May 19, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. –
Former South Carolina men’s basketball standouts Skip Harlicka (1966-68) and Jack Thompson (1966-68) were honored with inductions into the state of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame, in a ceremony at the Columbia Convention Center on Monday evening.

Harlicka and Thompson, nominated as a pair for the Hall of Fame, led the Gamecocks during a successful three-year stint during which South Carolina was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). During their careers, the duo helped lead the Gamecocks to victory over ACC powerhouse programs, Duke (three times) and North Carolina (twice). The tandem were part of legendary head coach Frank McGuire’s first recruiting class at South Carolina and played a critical role in Carolina’s rise to the top of the ACC.

Harlicka finished his career with 1,209 points (25th in school history), while his 17.5 points per game in the Garnet and Black rank sixth in school history. Leading the Gamecocks in scoring each of his three seasons, Harlicka was named a Chuck Taylor’s Conference Yearbook All-American (1968), while he was also named to the All-ACC First Team during his senior year and was twice named to the ACC All-Tournament Team (1966, ’68). Following his career at South Carolina, Harlicka was selected in the 1968 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks.

Thompson, one of the top point guards in South Carolina history, averaged 10.9 points per game during his three-year Gamecock career (assist records for that time are incomplete). He was named to the All-ACC Second Team in 1967, while he was a two-time team captain (1967, ’68) and was twice named to the ACC All-Tournament squad (1967, ’68). Thompson was selected in the ABA draft by the Indiana Pacers following his Carolina career.