The South Carolina basketball team did not get the verbal pledge from Kedar Edwards that was reported Monday night. 

Seems the Orlando Sentinel was wrong when they wrote (HERE) that Edwards pledged to be a Gamecock over the weekend at a AAU tourney in Orlando. Edwards' AAU coach, Dana Dingle, has come out to deny this commitment has taken place.  Fishy?

It was reported that Edwards has been offered by Coach Horn and his staff but now even that is questioned by some.  Why is this so hard and conflicted? 

Edwards, a New York City native, is currently attending school in Orlando, FL. According to the New York Post, the Gamecocks watched Edwards at a camp in Philadelphia and shortly issued the offer.  The 6'4" shooting guard is very talented and if/when he chooses to be a Gamecock, it will be a solid add.

So two things we learned - Edwards did not commit and don't trust the Orlando Sentinel.

The South Carolina Gamecocks basketball recruiting class for 2012 has landed Kedar Edwards.

Edwards committed to USC over the weekend while at a AAU tourney in Orlando.  The Orlando Sentinel first reported this - HERE.

Edwards, a New York City native, is currently attending school in Orlando, FL. According to a recent story in the New York Post, the Gamecocks watched Edwards at a camp in Philadelphia and shortly issued the offer about a month ago.  Notice that the Post refers to Edwards as "lighting in a bottle." 

Edwards had offers from South Carolina and Manhattan but also had interest from Rutgers and a number of others.

Last season, Edwards was named to the Independent All State first team.  He has a high motor, knack for scoring and seems to have huge upside due to his willingness to get better.  Coach Horn likes these type kids and should do well in the system despite Edwards not getting stars from the recruiting services as he seems to be a little unknown.  Horn must have seen something in him he strongly likes.

As mentioned earlier, this 6'4" shooting guard could be exactly the kind of player the Gamecocks need as he is a hard working person that loves the challenge of getting better.  Welcome to USC Mr. Edwards.


***STOP THE PRESS --- Kedar Edwards does not commit...story update - HERE.   

 

The Southeastern Conference's basketball league will look much different next season and really will be good overall for the state of the league.  Change is good and what it does is simply puts the SEC standings in a No. 1 through No. 12 format rather than by six-team divisions.

Due to this change in having all the teams lumped together, the SEC's postseason tournament may feature a different look. With divisional champions and runners-up no longer a reality, first-round byes will be awarded to the top four teams regardless of geographic location.

Regular-season schedules will remain untouched -- for now.  SEC teams currently play a 16-game conference schedule but this could change in the future as it was voted by the coaches to create a task force to evaluate possibilities involved with altering schedules to better fit the new, single-division construct.  So you could see a conference schedule with anywhere from 18-22 games in the future.

Based on the upcoming change, here is how last season would have looked if the change was in place -

Well-traveled Murphy Holloway has gone from Irmo to Oxford to Columbia and now back to Oxford.  Seems this is going to be his last stop despite rumors of a continued stay as part of the South Carolina basketball team. 

If you recall, Holloway signed to be a Ole Miss Rebel out of high school and spent two years there only to change his mind due to family issues and became a Gamecock.  The stint at USC allowed him to be closer to family but he never suited up as a Gamecock.  With expectations high for Holloway in the garnet and black, the young man had another change of heart that lead him to make a choice to leave USC to return back to the Ole Miss camp.

Parrish Alford of Inside Ole Miss Sports writes that Ole Miss is making plans for Holloway to be a Rebel as soon as Summer Session II and at that time they will ask the NCAA for a one year waiver that will allow Holloway to play in the 2011-12 season.  

Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy had this to say on the issue that seems to put the idea of Holloway coming back to USC to rest - “He's already signed an SEC agreement to Ole Miss. So there is no going back to South Carolina.”

With the ink dry on that paperwork and the NCAA likely not to take up the case until the start of school, his days as a Gamecocks appear to be over.  With it, expectations for Coach Horn's crew in the upcoming season decrease and the ongoing rebuilding of the Gamecock basketball program continues on.

South Carolina basketball coach Darrin Horn somehow got in the "rumor mix" for the vacant basketball opening at Murray State.  Fans and pundits on twitter gave it some traction yet Coach Horn quickly squashed the speculation before any traction was made or USC fans could think "what if."

The SEC Hoops Power Poll is convening one last time this season for a year-end roundtable. It was an interesting year with lots to discuss about each team and what the future holds. Hope you enjoy our answers to the questions, check out the other blogs for their responses and make sure to look out for the final synopsis of roundtable answers over at GABA.

Here are our answers to the questions:

The South Carolina Gamecocks men’s basketball program landed their third commitment in the class of 2011 as junior college guard Brenton Williams gave his pledge to Coach Darrin Horn.  Williams visited USC over the weekend and the commitment to be a Gamecock was made.

Blame college football recruiting on missing the news that former South Carolina basketball player Austin Steed will be a member of the East Carolina Pirates basketball team in 2011-2012.  He will have one year of eligibility to play basketball for ECU.

After news of Murphy Holloway leaving Horn's program, I began to think on where some of these kids have ended up since they were not the "right fit for USC basketball."  Well low and behold, Austin Steed as taken his game to Greenville, NC.  Seems he was not good enough for USC and SEC basketball but he can compete in Conference USA.  Boy, looking back, the Gamecocks really could have used this past year for inside help.

In the 2009-2010 season, Steed averaged 2.9 points and 2.9 rebounds. He made 11 starts, but following some unproductive outings found himself on the bench and played very little over the latter part of the season.  At the conclusion of the season in 2010, he was informed by Coach Darrin Horn that he wouldn't be on the Gamecocks roster in 2010-11. Horn did, however, give him the option of retaining his scholarship to earn his degree.

Seems he will complete the degree and head north to help Coach Lebo and the Pirates.  I mention this today for two reasons:

1.  This is news to me as I missed it.
2.  What is the back story on this?

Steed is a big body that the Gamecocks could have used but he is another victim, much like Galloway and Spinella, of not being the right fit for the USC men's basketball program.  I would like to know more about this but I guess, let "dogs lie."  Still, this is interesting news...even if two months late.

South Carolina men's basketball Coach Darrin Horn is having a stressful week.  Murphy Holloway announced today that he would be transferring back to Ole Miss.  Holloway never played for USC but was being eyed to help the program greatly in the upcoming season.

Murphy Holloway is the fourth player this week to walk away from Horn’s program. Tuesday sophomore guards Ramon Golloway and Stephen Spinella announced they were transferring and Wednesday freshman point guard Bruce Ellington decided to join the football team with the intention of playing both sports.