First-year South Carolina coach Darrin Horn got an early look at his new team when the Gamecocks played four games on an August tour in Eastern Europe.

He had to like what he saw.

The Gamecocks won all four games handily and his returning veterans -- guards Devan Downey, Zam Fredrick, and Brandis Raley-Ross and forwards Dominique Archie and Mike Holmes -- all performed well. That combination started three of the four games.

Sam Muldrow, who had 10 starts last season as a freshman, started one game in place of Holmes, who had tweaked an ankle.

Those six players -- along with forward Evaldas Baniulis (13 starts last season), forward Austin Steed, and guard Branden Conrad -- will carry Carolina's fortunes this season.

If the names are familiar, they should be. They are all carryovers from the 2008 team that struggled in close games before finishing out Dave Odom's coaching career with a losing record.

Downey had a spectacular debut after transferring from Cincinnati and led the Gamecocks in scoring and assists. Fredrick, a transfer from Georgia Tech, was right behind him in both categories.

The only player lost was Dwayne Day (19 starts). Horn, hired from Western Kentucky, brought in no signees. In fact, he released the one recruit Odom had brought in in the fall signing period, 6-8 power forward Darius Morrow.

That could have an effect down the line, though Fredrick and Conrad are the only seniors on the roster. Downey, last season's top scorer, Raley-Ross, Archie and Baniulis are juniors and Holmes, Muldrow, and Steed are sophomores.

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