South Carolina

Northeastern (85) vs. College of Charleston (87) 01/18/2025

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Game #137 of 364 37% complete

The TD Arena is located right in the heart of downtown Charleston surrounded by quaint shops and cool looking restaurants. It was disheartening to pass through this area and not have time to stop for some tourist time. But as is often when a big arena is in a crowded area, parking spots are not close. I was given a list of parking spots by the school before the game. Choosing the first one off of the list, I found myself with a 15 minute walk to the arena. Normally I enjoy a good walk but this was done in a driving rain storm.

The College of Charleston Cougars are one of the better mid major schools in the country currently occupying first place in Colonial Athletic league. First place and a preferred spot in the post league tournament is important because these leagues rarely get an at-large bid. The Cougars lost in the past two NCAA tournaments against eventual final four participants Alabama and San Diego State.

Chris Mack is the first year coach for the Cougars. He was previously at Xavier and Louisville. He was the 2018 Big East Coach of the Year at Xavier. He was fired from Louisville after reports that the fan base and players were unhappy with him. I wish him well with this energetic fan base and a team looking to make some noise this year in the tournament.

I was very impressed with Deywilk Taveras the sophomore guard for the Cougars who scored 32 points. He went 8 for 9 (yes, you’re reading that right) from the 3 point line and killed any comeback for Northeastern. He was the 2024 MEAC Rookie of the Year for Delaware State and is quite a pickup for the Cougars.

This scene above was in sight of where I was sitting. It has no significance other than showing a man in extreme pain for a cramp.

I get a kick when I hear the young kids singing songs that came out when I was a young kid. Songs like “Sweet Caroline” and “Friends in Low Places” are sung by the college kids as if they were their own anthems. Soon it will be their turn to feel nostalgic as the college kids 20 years from now will sing Taylor’s “You Belong To Me”.

This was an exciting game with College of Charleston pulling it at the end with a potential three pointer winner by Northeastern’s Rashad King clanging off the rim with time expired.

Some scenes from downtown Charleston as I walked in the rain.

VMI ( 75) vs. Citadel (70) 01/18/2025

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Game #136 of 364 37% complete

Occasionally, I will put together a quickie trip involving a morning arrival, an early afternoon game and a late afternoon or night game. One night in a hotel followed by a return trip the following morning adds a quick two game addition to Operation 351. The problem with this scenario is that it involves no time for fun or tourist stuff. It was much to my dismay that a Topgolf facility existed next to my hotel. A quick check in to the hotel between basketball games prevented any time to hit golf balls. Additionally, downtown Charleston is a great visit to place but had to be skipped on this trip, as well as a walk around the beautiful Citadel campus due to time constraints.

This series of games between the two main military schools of the south is billed as the “The Military Classic of the South”. I expected a huge crowd with much give and take between the cadets from both schools. Instead the crowd was small and not particularly involved in the game. The Citadel basketball team is ranked #352 out of 364 Division 1 schools so I guess that basketball is not a high priority in the Charleston area.

The gentlemen above are graduates of the 1974 class of Citadel. They raised 10.5 million dollars for the school and were honored during the game. My first thought is that they should use some of that money for NIL compensation to bring in better players.

I was very impressed with VMI junior Rickey Bradley Jr. The Georgia State transfer scored 29 points and seemed to score at will. He is currently second in the SoCon league by scoring at 19.2 ppg. The VMI team seemed to have much more talent than Citadel despite the five point margin. Augustinas Kiudulas added 13 points but I remember seeing him somewhere. An after the game check revealed that he was on the Indiana State team that reached the NIT championship last year.

When I see folks sitting in a section by themselves despite the presence of many good seats below, I would love to ask them why are they sitting there.

The traditional t-shirt toss was performed during the game. One shirt landed off the hand of an old Citadel graduate in front of me and landed between me and another old graduate. We both grabbed for the t-shirt at the same time. My thinking was that he was probably a season ticket holder who has been here many times and probably has caught a t-shirt or two in his day. When we grabbed the shirt simultaneously, he tightened his grip. Not wanting a confrontation, I let go. He said he was sorry and laughed. Still he kept the shirt. I don’t need another t-shirt but it would made a nice memento of my trip.

Next is the College of Charleston game in downtown Charleston. It is pouring rain but much better than the snowstorm in Connecticut.

James Madison (86) vs. Coastal Carolina (76) 03/01/2024

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Game #129 of 362 35% complete

I was surprised to see that James Madison came into this game with a 27-3 record. However I was shocked to see the Dukes barely receiving votes in various college basketball rankings. They are currently #62 in the Kenpom rankings. Perhaps the poor strength of schedule ranking at #299 is the main reason. It must be difficult for mid majors to find quality opponents outside their league and also face the fact that a league tournament championship is the only way to get a berth in March Madness.

The stated attendance was around 1500 fans as you can guess from the many empty seats. Coastal Carolina’s record at 8-20 may have something to do with this. I was told before my trip they are known more for their baseball program.

I could not post an outside photo of the arena due to a fierce rain storm. The weather for the first three days of our four day trip to Myrtle Beach was horrible. I take my wife once a year on a basketball trip that are balanced with trips to TJMaxx, Home Goods and Marshalls during our stay. I had a ocean facing room with a balcony that was of little use in the crappy weather. We did see a comedy show at the Comedy Cabana downtown which provided quite a few laughs. I was tempted to visit Top Golf but passed. A bad driving range session would put a damper on the trip for me.

As in most of my trips, finding parking at the arena is a hassle. The college web sites detailing parking instructions are mostly out of date or indecipherable. I usually drive up to the parking attendant at a premium lot and ask where the free lots are. This time, I was given directions to look for the YY lot. In the pouring rain, I drove around lost trying to follow the verbal directions till I noticed the shuttle bus in a parking lot. To my luck, I drove in and discovered that this was the YY lot only designated as far as I can see from the bus shuttle sign, As I have stated before, I love the arenas with a big free parking lot right in front.

The mascot is a chanticleer. I know your next question. This a type of a rooster used as a proper name in medieval fables. The ‘H’ is silent if you attempt to pronounce this.

From Wiki:

Why is Coastal Carolina the Chanticleers?

The Chanticleer is derived from Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, specifically “The Nun’s Priest Tale.” In the early 1960s, Coastal’s athletic teams were known as the Trojans until a group of Coastal students and their English professor-basketball coach Cal F. Maddox brought up the idea of a new mascot.

James Madison lead at half time with a score of 43-28 but the Chanticleers played a strong second half to make the score somewhat respectable. The Dukes had a well balanced scoring night led by Terrence Edwards with 18 points and Michael Green III with 16 points. Green a diminutive 6 foot guard from Brooklyn was very impressive off the bench. He is a graduate student transferring over from Robert Morris. His quickness was too much for the Chanticleers defense. The Dukes are a solid team who hopefully will be in the chosen field of 68.

Not sure why the score is not showing. It was there when I took the picture.

Time for a Margarita at Margaritaville!

UNC Asheville (71) vs. Charleston Southern (65) 01/27/2024

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Game #126 of 362 34% complete

I made the one and a half hour drive from Columbia to North Charleston in plenty of time for the 5:30PM start. The Buccaneer Field House with a capacity of 881 seats is the second smallest basketball Division 1 arena. The smallest is the G.B. Hodge Center in Spartanburg, SC with a capacity of 878 seats. This is the home of the University of South Carolina Upstate Spartans. I wonder if there was a competition between the two schools perhaps with the Spartans ripping out 5 seats to attain this honor.

I was sitting in the first row right in the middle of the court. An elderly gentlemen that was escorting an even older man sat next to me and quickly introduced himself. His name was Brooks and was a season ticket holder. He went to to Charleston Southern on a golf scholarship in 1965 so one can guess his age from that. We exchanged pleasantries and continued a running conversation throughout the game. He was well versed on every player of the Charleston Southern team. He was not afraid to yell at the refs and even at the UNC Asheville coach. He made my evening a memorable one. I prefer the small arenas and meeting up with folks like Brooks. I told him about my Operation 351 mission and he offered to put me up if I am ever in the Charlestown area to see other schools. This was Southern hospitality at its best.

The arena had a banner that said “EDIG”. It was on the players warmups as well. Brooks informed that it meant “Every Day is Game 7”.

Brooks said that most of the starters from last year entered the portal and are now with other schools. He said that the mid majors are turning into farm clubs for the power schools. He is sadly correct and makes me concerned about the future of college basketball. Will it turn into something like the major league baseball where the most money buys the best teams? I am in favor of the players be compensated for their name and likeness but the influence of big donors can not be good for the sport.

Buccaneer RJ Johnson led the his team with 23 points. He was a one man team keeping the Bucs in the game. Brooks lamented that he was probably gone after this year in the portal. Despite being double digit underdogs, the Buccaneers put up a valiant fight.

The player of the game was UNC Asheville player Drew Pember. This 6’10” center was lights on with his three point shooting and provided ample cushion when the Buccaneers tried to make a run. Pember was previously with the Tennessee Vols seeing little action in his first two seasons there. He found a home in the Big South earning Player of the Years honors last season.

That’s a wrap! Thanks to Breeze Airlines for providing a cheap direct flight between Hartford and Charleston.

Missouri (64) vs. University of South Carolina (72) 01/27/2024

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Game #125 of 362 34% complete

My plans for a 4 game trip to Wisconsin early in January were snuffed by a blizzard halting all flights into the Milwaukee area. I had a complimentary ticket to one game and was honored to be designated as the “fan of the game” at another school as I always give the athletic directors a heads up to my upcoming visits. I donated my Marquette ticket to the Big Brothers and Sisters organization in Wisconsin to find some good in this snafu. So in desperation to salvage this season, I scheduled a quickie trip to South Carolina with two games in one afternoon and a return the next day back to Connecticut. Kudos to Breeze Airlines for their non stop trip to Charleston. The downside of this kind of trip is the lack of time to see the sights or visit some cool restaurant.

I was greeted by a huge statue of former South Carolina player A’ja Wilson. The women’s program is celebrated here due to the dominance in women’s college basketball. Coming from a UConn fan, coach Dawn Staley has done an excellent job making the Gamecocks a perennial power.

The pre game introductions were quite a show with fire and fireworks celebrating each Gamecock player introduction. The house was packed and certainly one of the loudest that I have experienced in my travels. Having the students in the lower level surrounding the court made the atmosphere even more outstanding. The fans also had a towel that they would wave in a circle over the heads in beat with the fast music from the DJ.

I was very impressed with South Carolina forward B.J. Mack a 6’8″ 280 pound forward who came over from Wofford. He was first team at SoCon last year and came over as a grad student to the Gamecocks this season. He has a soft touch and can play inside or shoot from the outside as evidenced by his 21 points from all areas of the court in this game.

In the picture above, you can see #75 Connor Vanover sitting at the end on the Tigers bench. I thought ’75” was an unusual number till I looked up his height. You guessed it – 7 feet 5 inches. As happens many times in my travels, I see players who I have seen before somewhere. I looked it up and quickly remembered that he was on the Oral Roberts team that made a run to the elite 8 in the 2021 March Madness tournament. His teammate was Max Abmas who now stars for Texas. Vanover was impressive in this game but sat quite frequently for reasons unknown to me.

Missouri despite being 0-6 in the SEC conference gave South Carolina a run for its money. I am sure the South Carolina fans are used to this but I had to smirk at the cheer when one side of the arena yells “Go” and the other side yells “Cocks” Just for the record, a “gamecock” is a type of rooster.