South Carolina coach to call it quits:South Carolina coach Dave Odom announced Friday that he intends to retire at the end of the season. Odom has been the Gamecocks’ coach for more than six seasons. Odom cited his increasing age – not his team’s poor performance – as the reason for his decision. “I am not at the end, but I can see it,” Odom said. “I’m on the back-end of not only my career, but also my life.” Odom has had four 20-win seasons, one NCAA Tournament appearance and back-to-back National Invitational Tournament championships in 2005 and 2006 during his tenure. Despite the moderate success, Odom’s past two seasons have not been very good for the 65-year-old. The Gamecocks went 14-16 a season ago and missed out on any post-season invitations. South Carolina is 9-8 this season with only one Southeastern Conference win. Prior to being hired to coach South Carolina, he coached at Wake Forest for 12 seasons where he made eight NCAA Tournament appearances and was named Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year three times. “I’ve got great respect for Dave Odom,” said Florida coach Billy Donovan. “South Carolina is losing a tremendous coach and an even better person.” Crews cleared to return to action for No. 3 Tennessee:Tennessee was ranked No. 3 in Monday’s release of the Associated Press Poll – the highest ranking in school history. The Volunteers (16-2, 3-1) jumped three spots from this past week’s No. 6 ranking. Tennessee’s jump comes after it defeated SEC East foe Vanderbilt, 80-60, at home and Ohio State, 74-69, on the road. This is the Volunteers’ highest ranking since the 2001 season when they were ranked No. 4. More good news for the Volunteers concerns sophomore forward Duke Crews who is expected to return to the lineup soon after missing more than a month of action because of a heart condition. “We’re grateful and feel blessed that Duke has a healthy heart,” said Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl.
Gordon named SEC Player of the Week:Mississippi State junior guard Jamont Gordon was named the Southeastern Conference player of the week Monday after leading his team to wins against Kentucky and Alabama this past week. Gordon scored 24 points in each game and averaged 6.5 rebounds and five assists while shooting 60 percent from behind the 3-point line. He leads the team in scoring, averaging 18 points a contest – good enough for sixth in the SEC. The Bulldogs are the only team in the SEC West that has gone undefeated in conference play. They play their next game Saturday against No. 17 Ole Miss.
—-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]