FAYETTEVILLE — South Carolina is still led by a 5-9 point guard, but it’s not Devan Downey.
Downey, a three-time All-SEC player who averaged 20.2 points in 94 games for the Gamecocks the previous three seasons after transferring from Cincinnati, is now playing professionally in Turkey.
Bruce Ellington, a freshman, is the new starting point guard fo r S o u t h Carolina (11-5, 2-1 SEC), which plays Arkansas (11-4, 2-1) on Wednesday night in Colonial Life Arena.
“I think all of us felt going into this year, ‘At least Devan Downey is gone,’ ” Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings said. “But he’s back in the form of Bruce Ellington.”
Ellington is averaging a team-high 15.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He’s shooting 41.5 percent (39 of 94) on three-point attempts.
“The kid’s a really good player,” said Stallings, who watched Ellington have 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in South Carolina’s 83-75 overtime victory against Vanderbilt. “I don’t know if he’s totally made up for the loss of Downey, but he’s certainly lessened the burden of the loss.”
Florida Coach Billy Donovan said Downey was a “unique” talent, but that he believes Ellington - who had 23 points in the Gamecocks’ 72-69 road victory against the Gators last Saturday - will become a better player.
“Downey had to score so much ... I always felt like he was a guy that really rested on defense,” Donovan said. “He was always conserving energy to play on the offensive end of the floor, and he certainly could put together runs in a game.
“Ellington, to me, is a much, much more complete player ... and in particular defensively. I think Downey was a guy that would try and kill you with his offense, and he was very competitive and he wanted the ball, and he almost dared you to stop him.
“I think Ellington has got that on the offensive end of the floor, but his effort and what he does defensively as a freshman is so much better than what Downey’s was when he was a senior.”
South Carolina Coach Darrin Horn said the Gamecocks are an improved team this season because of their roster as a whole.
A year ago, South Carolina had only nine scholarship players because of suspensions and injuries. This season the Gamecocks have 12 scholarship players.
“We’re deeper, we’re much more athletic than we were a year ago,” Horn said. “So our entire team is different.”
In three SEC games, Ellington is averaging 18.3 points and has hit 11 of 25 three-pointers.
“He’s already a superstar,” Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey said. “He’s going to be a handful for anybody that plays them.”
Pelphrey said Ellington is fast, athletic and doesn’t let “the bigness of the game’ get to him.
“From the plays I’ve seen him make already, he’s very, very comfortable in his role as being a point guard at the highest level,” Pelphrey said.
That’s not always easy. It takes a little bit of talent, takes a little bit of courage. It certainly takes some good basketball IQ.”
Horn said he shies away from individual comparisons between Downey and Ellington because circumstances are different with a team each season.
“Bruce is a different kind of player,” Horn said. “And trying to build his own career and be a part of our program as well.”
Ellington’s best game so far this season, Horn said, probably was at Florida, but more for his ball-handling, decision making and defense than his scoring.
“He’s capable of doing some really good things, as we’ve seen,” Horn said. “But he’s still a freshman and has room to grow. We want to make sure that he stays focused on continuing to get better.”
Sports, Pages 15 on 01/18/2011