Takeaways From The Gamecocks' Demoralizing Loss To Vanderbilt
Head coach Lamont Paris and South Carolina were showing real signs of progress for the past couple of weeks, suffering multiple close losses to potential tournament teams. This past weekend, they finally got over the hump with a win over Ole Miss. Last night, however, the team seemed to take a step back in multiple aspects, reverting to some troubling habits that led to their long losing streak in the first place.
What all occurred on the hardwood?
Pressing In The Wrong Ways
In the first four minutes of the contest, the Gamecocks were seemingly under control on both ends of the floor, displaying, to a degree, some confidence after their recent hard-earned victory. Once things went south, however, they went south in a hurry, as after South Carolina wasn't able to get good shots to fall, Vanderbilt, through some unorganized chaos, was up seven heading into the first media timeout.
The Gamecocks, subsequently, started to play a bit more frantically, settling for long-ranging jump shots that had little to no chance and fell behind on consecutive defensive rotations. This troubling play was a catalyst for the Gamecocks twenty point halftime deficit.
Lack Of Effort On The Glass
Josh Gray has become a fantastic revelation for this basketball team in the middle of conference play, seemingly establishing an identity as a tenacious rebounder who can positively muck things up in the paint for an opponent. However, the issue on Tuesday was that outside of Hayden Brown, the team's collective effort in chasing after opportunistic loose balls and boxing out weakside defenders was anything but consistent.
While Gray still came away with twelve rebounds, in the end, no other Gamecock player had more than three, except for Hayden Brown, who corralled seven of his own.
GG Jackson Situation
Most people, objectively speaking, knew that GG Jackson would likely face some stiff challenges from him leaving high school a year early and joining a team that's yet to be built into a well-oiled machine. Still, recent events are beginning to cause great concern. There was his early exit after the Tennessee game, his social media rant after Arkansas, and now to a combination of factors, GG has essentially ridden the pine the past two games.
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