GAMECOCKBOY
07-18-2006, 08:21 AM
Kelley, Downey should see plenty of each other on the court in 2007-08
By KENT BABB
kbabb@thestate.com
Devan Downey earned the first victory. Tre’ Kelley got the second.
Dave Odom said Monday that he expects many encore performances.
Downey, whose transfer from Cincinnati became official two weeks ago when he enrolled at USC, won Odom’s favor when the Gamecocks played the Bearcats in a National Invitation Tournament semifinal game in March.
Kelley responded with a team-high 21 points and led USC to a 65-62 win.
“Devan really got the better of it,” Odom said Monday. “But Tre’ really came on (at the end).”
The pair will have a year’s worth of practice to renew a backcourt rivalry that is certain to intensify. Another certainty is Kelley must face the fact that he might no longer be the Gamecocks’ most talented point guard.
Kelley’s experience is undeniable; he has been USC’s everyday point guard for two of his three seasons. But as Odom saw in March, Kelley occasionally squirmed when Downey’s speed and ball handling earned the rising sophomore easy baskets.
Odom said he hopes both players will learn from what will, no doubt, be intense practices. Still, the Gamecocks’ sixth-year coach hopes the players remain in control.
“We’re not going to win any championships in practice,” Odom said. “My idea of practice competition is that you compete fiercely with each other and not against each other. I don’t want them to try to beat the other one.”
Downey, a former Chester High standout, must sit out this season to abide by NCAA transfer rules.
Buck Fredrick, a former Calhoun County star, also is on campus after transferring to USC. Odom said he expects Fredrick, who played point and shooting guard during his two seasons at Georgia Tech, to play both positions for the Gamecocks.
That might mean filling in at point guard for Downey when he needs a break. In the meantime, Odom said Downey should expect little downtime.
Kelley, he said, is unlikely to allow many breathers.
“They’re both smart players, and they both know how to play with their strengths. But I don’t want them to try to beat the other one,” Odom said. “I’m just sorry that they won’t get a chance to play together. We’d have the best of both.”
Not so big baby. LSU forward Glen Davis, the SEC player of the year last season, has shed much of the extra weight that helped earn his nickname, “Big Baby.”
Davis, a 6-foot-9 rising junior, told Tigers coach John Brady this past weekend that he weighed 287 pounds, down from his season-ending weight of 326 pounds. Davis was listed at 310 pounds last season.
“He had to prove that he could get a hold of his body,” Brady said Monday.
Brady said Davis, who was one of the biggest reasons LSU reached the Final Four, has changed his diet and has trained “harder than he’s ever trained in his life.”
Balkman ‘oblivious’ to critics. Odom said he spoke recently with Renaldo Balkman, who was drafted by the New York Knicks last month in the first round of the NBA Draft.
Fans and the New York media criticized the pick, but Odom said he assured Balkman the blame was not his to shoulder.
Balkman, who led USC in rebounding as a junior last season, assured his former coach the criticism did not bother him.
“He’s oblivious to that kind of stuff,” Odom said. “Renaldo has the ability to make everybody like him... . It’s more about the Knicks than it is about him. I’ve tried to keep him above that, and I think he did.”
Fast breaks. Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said the NCAA has denied a fifth year of eligibility for forward Chuck Davis. Davis played in 13 of the Crimson Tide’s 29 games before missing much of his senior season with a torn knee ligament... . Auburn coach Jeff Lebo said Hemingway native Josh Dollard, who was suspended for the Tigers’ final five games for a violation of team rules, attended summer school and is on track to return for his sophomore season.
Reach Babb at (803) 771-8357
By KENT BABB
kbabb@thestate.com
Devan Downey earned the first victory. Tre’ Kelley got the second.
Dave Odom said Monday that he expects many encore performances.
Downey, whose transfer from Cincinnati became official two weeks ago when he enrolled at USC, won Odom’s favor when the Gamecocks played the Bearcats in a National Invitation Tournament semifinal game in March.
Kelley responded with a team-high 21 points and led USC to a 65-62 win.
“Devan really got the better of it,” Odom said Monday. “But Tre’ really came on (at the end).”
The pair will have a year’s worth of practice to renew a backcourt rivalry that is certain to intensify. Another certainty is Kelley must face the fact that he might no longer be the Gamecocks’ most talented point guard.
Kelley’s experience is undeniable; he has been USC’s everyday point guard for two of his three seasons. But as Odom saw in March, Kelley occasionally squirmed when Downey’s speed and ball handling earned the rising sophomore easy baskets.
Odom said he hopes both players will learn from what will, no doubt, be intense practices. Still, the Gamecocks’ sixth-year coach hopes the players remain in control.
“We’re not going to win any championships in practice,” Odom said. “My idea of practice competition is that you compete fiercely with each other and not against each other. I don’t want them to try to beat the other one.”
Downey, a former Chester High standout, must sit out this season to abide by NCAA transfer rules.
Buck Fredrick, a former Calhoun County star, also is on campus after transferring to USC. Odom said he expects Fredrick, who played point and shooting guard during his two seasons at Georgia Tech, to play both positions for the Gamecocks.
That might mean filling in at point guard for Downey when he needs a break. In the meantime, Odom said Downey should expect little downtime.
Kelley, he said, is unlikely to allow many breathers.
“They’re both smart players, and they both know how to play with their strengths. But I don’t want them to try to beat the other one,” Odom said. “I’m just sorry that they won’t get a chance to play together. We’d have the best of both.”
Not so big baby. LSU forward Glen Davis, the SEC player of the year last season, has shed much of the extra weight that helped earn his nickname, “Big Baby.”
Davis, a 6-foot-9 rising junior, told Tigers coach John Brady this past weekend that he weighed 287 pounds, down from his season-ending weight of 326 pounds. Davis was listed at 310 pounds last season.
“He had to prove that he could get a hold of his body,” Brady said Monday.
Brady said Davis, who was one of the biggest reasons LSU reached the Final Four, has changed his diet and has trained “harder than he’s ever trained in his life.”
Balkman ‘oblivious’ to critics. Odom said he spoke recently with Renaldo Balkman, who was drafted by the New York Knicks last month in the first round of the NBA Draft.
Fans and the New York media criticized the pick, but Odom said he assured Balkman the blame was not his to shoulder.
Balkman, who led USC in rebounding as a junior last season, assured his former coach the criticism did not bother him.
“He’s oblivious to that kind of stuff,” Odom said. “Renaldo has the ability to make everybody like him... . It’s more about the Knicks than it is about him. I’ve tried to keep him above that, and I think he did.”
Fast breaks. Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said the NCAA has denied a fifth year of eligibility for forward Chuck Davis. Davis played in 13 of the Crimson Tide’s 29 games before missing much of his senior season with a torn knee ligament... . Auburn coach Jeff Lebo said Hemingway native Josh Dollard, who was suspended for the Tigers’ final five games for a violation of team rules, attended summer school and is on track to return for his sophomore season.
Reach Babb at (803) 771-8357