Oct. 14, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina men’s and women’s basketball teams officially kicked off the 2016-17 season on Friday evening when they hosted “Gamecock Madness,” a Midnight Madness type event, at Fort Jackson in Columbia. Carolina head coaches Frank Martin and Dawn Staley joined their teams at the hour-long event, which featured a 3-point challenge, a relay with Carolina student-athletes and soldiers from Fort Jackson, as well as an autograph session to conclude the event.

Following opening remarks from Major General Pete Johnson, team members and the coaches were introduced to the crowd, before the student-athletes paired with soldiers for several competitions. With the basketball teams split between Team Black and Team White, each team selected five soldiers to join their squads. The competition opened with a 3-point contest, claimed by Duane Notice representing the Team White. Next was a relay with the teams passing a basketball from member to member the length of the floor, which went to Team Black. A shooting challenge closed the competition with Team Black clinching the victory.

The final activity of the night was a soldier challenge that the group from Fort Jackson designed with the soldiers rating the student-athletes’ pushups in a timed competition. After the on-court activities, the teams spent time with and signed autographs for the soldiers and their families.

Both basketball teams continue preseason practice in advance of their exhibition contests. The men’s team hosts Newberry in an exhibition matchup on Nov. 6, before the women’s team hosts Benedict in an exhibition on Nov. 7. Continue to visit GamecocksOnline.com for updates on South Carolina basketball.