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COLUMBIA, S.C. -- How do you like the view here, on the peak just below the peak? Its nice, isnt it? Look at how vast the area is that now lies below you, and realize what hard work it was to get this far.Now, see that ledge right there? Get to that. Hoist yourself up just one more time. And there you are -- at the very top! It doesnt look that far away, especially considering the distance youve come to get here. You can do it, right?This is where South Carolina womens basketball is, and its a great place to be. But what seems so close sometimes can be the most difficult part of the trip. Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley knows this all too well, but its not what shes talking to her team about, of course.South Carolina, for all its talent, is still discussing some of the basics now. Thats what happens after losing four senior guards. Yet the last thing most anyone is expecting from the Gamecocks -- especially with a post duo like Aja Wilson and Alaina Coates -- is that they might need just a little rebuilding time.Theyre back in the spotlight again, so theres a fair amount that has to be worked out quickly.Its a little too care-free, but its who we are, Staley said of the personality of her team. Our coaches have talked about it: Whos the leader? Whos stepping up? It cant look like last year because were not like last year.Weve come upon a new type of team and new leadership. So its on us to figure out how to get it to that place without having those strong, competitive, outspoken people like weve had in years past.No one is feeling sympathy for South Carolina, which went 33-2 in 2015-16 and is picked to win the SEC again. And the team will get a test right away, when the No. 4 Gamecocks travel to face No. 7 Ohio State on Monday.The Gamecocks have been an NCAA tournament No. 1 seed three years in a row. They went to their first Final Four in 2015. They tied for the SEC regular-season title that year, won it with a 16-0 record last season and took the league tournament title both times.Theyve led the nation in Division I attendance two years in a row, averaging 14,978 last season. In a conference where football can blot out the sun even for mens basketball in some places, the Gamecocks matter to their school and community. They have a foothold.In the climb that the best programs in college sports attempt to make, the Gamecocks have been on a mostly exhilarating race up the mountain. The next ledge would be making it to the national championship game. And you know the final step.However, there are those programs that can do all but the last one. They dont get past the ledge. And many dont get quite get that far.As a player at Virginia, Staley went to three straight Final Fours and made one final but didnt win a title. This is well-worn territory in her mind. For her current players? Not so much, which is just as well.South Carolina lost senior guards Tiffany Mitchell, Khadijah Sessions, Asia Dozier and Tina Roy. Also gone are forwards Sarah Imovbioh, a transfer from Virginia who played her last season at South Carolina, and Jatarie White, who transferred to Texas.Bianca Cuevas-Moore, Doniyah Cliney and Tiffany Davis are returning guards who have experience under Staley. Davis, though, redshirted last season with an injury and played just 16 games the previous year.Cuevas-Moore played all but one game last season, averaging 18.1 minutes. In her two seasons, she has 127 assists -- but 124 turnovers.Transfers Allisha Gray (coming from North Carolina) and Kaela Davis (Georgia Tech) should give the guard play a substantial boost. Both juniors were with the program last year, which helped get them ready for big roles this season. As sophomores at their previous schools, the 6-foot-2 Davis averaged 19.2 points per game, and the 6-foot Gray 15.2 PPG.Allisha is in midseason form now; she is the outside threat that can replace some of what we lost, Staley said. As for Kaela -- I dont know if theres a more versatile player in the country who can play 1 through 4 like she can. Its going to take some time for us to mesh as a unit, though.South Carolina also has three freshman guards in Tyasha Harris, Araion Bradshaw and Victoria Patrick. The fourth rookie is 6-2 forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, who made a good first impression with 23 points and 11 rebounds Sunday in the Gamecocks 120-49 exhibition victory over Benedict.The foundation of the team is expected to be the local products, 6-5 Wilson and 6-4 Coates, who first started playing together in AAU basketball in Columbia when they were around 12 and 13 years old. Their influence on the program has been profound. They try not to dwell much on how last season ended -- a regional semifinal loss to Syracuse -- but its there.I think about it almost every day, Wilson said. Its one of the games that I have not watched yet. I dont think Im ever going to watch it.But its a motivator -- going from being in the Final Four your freshman year to being out in the Sweet 16 your sophomore year. You know what it takes to get to the Final Four, so being stopped is kind of a heartbreaker.Wilson, the SEC player and defensive player of the year last season, is high on the list of candidates for national player of the year. Over her first two seasons, she averaged 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds.Coates could be a lottery pick in the WNBA draft next spring, and maybe even the top selection. Shes averaged 11.8 points and 8.9 rebounds in her three seasons with the Gamecocks, and shot 63.9 percent from the field.With that kind of post production, the Gamecocks know what their proverbial bread and butter is -- same as last year.There is a lot of logic in pounding the ball inside when you have those kind of targets. But Staley also wants the rest of the team to play to its strength. She hired former Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb specifically to help; her title is director of coaching offensive analytics.Some shots that five years ago I would go ballistic on now are part of our game, Staley said, resigned to perhaps ceding a little more control to players on-court instincts. I dont mind taking a jump shot in transition, if thats what a player does and shes accurate in that.Lets not go crazy; lets embrace it and look at the numbers. If shes efficient in that spot, we cant be mad at it.And so the Gamecocks, who are close enough to the peak that they can see it, are still working out the best way to actually get there. Admittedly, it can sometimes seem like the most frustrating part of the journey. But it just depends on how you look at it. Because it took a lot to get this far, and that should be relished, too.Nike Air Max 90 White . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Nike Air Max 90 Blue .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. http://www.airmax90outletonline.com/ . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Nike Air Max 90 Grey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Nike Shoes Air Max 90 Womens . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal.Marcello Lippi starts mission almost-impossible on Tuesday as he bids to take China to the 2018 World Cup.Lippi, who guided Italy to the 2006 World Cup title, was appointed in October to try and resuscitate Chinas floundering qualification campaign. He kicks off against Qatar in the south-western city Kunming.China, which has qualified only once for a World Cup, has just one point from the first four games in Group A of third-round Asian qualifying, making victory against Qatar vital.We will focus on first dealing with the Qataris and then Korea Republic, Lippi was quoted as saying on the Asian Football Confederations website. Our chief aim is World Cup qualification. I hope we can achieve a miracle.Lippi has experience in China. From 2012 to 2014, he led Guangzhou Evergrande to three Chinese Super League titles as well as the Asian Champions League crown in 2013. In a warm-up game against a lower-league Chinese team last week, Lippi selected five players from his former club, indicating a strong reliance on the team which picked up a sixth successive domestic championship in October.These are the players who have spent years training and playing together so they have telegraphic understanding with each other, the former Juventus coach said. This is the key for us to play well against Qatar.The 68 year-old Lippis contract is not just about the World Cup, but helping the sport thrive in China in the longer term.Even if we fail to make it, we should make sure that the team makes good progress in the process and build for the future, he said. Then we will switch our focus to the next Asian Cup.Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup, has also started poorly with three points from the first four games. A 2-1 win over 2018 host Russia in a friendly last week will boost confidence for the Qataris.With only the top two from both six-team groups automatically progressing to Russia 2018, Japan is third in Group B, heightening the importance of a win against group leader Saudi Arabia.ddddddddddddJapan has appeared at the past five World Cups but some unconvincing performances under coach Vahid Halilhodzic have jeopardized a continuation of that streak.You can look at the Saudi game in two ways, Japan defender Tomoaki Makino said after a warm-up 4-0 win against Oman on Friday. You can look at it as us having our back against the wall, or see it as an opportunity to turn things around.If Saudi Arabia does slip up in Japan, Australia could go top of Group B with a win over Thailand in Bangkok. Thailand, which has lost all four games so far, had planned to hold the game in a neutral venue due to national mourning following the death last month of long-serving monarch King Bhumibol.However the government has allowed the game to be played at home, and initial plans to ban chanting and overt celebrations has also been relaxed.Australia coach Ange Postecoglou omitted talisman Tim Cahill from the squad but remains hopeful of extending the streak of five wins against Thailand.If we can get three points in this game, with the program we have next year with three home games and the Iraq game in neutral territory, well be in pretty good shape, Postecoglou said.Iran, yet to concede a goal and top of Group A with 10 points, takes on Syria in Malaysia due to the ongoing war in Syria, while South Korea hosts second-placed Uzbekistan.South Korea coach Uli Stielike is also under pressure with the team -- aiming for a ninth successive World Cup appearance -- in third spot, three points behind Iran. 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