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For years, Perry Dozier Sr. fibbed. OK, maybe downright lied is more accurate.Hed sign his son, PJ Dozier, up for rec leagues and area tournaments and fudge his sons age.But Perry wasnt trying to turn his son into a basketball Danny Almonte, hoping to buck the system so his son stood out among the competition. No, Perry would tell people PJ was two years older than he was, purposefully putting him at a disadvantage.The way Perry figured it, PJ not only would be challenged by the older, bigger boys, but also would avoid being pigeonholed and stuffed in the post from the first day he touched a ball because he was so much taller than kids his own age.The experiment worked -- well, except for the time PJ dribbled upcourt with tears streaming down his face because he was being pushed around too much by the older kids -- until father and son embarked on a little tour. They hit up all the big youth summer tournaments, and Perry finally had to come clean about PJs age.That summer, PJ finally played with kids his own age.He came home ranked the best fifth-grader in the nation by one recruiting service.It was exciting, but I was 10, PJ said. It didnt really mean anything. I knew I just had to stay the course.He did, following a pretty straight path from elementary school honors to top-20 prospect to McDonalds All American and now, especially since teammate Sindarius Thornwell is suspended, the most important piece of a South Carolina team that is off to an unexpected 8-1 start and No. 16 ranking.How did PJ avoid the child prodigy to child nobody detour? Easily. He might have been the best fifth-grader in the nation, but he wasnt even the best baller in his own family.The Twin Towers -- thats what they were called. Perry Dozier Sr. checked in at 6-foot-10, his twin brother Terry at 6-9. Together they led Baltimores Dunbar High School to a national championship and then both enrolled at South Carolina. Terry would go on to score 1,445 collegiate points and play briefly in the NBA, while Perrys career was cut short by a knee injury. But the Dozier name took hold in the state, associated with basketball excellence.Terry trained PJ for a time, and Perry coached his son for nearly the entirety of his career. They demanded a lot -- Terry maybe even a little more. Wary of keeping a separation between coach and father, Perry made sure he and his son had interests outside of basketball, taking PJ to the golf course or bowling alley regularly where the lone rule was that no one talked hoops.But neither father nor uncle worked PJ the hardest. No, the real taskmaster was his big sister, Asia. A four-star prospect, shed drag her kid brother onto the driveway of the familys home in Columbia, South Carolina, for relentless games of one-on-one, the end coming only when their mother, Theresa, had enough of the squabbling and forced a truce.She actually restricted us from playing one another for a while, Asia said. The games would almost always end in tears, usually PJs. Hes accustomed to winning and hes always had that failure isnt an option attitude, so I didnt have to say much. The end result would be enough for the tears.The two grew up in basketball together, Asia winning two state titles at South Carolinas Spring Valley High School and climbing her way up the recruiting rankings, PJs career drawing so many eyeballs that a website, pjdozier.net, chronicled his progress. PJ doesnt know who started the site and hasnt visited it in years, but its like walking into the pages of a scrapbook. Scroll to the bottom and youll find articles from as far back as that groundbreaking fifth-grade year and pictures of a scrawny kid with a big smile kissing trophies bigger than he is.As the scrawny kid gave way to a more seasoned player, things started to change -- most notably, on the driveway. Asia remembers her baby brother coming home after a month of summer hoops looking a whole lot less babyish.Where did all of those inches come from? she remembered saying to her mother.With PJs preteen growth spurt officially kicking in, she wisely opted out of one-on-one dogfights, choosing instead more winnable games of H-O-R-S-E.Those early sibling battles, though, paid their dividends for brother and sister. Asia earned her states Gatorade Player of the Year and Miss Basketball honors before becoming the latest Dozier to earn a scholarship to South Carolina. Four years later, she would graduate as a two-time captain, a three-year starter, a Final Four participant and part of the winningest class in Gamecocks history.Hot on her tail, along came PJ, bringing home more state Player of the Year honors for the familys trophy case, and attracting equally premiere programs: Louisville, Michigan and North Carolina all made the short list and, of course, South Carolina.Continuing the Dozier family legacy seemed the obvious choice.I was truly concerned, Perry said. I wanted what was going to be best for him and I thought the pressure of staying home might be too much.But Perry also recalled his own recruitment, when his mother mindfully toed the line between offering guidance without swaying her boys. Choosing a college, she told them, was both a deeply personal decision and their first adult decision and therefore not up to her to make. Perry took his moms advice to heart and backed off, letting PJ find his own way.He did his homework, carefully considering each of his choices, picking his sisters brain for the benefits and pratfalls of staying at home. Ultimately he opted for South Carolina, taking a flier on coach Frank Martin, who was still trying to resurrect the Gamecocks program, and taking on the extra pressure by staying home.To me, that showed a lot about his character, Martin said. It was us and the blue bloods, and he not only could have gone to one of the blue bloods, he could have gotten away from the extra scrutiny. For him to say no to that, that told me who PJ really was.Who he is, his father and sister both say, is a kid who is naturally gifted. Sports come easily to him -- those golf and bowling outings turned PJ into a terrific golfer and an even better bowler -- but he does not choose the easy road.There is, after all, only one place to go from being the nations best fifth-grader.Bust, PJ said. I never wanted that to come into play.So instead of showing off his ranking, he tucked it away. Even as a 10-year-old, he recognized that elementary school success doesnt equate to a guaranteed future. He worked with his uncle, listened to his father and tried to be better than his sister. When he walked into a gym, instead of trying to reward people who came to see him score some eye-popping number of points, he played his game.Consequently, the top fifth-grader not only became a top prospect who became a McDonalds All American who became a star on a top-25 team, but he also flip-flopped the Dozier family pecking order.We were the Dozier boys, Perry said of himself and his brother Terry, and now all of a sudden life has changed. Now Im PJs dad, and you know what? Its an awesome feeling. I like that title much more than the Dozier twins.Greg Maddux Braves Jersey . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Phil Niekro Braves Jersey . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. https://www.cheapbraves.com/1853o-babe-ruth-jersey-braves.html . PETERSBURG, Fla. Patrick Weigel Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Ralph Garr Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over .The continuing evolution of spread and no-huddle offenses in college football is changing the way some coaches measure defensive success.Thats a good thing for the ACC. Already this season, there have been eight games involving at least one Atlantic Coast Conference team in which the winning team gave up at least 30 points.Pittsburgh (2-2, 0-1 ACC) has played in three straight games with scores in the 30s and 40s, all against Power Five programs. The Panthers beat Penn State 42-39 , then lost 45-38 at Oklahoma State and 37-36 last weekend at North Carolina. Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi said rule changes have made playing defense more challenging.Its been like that for a couple of years and it continues to roll, said Narduzzi, a long-time defensive coordinator. It is what it is. We have to adjust and move with it. ... Every team that weve faced this year has been no-huddle and moves quickly. ... I was happier with what we did defensively (against UNC) compared to last week against Oklahoma State.Pitt allowed 640 yards against the Cowboys, but just 471 against the Tar Heels.One rule change that permits offensive lineman to go further downfield also allows teams to disguise their intentions longer.Defense is very difficult anyway, knowing it is reactionary and you have to identify specific cues to determine run or pass, said Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall, who calls the Cavaliers defensive signal. He said the longer offenses -- especially those with dual-threat quarterbacks -- have to make that run or pass decision, the harder they are to stop.I dont think the rule is good for college football, but it is good for entertainment, Mendenhall said. If viewership is up, Im sure the rule will stay the same. If viewership is down, then there will be possibly another rule. But the nature of the offense is based on rule change, and has now made it to where its quite difficult.Mendenhall is a big believer in using statistics to assess his teams play, but the numbers he uses have changed.Yards and points per play matter a lot because so many teams are going fast. Total defense, not so relevant, and scoring defense, Mendenhall said, adding that the faster pace of most games naturally inflates total defense numbers.Thats how Narduzzi, a former defensive coordinator at Cincinnati and Michigan State, and coach Paul Johnson at GGeorgia Tech see it, too.ddddddddddddAt Cincinnati and Michigan State, Narduzzi said, Our goal defensively was to limit the other team to 13 points per game. Today, that just isnt going to happen.The Yellow Jackets (3-1, 1-1) used to put up for some of the gaudiest offensive numbers in the league. This year, their 24.2 points a game ranks 13th in the league.I think what happens is when you look at scores, scores just in themselves can be very deceiving, Johnson said. You take Syracuse, who tries to play 800 mph. For them to be in a 24-17 game would be like us being in a 7-3 game because theyre getting three times the possessions and their defense is also getting three times as many. Common sense would tell you if I play a game and I get 15 to 18 possessions Im going to score more than if I get nine to 12.The ACC has seven teams averaging at least 36 points, and eight averaging at least 450 yards.Third-ranked Louisville (4-0), with dual-threat quarterback sensation Lamar Jackson already having accounted for 25 touchdowns (13 passing, 12 running), somewhat skews the numbers. The Cardinals are averaging 63.5 points and 682 yards, both tops in the country. Against Syracuse, Louisville rolled up 845 yards in a 62-28 victory.The Cardinals will visit No. 5 Clemson on Saturday in a highly anticipated showdown. The Tigers rank third nationally in total defense, allowing just 218.5 yards, but have put those numbers together against a schedule that includes offensively challenged Auburn, Troy, South Carolina State and Georgia Tech.Saturdays ACC showcase could be another high-scoring affair with defenses trying to contain Jackson and Clemsons Deshaun Watson.And if it is, it wont be the last. North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik said defenses are going to be playing catch up for some time.I dont think theres any question of that, Chizik said. Theres very potent offenses in this league. I mean, thats just the way it is.---AP sports writers Will Graves in Pittsburgh, Charles Odum in Atlanta and Aaron Beard in Chapel Hill, North Carolina contributed to this report.---Online: The APs college football page: http://collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Hank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr ' ' '