COLUMBIA, S. Cheap Wizards Jerseys Authentic .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. Cheap Wizards Jerseys . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Kelly Oubre Jr. Jersey .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. http://www.cheapwizardsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-wes-unseld-jersey . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. ESPNs Buster Olney is on vacation this week, but hes still compiling roundups. View his latest roundup here.I got the call.A simple four-word statement. Devoid of context, it can mean anything, but in the world of baseball, it means everything. To some, its a logical next step, something that was bound to happen. To others, its a shock, an unexpected jolt of lightning out of nowhere that changes your life overnight. To a few, its vindication. A players existence within the game, coupled with their place on the road of life, help shape their reaction to the news they are going to The Show. Every players call is unique, in how they receive it and how it ripples through their life. This is mine ...It was a Thursday night, April 7, opening night for the Reno Aces and the Pacific Coast League. I was scheduled to start the fourth game of the season that Sunday. After the game, I moved all my belongings into the apartment I rented and was finally feeling settled in so I could concentrate on baseball. After the last suitcase was thrown into my room, I settled into my new couch, ready for some Netflix and a late-night meal of fast food (it was the only thing open ... it happens). The season really hadnt started yet for me, and I had just finished what I thought to be a successful spring training. I had the same positive, high expectations going into the season that I have every year. The only thing that mattered to me that night was eating and getting to bed. Just as I was about to take my first bite, my phone rang. It was Phil Nevin.Nevin is the manager of the Reno Aces. For the uninitiated, calls from the manager late at night -- it was about 11:30 p.m. -- generally mean only one thing: a move is happening. I immediately got chills and then became nauseated, simultaneously feeling excited but also thinking, What the hell did I do wrong? After 10 years of playing minor league baseball, one doesnt necessarily assume the best. I answered, and the conversation went something like this:Me: Whats up, Nev?Nevin: Hey Busch, uhhh, you move into an apartment yet?Me: Yep, just moved in tonight.Nevin: Oh, OK. Which one? (I tell him.) All right, theres this bar right by there. Meet me there in 15 minutes. We need to talk.I hung up. I felt like I wanted to throw up. Dont know why. I stared at nothing for a good two minutes, and then the wheels started turning. I went through every conceivable possibility as to why Nevin wanted to talk. No way Im getting released, right? Maybe I just got traded. Or maybe Im getting moved to the bullpen and he wants to tell me in person? All these thoughts were borderline insane, because every one of those scenarios would be done over the phone or at the field. But I wasnt exactly thinking rationally at that moment. I think deep down I knew as soon as I saw his name on the caller ID, but I wouldnt let myself go there, not yet.The bar was about a minute away from me, so I waited five and then got in the car and headed over. I think I drove about 10 mph the whole way. I was in a daze. I walked into the place, which was pretty much empty, and sat at the bar, ordered a water and waited. The more I thought about it, the more I knew this could only mean one thing. This had to be it.From the moment I sat down to the moment Nevin walked in the door was about six hours -- or so it felt. In real time, it was about 10 minutes. He walked in, I felt nauseated again, and he came over and sat down.Nevin: You ordered a water? Why didnt you get a real drink?Me: Well, Nev, the type of drink I order depends on what we have to talk about.Nevin: Ha, fair enough. Lets get a beer.And then the man started making small talk. I can barely breathe, and hes striking up a random conversation. I think he saw the look on my face and said, Dont worry, nothing bad. Just want to wait until Mike Bell gets here. (Mike Bell is the director of player development for the Arizona Diamondbacks). So we chatted some more.At this point, I was pretty much certain. I dont remember what we talked about, because the only thing going through my mind at that moment was Holy s---, this is really happening. My whole body started tingling. I couldnt swallow. Bell walked in, and he had this big smile on his face. He walked over and said to hold on because he wanted to get a beer first. The bartender wasnt there; he was in the kitchen. I almost jumped over and got the beer myself. Mike finally got one and sat down.Nev turned to me and said, All right ... My hands sttarted shaking, and I pretty much stopped breathing. Cheap NBA Jerseys. I locked eyes with him, and, with a huge smile on his face, he says, I wanted to meet you here, in person, because I couldnt tell a guy hes going to the big leagues for the first time over the phone. Congratulations, man.He said it, he actually said it. I had imagined/dreamt/visualized this moment so many times over the years. I had always pictured myself crying, for some reason, to the point where I even got choked up just picturing it. I had thought of all the different ways I would tell my loved ones. Keep in mind that when I started playing professional baseball, the iPhone didnt exist yet. Until those words came out of Nevins mouth, I had pitched in 279 games and amassed more than 1,300 innings as a pro, all in the minor leagues. This was the start of my 11th season.As it turns out, I didnt cry. When Nev said what every professional baseball player wants to hear, I first exhaled, then proceeded to ask him if he was serious. Once I was assured that he was, the biggest grin took over my face, and I shook his hand and simply said, Thank you. I turned to Mike, shook his hand and told him, Thank you so much for this opportunity. Two of the most heartfelt thank-yous in my life. They had weight, filled with countless bus miles, PB&Js and crappy offseason jobs. They had a decade of successes, failures and everything in between behind them. And they werent just from me, they represented every family member, friend or coach who ever supported me. I stood up -- I couldnt sit down any longer -- and they both commented on how long the journey had been and how cool this was. It struck me in the moment how excited they were for me, and thats something Ill never forget.I got choked up, but I didnt cry. Not then anyway. I just remember feeling really relieved. Like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders. Finally. Mike and Nev told me to make my calls, wake people up, go! I had imagined this part as well, how I would tell people, how I would be witty about it. Nope. I was just too excited to get the news out to be coy. I called my wife, my parents and then the best man in my wedding that first night.It was 3 a.m. when I called my wife, and it took her a bit to wake up and process what I was telling her. Once she did, it was like she snorted six Red Bulls. She didnt go to sleep again for 24 hours. I woke my parents next. It took a call to both cellphones and the house phone before they finally picked up. There was screaming, and the phrases oh my god and we are so proud of you were being thrown around liberally. Last, I called my best man, also a professional baseball player who had gotten the call before. He knew better than anyone at that moment what I was going through.Its when I got off the phone with all of them that I cried. Not because I was accomplishing a lifelong dream, but because hearing the people closest to me react to that news made me understand how lucky I was in that moment to have the support of these loved ones. Lets just say it all of a sudden got, uh, real, real dusty in my room.I had a flight the next day to Phoenix at noon -- first class baby! I actually slept fairly well but showed up to the airport about three hours early. That flight wasnt getting missed. I called all the other people on my list. (All baseball players have a short list in their head of the people they will call to tell them about their call-up before the news gets out. Its a big deal if youre on that list, because it means youve been very important to the player and his journey.) It got dusty again, especially when I spoke to my college head coach and pitching coach. I boarded that plane, took my seat in first class and thought, This plane better not freaking crash.The rest, as they say, is history. I made my debut against the Cubs three days later, and the emotions and feelings of that day, now thats a whole other can of worms. But the call is special in its own right. Its the initial shockwave before the oncoming explosion of ones dreams becoming a reality. Sports are dominated by the general narrative of good season or bad season, but what makes sports truly great are the smaller human narratives, the stories that have nothing to do with wins to losses. Like the story of a 32-year-old minor leaguer getting his first call-up to the big leagues. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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