2008 Woodie Awards
Clemson vs South Carolina
By: Adam Criswell
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Sports
The biggest story concerning the Tigers' personnel has been the sidelining of Clemson's standout senior power forward, James Mays. Mays was forced to exit the Gardner-Webb game in the second half after a hard fall on his left hip.
MRI results were inconclusive, and the results of a bone scan to detect a hip fracture are still pending. If his hip is fractured, Mays may not return to the Tiger lineup until ACC play begins in January, as he could miss up to six weeks.
Mays had ranked second on the team in average scoring (14.8) and rebounds (8.6), and the impacts of his loss were already evident in Tuesday's matchup with the Boilermakers. After outrebounding Gardner-Webb 51-34 and scoring a season high 96 points on Saturday, the Tigers lost the rebound battle 17-20 and only managed to score 61 points against Purdue.
The two Gamecock players who have been making the most noise this year were both playing at other colleges two years ago. Leading the team in scoring are sophomore Devan Downey and junior Zam Fredrick who both are playing their first seasons at South Carolina since transferring from Cincinnati and Georgia Tech, respectively.
Downey, out of Chester, S.C., was considered to be one of the top point guard prospects in the nation two years ago before committing to the Bearcats. After a freshman year as Cincinnati's top guard, Downy chose to transfer to South Carolina and sit out last season.
Shooting 11-24 from the three-point line and leading the team with 17.7 points per game, 31 assists and 19 steals, Downy has made an instant impact on the Gamecocks and has asserted himself as one of the premier players in the SEC.
Zam Fredrick is second on the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game. Fredrick, who also transferred back into his home state of South Carolina, will not be playing in Littlejohn for the first time in his career.
Last year, Fredrick scored 14 points against the Tigers as a Georgia Tech player and contributed 17 points in the Yellow Jacket win in their second meeting with Clemson. Another South Carolina weapon from the three-point line, Fredrick and Downey make up one of the most talented backcourts that the Tigers have faced so far this season.
While both teams should match up fairly evenly in terms of guard play, the Tigers might find an edge in the frontcourt. The Gamecocks have very few post players and have been forced to rely heavily on the contributions of freshman big men Mike Holmes and Sam Muldrow.
While showing flashes of youth and inexperience, both have also played well this season. Holmes is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging around 10 points per game and leads the Gamecocks in average rebounds with eight per game.
A raucous atmosphere at Littlejohn is expected on Saturday as the Clemson students will be eager to witness and facilitate another victory over their in-state rivals. Oliver Purnell and the Tiger basketball team will look to overcome the loss of James Mays and win their fourth year in a row against the Gamecocks, remaining undefeated for this season.
The game will tipoff on Saturday at 4 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports Net South.
MRI results were inconclusive, and the results of a bone scan to detect a hip fracture are still pending. If his hip is fractured, Mays may not return to the Tiger lineup until ACC play begins in January, as he could miss up to six weeks.
Mays had ranked second on the team in average scoring (14.8) and rebounds (8.6), and the impacts of his loss were already evident in Tuesday's matchup with the Boilermakers. After outrebounding Gardner-Webb 51-34 and scoring a season high 96 points on Saturday, the Tigers lost the rebound battle 17-20 and only managed to score 61 points against Purdue.
The two Gamecock players who have been making the most noise this year were both playing at other colleges two years ago. Leading the team in scoring are sophomore Devan Downey and junior Zam Fredrick who both are playing their first seasons at South Carolina since transferring from Cincinnati and Georgia Tech, respectively.
Downey, out of Chester, S.C., was considered to be one of the top point guard prospects in the nation two years ago before committing to the Bearcats. After a freshman year as Cincinnati's top guard, Downy chose to transfer to South Carolina and sit out last season.
Shooting 11-24 from the three-point line and leading the team with 17.7 points per game, 31 assists and 19 steals, Downy has made an instant impact on the Gamecocks and has asserted himself as one of the premier players in the SEC.
Zam Fredrick is second on the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game. Fredrick, who also transferred back into his home state of South Carolina, will not be playing in Littlejohn for the first time in his career.
Last year, Fredrick scored 14 points against the Tigers as a Georgia Tech player and contributed 17 points in the Yellow Jacket win in their second meeting with Clemson. Another South Carolina weapon from the three-point line, Fredrick and Downey make up one of the most talented backcourts that the Tigers have faced so far this season.
While both teams should match up fairly evenly in terms of guard play, the Tigers might find an edge in the frontcourt. The Gamecocks have very few post players and have been forced to rely heavily on the contributions of freshman big men Mike Holmes and Sam Muldrow.
While showing flashes of youth and inexperience, both have also played well this season. Holmes is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging around 10 points per game and leads the Gamecocks in average rebounds with eight per game.
A raucous atmosphere at Littlejohn is expected on Saturday as the Clemson students will be eager to witness and facilitate another victory over their in-state rivals. Oliver Purnell and the Tiger basketball team will look to overcome the loss of James Mays and win their fourth year in a row against the Gamecocks, remaining undefeated for this season.
The game will tipoff on Saturday at 4 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports Net South.
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