2008–09 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

2008–09 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball
2008–09 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball
SEC East Division champion
NIT First Round vs. Davidson, L 63-70
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	East
Record	21–10 (10–6 SEC)
Head coach	Darrin Horn (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Michael Boynton; Cypheus Bunton; Scott Cherry;
Home arena	Colonial Life Arena
	Seasons ← 2007–08 2009–10 →

2008–09 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
South Carolina	10	–	6	.625	21	–	10	.677
Tennessee	10	–	6	.625	21	–	13	.618
Florida	9	–	7	.563	25	–	11	.694
Vanderbilt	8	–	8	.500	19	–	12	.613
Kentucky	8	–	8	.500	22	–	14	.611
Georgia	3	–	13	.188	12	–	20	.375
West
No. 21 LSU	13	–	3	.813	27	–	8	.771
Auburn	10	–	6	.625	24	–	12	.667
Mississippi State†	9	–	7	.563	23	–	13	.639
Alabama	7	–	9	.438	18	–	14	.563
Ole Miss	7	–	9	.438	16	–	15	.516
Arkansas	2	–	14	.125	14	–	16	.467

† SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008–09 South Carolina men's basketball team represented University of South Carolina. The head coach was Darrin Horn, who was in his first season with the Gamecocks. The team played its home games in the 18,000-seat Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. The Gamecocks won the SEC Eastern Division Championship.

Regular season

On November 14, 2008, Carolina defeated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 89–76 to win the first game of the Darrin Horn Era at USC.

On December 2, 2008, Carolina defeated Princeton 84–58, handing the Tigers their worst defeat in Jadwin Gym since it opened in 1969.

On January 2, 2009, Carolina defeated #19 Baylor, 85–84.

On January 21, 2009, Carolina defeated #24 Florida, 70–69.

On January 31, 2009, Carolina defeated #24 Kentucky, 78–77, the Gamecocks' second win in history at Rupp Arena.

On February 25, 2009, Carolina defeated Kentucky 77–59, setting a school-record for blocked shots with 16, and sweeping the season series with the Wildcats for only the second time (1997) since joining the SEC.

Roster

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Position	Year	Hometown
21	Dominique Archie	6'7"	200	F	JR	Augusta, Georgia, United States
31	Evaldas Baniulis	6'7"	210	F	JR	Vilnius, Lithuania
55	Mitchell Carter	6'10"	260	C	JR	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
12	Branden Conrad	6'2"	180	G	SR	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
2	Devan Downey	5'9"	175	G	JR	Chester, South Carolina, United States
20	Zam Fredrick	6'0"	203	G	SR	St. Matthews, South Carolina, United States
24	Mike Holmes	6'7"	230	F/C	SO	Bishopville, South Carolina, United States
44	Sam Muldrow	6'9"	216	F	SO	Florence, South Carolina, United States
5	Brandis Raley-Ross	6'2"	193	G	JR	Gastonia, North Carolina, United States
25	Austin Steed	6'8"	215	F	SO	Hephzibah, Georgia, United States
14	Robert Wilder	6'1"	185	G	JR	Chapin, South Carolina, United States

2009 Commitments

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ramon Galloway PG	Palm Beach Gardens, FL	William T. Dwyer HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sep 13, 2008
Ramon Galloway PG	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 89
Lakeem Jackson SF	Arden, NC	Christ School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jul 16, 2008
Lakeem Jackson SF	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91
Johndre Jefferson PF	Niceville, FL	Northwest Florida State College	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Mar 5, 2009
Johndre Jefferson PF	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A
Steve Spinella SG	Pennsauken, NJ	Apex Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jan 23, 2009
Steve Spinella SG	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 86
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "South Carolina Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2009 South Carolina Basketball Commits". Scout.com. "ESPN". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Fri, Nov. 7* 7:00pm	Kentucky Wesleyan Exhibition	W 75–55		Colonial Life Arena (3,053) Columbia, SC
Regular season
Fri, Nov. 14* 7:00pm, SportsSouth	Jacksonville State	W 89–76	1–0	Colonial Life Arena (11,439) Columbia, SC
Sun, Nov. 16* 4:00pm, SportsSouth	Winthrop	W 86–63	2–0	Colonial Life Arena (7,231) Columbia, SC
Sat, Nov. 22* 1:00pm, SportsSouth	USC Upstate	W 75–53	3–0	Colonial Life Arena (5,573) Columbia, SC
Tue, Nov. 25* 7:00pm, SportsSouth	Gardner-Webb	W 85–70	4–0	Colonial Life Arena (9,545) Columbia, SC
Fri, Nov. 28* 7:00pm, CSS	at College of Charleston	L 80–82 ^OT	4–1	Carolina First Arena (5,032) Charleston, SC
Tue, Dec. 2* 7:00pm	at Princeton	W 84–58	5–1	Jadwin Gymnasium (1,984) Princeton, NJ
Fri, Dec. 5* 6:00pm	Furman	W 72–48	6–1	Colonial Life Arena (9,031) Columbia, SC
Tue, Dec. 16* 8:00pm, SportsSouth	North Carolina Central	W 90–43	7–1	Colonial Life Arena (9,065) Columbia, SC
Sat, Dec. 20* 5:00pm, SportsSouth	The Citadel	W 80–66	8–1	Colonial Life Arena (9,493) Columbia, SC
Tue, Dec. 23* 7:00pm, SportsSouth	Presbyterian	W 75–56	9–1	Colonial Life Arena (9,404) Columbia, SC
Tue, Dec. 30* 7:00pm, FSN	No. 16 Clemson Carolina-Clemson Rivalry	L 87–98	9–2	Colonial Life Arena (16,168) Columbia, SC
Fri, Jan. 2* 5:30pm, FSN	at No. 19 Baylor	W 85–84	10–2	Ferrell Center (6,149) Waco, TX
Tue, Dec. 30* 7:00pm, SportsSouth	Wofford	W 78–61	11–2	Colonial Life Arena (9,165) Columbia, SC
Sat, Jan. 10 7:00pm	Auburn	W 68–56	12–2 (1–0)	Colonial Life Arena (11,725) Columbia, SC
Wed, Jan. 14 8:00pm, CST	at LSU	L 68–85	12–3 (1–1)	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (11,393) Baton Rouge, LA
Sat, Jan. 17 6:00pm, FSN	at Tennessee	L 79–82	12–4 (1–2)	Thompson-Boling Arena (20,203) Knoxville, TN
Wed, Jan. 21 7:00pm, Raycom	No. 24 Florida	W 70–69	13–4 (2–2)	Colonial Life Arena (12,825) Columbia, SC
Sat, Jan. 24 8:00pm, FSN	Mississippi	W 82–71	14–4 (3–2)	Colonial Life Arena (14,527) Columbia, SC
Wed, Jan. 28 7:00pm	Vanderbilt	W 86–76	15–4 (4–2)	Colonial Life Arena (12,766) Columbia, SC
Sat, Jan. 31 3:00pm, Raycom	at No. 24 Kentucky	W 78–77	16–4 (5–2)	Rupp Arena (24,322) Lexington, KY
Tue, Feb. 3 9:00pm, ESPN	at Florida	L 93–97	16–5 (5–3)	O'Connell Center (11,152) Gainesville, FL
Sat, Feb. 7 7:00pm, FSN	Georgia	W 79–68	17–5 (6–3)	Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC
Sat, Feb. 14 3:00pm, Raycom	at Alabama	W 75–73	18–5 (7–3)	Coleman Coliseum (10,224) Tuscaloosa, AL
Wed, Feb. 18 8:00pm	at Mississippi State	L 70–75	18–6 (7–4)	Humphrey Coliseum (7,369) Starkville, MS
Sat, Feb. 21 7:00pm	Arkansas	W 82–78 ^OT	19–6 (8–4)	Colonial Life Arena (16,507) Columbia, SC
Wed, Feb. 25 7:00pm, Raycom	Kentucky	W 77–59	20–6 (9–4)	Colonial Life Arena (16,035) Columbia, SC
Sat, Feb. 28 9:00pm, ESPNU	at Vanderbilt	L 83–96	20–7 (9–5)	Memorial Gymnasium (13,963) Nashville, TN
Thu, Mar. 5 7:00pm, ESPN	Tennessee	L 70–86	20–8 (9–6)	Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC
Sat, Mar. 7 7:00pm, Raycom	at Georgia	W 68–51	21–8 (10–6)	Stegeman Coliseum (7,110) Athens, GA
Postseason
Thu, Mar. 12 3:15pm, Raycom	vs. Mississippi State SEC tournament	L 68–82	21–9	St. Pete Times Forum (13,306) Tampa, FL
Tue, Mar. 17* 7:00pm, ESPN2	Davidson NIT • First Round	L 63–70	21–10	Colonial Life Arena (7,251) Columbia, SC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from Coaches Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Awards

SEC Post-Season Awards

Devan Downey – First Team All-SEC, All-Defensive Team^[1]
Dominique Archie – Second Team All-SEC, All-Defensive Team
Zam Fredrick, Jr. – Second Team All-SEC
Brandis Raley-Ross – Sixth Man of the Year

SEC Pre-Season Awards

Devan Downey – First Team All-SEC^[2]
Dominique Archie – Second Team All-SEC

SEC Player of the Week

Devan Downey – February 2, 2009^[3]

References

^ "SEC Coaches Postseason Awards Announced, Four Gamecocks Garner Honors". Archived from the original on March 16, 2009. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
^ "SEC Men's Basketball Preseason Awards Announced". Men's Basketball. Southeastern Conference. Archived from the original on March 16, 2009. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
^ "This Week In SEC Men's Basketball – 2/2". Men's Basketball. Southeastern Conference. Archived from the original on March 16, 2009. Retrieved February 24, 2009.

[1] "SEC Coaches Postseason Awards Announced, Four Gamecocks Garner Honors". Archived from the original on March 16, 2009. Retrieved March 14, 2009.

[2] "SEC Men's Basketball Preseason Awards Announced". Men's Basketball. Southeastern Conference. Archived from the original on March 16, 2009. Retrieved February 24, 2009.

[3] "This Week In SEC Men's Basketball – 2/2". Men's Basketball. Southeastern Conference. Archived from the original on March 16, 2009. Retrieved February 24, 2009.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball
Venues	College Hall (1908–1912) Carolina Gymnasium (1912–1927) Carolina Fieldhouse (1927–1968) Carolina Coliseum (1968–2002) Colonial Life Arena (2002–present)
Rivalries	Clemson
Culture & lore	Gambling scandal Cocky "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" Garnet Army 2017–18 corruption scandal
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics