USC Upstate women's basketball with Anda Kuzmina

In addition to the dynamic downtown scene, Spartanburg is also home to several universities including the University of South Carolina Upstate (USC Upstate). The public university (formerly known as USC Spartanburg) was founded in 1967, and is one of the fastest growing universities in South Carolina offering both undergraduate and graduate programs.

Last weekend it was a freshman on the USC Upstate women’s basketball team that brought us to the G.B. Hodge Center, the newly-renovated arena that was recently ranked among the best Division I college basketball arenas for game atmosphere and experience. 5’10” guard Anda Kuzmina is a new addition to the team, coming from Rīga and a Latvian team that finished in 8^th place at the European U-20 championship.

The psychology major transferred to USC Upstate from Latvijas Universitāte in 2017, and has already been making headlines; in December she was named ASUN Freshman of the Week. Anda is one of multiple women’s basketball players from Latvia playing in the NCAA in the news: Digna Strautmane (freshman forward @ Syracuse) with Rookie of the Week last week, Kitija Laksa (USF junior guard) receiving the USBWA player of the week honor in Division I last month, and Marta Miščenko (Wingate senior center) earning SAC Player of the Week in December.

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The fast-paced game against the North Florida Ospreys ended in a narrow loss for Upstate, but Anda played for 28 minutes, finishing the game with 8 points and 5 rebounds. The Spartans are currently 6-14, but with 9 games to go this season they still have time to improve their record. Meanwhile, Anda shows promise and we wish her the best in her continued time with the USC Spartans.

USC Upstate: Home to approximately 6,000 students and 340 full-time faculty, it is the largest of the seven colleges and universities in Spartanburg. While we’re familiar with the much smaller Wofford College (due to the Carolina Panthers training camp that takes place there every summer), only Spartanburg Community College comes close in # of students; however the 2-year college has about half the staff of USC Upstate.

For the USC Upstate women’s basketball schedule, click here.

For a complete list of Latvians playing in the NCAA, click here.

March Madness comes to Greenville!

About 42,000 visitors are expected to be in Greenville this weekend for the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament. North Carolina, Duke and South Carolina are all playing, likely a huge factor in helping sell out first and second round tickets. Greenville was the first of the host cities to sell out this year, and 50% of tickets were bought by residents of the Upstate and Asheville area. Since this is the first time Greenville is hosting the tournament since 2004, I hope the warm welcome will convince the committee to bring March Madness back to Greenville for many years to come!

Today’s schedule:

Game 1 begins at 1:30 pm Friday: No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Seton Hall

Game 2 will begin 30 minutes after Game 1 ends (approximately 4 pm): No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Texas Southern

Game 3 begins at 7:20 pm: Duke vs. Troy

Game 4 will begin 30 minutes after Game 3 ends (approximately 9:50 pm): South Carolina vs. Marquette

On Saturday, head to Main Street where GVL Fan Fest will be held from noon to 5pm. The Village Green in front of the Courtyard Marriott next to City Hall has been turned into a basketball court where the Greenville Parks and Recreation Department and the YMCA will lead basketball games and contests, and fans will be able to watch the Saturday games on big-screen televisions. GVL Fan Fest will stretch from Broad to Court streets.

Sunday is round 2, the winner of the Arkansas/Seton Hall game taking on the winner of North Carolina/Texas Southern, followed by the winner of South Carolina/Marquette vs. winner of Duke/Troy.

Wishing everyone good luck with their brackets, and have fun watching the games! And to all those visiting the Upstate to cheer on their team, welcome to Greenville!!!

Yet Another Baltic Christmas - Day 13 and Porzingis stumps Santa

Today on Day 13 of the 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas, it's the NBA on Christmas Day video from ESPN, featuring Latvian basketball player Kristaps Porzingis.



"Join Santa as he gets ready to take on his new role as the Commissioner of the NBA on Christmas Day."

The 7'3" Knicks star also made an (imaginary) cameo in this animated short, "Detective Kristaps." Not Christmas related, but I hope you'll forgive me! 

Remember to save up to 25% on Knicks games at Madison Square Gardens with the discount code RIGAKP! For a schedule of where to see Porzingis and Lithuanian forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas, visit the Knicks schedule here. 

Tomorrow it will be back to regularly scheduled programming with a post on a beautiful Lithuanian family tradition... See you on Day 14!

Kristaps Porziņģis fanclub in Charlotte

Porziņģis. The Latvian basketball phenom has become a household name, a long ways from draft day last year. Selected 4^th overall by the Knicks, New York fans weren’t happy with the pick, making their displeasure known with boos and even tears in the case of one young fan. Kristaps quickly went to work on making new friends, debuting against the Milwaukee Bucks with 16 points and 5 rebounds. Over the first 18 games he averaged third among all rookies in scoring with 13.7 points per game, and second in rebounding (9.3 rpg) and blocked shots (1.89 bpg).

Pronounced chris-stops pour-zin-gis, the 7 foot 3 power forward was born in Liepāja on August 2, 1995. After working his way up in the youth squads he played for Cajasol Sevilla for four years at which point he was old enough for the NBA. Having competed with the Latvia youth national team at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championships, every single Latvian basketball fan has their fingers crossed that he’ll join the Latvian Olympic team for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

We caught the Knicks against the Hornets in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago. Although New York started off strong, they seemingly ran out of steam, finishing for an 84-97 loss. They’ll get a rematch on April 6^th on the Knicks home court.

The Knicks are currently 10^th in the Eastern conference, Porziņģis leading the stats in rebounds, and in the top five for points per game, steals, free throw % and even 3-point %. After 50 games our hero is third-highest scorer on the Knicks, his 13.9 points/game surpassed only by Carmelo Anthony (21.3ppg) and (just barely!) by Arron Afflalo (14ppg). Just yesterday he was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the third consecutive month.

He’s earned the support of not only Knicks fans, but Latvian fans worldwide. Despite a poorly worded sentence early on in his NBA career, there have been two rap songs written about the superstar, and although Porziņģis fans failed to get Kristaps to the All Star game, he was the only rookie in the ballot's top 50, finishing a few slots behind his teammate Carmelo Anthony. There were at least a couple of Latvian flags in the Time Warner Cable Arena that night, and quite a few Latvians in the house to see KP play.

For us, the passion for basketball has been reignited by KP’s arrival on the NBA scene. The two older boys got to high-five him on his way off the court and there have been dozens of basketball and Porziņģis related questions since; with both boys playing bball this season in the parks & rec league, we’ve got a serious case of basketball fever! Let me know in the comments – what’s your favorite Kristaps Porziņģis nickname?

  

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill is home to University of North Carolina, forming the “Research Triangle” along with Durham (Duke University) and Raleigh (North Carolina State). Although we’ve been in/around Chapel Hill a few times while living in Greenville, I had never seen the campus. We explored the North Carolina Botanical Gardens one morning a couple weeks ago (operated by the University of North Carolina), and when Roberts was liberated from his work obligations we picked him up and headed to downtown Chapel Hill, a town founded specifically to serve the University.

Coincidentally we picked up a NC jersey at a consignment sale last month

Kenan Memorial Stadium is home to the North Carolina Tar Heels. There has been an unwritten rule since the Stadium opened in 1927; the stadium can never be taller than the surrounding pine trees. With a current capacity of 63,000, the largest number to ever fill the stadium for a game was (before the 2011 expansion) a standing-room-only crowd of 62,000, when the Tar Heels hosted the Florida State Seminoles in 1997.

Specifically chose this picture because you can't see Mikus isn't wearing pants

Adjacent to the stadium is the 172 foot tall bell tower. Dedicated to John Motley Morehead (class of 1891) and Rufus Lenoir Patterson II who funded the bell tower’s construction, the tower was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, 1931. Up in the belfry are fourteen mechanized bells, which replaced the carillon of twelve manually operated ones some time ago. Traditionally a few days before commencement, seniors get the chance to climb the tower, but on our visit the door was securely locked and we could only imagine the view of campus afforded from the top. Dr. William C. Coker, the first Professor of Botany at the University, designed the hedge and lawn surrounding the tower, with peeks of the stadium down the southeast hedge row.

Continuing north we came to Professor Coker’s legacy, the 5.3 acre Coker Arboretum. The boggy pasture was originally developed as an outdoor classroom for the study of trees, shrubs and vines native to the State, until the 1920’s and following decades when Dr. Coker added many East Asian trees and shrubs. Today the collection ranges from flowering trees and shrubs to bulb and perennial displays, featuring a 300 foot native vine arbor and a Metasequoia (dawn redwood).

After an ice cream stop for the boys we finished our UNC tour at Top of the Hill Restaurant and Brewery. The pub opened in 1994 and was one of the first microbreweries in the state, and these days is possibly one of the best places to be after a UNC win due to the view of Franklin Street. The infamous “bonfire” celebrations occur when students and fans spill into the street from the bars, restaurants and dorms along Franklin, resulting in occurrences such as after a 1982 game when the street was literally painted blue. In 2009 after winning the men's NCAA championship over 45,000 people crowded Franklin Street.

Top: view from Top of the Hill, bottom: a Franklin Street bonfire (source here)

All three Research Triangle teams are in the tournament this year, and all have fared well so far. Tomorrow UNC (seeded 4^th) will face off against  Wisconsin, while Duke (1^st seed) plays Utah and NC State (8^th seed) upset Villanova for a game against Louisville on Friday. Maybe we’ll see them meet up in the semifinals or finals!

Top of the Hill mascot wearing #23

* A small part of me is cheering on University of North Carolina, just because that’s where my childhood home-town hero played three seasons of basketball. A couple years after his Tar Heels won the national championship in 1982, Michael Jordan joined the Chicago Bulls.

Kids basketball in Greenville

With a season of City of Greenville Parks & Recreation soccer under his belt, Lauris was excited to try out their basketball program. Based in the Park Avenue gym, the kids met weekly for a total of 8 trainings/games.

The program description from the Greenville City website: “This program focuses on instructing 4 and 5 year olds on the fundamentals of basketball. The first four weeks of the program focuses solely on the basic skills, such as passing, dribbling and shooting. During the last four weeks, the participants will play non-competitive games in addition to teaching and practicing basketball fundamentals.”

Lauris acquired terminology and basic skills. The kids learned the concept of defense, practiced passing, got a chance to shoot in a game setting, and actually started playing a little like a team by the end of the season. They used baskets that could be lowered and smaller basketballs so that they could get the satisfaction of seeing their shots go in.

This former high school basketball rock star mvp mom once again had a hard time keeping quiet on the sidelines. I want to find a court and start practicing with the boys for two reasons: 1. I miss basketball and would like to get back on the court and 2. with his height we can totally train Lauris to be a ringer on his team next year…

My favorite aspect of the City of Greenville program was the coaching. Tara and staff were energetic and focused, teaching the kids something while guaranteeing each and every one of them had fun and felt a sense of accomplishment at the end of each session. They remained positive, handled the usual 4/5yo issues that popped up with ease and confidence, and hopefully will return next year. Programs like these owe their success level completely to the coaching staff, and the basketball coaches did a fantastic job getting the kids involved, enthused and playing.

And in the audience was one little brother learning all the moves so that he can show his big brother up in a year or two!

Da Bulls down South

I often write about the wonderful things Greenville has to offer children, families, cyclists, sports fans, locavores, internationals, history buffs etc. But there is something Greenville does not have – an NBA team. The closest teams are the Atlanta Hawks and the Charlotte Bobcats, but basketball doesn’t seem to have the following here down South that football and baseball do. However, this lack of a basketball team wasn’t a factor in the decision for our most recent guests to come visit, instead it was the proximity to Charlotte and a game against Da Bulls.

I grew up in Chicago playing basketball during the era of Michael Jordan and the Bulls’ three-peats. One of my most treasured basketball memories was attending a playoff game against the Jazz with Džako, the history teacher from Latvian Saturday school that somehow had secured press passes for about 6 of us. Nevermind that the standing-only tickets were in the nosebleeds, we had the chance to go down to the court before the game and watch them shoot around. Nevermind that the van got towed during the game, we got to watch all the players leave the stadium feet from us in their fancy sports cars. Nevermind that they won the game – it was history in the making!*

But I digress. The story is that part of the reason my cousins made the detour through Greenville on their way back to Chicago during their spring break was because they had been gifted tickets to the Bulls vs. Bobcats game for their respective birthdays. Roberts got lucky with an invite to join them and their dad, and so it was on a Wednesday afternoon that my aunt, cousin Annelī, Lauris, Mikus and I found ourselves on a girls afternoon out (well, as much of a girls outing as it can be with two boys along for the ride). That morning we had completed a tour of the West End, and after the boys took off for Charlotte we headed in a different direction, to the Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery. Which means that while Andis and Edgars were hanging out with the Bobcats mascot and cheerleaders, we were snacking on chocolate chip scones, drinking lattes and stocking up on local honey and other groceries.

While they watched a Bulls win slip away in overtime, we were exploring the Greenville Zoo, Lauris and Mikus showing Annelī all of their favorite animals.

I think it was a win/win situation, as my boys would never have survived the drive/game/crowds, and instead everyone had an excellent time. Of course if Chicago had managed to keep their lead… although watching a game go into overtime must have been exciting. Plus there is the link to the Bulls of decades ago when I got to go to that playoff game – Michael Jordan. With six NBA Championship titles from his time with the Bulls, Jordan bought the Charlotte Bobcats in March of 2010. Would you have guessed he would be at the game?

*My memory isn’t what it used to be, but according to another of the lucky kids that was at that game, it was game 2 of the 1997 playoffs against the Utah Jazz. “…Jordan missed a triple double by one assist because Pippen missed an easy layup in the last minute of the game. I believe it was 1997 because I was in drivers ed and so was turning 16 that October. How about that for a memory?” That’s impressive Art, thanks for the review! I remembered that they won, but wow – you’ve got a steel trap. And congrats to you and Kendra on the birth of your third son; one girl away from your own 4-2 team!