LONG WEEKEND!

Greetings from Durham, NC! Site of the 2K Sports Classic to benefit Coaches versus Cancer.

After working the Laurens at Greenwood game, Jim Iacuone, Walt Gary and I piled into the van and made the trek to Charleston, SC for the PC versus Charleston Southern game.

Unfortunately, for Bobby Bentley and PC they just weren’t clicking on all cylinders and came up short of a win losing 29-18.

We rolled back into town Saturday night around 8pm. Fast forward to Sunday morning, 7:30 and I’ on a bus with Coach Nibert and the PC Men’s basketball team headed for Durham.

WE got to the hotel at 11:30am and got settled. By 3:00 p.m. it was back onto the bus for the short drive to Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Trust me when I tell you that it is EVERYTHING that people tell you it is and more. From the moment you walk into the main lobby you are smacked in the face with tradition and history with the plaques, banners, and all the trimmings.

There’s the case devoted to the 2008-09 men’s and women’s teams. Once you walk into the actual arena you can’t help but notice all the banners recognizing the ACC regular season and tournament titles. There’s the many NCAA Final Four banners, and of course the three national title banners for the men.

There are also the banners recognizing the run of ACC titles and final four appearances five years running this decade for the women.

After watching the team practice for two hours we enjoyed a great meal at Texas Roadhouse. I highly recommend it for both food and atmosphere, all the way down to the peanuts on each table.

Once back at the hotel at 9pm it was into a scouting report session with the team. Preparation would be one f the best words to describe a PC Men’s team, as they get ready to face 5th ranked Duke.

The game plan is in place. It all comes down to execution tonight at 7pm.

Duke is good, and has tremendous depth. Win, lose, or draw the exposure and experience these kids will get from playing on such a big national stage tonight will be a tremendous benefit this season and for years to come.

We’re staying in the same hotel as Georgia Southern and Houston, two of the teams in this bracket of the tournament.

Don’t forget tickets go on sale today (Monday) for the Laurens home playoff game this Friday against North Augusta. They’re $6 and are available at Valvoline Express Care and Master Dry Cleaners.

Ok, that’s it. Have a great start to the weekend and make sure you tune in tonight at 6:30 for the pre-game and tip off at 7pm for PC versus Duke.