The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 01, 1989, Page 8, Image 8
Pep Tall
By Kevin Adams
Hornets' fans i
u X
wrong by shati
When Charlotte was officially
awarded a National Basketball
Association franchise on April 22,
1987, there were more than a few
people who doubted the ability of the
area to support a professional
basketball team.
After all, Charlotte was more
famous for its avid support of college
basketball, namely Atlantic Coast
Conference basketball, and stock
racing than anything else. And the
Carolina Cougars, an American
Basketball Association team based in
Charlotte in the early 70's, while
drawing reasonably well, didn't exactly
set the area on fire for pro
basketball.
So when Charlotte was selected as
an expansion site, it was considered a
slap in the face by many of the other
cities that were passed over by the
NBA, which took plenty of heat (no
pun intended, Miami fans) for its
decision.
Of all the cities vying for franchises,
Charlotte was considered by
many to be the least likely to be picked,
a longshot at best. And after being
selected, Charlotte was considered
by many of the same "experts"
to be the least likelv to
succeed.
Surprise, guys.
With just under half of their home
schedule gone, the Charlotte Hornets
are leading the NBA in attendance
and are attempting to become the
first expansion team ever to lead its
league in attendance. Not only that,
but the Hornets are on a pace to
finish the year with the second-best
NBA attendance mark ever, behind
only the 1987-88 Detroit Pistons,
who exceeded one million fans in
their final season in the Pontiac
Silverdome. Despite an 11-32 record,
Charlotte has sold out 15 of its 20
home games in the brand new
Charlotte Coliseum, which seats
23,388 and is the NBA's biggest
arena. Detroit has sinced moved to
an arena with a smaller capacity than
the Silverdome.
"The attention we have received
from the fans in this area far exceeds
any expectations we had going into
our first season," said Hornets Vice
President and General Manager Carl
Scheer. "At first, we were concerned
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vroving critics
ering records
about the Charlotte Coliseum being
too large. Now, we're considering
placing a cap on season ticket sales."
And well they should. The Hornets
are averaging 22,938 fans per game
and have drawn 458,760 fans in only
20 home dates, breaking the previous
NBA expansion attendance record of
319,347, set by the Dallas Mavericks
in 1980-81. Only single seats remain
for most of Charlotte's 21 remaining
home games.
Even more impressive is the fact
that the Hornets broke the record in
only their 15th home game, while it
took Dallas 41 home dates to set the
mark. And not only are the fans
showing up in droves, but they're bringing
zealous enthusiasm to the coliseum
with them, as many opposing
NBA coaches and players can attest.
"From start to finish, this is the
loudest crowd in the NBA,"
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Del
Harris said after a game at Charlotte
in December. "It's like a playoffgame
atmosphere. This crowd is
unbelievable. . . I'm still full of
adrenaline from the crowd."
Houston Rockets' all-pro center
Akeem Olajuwon agrees.
"They have one of the best crowds
in the league, which makes it tough
to hear and play," Olajuwon said
after a close win at Charlotte Dec.
26. "1 didn't want to play an over
time. . . not with this crowd."
The enthusiastic home crowds
have no doubt helped Charlotte's
record as the Hornets are 8-12 at
home, compared to 3-20 on the road.
Before the season, Hornets' management
said they would be more than
happy with 15-20 wins in the first
year. Now, Charlotte might just win
that many at home.
"Word is rapidly spreading
around the league about what's happening
here. It's not novelty. These
fans really know their basketball,"
Scheer said. "On opening night
against Cleveland, when the crowd
stayed for the entire game and gave
the team a standing ovation after a
40-point loss, I knew we had
something special here."
In other words, if you want tickets
for a Hornets' game next year, you'd
better hurry up and call.
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JOHN MILLS Ill/The Gamecock
USC senior forward Martha Parker yells encouragement to her teammates
from the sidelines in the Lady Gamecocks 86-52 win over Metro Conference
foe Virginia Tech Monday at the Carolina Coliseum.
iWUSC-FM=B
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Hunt leads
Lady Hoki
By DAVE KAY
Staff writer
Behind 21 points from Beth Hunt,
the USC women's basketball team
burst out of a slight midseason slump
Monday night at Carolina Coliseum
to roast the Lady Hokies of Virginia
Tech 86-52 in a Metro Conference
battle.
The Lady Gamecocks, now 6-0 in
the Metro and 14-3 overall, had lost
two of their last four games before
Monday, and (JSC head coach Nancy
Wilson expressed pleasure with
her team's performance.
"It's just a good win. Virginia
Tech is always a scrappy team in the
conference," Wilson said. "They
probably were a little bit flat coming
from Florida State here (the Lady
Hokies played at Florida State Saturday
night), but I thought our team
did what it had to do to take advantage
of that."
Virginia lech's Missy Sallade
scored the first two points of the
game for her team, but the Lady
Hokie's lead was short-lived, lasting*
all of 31 seconds. After Beth Hunt's
6-foot jumper put USC ahead 5-3 at
the 18:22 mark, the Lady Gamecocks
never looked back, grabbing as much
as an 18-point lead in the first half
and leading at halftime, 43-25.
The second half resulted in much
I of the same as the Lady Gamecocks'
* lead never dropped below 16 points.
Hawkins' 16-footer at the 4:51 mark
gave USC its largest lead of 34
points, which was matched again
when reserve Ann Gardner hit a
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USC over
ies, 86-52
13-foot jump shot with : 03
remaining.
The Lady Gamecocks utilized a
pressure defense throughout the
game to create 39 Virginia Tech turnovers,
and the 52 points by the
Hokies were the least this season
from a Lady Gamecock opponent.
Wilson gave much of the credit for
the tremendous defensive performance
to the play of her backcourt.
"Defensively our guards did an excellent
job ? in particular, Sherry
David and Lisa Diaz," Wilson said.
"We were able to keep them out of
their offense the majority of the
time."
Offensively, six Lady Gamecocks
scored in double figures as every
member of the squad received at least
11 minutes of playing time. Along
with Hunt's 21 points and 10 rebounds,
Diaz scored 14 points, Karen
Middleton had 11, and Martha
Parker, Schonna Banner and Beverly
Hawkins each tossed in 10.
Hawkins' 10 points tied her season
high and Wilson said she was pleased
with the play of the sophomore
forward.
"Beverly has been doing a very
good job defensively in the last few
games," Wilson said. "She got
several steals, and whenever she takes
her time and goes up strong with her
shot, she's capable of being a verygood
scorer."
The 17th-ranked Lady Gamecocks
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