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Home > SECWB News & More! > SEC Teams > South Carolina > Senior Moments - A Tribute to South Carolina's Seniors
Senior Moments - A Tribute to South Carolina's Seniors
by Marilyn McManus, SECWB.com
Posted: March 2nd, 2008 @ 12:36am
I would be remiss if I let this season end without some sort of special mention of the three seniors who will leave the South Carolina Gamecocks at the conclusion of the 2007-2008 season. Their individual stories couldn’t be more different: the hometown star, the player from Eastern Europe and the walk-on. But they are all valued members of the basketball team and wonderful people and all will be sorely missed.
Lakesha Tolliver, who played her high school ball at Dreher High School in Columbia, was the first to arrive on campus. Unfortunately, immediately after the first game of her freshman season, she suffered a season-ending injury. Since her return to action, she averaged 13 minutes per game, through her junior year, increasing to 20 minutes per game her senior season. Last year, she set a new single-season record for shots blocked with 60, surpassing Teresa Geter’s record from the 2000-2001 season. She is currently the all-time leader for blocked shots; at the time of this writing, she has 174. She has consistently appeared on the SEC All-Academic Honor Roll, during her career at South Carolina. But it’s not her basketball statistics or academic prowess that make Tolliver a standout and a fan favorite, it’s her personality. She is rarely seen without a smile on her face–even when it may not be completely appropriate. The faces that she makes, on court, are extremely entertaining–especially when she is the victim of a dubious foul call. Kesha is friendly and fun and seems to find a lot of joy in life and those who are around her respond in kind.
Ilona Burgrova came to South Carolina from the Czech Republic and stepped into the starting lineup, almost immediately. Burgrova averaged between 19 and 22 minutes per game during her first three seasons, increasing to 30 minutes per game in her senior season. She has provided a consistent presence in the paint, during that time, scoring 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. This season, those numbers have increased to 9.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Burgrova, at 6-6, has towered over most opponents during her Gamecock career, but is a very friendly and accessible person and a particular favorite of many of the younger fans (children) because of those qualities. Ilona is friendly, hard-working and funny and will leave a huge gap in this team, both on the court and off of it.
Ebony Jones is a young woman who began her career as a team manager. She was an All-State player at Aiken High School, before coming to USC, and the coaching staff noticed that she had some skills and invited her to walk-on to the team. After some trepidation about the commitment that it would require of her, Ebony decided to go for it. She first suited up on 12/18/04, but did not get into the game. Although she sat at the end of the bench for the first 3 years of her playing career, she was always an upbeat and involved member of the team, as she waited for the coaches to call her name. She played only seldom through her junior year, never averaging more than 4 minutes per game or playing in more than 7 games per year. This season, everything changed. We all knew that she had a beautiful 3-point shot; what we didn’t know is that she was ready and able to step up to the challenge, this season, when 2 point guards were lost early in the season and she was one of only 2 guards with previous collegiate playing experience. This season, Ebony has played in 25 of the 28 games and started 6 of them. She averages 14.5 minutes per game, 4.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Though she must have had some doubts about her new role, she stepped up--and has been a stable force throughout this difficult season. Hers is the kind of story of which movies are made: Rocky, Rudy, Seabiscuit, to name a few of that genre. But even more impressive than her basketball skills are her personal qualities. “Preacher” Jones serves as the spiritual leader of her team, is frequently called upon to lead the team when a prayer is required and is a leader in every sense of the word. Her statistics are not particularly impressive, but she has meant so much to this team; she has my vote for Most Valuable Player this season.
These three seniors have accomplished a great deal in their years at the University of South Carolina and they undoubtedly have much greater things ahead of them. Thank you for your time, your efforts and accomplishments on the basketball court and for sharing these years of your lives with the rest of us.
We will miss you all.
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