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Home > ajcsportstalk > Archives > 2008 > March > 14 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USSouth Carolina hanging tough with Tennessee
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s nice see some bodies in the seats today.
Because Tennessee, the No. 1 seed, is playing in the early game we have a significantly bigger crowd today than for the first session on Thursday, where only a little over 12,000 showed up. But today both Kentucky and Tennessee will play and their fans have filled up the bottom part of the Georgia Dome pretty well.
South Carolina, which knocked off LSU yesterday to get to this second round game, played Tennessee tough in the first half in each of their two regular-season meetings and did again today, trailing by only 41-40 at the intermission. But in both games South Carolina was blown out in the second half and I expect the same thing to happen today. The difference in athleticism and talent is significant.
South Carolina coach Dave Odom told me this yesterday and he is absolutely right. Nobody in the league plays quite like Tennessee. People think they are a three-point shooting team but in fact, they shoot just enough threes to make you spread your defense to cover them. Then they slash into the lane for a lot of lay-ups and very short shots by their big guys.
“They scare you from three but they beat you from five (feet),” Odom said. “The trick is being able to guard them from both places. That is not easy.”
Speaking of Odom, it looks like he’ll be coaching his last game today. I’m dating myself here, but I’ve known Dave since I was a rookie reporter in North Carolina and he was an assistant coach at Wake Forest in the late 1970s. He was the head coach at Wake Forest for 12 seasons and had several great teams when he had Tim Duncan and Randolph Childress.
A lot of people don’t know this, but Odom almost became the head coach at Georgia. Odom had several talks with AD Vince Dooley after Hugh Durham was let go after the 1995 season. But things didn’t work out and Dooley hired a bright young coach from Tulsa named Tubby Smith. Odom is one of the true gentlemen in coaching.
The building is still buzzing a little today after Florida coach Billy Donovan torched his team after a lackluster effort in a loss to Alabama Thursday night. Donovan can understand a young team that has to learn its way. What he CAN’T understand is a lack of effort and not being ready to play. One of the problems with young players who have watched veterans have the success of the past two years, is that the young players think they just have to show up and that success will come to them.
Speaking of Florida, it is now clear that the Gators will not get a chance to defend their NCAA Tournament championship. Wonder how these guys will play in the NIT?
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