GREAT READ ! I knew part of this story, but not all of it Thanks for postingHave your blood pressure medication handy before you read this.
Before GG Jackson, the Gamecocks had another top recruit ... who never played a game
Before there was GG Jackson, there was Mike Grosso. He remains USC’s highest-ranked recruit, at least by word of mouth and unofficial rankings, and 57 years later, his teammates stillwww.postandcourier.com
Uh. You don't think making up never before rules as they went along targeting one school was not intended to screw a coach and his prize recruit. If not, share with us the whole story. By the way, Coach Dietzel was a force behind leaving the ACC because he was losing prize recruits many to the SEC where they could play. Coach McGuire supported that move at the time but later came to regret it.
Really, what they were trying to destroy was McGuire's emergent program. Once people understood that, it made the rivalries with UNC and Duke hotter than ever. There was that one year when Duke was even too scared to play in Columbia. The hatred was palpable, and I don't mind saying I miss it.
Well, he didn't do all that well at Louisville nor in the pros. It's what he represented: the possibility of McGuire scoring big success in Columbia and upending Tobacco Road.
Actually, in the aftermath of the Grosso affair, the ACC gave all member schools the option of not playing USC in the upcoming season without penalty. Dook was the only school which exercised the option.
Because Eddie Cameron knew what he had done and he knew we knew what he had done.
True....but that was changing due to the Clemson lawsuit against the ACC....and we knew it was going to change. Within the year after we left the ACC, the ACC was forced to reduce their higher academic (SAT) requirements.
No, this is a bad flashback……y’all have no idea.Have your blood pressure medication handy before you read this.
Before GG Jackson, the Gamecocks had another top recruit ... who never played a game
Before there was GG Jackson, there was Mike Grosso. He remains USC’s highest-ranked recruit, at least by word of mouth and unofficial rankings, and 57 years later, his teammates still
My bad. Misread your intent. I thought you were insinuating there was some sinister reason not contained in the story.
I was at the Capitol Newsstand on Main St. the day Dan Klores’ “Roundball Culture” was released in 1980. I got one of the 1st books out of the first box opened. Klores was there to sign. I still have it. Needs re-bound. Spine is about torn away from the pages. Still refer to it from time-to-time, but try not to handle it too much.
Yep…the terrible knee injury when he was undercut vs. Guilford robbed him of much of his athleticism. Considering he was still able to avg. a “ Double-Double” at Louisville, he could have potentially helped the ‘67-‘68 “4 horsemen + 1” (Gregor, Harlicka…both 1st round NBA pics…w/Standard & Thompson “plus” Bobby Cremins) and/or the 1968-‘69 “Super Sophs +1” (Roche, Owens, Ribock, Powell plus Bobby Cremins) to more seriously challenge for our first ACC tourney championship. I believe you are correct, though. The symbolic damage of the ban was worse than the actual. A completely healthy Grosso, though, & who knows what could’ve been.
Mike tore up his knee as a Biddie and had multiple surgeries. He transferred to Louisville where he played with Wes Unseld and Butch Beard. He was all-MVC his junior and senior years and average a double-double both seasons. Louisville has one of the great basketball traditions in college hoops. There are a grand total of 11 basketball players in their athletic Hall of Fame. Mike is one of them. And he did it all with one knee and a broken heart.
C.A. worked with my wife in Chester. Been a while since I've talked with Jerry Witherspoon in Lancaster but he and CA are best friends. Last I heard from him is that CA is not doing well,
Better things were projected for him, and in those days, which predated even the Big East, Louisville was playing at a level significantly below the ACC.
I refer the gentleman to the reply I gave some moments ago.
www.dukebasketballreport.com
Received as information to be laid beside other information. It conveniently omits South Carolina's departure from the ACC as having anything to do with McGuire not quite getting us "to the top". That's a questionable omission, to say the least..From the Duke perspective:
When South Carolina And Duke Truly Hated Each Other
The late ‘60s were unbelievably tense between South Carolina and Duke
I wish we were in the 8-member league we left.
And it was wonderfully turbulent for several years. Whatever we were, we weren't irrelevant. That didn't happen until we left. Neither did the basketball program collapse prior to then.
Ah. Freddie Solomon. I sat in the old stadium and watched the magic of Freddie Solomon in the Shrine Bowl. I was estatic when Paul Dietzel announced he had signed with us. Back then prospects could sign in December I believe, but it wasn't valid til the national signing date in February. Because of the ACC 800 rule he was not eligible, although he qualified by NCAA standards. Solomon was just one of many but I think he and Issac Jackson a rb from Macon were the ones that broke the camel's back. When I moved to Georgia in 1968, the UGA roster was loaded with S. C. kids many of them due to the 800 ACC rule. Frank Howard lamented the loss of Kent Lawrence a stand out rb from Daniel H. S. who starred at Georgia. I don't regret for one minute the break with the ACC. USC was never going to get a break from the power of Tobacco Road.
