My Favorite Season
Friday, January 24, 2014 at 11:10PM I love basketball. The last time I played was for The Citadel my freshman year in college, but I played for fun for years after. I was an all-state 6’2” center for Irmo High School in 1989 not because I had any talent, but because I practiced for hours every day – rain or shine, hot or cold, on a grass court or in a gym. I just love basketball. My eight year-old son has started playing now and enjoys it and I enjoy sharing it with him.
So, when we found out about the great rivalry games between Dreher and Lower Richland tonight, we packed up the kids and travelled to the “Diamond Mine.” I’ve been there several times for games over the years, but last played there as a sophomore at Irmo in 1986 against the legendary state championship teams that included Stanley Roberts and Jo Jo English – needless to say that scrimmage wasn’t a fond memory, but it helped our teams to grow and have some success in the playoffs those next three years as we went 18-7, 18-7 and 19-6. Of course, Irmo basketball has had a lot more success since I left!
The girls' game was fantastic and physical, and the LR team looked like it would run away with victory at the half. But the Dreher team rallied in the second half and brought the game to within three points with two minutes left before foul trouble finally took its toll and the lady Diamond Hornets were victorious. Our children started to get too tired to stay and we left after the first quarter of the boys’ game but it looked like that game might go down-to-the-wire, too.
The Diamond Mine was packed to capacity and we saw so many old friends and met plenty of new ones. It is always a great night to spend time with my family watching basketball!
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