COLUMBIA -- Calhoun County head basketball coach Zam Fredrick is no stranger to the Colonial Center.

In March he led the Saints to another Class A basketball title, but Tuesday he was high above the sideline he coached on with some other Gamecock greats as the University of South Carolina announced the beginning of its 100 years of basketball celebration.

Fredrick played four seasons with the Gamecocks, leading the nation in scoring his senior season. He averaged 28.9 points per game during the 1980-81 season and was named first-team All-America. But, without the Internet or continuous highlights running on ESPN, Fredrick was unaware that he was even challenging for the record.

"It wasn't until later in the season that we even realized what was happening," Fredrick said. "With about eight games left The State newspaper started keeping track after each game. I didn't follow it, I just went out and scored points to try and help the team win."

Fredrick was the "elder statesman" on the 1980-81 team and knew that his scoring would be needed if the team was going to win. It was Bill Foster's first season as USC head coach, and the Gamecocks were going through a transition.

"It was the first year after Frank McGuire and I knew I had to be a leader on the team," Fredrick said. "I tried to score a lot of points to keep the other guys focused on the game, if you score and you're productive then it's easier for the younger guys to follow your example. We went 17-10 in a transition year, and I thought that was pretty good, because we were playing some talented teams."

One of Fredrick's best games was January17, 1981 at Marquette. Fredrick led the Gamecocks to a 91-89 victory by hitting two foul shots late in the game.

Fredrick is known around Carolina for leading the nation in scoring, but he also brings up his sophomore season under McGuire when he scored 376 points, averaging 13.9 points per game.

"I had a pretty good sophomore season that a lot of people forget about," he said.

Fredrick was named to the University of South Carolina Hall of Fame in 2002.

As Fredrick and the rest of the Gamecocks celebrated some past accomplishments, its Zam's son that will be the future of USC basketball.

Zam "Buck" Fredrick is preparing for his first season in Columbia after transferring from Georgia Tech two years ago, he sat out last season as a redshirt.

"I want to see him do well," Fredrick said. "He's going to get a chance to show what he can do, but there's no pressure on me. I'm going to support him. I just don't want him to see any ghosts when he walks on the court."

For now Fredrick will continue to lead the Saints, and he thinks he has one of his best teams in Calhoun this season.

"We have an outstanding ball club coming back next season," Fredrick said. "We have some young guys that are going to contribute right away, we're definitely the team to beat in Class A.

"I hope I'm back here in March."

T&D Sports Writer Travis Boland can be reached by office phone at 533-5522 or by e-mail at tboland@timesanddemocrat.com.

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