South Carolina Should Become a Basketball School

The University of South Carolina should become a basketball school.
Plain and simple.

Why you ask? Well, through a systematic go-around, I'll explain.

We all know that The Gamecocks are a football crazy fanbase. That is visible with sellout crowds almost every game, even when they went 0-21. Even historically, the fans have come, even with the fielded teams weren't very good.

But why? What drives Carolina, South type, to be football crazy? They have only won one conference title, and that was in 1969 when they were still in the ACC. They have no national titles, no current SEC titles. All that the football program to hang its hat on in the last 30 years is a Heisman winner (1984 George Rogers) and decent era of football (the 80s) and a few, and I mean a few, bowl appearances and wins. All this with some Hall of Fame coaches in Paul Dietzel, Jim Carlen, Lou Holtz, and now Steve Spurrier (Would've said Joe Morrison, but his life and career was tragically cut short. Although he did engineer their best season in history).

I'm sorry, but that isn't the mark of a football school, not like Penn State, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Southern Cal; you know, teams that HAVE won.

That is why USC should turn its sights to its basketball team. The program in the last 30 years has been good. Go back to the Frank McGuire era, where they had a team that could have won a national title, but with the small tournament field and restrictions of the ACC, they couldn't get in. They had players from New York that could play ball, like John Roche, Bobby Cremins, Tom Owens, Mike Dunleavy Sr., Kevin Joyce, along with other historical players like Alex English, BJ McKie, and current pro players Tarance Kinsey, Renaldo Baulkman, and Tre Kelley . In the 80s, a slight lull, and in the 90s they played well until the end of the Eddie Fogler era.

They have also won tournaments, be it back-to-back NIT titles under former coach Dave Odom. Now, they have the program pointed in the right direction with their new, young coach, Darrin Horn. Yet, with the success, they can't sell out their arena because the fans are so football crazy.

Which is why I ask this question: Why continue to support an athletic team that really hasn't proven anything? Why not support a team that has actually accomplished things in their history?

The USC basketball team does not get the support it deserves...and the same could be said of the baseball team, who also accomplished things (conference titles, Regional wins, Super Regional appearances, appearances in Omaha, coming close to winning the National title).

Just think USC. If you gave more support and money to the basketball and baseball teams, I'm convinced they would've won a national title.

And I know the football team plays in the power conference, the SEC. Doesn't matter. You beat who you play, and the Gamecock football team simply hasn't done it on a consistent basis.

Has the USC football team improved in the past few years under Holtz and Spurrier? You bet they have. But they haven't really achieved anything, except to improve their talent while still being stuck in 4th place in the Eastern division.

Who knows. Maybe is South Carolina focused more on basketball instead of its football, maybe they could have landed great ball players like Kevin Garnett and Ray Allan, both of which hail from South Carolina.