Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks, women's basketball notches a top five win. Men's basketball comes up just short against Auburn. And football adds a defensive transfer. Okay, here we go.
[00:00:57] Okay. Welcome to episode, episode 289 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 lovely weekend out there. Gamecocks. It was a football bonanza, obviously. We had college football playoffs Thursday, Friday. Then you rolled that right in to the NFL playoffs. And then right around, you know, kind of on the edges of that, you had two really good and exciting South Carolina basketball games. So just a fantastic sports weekend. Again, was one of those. Talked about it the other day, but yet kind of a snowstorm in the southeast. So perfect excuse just to snuggle up and listen to your favorite podcast and then hang out and watch sports. Absolutely love it here, but hope y'all are geared up for a new week, ready to seize the week. Let's have a good week, huh? Let's be productive or at least act like it, and let's just enjoy it and root our Gamecocks in here. Got a good episode for y'all here.
[00:02:11] Sort of light on the news and notes outside of basketball, so going to be focusing primarily on that. But with that being said, do have a little bit of a weekend recap here. Saturday, swimming and diving, they were in action. They took on Auburn. The women won 152.5 to 147.5, and the men, unfortunately, took the L215 to 85. Well, hey, at least somebody beat Auburn. Am I right? Get a touch on that in a little bit here. And then from the football program, we got a bit of news here. They added defensive tackle Devonte Miles, transferring in from Bowling Green. So another guy from the Mac. Love that. 2 Mack transfers.
[00:03:01] So keep in mind, if you guys hear Norwood and Miles, you guys know I'm a big Mack fan. He will have two years of eligibility left. Now, this is a interesting pickup. So if you've been following along and you know, we all love our Gamecocks, we're all knowledgeable people, knowledgeable fans. That's why we're some of the best. But the defensive line, and in particular, defensive tackle has been a, let's say, an area of emphasis, maybe area of concern, simply because you were so good in that this past season with guys like Tonka, Hemingway, Boogie, TJ Sanders, and you were able to rotate them in with some of these other guys, you know, like a Barrett, like a Goodwine, etc. So when you lose Sanders, Boogie and Tonka, you're left with this gap of production and experience and all those things. So when we're looking at the different areas and positions of need, I was looking at defensive tackle, right at the top of the list. You know, I was concerned about linebacker. That seems to have been addressed. You look at defensive tackle and the staff has been in on some guys, they've hosted some guys. But you were able to bring in the transfer from Texas A and M who was decently productive but was a highly recruited guy, big, strong dude. So then you bring in this Miles guy and look, I'll keep it real. His stats are really nothing to get too excited over. But you do need depth because you're going to be asking guys like Barrett and Goodwine to step up and be more productive. You're bringing in Zavion Hardy, a guy that they loved at a high school, didn't work out, had to go to juco, comes in, he's a little bit more experienced. He. He's a little bit more mature, he's a little bit bigger, can get him in an SEC weight program and they're going to probably expect big things out of him. So you say, all right, maybe we have our top three guys already on campus, so now we can bring in that next wave. So when you look at a guy like Devontae Miles, his stats are not going to jump off the page, but he has some good size, he has played at the collegiate level, he'll be a good depth piece and maybe Robertson can develop him a little bit. So that's what you're looking for there. The staff is being very deliberate, as they have been throughout their transfer process. You can read some reports where they actually had a highly recruited defensive tackle on campus as a transfer for a visit. And all indications were they were all in on this guy. But they got on campus and the vibe just wasn't right. There were some red flags and Shane Beamer & Co. Pulled his offer. So I think you have to prioritize culture. You don't want to have a situation where you bring in a guy because it's a position of need and it turns out not good in the locker room. So you have to believe in this staff. They have done a really good job in the transfer portal.
[00:06:20] The linebacker, for example, that they brought in from Alabama that actually broke over over the weekend, believe it was on Friday. He comes in as a physical freak one year played at Alabama, played in all 13 games that they did.
[00:06:38] Number one player out of Germany. But I don't know how that works out, but comes in a guy they didn't want to lose. Now you have Sean Murphy and the Alabama transfer. You have the guys on campus like Fred J.R. johnson, Jaron Willis. You're hoping Bam Martin Scott can get his next year of eligibility as well. So all this to say Beamer and company have done a really good job in the transfer portal. Attacking positions of need. I don't think they're done quite yet, but I think they might be taking a breather here. They're going to evaluate these guys that they have Again, there's that spring portal window and it's got me excited, you know, between transfers that this staff has brought in. Now you got two at linebacker, two at defensive tackle, edge corner. They're still working on some guys. So that was an area for myself that I was a little nervous about of how are we going to reload on defense because it was such a strength this year and it took a burden off of Lenores and this offense at times.
[00:07:44] I think they've done a really, really good job. And that's not to say that there wasn't already talent on this team. I mean in the defensive backfield especially.
[00:07:52] So long winded to say that this staff has added some talent through the transfer portal on the defensive front. And it's very, very exciting here. But alright, moving over to the hardwood here. Men's basketball, the guys were in action Saturday afternoon and this one, I mean this is the definition of grit and fight and showing up when your back is in a corner. Because the guys took on number two ranked Auburn and yes, they came up short. At the end of the day, it was a loss. They lost 66 to 63. But this was, I think, culture at work here. Okay, South Carolina, the news going into this one was that Jahmari Thomas is now hurt. He's going to be out for the next three or four weeks, sprained his knee. So you're down Miles Studi, you're down Jahmari Thomas. Two key contributors. You just got handed your butt by Alabama a few days ago, then you host Auburn and you're just thinking, oh my gosh, this is just a buzzsaw here.
[00:09:06] Could the team have folded and packed it in and said, you know what, we just got to get through this game. The schedule eases up a little bit next week? No, they came out and they took it to Auburn and CMB locked the F in this team was up, I believe it was six at the half, and they fought to the very, very end. Now, can we talk about the second half looking different than the first? Absolutely. You know, I think Auburn made some adjustments. They had to figure out, how do they navigate that injury that they suffer with Johnny Broom? But South Carolina hung in there. They fought off Auburn runs, and it was down to the wire. You know, if you watch this game, you're on the edge of your seat or you're standing up the entire second half, South Carolina would answer shot for shot. But Auburn, you know, got the lead late, and Nick Pringle was at the line with pair of free throws that could have tied the game. And unfortunately, he did miss both. But that is not to take away Nick Pringle's effort. He played his butt off in this game, as did the whole team. You know, they responded incredibly well to the number two team in the country right there at the end. They had the ball at the end with a chance to tie, and unfortunately, the shot just couldn't fall. You know, some late defensive breakdowns. You know, you gave up a couple of easy buckets down the stretch there. Auburn got hot. But this really is a testament to Lamont Paris and this team because you had guys stepping up every which way. Yes, cmb, Nick Pringle, they had good games, but you had guys like Arden Connors who were playing a lot of minutes and contributing at a high level. You had guys like Berzman's, Verdonk, who have been on this team, who were logging more minutes than they had. And it's just that mentality of next man up, you know, without Miles Studi, that's. That's a big piece right there. That's a guy that can do a lot for you. You lose Jamari Thomas. And yes, Jamari has maybe not made as much of an instant impact as some of us had hoped when he transferred in here. But he can make some big shots and he knows how to facilitate. He's a good basketball player. He's your starting point guard, for crying out loud. So when you lose that, you're losing a lot. That's vision. That's. That's facilitators. You know, that's sort of that floor general.
[00:11:47] And so this team had to play a little differently and really had to lean into its most athletic players in CMB and Nick Pringle. And so you did that successfully, and then you leaned on some other guys to step up and credit to Lamont Paris and this staff for identifying guys to either recruit to come on to this team for moments like this, but also credit to them for getting these guys ready and game planning some of this stuff on short notice to get them ready to play the number two team and to play them incredibly hard. So kudos to this team. You know, like, yes, we can look at this and say it's still a loss. The team was in control for a good chunk of the game and they let it slip through their fingers. Like, yes, like that is true.
[00:12:42] But I do think context matters. I think you're looking at a team in Auburn, number two team in the country, that is deep, that is really talented. They have Final four aspirations. You're looking at a team at South Carolina that going into this game had two really, really bad outings to start SEC play.
[00:13:03] Everyone in the world thought that that was probably going to continue for this game. But for them to go out there and not just not have a slow start, but to be winning at the half and then to take it to the wire, maybe, just maybe that can be a little bit of momentum for this team. Reality is going to come. Hit these guys again because when you're down these players, Studi and Thomas, it hurts and it's going to be tough to battle back, but hopefully they can take a little bit from this player. Highlights from this game. CMB went for 25 7, Nick Pringle 12, 19, and then Arden Connors 13 points. So there you go. A guy who haven't talked about him at all, like, not for a second this season drops 13 off the bench. So if you can continue to find some of that production, you can navigate these next couple of weeks without Jamari Thomas and maybe you could be okay there. So up next for Carolina, they take on Vandy on the road. It's a little bit of a reprieve from the gauntlet that South Carolina has been on to start league play as Vandy is 13. 3 overall. But they are just 12 in conference. When you look at them, they do tend to score at at a pretty high clip. So defense will be at a premium in this game. My crow to the game is kind of just touched on it here. Find big production from the bench. You're going to have to. All right. Like you're going to have to without some of these key contributors here. Who is it? Is it. Is it Yugasuk? Is it Connors? You know, does someone else step up? So we'll see.
[00:14:49] We'll absolutely see. And Lamont Paris is going to have to navigate these waters carefully. Over the next couple of weeks here.
[00:14:57] But sticking on the hardwood and changing gears a little bit over to women's basketball. The ladies were in action Sunday afternoon and the ladies beat fifth ranked Texas 67 50. So an impressive outing there. The story out of this one is the defense as South Carolina held Madison Booker, the star player for Texas, to just seven points. So this is a shout out to Brie Beal, to the guards, Tessa Johnson, to the entire team, and of course to Don Staley and their staff for game planning this one, you know, if you can take out a team's key player and say, you know what, we'll let anyone else try and beat us, that can be just a nightmare and a headache for some of these teams because some of them are just not built that way. They need to get production from their star players. They found numby's elsewhere. Texas did, but I think when you take out their star player and held her to just seven points, that is a key, key piece right there. You know, you saw that national championship last year, so very, very impressive there. Now it's interesting though because the Gamecocks had way, way too many turnovers, but the defense and the shooting was just too good. So it's still a teachable game. You can say, look like we can beat a fifth ranked team, you know, that's at home. The home crowd showed out. The fam showed out big time in this one. But you got to cut down on those turnovers. I think it was like 22, like that's crazy. And it just tells you how good the defense was because to turn it over 22 times, still win by 17, that is tough to do. That is incredibly impressive. They got off to a fast start. The ladies did. Texas fought back a little bit in that second quarter, but the Gamecocks were able to hold them off and really just never looked back. So was also nice to see that slow starts have plagued the ladies too. So you had men's and women's this weekend.
[00:17:08] Both teams were able to start fast and you know, play well. Women obviously getting the W here. Chloe Kitts and Tahina PowPow both had 11 points in this one. Joyce Edwards 10 points. She continues to shine. Joyce Edwards I think is going to be a really big piece for this team down the stretch. She's playing more and more. She's getting production, highly recruited player, smart player. So I think look for her to be a key player down the stretch here. And I'm saying like she's going to get to. We're going to get to the end of the regular season. It's the type of, you know, moment where coaches say, all right, like you're not a freshman anymore. You went through a regular season. Now it's time for the SEC tournament and the NCAA tournament. I think Joyce Edwards can be a huge contributor there.
[00:18:05] Up next for Carolina, the ladies take on the 18th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide Thursday evening at Alabama. Bama is 162 overall, 3. 1 in conference. My crow to the game here. I'm going to double down on this. I'm going to say find continued production from Khloe Kitts again navigating the waters with the Ashland Watkins injury. Kits needs to continue to be consistent. She has had a couple of good games in a row, 11 against Texas. Got to find that production, get those rebounds. She is a key player for this team. She's been in the program for a couple of years now. It's time for her to step up more consistently. But 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. I appreciate all y'all. Go Cox.
