COLOMBIA – It was expected, but still, tremendously disappointing when it was made official.
SC Pro-Am’s annual basketball showcase will not be held this year because of the coronavirus.
“With the recent increase in numbers, we are taking great care,” said Pro-Am founder and former South Carolina basketball player, Carey Rich. “In line with what is happening now, we are on the side of the general safety of our viewers so that we can start to move forward and return to some kind of normalcy.”
Rich emphasized that he expects Pro-Am to resume in its ninth year in the summer of 2021, so it is yet another postponement. Even so, fans who have gotten used to the annual event will not be able to see the Gamecocks basketball team, along with NBA players such as Sindarius Thornwell, PJ Dozier, Khris Middleton, Torrey Craig and Ja Morant, coming back to play or watch their Tap friends.
Rich and Pro-Am executive director Adam McDowell started the event in 2012 as a way for college basketball players to have a centralized summer venue for pickup games. Rich, a 1993-95 USC guard, knew the value of playing all summer and against as many different opponents as possible.
Learning the peculiarities and trends of his teammates took place and there was nothing wrong with playing only with them during the summer, but the opportunity to go against other players, the ones you can see on the other bench during the season, beckoned . However, there has never been a constant way of doing this without many trips.
Pro-Am eliminated that. Composed mainly of South Carolina natives who were playing ball at college in the state or abroad, the event was held at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School. Rich and McDowell tweaked the model until it came to a four-day showcase with three games a day. The fourth day features the playoff and the championship round.
Security during these periods is the most important factor, but it is another blow to Rich and McDowell, who saw the biggest crowds they have had in the past year. The new format was a great way to spend 2-3 hours on a summer night during the week and see top-notch basketball. Admission was always free and Colombians attended the event.
“It was built on the premise of creating an unbelievable basketball atmosphere. We were allowing our community to see Heathwood Hall as a destination, ”said Rich. “We did that and we wanted to have some of the best players to come back and be a part of what we are doing.
“Unfortunately, there was no way we could do this this year and be able to do it the way we did it.”
That was the problem when COVID-19 spread across the country. Rich and McDowell cultivated sponsors to pay for the team’s uniforms, but when discussing the logistics of trying to calculate the additional costs of coronavirus security measures, they were shocked.
“We had enough partnerships to be able to satisfy most of the concerns, but it all came down to a point of view of preparation and time management, and we didn’t want to take anything away from the event,” said Rich. “Our event is all about creating the crowd and great games and allowing our fans to see great players up close and personal, the NBA guys coming back and players from all the colleges in the state. We want to be in line with the governor’s and mayor’s security protocols. We just didn’t think we could do that with the crowds. “
Almost every player on the USC men’s team participated in the event every year and there were usually at least a few players from Clemson and College of Charleston. Pro-Am was also a popular place to meet female USC team members, who attended frequently.
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.