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USC RECRUIT READY TO MAKE SPALSH IN CITY
Published on: 12/19/2002
Section: SPORTS
Edition: FINAL
Page: C1
By OTIS R. TAYLOR JR., Staff Writer
Roll out the garnet and black carpet, Brandon Wallace is coming for
a visit.
He can stay for only a few days, so get a preview of the future
while you can.
The Silver Bluff shooting guard will be a Columbia resident next
fall when he registers at USC and begins practicing with the
basketball team. This week's inaugural Chick-fil-A Classic is
a coming-out party for the kid who can't wait to call the city home.
He wants Columbia to know who he is.
"I'm ready to be there," he said. "That's my goal, to make a name
for myself in the city."
Wallace will have his chance as soon as he and his Bulldog teammates
step onto the court where they will face some of the best talent in
the Southeast.
Silver Bluff meets Richland Northeast at 8:30 tonight in a
first-round game.
Wallace uses a myriad of moves to get his points. Shooting came
easily and the dribble-drive followed. This year opponents have had
to contend with his post game.
At 6-foot-9, Wallace, who is considered one of the top 100 seniors,
is a matchup nightmare. Four years ago, his matchup with coach Sam
Lilly almost became the nightmare that stalled his development.
Lilly said he hasn't seen another high school player shoot like
Wallace, but when he was pulled up to the varsity, Wallace had a
disposition that was familiar to the coach.
"He was used to being the top gun in middle school, but he was
lacking with his work habits as far as defensively," Lilly said of
Wallace, who came off the bench as a freshman. "We had to explain to
him this is how it was going to be."
Wallace quickly got the message and adjusted his attitude.
"I knew it was his way or the highway," he said. "They could've gone
on without me my ninth-grade year. They were pretty good. I just
wanted to play."
This past summer at the Nike basketball camp, Wallace was forced to
play in the post at power forward. What seemed like an unnatural fit
for a natural shooter became a necessary practice to add a dimension
to his game.
Now when he flashes to the post, Wallace uses his height to go over
smaller players and his quickness to go around bigger defenders.
And defenders still have to worry about his deadly touch from
outside.
His shooting skills put him on the basketball radar, and his
performances at the summer camps caused schools such as USC to offer
scholarships.
The Gamecocks were an easy choice.
"USC is a family-oriented place, I believe. I thought it was a
family fit," Lilly said. "I thought they cared about the person
first and the player second."
Wallace would like to come back and lead Silver Bluff to a state
championship in March. During this brief stay this time, he will try
to take the Bulldogs to the first championship of the Chick-fil-A
Classic.
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