In 12 seasons in South Carolina, Dawn Staley has won perhaps the best followers in women’s college basketball.
Staley’s Gamecocks had an average of 12,218 fans per game last season, leading the country and beating the USC men’s team. And his team led Division I for six consecutive years.
“Home advantage is a key ingredient to any successful championship,” said Staley after his team won the national championship in 2017. “Fans become an extension of the team, generate momentum and are always there to show their support.”
But, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, Gamecock fans will not be able to have the same numbers this season. Like other programs across the state, USC is limiting participation in Colonial Life Arena under the COVID-19 protocols – in South Carolina, to 3,500 fans, or 19.44% of the 18,000-seat arena, for men’s games and female.
When the Gamecock women open their season at noon on Wednesday against the College of Charleston (SECN +), fans will be seated in groups of two, four and six seats, at least six feet apart between pods .
Spectators and employees will be required to wear masks at all times.
“Honestly, we will probably feel like most of the programs we play,” said Staley, whose team won 32 games and was in first place when the last season was interrupted by the pandemic. “But it will be exciting. The 3,500 who can watch our games, I think will make the same noise.
“It will definitely be a transition for our players. It was a transition when we started playing for so many people and it will definitely need a little more concentration to make that adjustment.”
USC male coach Frank Martin, who hired COVID-19 earlier this year, said that every game his team plays this season is a victory. Your team opens with a friendly game against Coker at 6:30 pm on Wednesday.
“At the end of the day, any time we have to play a game this year, it will be a victory for our children,” he said. “They invest time and mentally manage to do what they like to do.”
Here’s what to expect from other gyms across the state in a season like no other:
Charleston Southern
An advantage of having one of the smallest first division basketball academies is that it can get noisy in a hurry.
But Charleston Southern, whose “Buc Dome” accommodates 881 spectators, made the difficult decision not to sell tickets for home games this season. Participation will be limited to about 40 spectators, most of whom are players and visiting recruits.
The College of Charleston will limit participation to around 1,500 fans at home basketball games this season due to COVID-19. Archive / Team
The seats behind the seats will be closed, and only six cheerleaders and six band members can attend.
“We know that Buc Dome is an advantage for us as a home court and we are losing that advantage,” said Bucs coach Barclay Radebaugh, whose teams debut on Wednesday at NC State (8pm, ACCN). ” doing well to be the same across the country. Nobody is having fans. and those who are allowing fans are having such a small number that they will also have no advantage.
“It is something for which we have prepared our players. We have already talked about the idea of having to produce our own energy. In all of our games, things will be very different. “
Radebaugh, whose team includes Big South preseason player Phlandrous Fleming Jr., said his team learned a lot from watching college football and NFL teams playing with a limited audience.
“Something that really helped our players with the adjustment was watching college football and the NFL,” he said. “They are watching these games and seeing very small crowds and even no fans at some stadiums. They were able to see it on TV and prepare their minds for what it will be like. “
The citadel
Bulldogs are a team that cannot be greatly affected by spectator restrictions. Citadel plans to limit attendance to about 1,629 fans at McAlister Field House, which seats 6,000, which is about 27 percent.
“If we get so many fans, it’s a good crowd of us,” said sixth-year coach Duggar Baucom, whose team drew 1,001 fans per game during the injury-filled 6-24 season last year.
A more immediate problem for The Citadel is COVID-19 contact tracking. Bulldogs had to pause pre-season training for two weeks after a positive test, but they should be in full force for Wednesday’s 3pm opening against Coker – except, that is, for the Southern Conference freshman, Fletcher Abee, still working his way back after having his knee examined about a month ago.
“Taking 14 days off in the middle of our 30 days of practice was certainly not ideal,” said Baucom. “We ended up losing 12 practices. But that is the challenge we face now. I am just crossing my fingers so that all tests are negative in the morning and I hope we can continue this game and this will be the start of an unusual season.”
Clemson
Tigers, which opens its season on Wednesday against the State of Mississippi in Melbourne, Florida, has had brushes with COVID-19. Striker Aamir Simms and two other players tested positive during the summer.
Beginning with their home debut against the state of South Carolina on December 2, the Tigers will play in front of some 1,800 spectators at the 9,000-seat Littlejohn Coliseum.
“This is a year in which challenges will arise that you simply have to deal with,” said coach Brad Brownell. “Our boys have been unbelievable in terms of the sacrifices they have made so far. Our boys are not doing much more than doing schoolwork, going to the gym and practicing.
“Because of that, we were lucky that we didn’t have a lot of COVID on our team. Therefore, we were able to be consistent with the practices. This is one of the great challenges going forward. ”
College of Charleston
Cougars senior Brevin Galloway said it would be up to the players to supply whatever energy is lacking at the TD Arena, where the College of Charleston will allow about 1,530 spectators for home games, about 30 percent of the capacity at the venue for 5,100 seats . Last year, Cougars drew 4,232 fans per game during a 17-14 season.
“Fortunately, we can still bring around 1,500 fans into the arena,” said Galloway, who averaged 11.3 points last year. “And we will have some poster clippings to fill the arena so that it doesn’t look empty. But we will definitely have to bring our own energy a little more than we normally need, especially from the bank’s perspective.
The Cougars, who begin their season on Wednesday in North Carolina (ACCN), play against an unusual team from the Colonial Athletic Association, facing the same opponent on consecutive nights at the same location. For example, the Cougars open CAA’s schedule with two games in Delaware on January 2 and 3, then return home to host Drexel for two games on January 9 and 10.
“It will definitely be very different,” said Galloway. “It’s a quick turnaround to play on Saturday and Sunday, and you’re going to have to adjust quickly and do that in 24 hours. It’s going to be a little harder to play with the same team against each other. I really don’t like it, but we have to do what we have to do in order to play. “
That will be the theme of the 2020-21 season: Doing what we have to do to play.