| Team: | South Carolina Warriors |
| Pixels: | 200px |
| Founded: | 2011 |
| History: | South Carolina Warriors (2011–13) |
| Arena: | Carolina Forest Recreation Center |
| City: | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
| Colors: | Blue, Purple, Black, Gray |
| Owner: | Leonard R. Watts and J. Marshall Biddle |
| Coach: | John Kefalas |
| Championships: | 0 |
| Titles: | 1 |
| Cheerleaders: | Warrior Girls |
| Dancers: | Lady Warriors Dance Team |
| Mascot: | Wags The Warrior Dog |
| Website: | http://www.scwarriorsbasketball.com/ |
The South Carolina Warriors were a semi-professional basketball team based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was an expansion franchise team of the American Basketball Association in the Mid-Atlantic Conference. The team began play in the 2011–12 season.
In early August 2011, The American Basketball Association (ABA) announced that it has added the South Carolina Warriors, an expansion team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for its 2011–2012 season. The South Carolina Warriors would be owned by Indianapolis-based Platinum Entertainment Group LLC/Dymond Recodz (PEG) and would have its first home game at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.[1]
On November 24, 2011, the team announced that starting December 3, 2011, all of the team's home games would be played at the Little River Recreation Center.[2] [3]
On February 25, 2012, the team was sold. It had been owned and operated by Tony Bennett through two different companies. It was sold to a couple investors in South Carolina.[4]
In their inaugural season, The Warriors won every game in the regular season, then beat the Carolina Cheetahs in the playoffs, Lynchburg Legends in the Mid Atlantic Championship, Connecticut Topballers in the ABA Elite Eight, the North Dallas Vandals and Jacksonville Giants for a 29–0 record before losing 2–0 in a best-of-three series to the Jacksonville Giants in the ABA finals.[5] [6] [7]
On October 28, 2012, it was announced that the Warriors had been sold again. Its new owners were local businessmen Leonard R. Watts and J. Marshall Biddle. John Kefalas was promoted from being an assistant to head coach after Chris Beard, the head coach for the inaugural season, left to pursue other coaching opportunities, eventually becoming the head coach at the University of Texas. Kefalas was an assistant coach at Coastal Carolina under Pete Strickland.[8]
| Date | Opponent | Location | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/3/2012 | @ Gainesville Heat | Gainesville, Georgia | Cancelled | |
| 11/8/2012 | East Point Jaguars | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 137–97 | |
| 11/10/2012 | Tennessee Halo's | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 161–82 | |
| 11/11/2012 | @ Palmetto State Rizers | Cancelled | ||
| 11/17/2012 | Gainesville Heat | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 136–113 | |
| 11/18/2012 | Fayetteville Flight | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 121–106 | |
| 11/25/2012 | @ Palmetto State Rizers | Columbia, South Carolina | 116 -92 | |
| 11/30/2012 | Shizuoka Gymrats | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 121–106 | |
| 12/1/2012 | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | Cancelled | ||
| 12/2/2012 | Palmetto State Rizers | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 144–130 | |
| 12/4/2012 | Shizuoka Gymrats | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 159–83 | |
| 12/8/2012 | 112-116 | |||
| 12/11/2012 | Cancelled | |||
| 12/15/2012 | Greenville Galaxy | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 124–100 | |
| 12/16/2012 | Gainesville Heat | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 124–100 | |
| 1/5/2013 | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 111–105 | ||
| 1/6/2013 | Atlanta Aliens | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 121–117 | |
| 1/12/2013 | Hampton Roads Stallions | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 138–72 | |
| 1/13/2013 | Hampton Roads Stallions | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 128–83 | |
| 1/19/2012 | @ Lynchburg Legends | 125–123 | ||
| 1/22/2013 | Fayetteville Flight | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 152–118 | |
| 1/24/2013 | @ Greenville Galaxy | No score available | ||
| 1/26/2013 | Palmetto State Rizers | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | 126–103 | |
| 2/2/2013 | Fayetteville Flight | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | ||
| 2/13/2013 | Greenville Galaxy | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | ||
| 2/16/2013 | Hampton Roads Stallions | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | ||
| 2/17/2013 | Atlanta Wildcats | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | ||
| 2/23/2013 | @Lynchburg Legends | Lynchburg, Virginia | ||
| 3/3/2013 | Palmetto State Rizers | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | Cancelled | |
| 3/7/2013 | Greenville Galaxy | |||
| 3/9/2013 | Atlanta Aliens | Richmond, Virginia | ||
| 3/16/2013 | Lynchburg, Virginia | |||
| 3/23/2013 | Palmetto State Rizers | Carolina Forest Recreation Center | ||
| 3/30/2013 | Palmetto State Rizers | Carolina Forest Recreation Center |
| Season | Total Games | Wins | Losses | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 31 | 29 | 2 | Lost to Jacksonville Giants in finals, 100–91 | |
| 2012–13 | 19 | 17 | 1 | At least 5 games cancelled due to technicalities/ 1 game no score available |
| Years | Coach Name | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Chris Beard | 29–2 | |
| 2012–13 | John Kefalas | 17–1 |
| Graduation Year | ||||||||
| 0 | Tim Ware | F | 6'7" | 214 lbs | 2010 | |||
| 1 | Shaquille Johnson | G | 6'5" | 170 lbs | 2012 | |||
| 3 | Mike Vogler | PG | 6'0" | 180 lbs | 2010 | |||
| 4 | Jarred Stockton | G | 6'5" | 240 lbs | 2008 | |||
| 10 | Gerry Wood | G/F | 6'8" | 210 lbs | 2004 | |||
| 11 | Sherod Harris | G | 5'10" | 160 lbs | Rochester, New York | 2010 | ||
| 15 | Pat Lewis | G/F | 6'5" | 195 lbs | 2008 | |||
| 20 | LaShun Watson | G/F | 6'6" | 212 lbs | 2010 | |||
| 23 | Kellen Brand | G | 6'1" | 188 lbs | 2010 | |||
| 25 | Matt Kendrick | C | 7'0" | 235 lbs | Tampa, Florida | 2010 | ||
| 30 | Brenden Knox | F/C | 6'10" | 230 lbs | 2010 | |||
| 33 | Emanuel Jackson | F | 6'9" | 230 lbs | 2001 | |||
| 33 | Berry Jordan | f | 6'8" | 230 lbs | 2006 | |||
| 40 | Marquise Gainous | F/C | 6'10" | 230 lbs | Orlando, FL | 2000 | ||
| 44 | Dustin Scott | C | 6'8" | 230 lbs | 2009 |
| Player # | Player Name | Position | Height | Weight | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Jo Harris | F/G | 5'4 | 155 | ||
| 1 | John Roberson | G | 5'10" | 180 | ||
| 10 | Tony White Jr | G | 6'0" | 160 | ||
| 25 | Josh Fowler | F | 6'9" | 225 | ||
| 20 | Jerome Richardson | G | 6'5" | 215 | ||
| 33 | Perry Stevenson | F | 6'9" | 220 | ||
| 11 | David Long | G/F | 6'4" | 185 | ||
| 4 | Marquis Gilstrap | F | 6'7" | 220 | ||
| 23 | Grant Maxey | F | 6'5" | 210 | ||
| --- | Kellen Brand | |||||
| --- | Markhuri Sanders-Frison | |||||
| --- | Later played in New Zealand | |||||
| --- | Mario Edwards | Later played in Kosovo | ||||
| --- | John Fowler | |||||
| --- | Colin Stevens |
| Year | Award Name | Head Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Mid-Atlantic Conference Champions | John Kefalas | |
| 2012 | National Division Champions | John Kefalas [9] |