South Carolina Gamecocks News: Basketball, Awards, FAMdemonium, Tennis, Baseball, More
By Kevin Miller
Here’s the latest South Carolina Gamecocks News starting with the Men’s Basketball Team.
The South Carolina basketball team lost in the first round of the SEC Tournament to the Ole Miss Rebels. The loss ends a disappointing season. Hayden Brown has used the last of his eligibility and GG Jackson is likely headed to the NBA, but Jacobi Wright, Meechie Johnson, and Josh Gray all indicated they plan to return next season.
GG Jackson made a postseason award list.
The talented freshman was named to the All-Freshman All-SEC team. After scoring over 15 points per game and averaging over 5 rebounds per game, the Columbia native will likely be declaring for the NBA Draft.
Dawn Staley was named a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award.
Staley has won the award two previous times, including last season. A third honor would bring her even with Stanford’s Tara Vandermeer and Notre Dame’s Muffett McGraw. She would trail only Pat Summitt (5x winner) and Geno Auriemma (8x winner).
Speaking of Coach Staley…Zia Cooke was named a finalist for the Dawn Staley Award.
The award is given annually to the guard who best exemplifies Staley’s style of play, a guard who displays an ability to handle the ball, can score, runs the offense, and has an intense desire to win. Cooke would be the third Gamecock to win the award, following Ty Harris and Tiffany Mitchell.
FAMdemonium is back.
On Selection Sunday (March 12th), Colonial Life Arena will be open to Gamecock fans to take pictures with, cheer on, and watch the selection show with the team. The event (and parking) will be free, and food trucks will be available outside for fans to buy food. Food trucks open at 5:30, and 7:15 marks the beginning of the festivities inside CLA.
As NFL free agency negotiations begin, a former Gamecock defensive tackle got a new deal.
Defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth agreed to re-up with the Houston Texansfor a $1.08 Million deal for the 2023 season. The tackle will play for new Texans Head Coach DeMeco Ryans and new Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke.
Baseball keeps on rolling.
The South Carolina baseball team improved their record to 13-1 with mid-week demolitions of The Citadel and USC Upstate. The Gamecocks won by a combined score of 27-2 and hit six home runs.
And so does softball.
The Lady Gamecocks kept up their winning ways and now sit at 21-2 after two shutouts over Winthrop and College of Charleston.
South Carolina’s tennis team received their highest ranking ever and will be ranked even higher soon.
Immediately after being ranked #5, South Carolina tennis welcomed #4 Ohio State to Columbia. In what James Story called a “demolition,” the Gamecocks crushed the Buckeyes 4-1.