Texas A&M Beatdown Exposes Multiple Issues For South Carolina
South Carolina head men's basketball coach Lamont Paris admitted in the preseason that there would be some challenging games in his first season in Columbia.
Still, I don't believe a fan could've expected any game to occur as the last two home games have. In the past two games against the Tennessee Volunteers and Texas A&M Aggies, the Gamecocks have been outscored 179-95, with Carolina not being able to get out the starting gate in either game.
Regarding concerns that need to be addressed by South Carolina, there seem to be three main things that've created the perfect storm for these defeats; effort, confidence, and an ability to play within the system. In the Texas A&M loss, the Aggies secured 32 more rebounds than the Gamecocks.
While Hayden Brown's absence certainly didn't help this area, besides positioning and timing, rebounding is largely viewed as an aspect of the game defined by effort. It's fair to say that, at times, South Carolina isn't consistent in this department.
Against Tennessee and Texas A&M, South Carolina went down by a double-digit margin within the game's first five minutes. In a perfect world for Paris, he would like to have five players who shoot the basketball, most of whom can create their shot.
No one lacks confidence, and right now, the Gamecocks don't check any of these boxes, and the issues are compounded due to the bench not possessing enough quality depth for these grueling SEC affairs.
Paris said at a press conference earlier in the season that in sports like basketball, there's a difference between playing well and performing well. Playing well means the athletes have done everything correctly to put themselves in the right position while performing well means the player can execute when needed.
Currently, South Carolina cannot do either of these things consistently. With fourteen conference games remaining, the road of self-introspection and correction isn't going to get any easier.
South Carolina will retake the floor at the Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday night against an Ole Miss squad that's yet to best a single conference foe, a perfect chance for the Gamecocks to get back on track.
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