ATLANTA (AP) - Dave Odom paused at the edge of the court, as though he wasn’t ready to leave.
But he knew it was time to go.
South Carolina nearly pulled off a monumental upset to extend Odom’s 22-year career as a college head coach, but Chris Lofton hit a 3-pointer with 11.4 seconds remaining to give No. 4 Tennessee an 89-87 victory in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The Gamecocks, routed twice by Tennessee during the regular season, clearly played with added urgency for their retiring coach. It wasn’t quite enough against the powerful Vols, who finished nine games ahead of South Carolina in the SEC East standings.
After the buzzer, Odom took his usual walk in front of the scoring table, shaking hands with the coaches and players from the opposing team. He then headed toward the locker room, walking slowly with his head down. He stopped at the edge of the court, politely letting a few Vols players walk in front of him, but also wanting to soak it all in one final time.
“I snuck a last look at all the people, all the players, all the jerseys,” Odom said. “I looked for my wife, but I couldn’t find her.”

read_more


Tags: , ,