Dein erstes Forum » give you an opportunity to score and look to

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- How do you like the view here, on the peak just below the peak? Its nice, isnt it? Look at how vast the area is that now lies below you, and realize what hard work it was to get this far.Now, see that ledge right there? Get to that. Hoist yourself up just one more time. And there you are -- at the very top! It doesnt look that far away, especially considering the distance youve come to get here. You can do it, right?This is where South Carolina womens basketball is, and its a great place to be. But what seems so close sometimes can be the most difficult part of the trip. Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley knows this all too well, but its not what shes talking to her team about, of course.South Carolina, for all its talent, is still discussing some of the basics now. Thats what happens after losing four senior guards. Yet the last thing most anyone is expecting from the Gamecocks -- especially with a post duo like Aja Wilson and Alaina Coates -- is that they might need just a little rebuilding time.Theyre back in the spotlight again, so theres a fair amount that has to be worked out quickly.Its a little too care-free, but its who we are, Staley said of the personality of her team. Our coaches have talked about it: Whos the leader? Whos stepping up? It cant look like last year because were not like last year.Weve come upon a new type of team and new leadership. So its on us to figure out how to get it to that place without having those strong, competitive, outspoken people like weve had in years past.No one is feeling sympathy for South Carolina, which went 33-2 in 2015-16 and is picked to win the SEC again. And the team will get a test right away, when the No. 4 Gamecocks travel to face No. 7 Ohio State on Monday.The Gamecocks have been an NCAA tournament No. 1 seed three years in a row. They went to their first Final Four in 2015. They tied for the SEC regular-season title that year, won it with a 16-0 record last season and took the league tournament title both times.Theyve led the nation in Division I attendance two years in a row, averaging 14,978 last season. In a conference where football can blot out the sun even for mens basketball in some places, the Gamecocks matter to their school and community. They have a foothold.In the climb that the best programs in college sports attempt to make, the Gamecocks have been on a mostly exhilarating race up the mountain. The next ledge would be making it to the national championship game. And you know the final step.However, there are those programs that can do all but the last one. They dont get past the ledge. And many dont get quite get that far.As a player at Virginia, Staley went to three straight Final Fours and made one final but didnt win a title. This is well-worn territory in her mind. For her current players? Not so much, which is just as well.South Carolina lost senior guards Tiffany Mitchell, Khadijah Sessions, Asia Dozier and Tina Roy. Also gone are forwards Sarah Imovbioh, a transfer from Virginia who played her last season at South Carolina, and Jatarie White, who transferred to Texas.Bianca Cuevas-Moore, Doniyah Cliney and Tiffany Davis are returning guards who have experience under Staley. Davis, though, redshirted last season with an injury and played just 16 games the previous year.Cuevas-Moore played all but one game last season, averaging 18.1 minutes. In her two seasons, she has 127 assists -- but 124 turnovers.Transfers Allisha Gray (coming from North Carolina) and Kaela Davis (Georgia Tech) should give the guard play a substantial boost. Both juniors were with the program last year, which helped get them ready for big roles this season. As sophomores at their previous schools, the 6-foot-2 Davis averaged 19.2 points per game, and the 6-foot Gray 15.2 PPG.Allisha is in midseason form now; she is the outside threat that can replace some of what we lost, Staley said. As for Kaela -- I dont know if theres a more versatile player in the country who can play 1 through 4 like she can. Its going to take some time for us to mesh as a unit, though.South Carolina also has three freshman guards in Tyasha Harris, Araion Bradshaw and Victoria Patrick. The fourth rookie is 6-2 forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, who made a good first impression with 23 points and 11 rebounds Sunday in the Gamecocks 120-49 exhibition victory over Benedict.The foundation of the team is expected to be the local products, 6-5 Wilson and 6-4 Coates, who first started playing together in AAU basketball in Columbia when they were around 12 and 13 years old. Their influence on the program has been profound. They try not to dwell much on how last season ended -- a regional semifinal loss to Syracuse -- but its there.I think about it almost every day, Wilson said. Its one of the games that I have not watched yet. I dont think Im ever going to watch it.But its a motivator -- going from being in the Final Four your freshman year to being out in the Sweet 16 your sophomore year. You know what it takes to get to the Final Four, so being stopped is kind of a heartbreaker.Wilson, the SEC player and defensive player of the year last season, is high on the list of candidates for national player of the year. Over her first two seasons, she averaged 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds.Coates could be a lottery pick in the WNBA draft next spring, and maybe even the top selection. Shes averaged 11.8 points and 8.9 rebounds in her three seasons with the Gamecocks, and shot 63.9 percent from the field.With that kind of post production, the Gamecocks know what their proverbial bread and butter is -- same as last year.There is a lot of logic in pounding the ball inside when you have those kind of targets. But Staley also wants the rest of the team to play to its strength. She hired former Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb specifically to help; her title is director of coaching offensive analytics.Some shots that five years ago I would go ballistic on now are part of our game, Staley said, resigned to perhaps ceding a little more control to players on-court instincts. I dont mind taking a jump shot in transition, if thats what a player does and shes accurate in that.Lets not go crazy; lets embrace it and look at the numbers. If shes efficient in that spot, we cant be mad at it.And so the Gamecocks, who are close enough to the peak that they can see it, are still working out the best way to actually get there. Admittedly, it can sometimes seem like the most frustrating part of the journey. But it just depends on how you look at it. Because it took a lot to get this far, and that should be relished, too. Discount Fake Shoes . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. Fake Shoes From China . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . https://www.fakeshoes.net/ . The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem. Fake Nike Shoes . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. Wholesake Fake Nike Air Force 1 . LUCIE, Fla. I went up against Fanie de Villiers when he played for Torquay in the Devon league in 1992. Fanie was over here trying to get fit so he could press his claim for a place in the South African team. Hed missed out on the 1992 World Cup through injury. I was a 19-year-old opening batsman at Barton Cricket Club with aspirations of playing professional cricket.Luckily the wicket at Barton was very slow. The first ball Fanie bowled to me was a loosener. First ball of the innings, half-volley, and I punched it down the ground for four. The guy I opened the batting with said to me, For Christs sake, dont wind him up.Later in that innings Fanie tried a short ball. It didnt get up but was on me quick. I clipped it and it went for two past square leg. That was an invitation to him to try a bit more of that because I hadnt played it that well.But on the slow, low wicket, the short balls sat up quite nicely after that and I managed to pull a few away to the boundary.Fanie was an absolute gentleman. Unlike a lot of overseas pros I played against in league cricket, he said very little. If you hit him for four, he didnt stand there and stare or swear at you. Hed just go back to his mark and try something else to get you out.In my experience, with some other overseas bowlers, if you did get on top of them, theyd revert to using their reputations to make a big deal of things. Rather than worry about what you had done, and any affront it might have caused him, Fanie would just focus on what he might have done wrong the previous ball to give you an opportunity to score and look to put that right the next time.dddddddddddd A very professional attitude. He was easily the best seam bowler I faced in the Devon league. What stood out was his accuracy. With most club bowlers, you know if you keep the good ones out, the bad ball is just around the corner. With Fanie, there were few of those.He also had that wholehearted competitiveness. Always came off the long run and always seemed to be bowling at 100%, whereas other overseas bowlers Ive come across would take it easy from time to time.But he never stepped over that line. He respected the opposition, which doesnt always happen when pros come into league cricket.Later in my career, when I played a bit of professional cricket, I came across quicker bowlers than Fanie. He was quick enough, but also had a range of skills, could move the ball, swing and seam it, which was different to what wed seen before.To play against someone like that was a good testing ground for me. To go up against that kind of bowler was fantastic - very exciting, stimulating, and exactly what I needed. ' ' '