Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks. It's the first episode of the new year featuring transfer portal updates, SEC play begins for the men's and women's basketball team, and also, we have a coaching change from the football program. Okay, here we go.
[00:01:00] Welcome to episode two, oh seven of Cox talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 18 one to 2001. And happy New Year, Gamecocks. How about that? 2024 rang in the new year, said goodbye to 23, and here we go. Love it. Fresh start resolutions, all that jazz. First off, sorry about the wacky schedule this week. I didn't really anticipate New Year's Day when I was giving my holiday schedule a couple of episodes ago. So for loyal listeners who were like, what the hell? Where's my Monday episode? I'm sorry, we're here now. Holidays are done and no reason to believe that there will be a schedule change moving forward. But sorry about that. As far as resolutions go, I mean, it's fun to think of, right? It's a fun time to say, hey, I'm going to try and do this, going to try and put this best effort here and things like that. I think it's all about doing things that are attainable, not this huge pie in the sky thing. That's something you probably could do any given point in the year. It's just a reason to think about it. For the podcast, I'd like to consistently put more content on Instagram, which I think I actually had as my resolution last year. So tells you how good I did it following through with that, but maybe a weekly post about something, right? If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. Because in football season I do the balcony previews and then I was doing the pickham posts as well with a couple other guys. So if there's anything that you would like to see more of on instagram, like a post or a video or whatever that may be, I'm all ears. Maybe a Wednesday wisdom or something like that. I don't know. Also, for the podcast resolution, I'd like to work with some more businesses. Worked with a couple of small businesses last year aside from the Mason jar. That was really fun. So if anyone knows of a group or a person or a business that is looking to partner with an amazing podcaster like myself, please put the word out. And looking forward to doing that. And then personally, I don't know, maybe read more books. I feel like I did a pretty good job of reading last year. How about try more bourbons. There we go. I tend to stick to the same like three or four. I'd like to branch out a little bit, be able to speak more educated about bourbons, things like that. I think that's a good goal. That's a good goal right there. Try more bourbons, personally. There you go. Go to the gym? Nah, try more bourbons. Yes. How about that? I was thinking maybe like try some new flavors of wings or things like that, but I do that already nonetheless. Here, let me get back on track here. Got a fun episode for you guys here. A lot to review from this week. Big week in review here was started off a little slow, but then towards the end of the week, news really picked up. So got a lot of updates to cover from the football team. We're going to start off with a departure, a big departure. Big news. Running backs coach Monterio Hardesty was relieved of his duties. Shane Beamer deciding to part ways with his running back coach. This was a move that I think many people were expecting. Sort of felt like a first one to go, sort of low hanging fruit type of deal. But when you go five and seven, you have to expect some changes. I think there was a little bit of trepidation in the fan base that Shane might stay put and just try to run it back with everybody, but obviously changes needed to happen. I think Beamer was waiting until the signing period happened and the portal closed and all that jazz. You're starting to see a couple of changes around college football this time. And just going back to hardesty here, I mean, on the recruiting trail, I didn't feel there were many big wins from him and in my opinion, the development of our running backs was really not up to what it could be. And I mean, you never like to see a guy lose his job in general, but in this business, that is the norm. And in the SEC, if you're not excelling in your role, you're on the hot seat. It's just as simple as that. So it will be interesting to see who comes in to replace him and it will also be interesting to see if Shane Beamer makes any other staff changes. There's people who were not happy with Clayton White. There's people who feel like maybe Luke day should be getting a second look. I don't know. It's going to be interesting to see. I think this was a move that makes sense. I don't think we're necessarily losing this big asset, no offense. I think we can bring someone in who can do just as good of a job, but likely better.
[00:06:11] But got some more updates here, this time from the roster. So got a couple portal departures for you guys here. Everyone's favorite subject, tight end Cameron Sandlin, has entered the portal. He did not play in any games in his one year at Carolina. And also, tight end Brady Hunt, who transferred in from Ball State, has apparently reneged on his commitment and has decommitted from South Carolina. So now we're getting decommitments from transfers. I mean, we just really have seen it all in college football now. But then the big news from the week is that linebacker Pup Howard entered the transfer portal. He has actually already committed to Florida. I mean, if that's not tampering, I don't know what is. But this was surprising. Pup appeared in eleven games this past season. He was set to play a lot this year and this one I found very surprising. If you'll remember correctly, Pup came to South Carolina about as early as you possibly could in the recruiting process. He was practicing with the team before the Gator bowl. Before he was even eligible to play college football, he was practicing with the team.
[00:07:36] He was quoted secondhand as saying that you want people to come to South Carolina who would be willing to die for this university. So look, it's just surprising. It's just surprising. And now I'm not talking about pup like that is what it is in the linebacker room.
[00:07:56] I think this staff wants to get guys who are faster, guys who can develop quickly. I think they believe in the guys coming in, in this recruiting class. You believe Mokaba can come back, you believe in Debo, you believe in Jaren Willis. And I think you're going to see some action in the portal for at least one linebacker now. But this portal, it's a lot to wrap your head around.
[00:08:23] Guys coming, guys going, and it just stinks.
[00:08:27] I've talked about it a lot and if there's someone who's looking to get some more playing time, to get tape, one or two more years left in college, okay, I can get that.
[00:08:39] Then there's the nil aspect of it, which just is tough, a pill to swallow. Some guys get homesick, they want to play closer to home. Yes, that is a thing. But then shouldn't you maybe consider that a little bit more in your original recruitment? Right. But it's just a tough and sad state of affairs. And me personally, I'm conflicted about this because I think that a college student should have the ability to leave if they don't like their given situation.
[00:09:12] But I also love college football. I love it. I can talk about it till I'm blue in the face. I look forward to Saturdays in the fall like it's nobody's business. And this is changing the sport that we love. The transfer portal, what it is today, has created a completely different sport, essentially than what it was just five years ago, where you used to be able to get really excited about a recruit and say, that guy is going to be with us for a while, he's going to develop and he's going to be really good.
[00:09:52] Now, you can't do that because you could have a guy who said he wants to recruit guys who will be willing to die for their school, who will then leave after one year for whatever reason, and they had every reason in the world to stay playing. A lot nil opportunities in the SEC starter. Like, none of it matters anymore.
[00:10:21] And so it's a sad state of affairs because guys like the carry On Joyner, Luke Doty, Xavier Leguette, those guys are becoming very few and far between.
[00:10:34] And again, like, I don't blame a guy who maybe is looking to better their situation and get some playing time, get a little bit of tape on them. I get that those are little older guys, right?
[00:10:48] So it's just this tough back and forth that we have right now. And the sad part is I don't see it getting fixed anytime soon. I just don't. I don't have faith in the NCAA.
[00:11:02] I don't know if the conferences are able to get on the same page together. There's so many different competing interests, and it just has created this weird state for the fans where, yeah, we can get excited about recruits and recruiting classes. Like, a guy like Dylan Stewart and Josiah Thompson. Like, there's a lot to be excited for there. But in the back of my mind I'm like, are they going to be here in two years?
[00:11:29] Are we just going to get one year of this?
[00:11:33] Like, we got to see a clowny get better and better and better. Are we gonna be able to see that with Dylan Stewart? Or is some other school gonna reap the benefits of our hard work?
[00:11:46] And then you kind of feel the other side of it, right? Like if a Rocket Sanders comes to Carolina, right? Like, this is not just a Gamecocks problem. This is a college football issue where players are leaving ahead of schedule to go to other schools with head scratcher reasons. And I don't know what the answer is. I think some guardrails do need to be put on. I don't know what that is, I don't know how you can have a system that is still fair to the student athlete, but at the same time creates a little bit less of volatility for these programs and for these coaches. Right? Maybe it's two years, right? Maybe you get a four year scholarship offered to you, but it comes with like a two year player opt out, basically, where unless there's extenuating circumstances, you got to stay for two years. That at least gives the program a little bit of stability there. You get to stick it out, you get to grow for those two years, and maybe you decide to stay.
[00:12:52] Because I think what's happening is these student athletes are college kids. And I'm going on a long rant here. I realized that. But they're college kids, right? Like, college kids change their mind all the time. Right? What's the average amount of times that a student changes their major in America? Isn't it? It's at least two, maybe three. They're changing their major.
[00:13:15] That's a huge decision. Just a regular student's doing that. So I do think there are examples where players commit somewhere and they have a change of heart, and you definitely empathize with that, you sympathize with that, but from a fan perspective, right.
[00:13:32] That stinks, right? Because it's like you get all excited for a guy to come to your school and he's ready to play and then he's out. And especially if they're out for seemingly, like, money purposes, that really stinks. So I don't know. I think there needs to be something to be said about going to a program to better yourself and to grow as an individual, as an athlete, as a student.
[00:13:58] But there still needs to be a little bit of something for the human aspect of it, right. If you really want to get out of here, you can.
[00:14:05] But when there's stuff that just seems fishy, like entering the portal and then the next day committing somewhere that seems suspect, right. That shouldn't be allowed. That's not what this was intended for. I think that's what it is. I think that's what people are upset about. Like, the portal is just not being used, how it was intended to be.
[00:14:27] And unfortunately, it just is the state of things where you follow along as best you can and you just, at a point, sort of just wait until August to figure out what your team is going to look like. You have an idea about where you need to fix. You have the opportunity to do so with transfer, but you don't want anyone to leave. It's just this.
[00:14:49] It's a mess.
[00:14:51] It's a mess. And I don't know what the answer is, but somebody in this landscape, in this world needs to get their hands around this thing or some group of people because this is not sustainable. It's just not. And it's not fair for the student athletes to a degree because they get excited at the prospect of maybe leveling up or getting that more playing time. I bet you there's countless examples of people who don't find a home or who maybe think that they can level up and then end up going down.
[00:15:25] Like that would really stink. Or what if someone wants to go closer to home but the offers fall through and have to go farther away? There's all these different variables in play here, but yeah, nonetheless, that's my diatribe. That was triggered by some transfers this week. It's been a lot. It's been a lot to track. But for every transfer, take it the transfer giveth because South Carolina got a pair of commitments. I think we're waiting on one more to go public, but from the transfer portal, offensive lineman, I'm going to butcher this name. I'm so sorry.
[00:16:01] Torselli Simpkins has committed to the Gamecocks. He is an offensive lineman. He is coming in from North Carolina Central. He has one year of eligibility remaining. Played well at center, so great depth piece there, experience. He's got the size as well. And then transfer wide receiver Amari Huggins Bruce has committed to South Carolina after playing the last three seasons at Louisville. He is five foot eleven, 170 pounds. At Louisville he recorded 80 receptions for about 1100 yards and ten touchdowns. Feels like a replacement for an omega, Blake. Like a guy who's going to give you 1215, maybe 20 catches a season. Nothing too crazy. Three or four touchdowns. Like, hopefully he can do a little bit more than that. Not going to go as far as saying he's wide receiver one, but that room needs a lot of help and this guy brings help.
[00:17:02] Whoo. That was a lot. That was a lot. That was just the week in review. Yeah. So now we got to actually turn to games that are being played, starting with men's basketball. Now, last Saturday, the men ended the year and concluded non conference play with a win beating Florida A and M 94 to 62 to really celebrate the right way, ending the calendar year going twelve and one, Carolina came out of the gate in this game and dominated in the first half, holding A and M to just 21 points. And it really allowed Lamont Paris to go deep into his bench. Guys get some more playing time here. Player highlights really quick Miles Studie had 16 points. Colin Murray Boyles had 17 points as he is nearing that pre mono form.
[00:17:53] And now, just as the new year has begun, SEC play is set to begin for the Gamecocks. Carolina is taking on Mississippi State Saturday at noon in colonial life to kick off league play that is very exciting here. The Bulldogs are off to a pretty good start themselves, sitting at eleven and two. They are also coming off a pretty solid year. Last season, all things considered, they play good defense and they have done well on the boards, averaging a little more than 40 rebounds per game. That's compared to Carolina's 37.
[00:18:30] This feels like a pretty good opening matchup for this Gamecocks team and I say that because when you look at how both teams have done so far, they look to really have had similar paths and are both playing well right now. But this is not a game where Carolina has to travel, which is great and it's not a game to open league play where they face a team that has aspirations of a deep tournament. Know there's some really good teams in the SEC and that'd be really tough to face one of them right off the bat. Not to say Mississippi State's slouches, but get what I'm saying, know because they're not a team at the bottom. So this should be a good test to see how Lamont Paris can get his team ready to play and hopefully the home crowd is there loud, early and really ready to get the boys going here. My crow to the game is BJ Mack to get a double double.
[00:19:33] I don't want to put it all on one guy, but Mississippi states forward, he leads their team in rebounding. BJ has to be the difference maker that he was brought in to be and fight for rebounds and have production on the offensive side as well. But I am very excited to see this team in action against the SEC. It's obviously going to be challenging and this team will hit adversity and they will have some games that do not go their way. It's going to happen. This has been a very fun start to the season, but now it's getting real right. It's hitting the fan right now. But keep in mind when that adversity hits. This team is filled with experienced guys who can weather the storm of a grueling league schedule and I believe that they will be able to stay focused. There's a lot of veteran leadership on this team and I think it's important that you have a guy like Michi Johnson, Josh Gray, even Jacoby Wright. Guys who have been through the ringer in the SEC with Lamont Paris.
[00:20:43] So you look at last year's team and they won four conference games. So if you're trying to sit here and set a benchmark for how the team should do, sort of a measure of success, I'm going to say eight wins. I'm going to say eight wins feels good. And it also feels very reasonable, doesn't it?
[00:21:04] And that also would bring the team total to 20 wins in the regular season. Sitting at twelve and one right now.
[00:21:11] I think it was back in the summer that I said I'd like to see seven wins for this team. I set the bar low. Just, hey, just get three more wins in league play. But after seeing how they've looked so far, I think getting four more wins this season is a fine expectation and one I can definitely see them getting to and possibly more. And if you think about it from one year to the next, to double your success in the SEC.
[00:21:40] And eight wins is. That's a very respectable mark in league play.
[00:21:46] Leave you at 20 in the regular season, maybe go win a game or two in the SEC tournament. That's a very good season. That's a good, good resume. And it all starts Saturday afternoon. If the guys can go one and o in league play, that's huge. And it gets them confidence. And I think the home crowds that you're seeing are only going to get bigger and bigger and more loud and rowdy and things like that. So very exciting. Let's go, boys. I'm ready. And then moving over to the women's side here, the ladies also ended the calendar year with a win and remained perfect on the year after beating ECU in dominating fashion 73 to 36. That is not a typo. This was just a butt whooping. And I feel like I've said that a couple of times from this team. They are doing all of this with replacing key veteran players. It's very impressive. The Gamecocks didn't allow more than eleven points in a quarter and held the Pirates to single digits twice in this game. Camilla Cardozo led in points and rebounds, going for twelve and ten. Now, as I am recording this, the ladies are opening SEC play themselves against Florida. Now, going into this matchup, the Gators are nine and three. They're towards the bottom third or so of the league right now, but nonetheless, this is a good way for dawn and team to start off league play. I'm sending them nothing but good vibes this happened a lot last season where they played when I was recording Thursday nights, and we would just send vibes, and a lot of times they would be well received. So we're sending vibes right now. But with that, y'all. That wraps up this episode. Please follow me on social media, Twitter x 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.
[00:23:44] That's.
