While the 2015-16 academic year overall featured success (especially in the regular season) for South Carolina athletics in three of the “big four” sports- both basketball programs and baseball- the 2016-17 year holds greater promise.
Here is one man’s opinion on the reasonable goals for each program.
Football: Make it to a bowl game
It’s no secret that South Carolina under first-year head coach Will Muschamp will rely on young and inexperienced players in 2016. That’s normally not something that leads to success in the Southeastern Conference. But, teams oftentimes are energized by a coaching change and the offseason has been going better than it did during the latter part of the Steve Spurrier era. Will that lead to an improvement on last season’s 3-9 record? Yes. At the very least, the Gamecocks will win more than three games this season. To get to bowl qualification, South Carolina needs to beat Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Missouri, East Carolina, Western Carolina and UMass. That’s hardly murderer’s row, though road trips early in the season to Nashville and Lexington could prove to be problematic. Still, after visiting UK on Sept. 24, the Gamecocks play one game outside of the Palmetto State the rest of the season- Nov. 12 at Florida. South Carolina may not play world-beating football this season, but a bowl trip is a realistic goal for Muschamp and crew in Year 1 and would go a long way toward the program reversing the negative trends of the last two seasons.
Women’s Basketball: Final Four
In college basketball, there’s no shame in getting upset in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament as the Gamecocks did last season (lost to Syracuse, which made it all the way to the championship game)- it happens to the best of programs. That being said, Dawn Staley, even with all of the SEC Championships and lofty rankings, has made one Final Four during her tenure as the head coach at South Carolina. That’s how great programs are judged in hoops- making it to the Final Four. The Gamecocks certainly have the talent to get there. A’ja Wilson is one of the best players in the country and there is plenty of talent around her. This isn’t an unrealistic goal by any stretch.
Men’s Basketball: Make the NCAA Tournament
This may be a minority opinion, but South Carolina returns enough players and has enough senior and veteran leadership to make it to the Big Dance. The schedule will be improved provided the teams that the Gamecocks are playing hold up their end of the bargain. While the SEC continues to get better, South Carolina will have a fighting chance in the league as it did last season. The Gamecocks need to build upon last season’s 11-7 conference record and try to best that. With Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice and an improved PJ Dozier in the backcourt and a likely improved Chris Silva along with freshman stud recruit Sedee Keita in the frontcourt, the Gamecocks will be more athletic than last year’s team. Of course, you can’t replace what Michael Carrera brought to the table last season in terms of passion and leadership, but improved shooting from Dozier could help replace his 3-point shooting and Silva getting better certainly can help make up for the rebounding.
Baseball: College World Series
After this past season’s surprising results- winning the SEC East, making the Super Regionals- the expectations for Carolina baseball will again be sky high in 2017. The Gamecocks were a relatively young team this past year and return plenty of talent, particularly on the all-important pitcher’s mound. On top of that, they add some sterling recruits as they always do. Lofty expectations will put a bulls eye on the back of the Gamecocks in 2017, but there normally always is one when it comes to this program.
Here is one man’s opinion on the reasonable goals for each program.
Football: Make it to a bowl game
It’s no secret that South Carolina under first-year head coach Will Muschamp will rely on young and inexperienced players in 2016. That’s normally not something that leads to success in the Southeastern Conference. But, teams oftentimes are energized by a coaching change and the offseason has been going better than it did during the latter part of the Steve Spurrier era. Will that lead to an improvement on last season’s 3-9 record? Yes. At the very least, the Gamecocks will win more than three games this season. To get to bowl qualification, South Carolina needs to beat Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Missouri, East Carolina, Western Carolina and UMass. That’s hardly murderer’s row, though road trips early in the season to Nashville and Lexington could prove to be problematic. Still, after visiting UK on Sept. 24, the Gamecocks play one game outside of the Palmetto State the rest of the season- Nov. 12 at Florida. South Carolina may not play world-beating football this season, but a bowl trip is a realistic goal for Muschamp and crew in Year 1 and would go a long way toward the program reversing the negative trends of the last two seasons.
Women’s Basketball: Final Four
In college basketball, there’s no shame in getting upset in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament as the Gamecocks did last season (lost to Syracuse, which made it all the way to the championship game)- it happens to the best of programs. That being said, Dawn Staley, even with all of the SEC Championships and lofty rankings, has made one Final Four during her tenure as the head coach at South Carolina. That’s how great programs are judged in hoops- making it to the Final Four. The Gamecocks certainly have the talent to get there. A’ja Wilson is one of the best players in the country and there is plenty of talent around her. This isn’t an unrealistic goal by any stretch.
Men’s Basketball: Make the NCAA Tournament
This may be a minority opinion, but South Carolina returns enough players and has enough senior and veteran leadership to make it to the Big Dance. The schedule will be improved provided the teams that the Gamecocks are playing hold up their end of the bargain. While the SEC continues to get better, South Carolina will have a fighting chance in the league as it did last season. The Gamecocks need to build upon last season’s 11-7 conference record and try to best that. With Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice and an improved PJ Dozier in the backcourt and a likely improved Chris Silva along with freshman stud recruit Sedee Keita in the frontcourt, the Gamecocks will be more athletic than last year’s team. Of course, you can’t replace what Michael Carrera brought to the table last season in terms of passion and leadership, but improved shooting from Dozier could help replace his 3-point shooting and Silva getting better certainly can help make up for the rebounding.
Baseball: College World Series
After this past season’s surprising results- winning the SEC East, making the Super Regionals- the expectations for Carolina baseball will again be sky high in 2017. The Gamecocks were a relatively young team this past year and return plenty of talent, particularly on the all-important pitcher’s mound. On top of that, they add some sterling recruits as they always do. Lofty expectations will put a bulls eye on the back of the Gamecocks in 2017, but there normally always is one when it comes to this program.
