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. Brandon Guyer Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Cody Allen Jersey . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. http://www.indiansteamproshop.com/ . 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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse has reprimanded its director of football operations for his conduct during Saturdays game at Boston College.Athletic director John Wildhack determined that while trying to prevent an altercation Brad Wittke engaged in unsportsmanlike behavior by making contact with Boston College defensive back William Harris.Wittke issued an apology to Harris and the rest of the Boston College players as well as head coach Steve Addazio.The altercation occurred during a brief fight that broke out on the Syracuse sideline in the first quarter between Syracuse qquarterback Eric Dungey and a couple of Boston College players after an interception by Harris.dddddddddddd Dungey threw Harris to the ground and pushed BC linebacker Matt Milano into an equipment container near the stands after he stepped over the QB.Players from both teams -- with a few from BC running across the field -- got involved in the shoving. 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