I think he starts because he’s so good at doing all the little things, like grabbing steals, chasing down loose balls, putting back missed shots. He also brings some much-needed experience to the floor. He’s kind of hard to get a read on, though, since he doesn’t excel in any one particular area. That said, I think his game is very well-rounded, and if he didn’t get into foul trouble so quickly, I think he’d play the better part of our games.

However, tinkering with the lineup is a good suggestion. I don’t think our guys had shaken off the Ohio State loss, because many of the problems we had in that game were present against Furman. I’d like to see Harris or Slawson log some more minutes, personally. I understand they’re young and kind of raw, but Muldrow’s production is so inconsistent that I don’t see how putting them out there more would hurt. If we could count on Sam to explode in every game for 20 points, 10+ rebounds, and 3+ blocks, I’d feel differently. But I think a shakeup is in order. Maybe we’ll find that some guys will produce more coming off the bench, much like how Galloway has performed much better in that role than as a starter.

Way to regroup Ellington.

the Gamecocks have been blessed with some really, really great players … Jamie Watson … BJ McKie … Tre Kelly … Renaldo Balkman … Devon Downey … just to name a few. And now Bruce Ellington looks to be the kind of player to be mentioned in the same breath.

What do we have to show for it? A handful of NCAA appearances - all one-and-dones? A few deep NIT runs, and a couple of NIT banners? One or two SEC regular season championships? Most of those are fading from memory. And where do we stand in the SEC? We appear to be regressing. We’re well behind UK, UT, UF and struggling not to fall further behind Vandy. In that space of time Clemson (!) has all but erased what was once almost as insurmountable a series lead over them as they have over us in football.

There is no reason for this mediocrity except for hiring blunders. USC has (or had!) at great tradition. South Carolina is blessed with great h.s. talent, and we’re on the east coast so we should be able to recruit northern players. We have excellent facilities.

I am afraid Darrin Horn is not showing me much reason to think he’s the man. He had a decent enough season in 08-09 with Odom’s players, but we’re slipping. I felt like we settled for Darrin after Davey Odom was pushed away, and that his hiring was based on a WKU run to the Sweet 16 on a miracle shot. We deserve better. Schools like UGA, Bama, Auburn are content to be mediocre in hoops since they usually do so well on the gridiron … but that is not USC. We have a tradition that is worth holding onto - if we can get the right man for the job.