Archie Wants 6

Carolina Kat Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:07 am

Archie plans to apply for sixth year
Gamecocks' forward will appeal to NCAA

Written by Seth Emerson

Posted on 03.01.10

USC senior forward Dominique Archie will return for another season if the NCAA grants him a sixth year of eligibility.

But Archie also knows a sixth year is not a sure thing.

"I understand it's 50-50. I'm not getting high hopes," Archie said Monday in his first public comments since sustaining a season-ending knee injury in November against Miami.

The Gamecocks were 4-0 entering the Miami game, and leading the Hurricanes 9-2, with Archie scoring seven of those points before coming down awkwardly after a dunk.

USC went on to lose that game, and is now 14-14 entering Wednesday's game against Alabama.

USC coach Darrin Horn said the team is poring over 600 previous cases of players who applied for a sixth year, trying to find one that applies to Archie. The NCAA normally only grants a sixth year to players who in two separate seasons have been unable to play for reasons beyond their or the school's control.

Archie redshirted his first year at USC because of playing-time reasons.

Before his injury, Archie started every game of his playing career with the Gamecocks.