(Well, that last part is probably just wishful thinking.)

. . . . story developing.

I, and we, have tiptoed around the subject on this blog for the better part of the season.  We’ve pointed out the failures and deficiencies during the course of the season.  We’ve expressed our frustration with the program here and on social media platforms.  But I’m not sure any of us have come right out and said it, so now that the season is mercifully over, here it is:

Darrin Horn must go.

Following up a 15-16 season with a 14-16 season with a 10-21 season is not acceptable.  Not at South Carolina, and I dare say not at any power conference school.

We have below average basketball tradition here at USC.  I get that.  Heck, what little basketball tradition we do have is dying off with each passing season.  The last time we won an NCAA tournament game was 1973 for crying out loud.

But that is no excuse to hang on to a guy who not only has not had a winning season in three of his four years here, but has driven the program into a ditch at a dizzying speed.  And the worst part – where is the hope if he stays?  South Carolina fans are supposedly famous for saying “wait ’til next year”.  Think any rational Carolina fan is saying “wait til next year” if Eric Hyman announces in the next couple of weeks that Horn will be back in 2012-2013?

We have a moderate amount of talent, but Horn has either wasted scholarships or failed to develop several players currently on the roster.  Whatever the reason, that’s on him.  We couldn’t shoot, were sloppy with the basketball, fouled at inopportune times, didn’t foul when we needed to, and were downright undisciplined more often than not.  That’s not all coaching, but much of it is.

I watched today as Brenton Williams came off the bench to score 13 points in 13 minutes and hit back-to-back three pointers to fuel a second-half rally.  Then, in the final minutes of the game, he had a nice comfortable seat on the bench. Why?  My guess is Bruce Ellington took his spot on the floor, and Williams couldn’t be in there for match-up reasons.  But if you can have Eric Smith and Williams on the floor at the same time, then you can most certainly have Ellington and Williams on the floor at the same time.

Speaking of Ellington, why did he sit with four fouls until the four-minute timeout?  Jimmy Dyches, one of the best color guys in the business and a basketball man through and through, was calling for Ellington to come back in at the 10-minute mark.  What have you got to lose at that point?  Your seeding in the NIT?  (You are welcome to point out that we made our run with Ellington on the bench, but I would respond that maybe our run would’ve been even bigger and better with him on the floor.)

That was how it was all season.  A Saturday afternoon point guard like me pointing out glaring coaching errors by our million-dollar coach.  I don’t claim to know as much about basketball as Darrin Horn, but it sure felt like it at times.

If Hyman announces Horn will be back next year, I hope he gives me a reasoned explanation as to why.  Don’t tell me he “deserves more time” without telling me why.  Don’t tell me about how hard it is to win here without telling me how Clemson has done just fine in a much tougher conference.  Don’t tell me it’s a “process” without telling me how long I’m going to have to endure it.

You know what he can tell me?  We’re cheap.  We don’t want to pay Horn’s buyout because we’re cheap and we don’t really mind that we’re not good at basketball and we want to focus our resources elsewhere.

That will be much better than telling me Darrin Horn is the man for the job, because it is quite obvious he is not.

Kinda Works:

One of our favorite pastimes:  matching things with completely unrelated other things:

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[yes, yes I know there’s no London or Beamer.  I actually respect those two, and its gettin’ in the way of my snarkiness]

With rumors swirling that Texas A&M will be our new “permanent” Western Division opponent in the expanded SEC, I have seen arguments on both sides as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for USC.  Tryptic over at Garnet and Black Attack did an excellent job of skewering our administration for once again kowtowing to the SEC elites, while others have made pretty weak arguments as to why we will benefit from this new arrangement. 

If I have one beef with the situation I would have to echo Tryptic’s sentiments – at what point is the USC admin going to stand up and at the very least make someone compromise, much less give in?  It seems like we’ve taken a “thank you sir may I have another” mentality when it comes to any type of negotiations within the conference. 

Other than that, my reaction to playing Texas A&M on a yearly basis?  A hearty “meh”.

My image of Texas A&M is that they have a rabid fanbase, very good traditions, but have always played fourth fiddle to Texas, Texas, and oh yeah, Texas.  Which, quite frankly, appears to be why A&M has decided to forge their own path in the best football conference in the nation.

If it actually comes to pass, I will look forward to it, but quite honestly after the novelty wears off I’m sure I’ll look forward to it no more than I did annual contests against Arkansas or Mississippi State.  In other words…meh.

I would like to take just a second to address one pro and one con that I think have built momentum that people aren’t really thinking through:

PRO – This will open up East Texas as a recruiting area for us.  Right, much like our membership in the SEC has opened up the states of Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky for us.  I know Texas is a proverbial hotbed of high school football with all their Friday Night Lights and blah blah blah, but if you think we’re all of a sudden going to start roping in three and four star talent from the Lone Star State you need to think again.  There are something like 1000 FBS and FCS schools in the state of Texas, and they’re bordered by Arkansas and Oklahoma to boot. There are way too many schools nearby that mama can drive to and see her baby play every weekend. I’m not saying we won’t get a guy here and there, but a biennial trip to College Station is not going to change where (SC, NC, GA, FL and somehow NJ) and the way we recruit. 

CON – It’s so far away.  News flash, so is Arkansas.  So are Mississippi State and Ole Miss.  And Vandy for that matter.  People who went to Fayetteville are probably going to go to College Station.  People who fly are going to fly and people who drive are going to drive.  USC alumni in Arkansas will be replaced by USC alumni in Texas.  What is going to happen is we’ll have between 7500 and 10,000 fans in College Station every two years, which I would guess is about the same number we have at every road game other than Georgia and Clemson.  The two schools are ridiculously far away from each other, that’s a fact, but I’d be shocked if it affects visiting attendance numbers. 

Sweeping on…

Dance like no one is watching. CTU defeated USC in baseball on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep, setting off a wild celebration at Doug Kingsmore stadium.  Now, we admittedly poked a little fun at our upstate brethren for how over-the-top the celebration was, but upon deeper reflection we admit we really can’t blame them.  

First, a walk-off win in baseball is always cause for joy that may go beyond the bounds of the accomplishment.  Second, the Tigers did defeat a highly ranked, two-time defending National Champion. Even though they lost the first two games of the series, they beat what is currently the premiere program in the country. And most of all, the pressure of not only getting dominated in baseball, but in football and basketball as well, has been weighing heavily on the CTU fanbase for quite some time now. That explosion of joy at the end of the game was well-earned and totally understandable.

So, when you see a CTU fan don’t make fun of them for their championship-like celebration, just pat them of the head and softly say, “Good for you Sparky, good…for…you.”

Hornwatch 2012. Since the last time I questioned the fitness of Darrin Horn to be our basketball coach, not only have things not gotten better, they’ve actually gotten worse. So it makes perfect sense that he was basically given a vote of confidence by the Board of Trustees and Eric Hyman last week. 

Oh wait, no it doesn’t…         

We didn’t lose the series, mind you, just one game.  But it was enough to elicit a wild celebration in the upstate.

Honoring the four coaches who made the most positive impact on the Gamecock football program

I thought pretty hard about a headline for this story, but then the realization hit me that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and sometimes you just shouldn’t screw with a great headline.  And folks, this is an all-timer:

Now, this story raises so many questions about this situation and the poor, unfortunate co-ed who put hashbrowns down her pants.  Chief among them:

• What kind of pants are we talking about here? Exercise pants? Soccer pants? Capris? Jeans? Not skinny jeans obviously…well, maybe that’s not so obvious.  This whole hashbrowns in the pants thing is so precedent setting.
• Did the pants have pockets? Did she put the hashbrowns in a pocket and the writers are having a little fun with the story? Or did she literally pull out her waistband and stick hashbrowns IN HER PANTS.
• Front, back or side?  This is an important fact that is being left out.  There are places in a girls pants where you just don’t want to put hashbrowns…like EVERYWHERE.
• The story says she had money to pay for the hashbrowns.  Carli, honey, why didn’t you pay for the hashbrowns?
• Hashbrowns can be seriously greasy…just not even going to go down that path.
• Who did she call first?  “Mom, I got arrested.  No, I tried to steal hashbrowns by sticking them in my pants.  Yes, your signal is fine, and I did say I tried to steal hashbrowns by sticking them in my pants.”
• If you didn’t know about this story, and you heard a UGA athlete was arrested for sticking hashbrowns in their pants, how many guesses as to which sport it was would you make before you said WOMEN’S SOCCER?
• Why was she taken to jail for trying to steal $1.06 worth of cafeteria hashbrowns?  Couldn’t the cops have spared her the humiliation and just said, “Young lady, don’t put hashbrowns in your pants again.”

I’m sure Ms. Shultis is completely mortified by this whole situation and never wants to show her face in public again.  But in time she will realize this is a golden (no pun intended) opportunity to cash in. 

Go on talk shows.  Do radio interviews. 

Contact Jimmy Kimmel for a recurring “things you shouldn’t stick in your pants” segment on his show.

Come out with a t-shirt that says “Have you seen my hashbrowns?”  I’d buy one.

Heck, come out with a line of pants with a secret “hashbrown pocket”.

I’m available to be your agent Ms. Shultis, I think you could really scatter and smother this thing into a big payday.  I’ll only take 10%.

Or some free hashbrowns.