"My grandson, Chase Wilkins, is undergoing chemotherapy at AFLAC Children's Cancer Center at CHOA, Egleston. Wed, Dec 29, 2010 Chase was undergoing treatment and had the opportunity to visit with the South Carolina Gamecocks.  The experience was a highlight of Chase's life  The team was so warm and encouraging and just great for Chase  They loaded him up with team and Chic Fil A gear and played WII with him and just made him feel like a Rock Star!  They called him by name and that just amazed him-to think they'd remember his name just awed hm.  I realize the players are just young men, not superstars (yet!), but they conducted themselves in exemplary fashion.  Please pass my comments on to Coach Spurrier, the team and anyone else who should know.  Tell the team and Coach Spurrier that they have converted this DAWG (at least for the bowl game:)).   Thank you again for this experience for my grandson.  Much Love-Judy, Covington, GA".

"Player to Stop: Furman senior forward Amu Saaka. Saaka initially pledged to Furman out of Decatur, Ga., but a terrific senior season sent his stock skyrocketing -- and his college plans changing. Saaka reneged on his Furman commitment, signing instead with USF in the Big East Conference. After head coach Ray McCallum was replaced by Stan Heath, Saaka was granted his release from USF, and welcomed back by Furman (good thing their staff let bygones be bygones). Now in his senior season, Saaka has delivered on his prep promise, averaging a team-high 15 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. I asked Chuck Hussion, the "Voice of the Paladins," to give me a primer on Saaka's talents."

"Man to Stop: Ohio State's freshman wunderkind, Jared Sullinger. Draft Express' Jonathan Givony has an Gamecock excellent scouting report on Sullinger on his front page this week. A freshman from Columbus, Ohio, Sullinger lit up IUPUI for 40 points last weekend, the second-highest point total in college basketball this year.

The number that stands out most from Givony's profile: in back-to-the-basket situations, Sullinger converts 50% of his field goals and gets fouled an additional 25% of the time. The Gamecocks may need to follow the blueprint that brought them success against Clemson's Jerai Grant: keep Sullinger out of the paint, and force him to shoot one-on-one over the tops of defenders. The second part may be especially important with Jon Diebler, Ohio State's all-time leading three-point shooter, lurking outside. Florida-Gulf Coast tried to pack it in against Sullinger, leaving Diebler to convert a school-record 9 3-pointers on Wednesday. Offensively, can Sam Muldrow knock down a few early perimeter shots (2-2 3pt. vs. Wofford), and force Sullinger out of his defensive comfort zone? It could make for a terrific matchup."

Brittany Lane, Spurs Up Blog

"In May of 1995, Phil Hopkins, recently elevated to the head coaching job at Western Carolina, needed to fill two full-time assistant positions on his staff.

From a crowded field of applicants, two young candidates stood out. One had spent three seasons at Hopkins' alma mater, Gardner-Webb, and was hungry to make the leap to a Division I program. The other, born and raised in the serendipitously named Hoopeston, Ill., worked with Hopkins as a graduate assistant at Indiana State.

Together, Phil Hopkins and his hand-picked assistants, current Ohio State head coach Thad Matta and current Gamecocks assistant Orlando Early, took Western Carolina to unprecedented heights. During their lone season in '95-96, the Catamounts won their first-ever Southern Conference Tournament, and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Their careers converge again Saturday, when South Carolina faces Matta's #2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus (2:00 p.m. EST).

"I learned so much from them," said Hopkins, now the athletic director and basketball coach at Walhalla Middle School in Walhalla, S.C. "We were three different personalities, all striving and working for the same goal. We picked each other up.""

Brittany Lane, Spurs Up Blog

"Patience, Grasshopper: South Carolina loves to create havoc with its pressing and trapping. Wofford may be the most pressure-allergic team the Gamecocks will face all season.

The NCAA only recognizes turnovers per game as an official statistic, but that number has several flaws. Mainly, it does not account for tempo -- teams that run and take risks are far more likely to throw the ball away than teams that plod in the halfcourt. A more accurate indicator is turnover rate, or the percentage of a team's offensive possessions that result in a turnover. As of Friday, Wofford's turnover rate of 18.4% ranks 63rd in the country -- roughly in the top 20% nationally. South Carolina hasn't faced a team with a turnover rate higher than 164th this year (Delaware St). Michigan State, widely regarded as the best team the Gamecocks have faced all season, ranks a putrid 322nd.

If Wofford can adjust to South Carolina's pressure and play turnover-free, can the Gamecocks still do the things (contesting shots, boxing out, talking through screens, etc.) that result in empty possessions?"

"All winter long in the Gamecocks' practice facility, I watched Malik Cooke go toe-to-toe, tooth-and-nail against South Carolina's first team. A transfer from Nevada, Cooke had to sit out the '09-10 season per NCAA rules. He seemed to channel that frustration into hard-nosed, ultra-competitive scrimmages against Devan Downey and the Gamecock starters.

Cooke's do-anything mentality has been on full display this season. At 6'6" and 213 pounds, he's quick enough to defend the perimeter, yet rugged enough to scrap for rebounds and get tough putbacks. That style has occasionally landed Cooke in foul trouble, and his three-point shooting still needs caulking (3-15, 20.0%). However, as a sophomore at Nevada, Cooke shot 44.8% from three-point range. Once that turns around, his multi-faceted game will continue to shine for South Carolina."

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
1980 Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers will participate in an "SI Chalk Talk" session with Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Dan Patrick, followed by an autograph session from 12:00-1:00 p.m. (at Dr Pepper SEC Football FanFare)

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
South Carolina pep rally including band and cheerleaders (at Dr Pepper SEC Football FanFare)

"For all the accolades he's received, Lattimore used a modest word Tuesday to describe his contributions to the Gamecocks' offense.

"Manage the run game. That's what I try to do," Lattimore said at the Gamecocks' weekly media gathering. "We've just got to keep doing it - set up the 2nd-and-3's and 2nd-and-4's. It's easier when it's 2nd-and-4 or 2nd-and-3 rather than 2nd-and-8 or 2nd-and-9. I've just got to keep trying to do that, and get those yards."

Little did Marcus know how accurate that statement was.

Inspired by his quote, I decided to crunch the numbers on Marcus Lattimore's rushing production on 1st down versus SEC opponents. Like Alshon Jeffery's 3rd-down value two weeks ago, the numbers I uncovered once again staggered me."