# 2009–10 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 2009–10 South Carolina men's basketball team represented University of South Carolina during the 2009–10 college basketball season. The head coach was Darrin Horn who was in his second season with the Gamecocks. The team played its home games at the 18,000-seat Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. All games were produced and broadcast locally by the Gamecock Sports Radio Network. They finished the season 15–16, 6–10 in Southeastern Conference play and lost in the first round of the 2010 SEC men's basketball tournament to Alabama. The Gamecocks were not invited to a post season tournament. The highlight of the season was a home upset of #1 Kentucky on January 26.

## Regular season

On December 21, 2009, it was announced that senior starting forward Dominique Archie would miss the rest of the season due to knee surgery required to repair an injury he suffered early in the Miami game. The Gamecocks played all games in the month of December without Archie and junior starter Mike Holmes after he suffered facial injuries during Thanksgiving break. Holmes was subsequently dismissed from the basketball team on January 1, 2010, for a repeated violation of team rules.
On January 26, 2010, Carolina won their first game in school history over a #1 ranked team, beating the undefeated (19-0) Kentucky Wildcats, 68-62.

## Roster

| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Position | Year | Hometown |
| 21 | Dominique Archie | 6'7" | 216 | F | SR | Augusta, Georgia |
| 31 | Evaldas Baniulis | 6'7" | 215 | F | SR | Vilnius, Lithuania |
| 15 | Malik Cooke | 6'6" | 210 | F | JR | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| 2 | Devan Downey | 5'9" | 170 | G | SR | Chester, South Carolina |
| 12 | Ramon Galloway | 6'1" | 170 | G | FR | Palm Beach Gardens, Florida |
| 24 | Mike Holmes | 6'7" | 230 | F/C | JR | Bishopville, South Carolina |
| | Lakeem Jackson | 6'5" | 225 | SF | FR | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| 32 | Johndre Jefferson | 6'9" | 210 | F | JR | Santee, South Carolina |
| 44 | Sam Muldrow | 6'9" | 220 | F | JR | Florence, South Carolina |
| 5 | Brandis Raley-Ross | 6'2" | 194 | G | SR | Gastonia, North Carolina |
| 1 | Stephen Spinella | 6'4" | 190 | G | FR | Colts Neck, New Jersey |
| 25 | Austin Steed | 6'8" | 235 | F | JR | Hephzibah, Georgia |
| 14 | Robert Wilder | 6'1" | 188 | G | SR | Chapin, South Carolina |
| | Tobias Watson | 5'9 | 175 | G | Jr | Richland Northeast |

### 2010 Commitments

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Bruce Ellington PG | Moncks Corner, SC | Berkeley HS | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 11, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| Damontre Harris PF | Fayetteville, NC | Trinity Christian School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Sep 21, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 94 ||||||
| Brian Richardson SG | Wilson, NC | Greenfield School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 21, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| R.J. Slawson PF | North Charleston, SC | Fort Dorchester HS | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jul 16, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 93 ||||||
| Eric Smith PG | Arden, NC | Christ School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 28, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 10 Rivals: 13 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "South Carolina Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 15, 2009. "2010 South Carolina Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved November 15, 2009. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 15, 2009. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 15, 2009. "2010 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 15, 2009. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Thurs, Nov. 5* 7:00pm | | Kentucky Wesleyan Exhibition | W 78–55 | | Colonial Life Arena (5,493) Columbia, SC |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Fri, Nov. 13* 7:00pm, SportSouth | | Alabama A&M | W 88–50 | 1–0 | Colonial Life Arena (10,769) Columbia, SC |
| Mon, Nov. 16* 7:00pm, SportSouth | | Georgia Southern | W 90–66 | 2–0 | Colonial Life Arena (10,212) Columbia, SC |
| Thu, Nov. 19* 9:30pm, ESPNU | | vs. La Salle Charleston Classic | W 78–68 | 3–0 | Carolina First Arena (2,115) Charleston, SC |
| Fri, Nov. 20* 9:30pm, CSS | | vs. South Florida Charleston Classic | W 69–66 | 4–0 | Carolina First Arena (2,391) Charleston, SC |
| Sun, Nov. 22* 6:00pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Miami (FL) Charleston Classic | L 70–85 | 4–1 | Carolina First Arena (2,531) Charleston, SC |
| Fri, Nov. 27* 7:00pm, SportSouth | | Jacksonville | W 97–93 | 5–1 | Colonial Life Arena (10,318) Columbia, SC |
| Wed, Dec. 2* 7:00pm, SportSouth | | Western Kentucky | W 74–56 | 6–1 | Colonial Life Arena (10,707) Columbia, SC |
| Sun, Dec. 6* 1:00pm, FS Carolinas | | at No. 18 Clemson Carolina-Clemson Rivalry | L 61–72 | 6–2 | Littlejohn Coliseum (10,000) Clemson, SC |
| Wed, Dec. 16* 7:00pm, SportSouth | | Richmond | W 76–58 | 7–2 | Colonial Life Arena (9,640) Columbia, SC |
| Sat, Dec. 19* 7:00pm, SportSouth | | at Wofford | L 61–68 | 7–3 | Benjamin Johnson Arena (3,500) Spartanburg, SC |
| Mon, Dec. 21* 7:00pm, SportSouth | | Furman | W 81–57 | 8–3 | Colonial Life Arena (9,674) Columbia, SC |
| Wed, Dec. 30* 9:00pm, ESPNU | | at Boston College | L 76–85 | 8–4 | Conte Forum (6,846) Boston, MA |
| Sat, Jan. 2* 12:00pm, FS Carolinas | | Baylor | L 74–85 | 8–5 | Colonial Life Arena (11,312) Columbia, SC |
| Tue, Jan. 5* 7:00pm, FS Carolinas | | Longwood | W 88–58 | 9–5 | Colonial Life Arena (8,652) Columbia, SC |
| SEC regular season ||||||
| Sat, Jan. 9 1:30pm, SEC Network | | at Auburn | W 80–71 | 10–5 (1–0) | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum (5,638) Auburn, AL |
| Wed, Jan. 13 8:00pm, SEC Network | | LSU | W 67–58 | 11–5 (2–0) | Colonial Life Arena (12,103) Columbia, SC |
| Sat, Jan. 16 6:00pm, CSS | | Vanderbilt | L 79–89 | 11–6 (2–1) | Colonial Life Arena (13,166) Columbia, SC |
| Wed, Jan. 20 9:00pm, CSS | | at No. 24 Mississippi | L 57–66 | 11–7 (2–2) | Tad Smith Coliseum (6,824) Oxford, MS |
| Sat, Jan. 23 6:00pm, ESPN | | at Florida | L 56–58 | 11–8 (2–3) | O'Connell Center (12,094) Gainesville, FL |
| Tue, Jan. 26 9:00pm, ESPN | | No. 1 Kentucky | W 68–62 | 12–8 (3–3) | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC |
| Sat, Jan. 30 7:00pm, FSN | | Georgia | W 78–77 | 13–8 (4–3) | Colonial Life Arena (14,013) Columbia, SC |
| Sat, Feb. 6 6:00pm, ESPN | | at No. 14 Tennessee | L 53–79 | 13–9 (4–4) | Thompson-Boling Arena (21,003) Knoxville, TN |
| Wed, Feb. 10 8:00pm, SEC Network | | Florida | W 77–71 | 14–9 (5–4) | Colonial Life Arena (12,774) Columbia, SC |
| Sat, Feb. 13 4:00pm, SEC Network | | at Georgia | L 61–66 | 14–10 (5–5) | Stegeman Coliseum (7,597) Athens, GA |
| Wed, Feb. 17 9:00pm, CSS | | at Arkansas | L 79–92 | 14–11 (5–6) | Bud Walton Arena (13,175) Fayetteville, AR |
| Sat, Feb. 20 1:30pm, SEC Network | | No. 18 Tennessee | L 55–63 | 14–12 (5–7) | Colonial Life Arena (15,622) Columbia, SC |
| Thu, Feb. 25 9:00pm, ESPN | | at No. 2 Kentucky | L 61–82 | 14–13 (5–8) | Rupp Arena (24,355) Lexington, KY |
| Sat, Feb. 27 6:00pm, ESPN | | Mississippi State | L 63–76 | 14–14 (5–9) | Colonial Life Arena (13,834) Columbia, SC |
| Wed, Mar. 3 7:00pm, ESPNU | | Alabama | L 70–79 | 14–15 (5–10) | Colonial Life Arena (11,109) Columbia, SC |
| Sat, Mar. 6 2:00pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 19 Vanderbilt | W 77–73 | 15–15 (6–10) | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| Thu, Mar. 11 1:00pm, SEC Network | (E5) | vs. (W4) Alabama First Round | L 63–68 | 15–16 | Bridgestone Arena (15,152) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from Coaches Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Awards

Devan Downey
* First Team All-SEC (AP and Coaches)
* Honorable Mention AP All-American
* Oscar Robertson National Player Of The Week, 1/31/10
* SEC Player of the Week, 2/1/10
* Bob Cousy Award Finalist
* Oscar Robertson Trophy Finalist
* Preseason First Team All-SEC
* Naismith Trophy Preseason Watchlist
* John R. Wooden Award Preseason Candidate
Dominique Archie
* Preseason Second Team All-SEC