South Carolina natives Sindarius Thornwell, PJ Dozier and Justin McKie grew up with Gamecock men’s basketball.
They’ve watched the team through its highs and lows, staying with it from Darrin Horn’s 10-win season in 2011 to Frank Martin’s hiring in 2012.
Now, the guards have led their beloved childhood team to the Final Four for the first time in program history.
“Signing and growing up in South Carolina, all we asked for was a chance to make it,” Thornwell said. “We didn't ask for — coach ain't guaranteed us anything, but to come here and just work hard and give ourselves a chance. All we wanted was to make it.”
As the son of USC basketball’s all-time leading scorer BJ McKie, senior Justin McKie gets a chance to do something his father never did on the national stage.
“It means a lot to me. I remember watching Gamecock basketball when I was a kid. Crying on losses, celebrating like I was on the team on wins. To be a part of this is unbelievable. It’s incredible,” McKie said.
The senior Columbia native played basketball at Irmo High and led his team to the State Championship at Colonial Life Arena in 2013. While he was in high school, the 2013 Gatorade South Carolina Boys' Basketball Player of the Year said his father used to walk him around the USC locker room and teach him the history of the team.
“I felt an emotional connection to the guys who were playing after him and before me. I always had confidence in Gamecock basketball just because I had been around it my whole life. Now, to be a part of something like this is truly a blessing.”
McKie’s fellow Columbia native Dozier has a similar family connection to the Gamecocks. His sister Asia, his father Perry and uncle Terry all played for the school with Terry Dozier going on to a career in the NBA.
“I think it’s a different feeling. Just being able to have seen that program from where it was to the downfall to when Frank (Martin) came in, to see the progress each year,” Dozier said. “It’s amazing ... I had the utmost faith in coach Frank and his coaching staff.”
During the final minutes of the Gamecocks’ Elite Eight game against No. 4 Florida on Sunday, Dozier bent down and slapped the Madison Square Garden court with both his hands. He said he made the gesture because he believes the team is finally being recognized as one of college basketball’s elite.
“We signed up to be in this position. To be amongst the great teams, as you all would call them. So we know we have a team ourselves," Dozier said.
“That defensive play was just, it was emotion. We needed a stop, I'm pretty sure all the guys were just as excited as I was. We looked over to the bench, the bench is up, excited, getting the crowd pumped, the crowd's going crazy. So you just dream about being in positions like that on a stage like this."