To The Hardwood We Go

Since football season is officially over for us, we’ll be taking our unique brand of hyper-criticism and unrealistic expectations to the Colonial Center in Columbia, S.C. tonight to take in a little round ball.

We figure now is as good a time as any to check out first-year head coach Darrin Horn’s product on the basketball court, and besides, they’ve got really good boiled peanuts at the game.

Anyway, we chatted with Horn before the season began and liked him a lot. He seemed like a genuine enough guy, somebody who (unlike most of the athletic coaches USC hires) actually has something to prove.

What a novel idea.

Plus he’s 10-2 so far this year, and his team finally beat a quality opponent when USC edged No. 19 Baylor in Texas on Friday.

After tonight’s game against Wofford, though, Horn’s squad heads into a brutal 16-game conference schedule … although yeah … with only one SEC team ranked in the Top 25, it’s probably not as brutal as it has been in years past.

And hey … it’s Horn’s first year. Which means wins and losses are less important to us than what his team is showing us.

Basically, we just wanna see whether or not there’s a spark that could eventually lead to some sustained electricity in the building. And not just from the nacho heater.

After three 20-win seasons and back-to-back Not Invited Tournament (NIT) championships in 2005 and 2006, South Carolina’s program fizzled fast during the last two years of the David Odom era.

The Gamecocks posted a combined 28-34 record and a disastrous 9-23 SEC mark – which is even crappier than the school’s chronically-underachieving football program.

Damn … there’s that hyper-criticism again.

Oh well, it is what it is (or was what it was).

We look forward to bringing you our report on the current state of Gamecock basketball under Horn’s leadership later this week.

BTW, we’ll try to be nice … although University officials should note that nacho and boiled peanut bribes are always welcome.