national championship or a semifinal? And I think when you look at a team like Arizona State, who has a really good record and won a power conference, we can argue that maybe all conferences are not created equal, which I certainly believe. But can they hang with a team like an Oregon, maybe, or a Georgia if they get that far, and meet them there? So it'll be really interesting to see. And SEC has some representation there. So, you know, we talk a lot about our teams being the best, and this is where you got to go prove it. You know, can you go up and beat in Ohio State?
[00:05:47] Can you ward off a hot team like a Notre Dame or an Indiana? So it'd be really interesting to see. Very excited for that. Always looking forward to more college football. But enough about that. Let's focus on the Gamecocks here. Going to start with some football news and then get into both basketball teams. There were no other scores and things of that nature to report. So starting with the big news that broke this weekend from the football team and it's that offensive coordinator Dalla Loggins is actually leaving the program to accept the head coaching job at Appalachia State. App State. So that kind of came out of left field, huh? I mean, really, like, if you saw any rumors about assistants getting head coaching, you know, interviews or on someone's radar. I felt like it was Clayton White. I didn't hear anything about this until the news said that they were zeroing in on him. And then like an hour later it was that, oh, yeah, they hired him. So on one hand, congrats to Dow Loggins. You know, always cool to see coaches in your program succeed. And I think when you look at some of the coaches, like Pete Lembo, Coach Wright, now Dallas Loggins, when you see these guys go and have success and become head coaches elsewhere, I think it's a testament to Shane Beamer for encouraging his guys to continue to grow and succeed. And then when you look around for replacements or bringing other support staff, it says, hey, we're not going to box you in.
[00:07:33] We want you to have success. I do think that Beamer wants continuity. Like, he's probably not thrilled with this, but at the same time, he wants to be a place and a program that people want to come work for. So it is an interesting spot now. Right. I think Dowel Loggins was certainly hot and cold as a play caller. I don't think he was the be all end all in offensive coordinators. But when you look at the success that the team had down the stretch and when you see how Lenoris was able to settle in and the offense in general seeming to gel and develop, I mean, that's him, that's his side of the ball. And I think he, once he settled in and said, okay, I'm going to have a power running game, we're going to get the quarterback on the move and we have a good tight end, we're not going to necessarily have to force the ball to some of these wide receivers who were still developing.
[00:08:32] I think that's when you saw the continuity happen and when you saw those wins rattle off. So you do have to replace that. And I think we all kind of pictured Lenorris and company continuing to grow. And I think of it from a playbook perspective. Like, now these guys are probably going to have to learn a whole new playbook. You're going to have to find someone to take over recruiting on that side of the ball. And, well, so it leaves a void for sure. It doesn't necessarily mean you can't upgrade because now you're certainly going to have the pick of the litter. Right. I think that regardless, being an OC at an SEC school is an attractive job.
[00:09:15] I think, regardless, people would have looked at the job that Shane Beamer has done and said, okay, I can go work for that guy. But now when you're coming off a nine win season with a chance to win 10, you have a quarterback who in my mind, in all seriousness, this upcoming season will have legitimate Heisman talk around him. You have good recruiting on that side of the ball. You have good facilities, good nil in place. I think Shane Beamer really will have the pick of the litter and I think it's about finding a guy who can a get the most out of your team and Lenoris in the short term. But do you have a guy in place who can have a system that will work when it's not necessarily this core group of guys and there's a chance that Shane Beamer doesn't have to look far when you look on staff. Coach Shula was the on field assistant for Dowel Loggins was a guy that was working closely with Lenorris and company. He knows the playbook. I certainly think he'll be the guy calling the plays in the bowl game. And depending on how that goes, maybe Beamer gives him a look for oc. It certainly would not be the sexiest of hires, but maybe for the sake of continuity that's more important. So it will be very interesting to see. So Dowel Loggins, best of luck at App State and then looking at the final CFP rankings here, South Carolina finished 15th in the rankings. So top 15 year. Absolutely love to see it again. When we talk about where this team was originally projected to finish and where we thought this team might end up being on the bubble essentially for the playoff seemed like a far fetched idea. So it's a kudos to this staff and to all the players who had a fantastic year. You finish 15 and now that the dust has settled from championship weekend, the bowl games are set and the Gamecocks are headed to the Citrus Bowl. Get your bags ready because you're going to Orlando, y'all. South Carolina was accepted over Alabama for this bowl, which I mean in my mind, right, is certainly one of, if not the best one that the Gamecocks have been in for some time. Obviously the Gator bowl against Notre Dame, that's a big time bowl, but the Citrus really feels like it's that next best one outside of the playoff, especially from an SEC team point of view. So again, you're talking about a team that ended the year incredibly well, even began the year well. They had a great season. Nine wins, you're a top 15 team. A lot of people are talking about you. A lot of people want to see Lenora Sellers and this whole team play, so it makes sense. You get rewarded with a fantastic bowl game. South Carolina will be taking on the 20th ranked Illinois Fighting Illini. Kickoff is set for December 31st at 3pm so you get to roll that right into New Year's Eve. Like I think that's a pretty good deal when all things are considered right. Not in the playoff, of course, but to be able to roll this bowl game right into the New Year's Eve festivities. Pretty much like, I'll take that. And especially if you're celebrating a win, like, what a great way to end the year and begin the new one. So very excited for that. Very excited for our fans and for our team. Who knows, maybe your boy considers making the trip down there. But I will of course preview that closer to the game. But it's really fun that we can look forward to this and we can maybe do some scouting already on the Illini, but we can get ready for going down there, ending the year on a fantastic note, looking for a 10th win. I mean, it's crazy, like, and I think this team is going to try and respond the right way. I think Shane Beamer may have to deal with a couple of opt outs. I haven't heard of anything, at least right now as I sit here today, but I think the team wants to go out there and prove that they belong in the conversation for one of the best teams in the country. And I think that that absolutely can happen. If you take on a top 20 team and you handle business, I know there's going to be a lot of garnet in black. It's going to be a big time atmosphere. So absolutely love to see that.
[00:13:51] But all right, now shifting to games and scores that already happened that are really in action here, let's start off with men's basketball. Saturday afternoon, the guys were in action at home and they beat East Carolina 75 to 68. This was a good win. You know, the Gamecocks found themselves down by five at the half, actually. But in the second half, that shooting caught fire. My goodness. Especially from deep, from beyond the arc. The offense for Carolina really has been hot for the last couple of games. When you take a look at it, even if it takes a second to get going, you know, maybe it's not the best start, but then they get on a big run and end the half. In this one, it was a little back and forth in that first half and then even really to start that second half, but bam, kind of flip the switch, shooting gets hot, guys are able to distribute the ball. You're able to get CMB going. Nick Pringle had a nice game here as well. So you see the result there. And when you are able to do that, I think it really works as a good complement to cmb. You know, he's continuing to develop, but he is a incredible player and he has developed a little bit more of a shot. But he plays in the post, right? And so if you're able to complement good post play from cmb, it just opens things up that much better. And then when also you have Nick Pringle in the mix as well, you're forcing teams to defend the entire floor. And I think now that we can get some of this going and you're seeing guys like Jamari Thomas or Morris Yugosluk or Zach Davis, right? Being able to hit some of these shots, it's just forcing teams to defend the entire floor and puts a lot of stress on those teams. I mean, Gamecock shot over 50% from three from this game and I think it was like 60 something percent in the second half. So that's really tough to defend in general, but especially when you have strong post play as well. And again, this was a big win as the team looks to have a strong couple of weeks leading up to SEC play. I talked about that on the last episode where you only had, I think it was now 4, but previously 5 non conference games remaining. You've had a couple of tough games. First game of the year, Xavier, right, Indiana. So you need to end on the right foot in non conference play. And if you're able to go four to five or five out of five, you could help. You could help yourself, right? It's all about moving up in the net rankings and then playing well in the SEC and see where things shake out here. So some player highlights for y'all in this 1. Jamari Thomas 22 points. CMB went for 20 and 10, Zack Davis 10 points off the bench. So again, just a good team effort in this one. The men's next game is Saturday against USC Upstate this upcoming week. There's a little bit of a, of a gap in sports so you're seeing everything go to next weekend there. But to stay on the hardwood, moving over to the ladies side of things here, Women's basketball was in action Sunday night as they took on TCU and got the win 85 to 52. The story of this one was really the bounce back game, if you will, for Raven Johnson and Malaysia Full Wiley. You know, both have been kind of struggling a little bit offensively I think Raven Johnson, we know that she can be known as a little bit more of a facilitator. Last year obviously did a lot of work on her game and looked phenomenal, especially at times and late in the year too. But the start so far this year hadn't really seen a lot of that offensive production. So someone you want to get going, right, A veteran on your team and someone who if she can put up 6, 8, 10 points in a game, again we're talking about stretching the field, putting a lot of stress on opposing teams defenses. So was it great to see her going? And then Malaysia, you know, known more of a scorer and somebody in her second year in the program, you thought maybe could be that true. Go to person with a lot of consistency. She's just been a little streaky. There's been a little hot cold to start this year. So you saw both put together nice games in that and I think that's really the headline takeaway from this game. South Carolina's defense also was able to hold TCU to single digits in both the second and third quarters. Just a lot of contributions up and down the roster in this game as well. So when you look at how the team has responded after they received their first loss, I think they've responded beautifully. You've seen different players step up, you've seen them play in good environments, tough environments. This one on the road at tcu and they've just handled their business. So again, I think still a little bit of growing into their own gelling, a little bit into what this group looks like. But when they can get the shooters going, that's when this team I think is going to be the deadliest. When they can create some turnovers and get a lot of points in transition, fast break points, things of that nature. That's when I think this team is going to be at their best. So player highlights here. Raven Johnson, 11 points. You know, that's what I would love to see from her on a more consistent basis. Malaysia, full Wiley, she went for 20 and Tessa Johnson had 10 points. So great team effort. You saw it on both sides of the floor. Really, really good win there Sunday night for the ladies. Their next game again, we got to wait a little bit. Here is next Sunday afternoon against usf. But with that y'all, 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.
