Checking in from Charleston

Charleston – How intimate a setting is this at the Charleston Classic?

I walk into Carolina First Arena – which includes John Kresse Court – and go to the will call window, asking where I can pick up my press credentials. The woman behind the window doesn’t know, and asks the woman next to her, who says something inaudible, but apparently unhelpful.

Just then, a man to my left puts his hand on my shoulder.

“You wanna go out this door here,” he says, pointing out, “then go down the side of the building, about 100 yards and you’ll see a door that says ‘media entrance.’ ”

It’s at this point I realize that the man giving me directions to get access to John Kresse Court is, in fact, John Kresse.

I figured since part of the building is named after him, it was safe to assume his directions were correct. (And they were.)

I’m going to be here the next four days – except Saturday, when the event has a day off and  I’ll be back in Columbia, attending the “Twilight: New Moon” movie, because I don’t have a choice.  Otherwise, it’s three days of basketball.

I’ll try to blog and tweet various thoughts over the weekend. All things being equal, South Carolina should win this thing, but each round does present its own pitfalls. And the Gamecocks still have some things to iron out, and the competition this weekend will either help expose some issues, or answer some questions.  (Is Sam Muldrow really this good an offensive player? Will Lakeem Jackson’s shooting struggles be overcome by his other skills?)

The big upset early in the day was UNC Wilmington over Penn State. The Seahawks shot 10-for-16 from the 3-point line, even though Brett Blizzard graduated five years ago.

Miami pulled away from Tulane in the second half, setting up a second-round matchup with UNC Wilmington. So the Hurricanes will be favorites to make the final and would be the Gamecocks’ opponent if they make it that far.

Right now I’m watching South Florida play Davidson, which both present interesting subplots for South Carolina. Davidson would be a chance for USC to avenge its NIT first-round loss last year, while South Florida has several SEC connections – former Arkansas coach Stan Heath, and former Georgia guard Mike Mercer. And then there’s that budding NCAA violations story.

We’ll check in later.