re: USA Today Preseason Basketball Poll released

quote:

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Not a lot of people putting stock in USCe reloading, but I think people are sleeping on Martin's ability to get his team to play quality defense.

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I think South Carolina's lower pick in the SEC is based on a combination of things

(a) They lost a lot from last year
(b) They have never been a very good offensive team, and their success last year really came (generally) when Thornwell took over games. He's gone and there isn't an heir apparent replacement there (there could be one, but it hasn't been shown to the public). So, offense is a question mark. Everyone knows they will play great defense
(c) The league is better than it was last year and a lot of teams return their starters

So, a combination of all those things sees South Carolina pretty low in the SEC preseason picks. However, it's not like people seem to think they will go 12-18. They are still picked in the top 50. I wouldn't be shocked to see them put together another solid season and make the tournament because Martin is great and he's established a culture there. However, I get why they are where they are.