What a week it’s been!
It started with us in Hahira, Georgia, on Sunday morning after taking our granddaughter, Livvy, home following a few days in Aiken. We left the south Georgia town for Aiken and pulled into our driveway at 3 p.m. on the dot. Just in time to watch the opening tip of the women’s national championship basketball game.
A South Carolina grad, of course I was pulling as hard as I could for the Gamecocks. While things started off a little rocky in the first quarter, by halftime USC was in the lead thanks to what I considered the play of the game. At least it is the one I thought turned the tide.
With Carolina a point ahead and Iowa’s All-American Caitlin Clark dribbling the ball near mid-court waiting for the clock to tick down so she could take the last shot of the half, Raven Johnson picked her pocket, stole the ball, dribbled downcourt and laid in the ball for a Gamecock 3-point lead.
Carolina kept Clark at bay throughout the third and fourth quarters and showed that excellent team play in which no single star is relied on can win championships. All nine of the Gamecocks who played significant minutes contributed mightily in the game that left USC an undisputed No. 1 with a perfect 38-0 record.
That was Sunday, and of course I was ecstatic over what Dawn Staley’s squad accomplished. With grandson Carter a senior at the Columbia school, I was doubly happy to have a family member enjoy the feeling of having his school win another national championship.
Monday I was scheduled to speak to a group at church, and I wanted to show pride in my alma mater. I dressed carefully that morning, the day that a partial solar eclipse was to occur in Aiken. After being introduced, I walked up to the stage wearing a Gamecock jacket and a Carolina ball cap.
I told the 30 or so people in attendance that it was cool in the morning, so I just grabbed the first thing in the closet, the jacket, to ward off the chill. It just happened to be a Gamecock jacket. Since it was such a sunny day, I told them, the hat was to shield my eyes, and I grabbed the first one off a shelf in the closet. But I was not finished.
Taking off the cap and jacket, revealed that I was wearing a USC vest. When I peeled that off, it showed my Gamecock necktie on a solid black shirt. Those were all complemented by the shoes and socks I showed to the audience. Garnet and black socks and shoes!
It was a fun way to get the talk started.
Later in the week, women’s college basketball was on my mind again. And this time it had to do with Carolina’s arch-rival Clemson. The school in the northwest part of the state announced on March 26 that a new hire was made to coach the women’s team – Shawn Poppie, who had spent the previous two years as head coach at UTC – University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
While I might not ordinarily have paid much attention to that news, this time was different. I had watched a couple of the Chattanooga games on TV, because a former student of mine at USC Aiken was one of their assistant coaches. Katelyn Grisillo played her last two years of college ball with the Pacers, and she was in one of my newswriting classes. We’ve kept in touch since her graduation, and I wondered if she might be added to the Clemson staff.
When at USCA, Katelyn told me how much she and her family loved Clemson athletics. She had a surprise meeting with football coach Dabo Swinney and had a video taken of her sitting behind his desk while the Tiger coach explained various offensive plays. I’m sure that Katelyn still has that video stored in an easy-to-find place on her phone.
I learned Thursday that Katelyn has been added to Poppie’s coaching staff at Clemson, a move that she must be thrilled with. She’ll be a natural in orange. While I’m not a Clemson fan, I’ll put my feelings aside for Katelyn and the Tiger women’s team next season. Except of course when they have the annual game against Carolina.
What a week.
