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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Ten years ago, South Carolina women’s basketball secured a ticket to Tampa for its first Final Four in program history. When it came time for the celebratory cutting down of the net, the players cut the net in all the wrong ways.
Flash forward a decade, and the No. 1 Gamecocks were up on the ladder again after a 54-50 win over No. 2 Duke on Sunday, heading back to Tampa. But this time, they had their net-cutting technique under control.
What changed?
Freddy Ready, the program’s director of player development, had them, well, ready. He was there for the net-cutting calamity in 2015.
“They were cutting it down, just trying to get a piece, not realizing there’s a method to it,” Ready told USA TODAY Sports. “By the time Coach got out there, it was just hanging on by a string.”
At the time, the Gamecocks didn’t have anyone directing the flow of the net-cutting or showing the players the correct way to do so.
“As a gentleman, a man on the female staff, I wanted to make sure everybody got up the ladder safely,” said Ready, a South Carolina graduate who started working for the women’s basketball program in 2002. “So at that point, I started seeing what they were doing as they were coming out. I was like, ‘Oh, you guys messed up the net.’ So at that point, I took control.”
Now, as the Gamecocks head to their fifth-straight Final Four, and their seventh Final Four in program history, Ready has the net-cutting process straightened out.
He calls up each player, in order of their class – freshmen first – then coaches and staff members for their special moment to step up on the ladder and cut their piece of the net. He shows them where and how to cut the net to ensure everyone has the chance to get a piece.
For the seniors, there’s a special twist.
“When I was younger, we only cut a little piece,” senior forward Sania Feagin said. “But as seniors, they cut bracelets.”
She finally got hers Sunday: “So I cut me a bracelet and put it around my wrist.”
After everyone gets a chance to cut the net, Ready cuts the final piece.
He always give that final piece to his mom, as a gift, he said, for just being a mom.
“Back in her house I have a Gamecock room,” Ready said. “So all my paraphernalia, my rings, she has them there. So when I have kids, I can pass them on.”
In the meantime, Ready plans on adding as many nets and rings to his Gamecock room as he can.
“There’s never enough net-cutting,” he said. “Keep it going.”
Ansley Gavlak is a student in the University of Georgia's Sports Media Certificate program.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Meet South Carolina women's basketball staffer in charge of net-cutting
Continue reading...
Flash forward a decade, and the No. 1 Gamecocks were up on the ladder again after a 54-50 win over No. 2 Duke on Sunday, heading back to Tampa. But this time, they had their net-cutting technique under control.
What changed?
Freddy Ready, the program’s director of player development, had them, well, ready. He was there for the net-cutting calamity in 2015.
“They were cutting it down, just trying to get a piece, not realizing there’s a method to it,” Ready told USA TODAY Sports. “By the time Coach got out there, it was just hanging on by a string.”
At the time, the Gamecocks didn’t have anyone directing the flow of the net-cutting or showing the players the correct way to do so.
“As a gentleman, a man on the female staff, I wanted to make sure everybody got up the ladder safely,” said Ready, a South Carolina graduate who started working for the women’s basketball program in 2002. “So at that point, I started seeing what they were doing as they were coming out. I was like, ‘Oh, you guys messed up the net.’ So at that point, I took control.”
Now, as the Gamecocks head to their fifth-straight Final Four, and their seventh Final Four in program history, Ready has the net-cutting process straightened out.
He calls up each player, in order of their class – freshmen first – then coaches and staff members for their special moment to step up on the ladder and cut their piece of the net. He shows them where and how to cut the net to ensure everyone has the chance to get a piece.
For the seniors, there’s a special twist.
“When I was younger, we only cut a little piece,” senior forward Sania Feagin said. “But as seniors, they cut bracelets.”
She finally got hers Sunday: “So I cut me a bracelet and put it around my wrist.”
After everyone gets a chance to cut the net, Ready cuts the final piece.
He always give that final piece to his mom, as a gift, he said, for just being a mom.
“Back in her house I have a Gamecock room,” Ready said. “So all my paraphernalia, my rings, she has them there. So when I have kids, I can pass them on.”
In the meantime, Ready plans on adding as many nets and rings to his Gamecock room as he can.
“There’s never enough net-cutting,” he said. “Keep it going.”
Ansley Gavlak is a student in the University of Georgia's Sports Media Certificate program.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Meet South Carolina women's basketball staffer in charge of net-cutting
Continue reading...
