Madness — SC style. Let’s play ‘what if’ with best college hoops teams in state history
No games? Struggling to cope? Suffering with withdrawal pains without March Madness?
No problem.
To solve that feeling of cabin fever and perhaps relieve some anxiety created by the coronavirus-forced absence of the road to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, a trip into “fantasy land” is in order.
The journey focuses on forging a version of Palmetto State Madness, centering attention on some of the teams that always will be in our hall of memories.
Pick ’em. Seed ’em. Think about the possibilities in the games. Buzzer-beaters and routs. Heartbreak and heroics. The last-second shot goes in — or spins out.
John Roche, BJ McKie, Greg Buckner, Anthony Johnson, Fletcher Magee and more ... all displaying their talents, at least in our imaginations, one more time.
“Our” version of Madness includes 16 teams. Each college that has had at least one representative in the Big Dance earns a spot. Throw in a couple of national champions from the NAIA ranks that offer glowing credentials.
Choosing the teams is subjective. Inevitably, debate will rage over which ones from the same college are superior. Indeed, one of the best did not even make the NCAAs under rules from another time. Eras are different. Styles change. The advent of the 3-point goal and the shot clock altered the face of the game.
And that’s the fun.
“Selection Day” is now, and here are the teams:
▪ No. 16, Charleston Southern, 1997.
▪ No. 15, South Carolina State, 1998.
▪ No. 14, Coastal Carolina, 1991.
▪ No. 13, Winthrop, 2020.
▪ No. 12, USC Spartanburg (now USC Upstate), 1982.
▪ No. 11, College of Charleston, 1983.
▪ No. 10, Winthrop, 2007.
▪ No. 9, Furman, 1974.
▪ No. 8, Clemson, 1990.
▪ No. 7, South Carolina, 1997.
▪ No. 6, Wofford, 2019.
▪ No. 5, College of Charleston, 1997.
▪ No. 4, Clemson, 1997.
▪ No. 3, South Carolina, 2017.
▪ No. 2, Clemson, 1980.
▪ No. 1, South Carolina 1970.
*****
Here are the Sweet 16 matchups. We’ll “simulate” the results in our next installment of this series. ...
No. 1 South Carolina (1970) vs. No. 16 Charleston Southern (1997)
South Carolina
Overall Record: 25-3. ACC Record: 14-0 (1st). Coach: Frank McGuire. Top Players: John Roche, 22.3 ppg; Tom Owens, 15.9 ppg, 14.0 rpg; Tom Riker, 13.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg. Highlights: Ranked among nation’s top teams all season. Lost in double overtime in ACC tourney finals that determined league champion and, at the time, only conference champions qualified for NCAAs.
Charleston Southern
Overall Record: 17-13. Big South Record: 7-7 (tie for 4th). Coach: Tom Conrad. Top Players: Brett Larrick, 20.0 ppg; Errol McPherson, 16.5 ppg, 5.1 apg; Rolando Hourruitiner, 13.3 ppg. Highlights: With an 8-9 record in late January, Buccaneers won six straight and later won Big South tourney title. Lost to UCLA 109-75 in first round of NCAAs.
No. 8 Clemson (1990) vs. No. 9 Furman (1974)
Clemson
Overall Record: 24-8. ACC Record: 10-4 (1st). Coach: Cliff Ellis. Top Players: Dale Davis, 15.5 ppg, 11.3 rpg; Elden Campbell, 16.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg. Highlights: First Clemson team to have two first-team All-ACC players (Davis and Campbell). Won two games before eliminated from NCAAs on an improbable last-second shot by Connecticut’s Tate George in the Sweet 16.
Furman
Overall Record: 22-9. Southern Conference Record: 11-1 (1st). Coach: Joe Williams. Top Players: Clyde Mayes, 17.3 ppg, 13.0 rpg; Bruce Grimm, 14.4 ppg; Fessor Leonard, 15.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg; Craig Lynch, 9.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg. Highlights: One of the school’s outstanding teams of the 1970s. Won Southern Conference tourney, then defeated state-rival South Carolina in the NCAAs to advance to Sweet Sixteen.
No. 4 Clemson (1997) vs. No. 13 Winthrop (2020)
Clemson
Overall Record: 23-10. ACC Record: 9-7 (tied for 4th). Coach: Rick Barnes. Top Players: Greg Buckner, 15.6 ppg; Terrell McIntyre, 13.4 ppg; 4.4 apg; Merl Code, 10.9 ppg. Highlights: Ranked as high as No. 2 in January polls, thanks to 12-game winning streak. After lackluster loss in ACC tourney, Tigers regrouped with two NCAA wins before losing in double overtime to No. 1 seed Minnesota.
Winthrop
Overall Record: 24-10. Big South Record: (15-3 tied for 1st). Coach: Pat Kelsey. Top Players: Hunter Hale, 13.9; DJ Burns, 11.9 ppg; Josh Ferguson 11.4, ppg, 6.6 rpg. Highlights: After 6-7 start against rugged schedule, Eagles went 18-3 with a 14-game winning streak. Lost NCAA opportunity with tournament’s cancellation because of coronavirus.
No. 5 College of Charleston (1997) vs. No. 12 USC Spartanburg (1982)
College of Charleston
Overall Record: 29-3. TAAC Record: 16-0 (1st). Coach: John Kresse. Top Players: Thaddeous Delaney, 15.8 ppg; 9.5 rpg; Anthony Johnson, 13.9 ppg; 7.2 apg; Rodney Conner, 12.3 ppg; Stacy Harris, 11.8 ppg. Highlights: Served notice with early wins over Arizona State and Stanford. Did not lose until NCAA tourney after Dec. 18 setback at Oklahoma State. Jolted Maryland in NCAAs before falling to eventual champion Arizona, 73-69, in second round.
USC Spartanburg
Overall Record: 27-5. Coach: Jerry Waters. Top Players: Wendell Gibson, 20.4 ppg; Mike Gibson, 16.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg; Odell Cleveland, 10.6 ppg. Highlights: Won NAIA National Championship with each of five tourney wins by at least 10 points. The 14th-seeded Rifles whipped undefeated and top-ranked Biola (Calif.) 51-38 for title.
No. 3 South Carolina (2017) vs. No. 14 Coastal Carolina (1991)
South Carolina
Overall Record: 26-11. SEC Record: 12-6 (3rd). Coach: Frank Martin. Top Players: Sindarius Thornwell, 21.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg; PJ Dozier, 13.9 ppg; Chris Silva, 10.2 ppg; Duane Notice, 10.2 ppg. Highlights: Rolled to a 20-7 record by mid-February, then dropped five of seven games headed into NCAAs. Regrouped, winning four tourney games to become only men’s team from state of South Carolina to advance to the NCAA Final Four. Lost 77-73 to Gonzaga in national semifinals.
Coastal Carolina
Overall Record: 24-8. Big South Record: 13-1 (1st). Coach: Russ Bergman. Top Players: Tony Dunkin, 18.0 ppg, 7.1 ppg; Brian Penny, 14.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg; Robert Dowdell, 13.4 ppg, 4.8 apg; DuWayne Cheatam, 11.9 ppg; 6.0 rpg. Highlights: Four straight losses left Chanticleers with a 6-5 record in early January. Coastal followed with a 22-3 streak. Late rally failed and Chanticleer fell to Indiana 79-69 in first round of NCAAs.
No. 6 Wofford (2019) vs. No. 11 College of Charleston (1983)
Wofford
Overall Record: 30-5. Southern Conference Record: 16-0 (1st). Coach: Mike Young. Top Players: Fletcher Magee (20.3 ppg); Cameron Jackson, 14.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg; Nathan Hoover, 13.6 ppg. Highlights: After dropping some early-season “money” games, Terriers ripped off 29 straight wins, a streak that ended in a 62-56 loss to Kentucky in NCAA tourney’s second round. Climbed into national rankings at No. 20. Shot an amazing 41.4 percent on 3-pointers.
College of Charleston
Overall Record: 33-5. Coach: John Kresse. Top Players: Greg Mack, 15.8 ppg, Steve Yetman; John Brett. Highlights: A year after losing to eventual NAIA national champion USC Spartanburg in the NAIA District 6 tourney final, the Cougars brought home a national championship their own. Charleston beat West Virginia Wesleyan for the NAIA title one day after eliminating No. 1 seed Chaminade, the team that upset Ralph Sampson’s Virginia team earlier in the year.
No. 7 South Carolina (1997) vs. No. 10 Winthrop (2007)
South Carolina
Overall Record: 24-8. SEC Record: 15-1 (1st). Coach: Eddie Fogler. Top Players: BJ McKie, 17.4 ppg; Larry Davis, 16.0 ppg; Melvin Watson, 11.0 ppg, 5.1 apg. Highlights: 5-5 after a loss to Charleston Southern on Dec. 28, USC won 19 of its next 20 en route to winning the SEC regular season title. A No. 2 seed in the NCAAs, the Gamecocks suffered a stunning upset loss to Coppin State in the opening round.
Winthrop
Overall Record: 29-5. Big South Record: 14-0 (1st). Coach: Gregg Marshall. Top Players: Michael Jenkins, 14.8 ppg; Craig Bradshaw, 13.5 ppg; 6.3 rpg; Torrell Martin, 14.5 ppg. Highlights: With a 10-4 mark after losses to North Carolina, Wisconsin, Maryland and Texas A&M, the Eagles won 18 straight and dominated the Big South. Winthrop knocked off Notre Dame 74-64 in the NCAAs before falling to Oregon.
No. 2 Clemson (1980) vs. No. 15 South Carolina State (1998)
Clemson
Overall Record: 23-9. ACC Record: 8-6 (4th). Coach: Bill Foster. Top Players: Billy Williams, 17.6 ppg; Larry Nance, 13.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg; John (Moose) Campbell, 10.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg; Bobby Conrad, 7.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg. Highlights: Beat No. 1 Duke to highlight wins over six nationally-ranked teams. Advanced to NCAA’s Elite Eight with wins over Utah State, Brigham Young and Lamar before dropping West Regional final to UCLA.
South Carolina State
Overall Record: 22-8. MEAC Record: 16-2. Coach: Cy Alexander. Top Players: Roderick Blakney, 20.7 ppg; Tyler Brown, 16.9 ppg, James Jones, 9.5 ppg. Highlights: After a 1-5 start that included losses to three nationally ranked teams, the Bulldogs sizzled with 21 wins in their final 24 games. Bounced Coppin State for MEAC title, then fell to No. 5 Kentucky in NCAA’s first round.
*****
Coming next
We’ll simulate the games, all the way down to crowning a Palmetto State Madness champion
