South Carolina, Clemson take a step back in time for alumni basketball game
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Former South Carolina basketball player Tre’ Kelley will never forget the trips back to Columbia from Madison Square Garden. Both of them.
Kelley’s Gamecocks won the National Invitation Tournament in 2005 and again 2006, and both years Kelley remembers pulling into Colonial Life Arena and seeing it swarming with fans, students and media. Before USC’s against-all-odds Final Four run in 2017, the 2005 and 2006 USC teams were the most decorated in school history as the only USC men’s teams to end their season with a national title.
So, when Kelley had the chance to bring his teammates back together, he jumped at the opportunity.
Back in May, Kelley’s friend Ricky Goings of the new Alumni Basketball League asked Kelley if he could organize a team of South Carolina alumni to play a rivalry game against former Clemson players. Kelley knew exactly who to ask. He was already in an Instagram group chat with former teammates Tarence Kinsey, Brandon Wallace, Carlos Powell and Renaldo Balkman — all of whom played significant roles during those NIT runs.
Kelley asked them if they were interested in hitting the court one more time together. The response was a resounding “yes.”
At 7 p.m. Saturday the eight-man “Garnet Greats” alumni team will face off against Clemson’s “Littlejohn Legends” at HTC Arena at Benedict College. Tickets are available to purchase on the ABL’s website.
“I was a little biased in the sense of wanting to get my group of guys together, for basketball purposes and for the game of course, but also just for us to kind of reunite and have a great time in front of old friends at the place where it all started for us,” Kelley told The State.
“We had such a great time together. We haven’t been together since we were at school, and I think it’s a great time for us to get back on the court together and put on the University of South Carolina uniform.”
The ABL is the creation of former NBA player and Missouri alum Kareem Rush, and it features several games this summer across the country that pit basketball alumni against their rival schools, including Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, Kansas vs. Kansas State and others.
While the South Carolina team includes players from more recent eras, including A.J. Wilson from the 2021-22 team, most of the Garnet Greats are nearing 40 years old and are either in coaching or working in other fields. Saturday’s game will represent a unique opportunity for them to lace up again.
“I think we’ll probably be a lot less athletic,” Wallace told The State, laughing. “But the heart and the fight will still be there.”
The Clemson-USC rivalry
Former Clemson star Marcquise Reed got a taste of the ABL last year, during a trial run, when a group of Maryland alumni played against Georgetown alums. Reed attended the game as a fan and lover of basketball, and he came away enamored by the experience. The atmosphere in the arena was electric.
Like Kelley, Reed heard from the ABL about putting together a group of Clemson alums for a game against the Gamecocks, and he didn’t have far to look.
Though he came to Clemson as a transfer from Robert Morris, Reed quickly established himself as a centerpiece for some of the best Tigers teams in recent memory, helping to lead Brad Brownell’s squad to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2018. Many of Reed’s teammates will play Saturday for the Littlejohn Legends, including Clyde Trapp, Donte Grantham and Elijah Thomas, as well as other recent Clemson stars like K.J. McDaniels.
The rivalry aspect of the game is a key part of why Reed is excited for the experience — and why he enjoyed last year’s Hoyas-Terrapins battle.
“I didn’t understand it as much when I transferred in (to Clemson) because I came from a mid major, so we didn’t have a rivalry as serious as that was,” Reed told The State. “But it’s a great rivalry, one of the best rivalries probably in college basketball — top 10 rivalry for sure.
“And it’s just exciting to play games like that. The fans are so excited, the players are excited. You don’t need much motivation. It’s just the name you’re playing when you see South Carolina on the jersey and Clemson on the jersey.”
As one would expect, there’s been a small amount of friendly trash talk behind the scenes. Both teams want bragging rights over the other, but the No. 1 goal, according to USC’s Kinsey, is to come out of the game with no injuries.
Adrenaline is bound to start pumping when the teams hit the court, though. Nearly a decade later, Kinsey still remembers the anxious anticipation that preceded Clemson-USC rivalry games.
“You can feel the urgency, you can feel just the nerves ... you can hear the conversation throughout the lunch room, throughout the different classes,” Kinsey told The State. “Sometimes your professors throw a little joke in there, ‘Make sure you beat Clemson.’
“That whole week, you just hear it over and over and over. And then when that jump ball comes, it’s like, ‘OK, all the nerves, all that is out of the way. It’s game time now.’ ”
More than a game
Though the Clemson-USC rivalry is the main draw, the ABL game has a community service aspect to it, too.
The arena will host the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands, including a pre-game teen basketball competition at 5:30 p.m. and a game of knockout at halftime. There will also be raffles that will benefit the organization.
Even more, the alumni players have talked about getting out into the community during their weekend in Columbia and finding ways to give back. Kinsey, who runs the Tarence Kinsey Foundation for underprivileged children in Tampa, said he wants to connect with similar foundations in Columbia while he’s here and find ways to collaborate with them. He said he even plans to personally invite Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann to come to the game.
“Being able to help the community, I think that’s what we’re trying to win now — instead of winning a championship,” Kinsey said. “So these conversations in this game means more than just the game.
“Yes, we want to compete and play. But when this game is over, how can we get some things done in the city? How can we help some of the community? How can we help push forward some of the initiatives that maybe the mayors or some of the politicians may have going on?”
In the near decade since the Gamecocks won back-to-back NIT titles, most of the stars of that team are in coaching or are involved in community work. Wallace just led the girls’ basketball team at Gray Collegiate to a state title, and he said that he has several players who weren’t even born when he was playing basketball at USC.
Wallace and the rest of the alumni will be able to show kids a glimpse of what made them so dynamic on the court in their heyday. But more importantly, they’ll have the chance to instill knowledge and share what they learned throughout their basketball journeys.
“I stopped playing in 2013, but I got into coaching in 2016, and it’s re-lit a fire for me,” Wallace said. “The joy that I get from working with young people and helping them achieve things that they didn’t think was possible, just helping them find themselves is the joy of coaching and giving back.
“So any time you can give back to the community, the younger generation in any aspect and you can affect them positively, it’s a big deal.”
Garnet Greats alumni roster
Listed with jersey number
A.J. Wilson 12
Carlos Powell 15
Kory Holden 1
Renaldo Balkman 34
Sam Muldrow 44
Tarence Kinsey 21
Tre’ Kelley 1
Brandon Wallace 33
Littlejohn Legends Alumni Roster
Brevin Galloway 11
Clyde Trapp 7
Donte Grantham 15
Elijah Thomas 14
Jonathan Baehre 1
K.J. McDaniels 32
Marcquise Reed 2
Tevin Mack 0
