De'Andre Adams

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

First Lieutenant James H. Fields (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on September 27, 1944, at Rechicourt, France. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, at Rechicourt, France. On 27 September 1944, during a sharp action with the enemy infantry and tank forces, 1st Lt. Fields personally led his platoon in a counterattack on the enemy position. Although his platoon had been seriously depleted, the zeal and fervor of his leadership was such as to inspire his small force to accomplish their mission in the face of overwhelming enemy opposition. Seeing that 1 of the men had been wounded, he left his slit trench and with complete disregard for his personal safety attended the wounded man and administered first aid. While returning to his slit trench he was seriously wounded by a shell burst, the fragments of which cut through his face and head, tearing his teeth, gums, and nasal passage. Although rendered speechless by his wounds, 1st Lt. Fields refused to be evacuated and continued to lead his platoon by the use of hand signals. On 1 occasion, when 2 enemy machineguns had a portion of his unit under deadly crossfire, he left his hole, wounded as he was, ran to a light machinegun, whose crew had been knocked out, picked up the gun, and fired it from his hip with such deadly accuracy that both the enemy gun positions were silenced. His action so impressed his men that they found new courage to take up the fire fight, increasing their firepower, and exposing themselves more than ever to harass the enemy with additional bazooka and machinegun fire. Only when his objective had been taken and the enemy scattered did 1st Lt. Fields consent to be evacuated to the battalion command post. At this point he refused to move further back until he had explained to his battalion commander by drawing on paper the position of his men and the disposition of the enemy forces. The dauntless and gallant heroism displayed by 1st Lt. Fields were largely responsible for the repulse of the enemy forces and contributed in a large measure to the successful capture of his battalion objective during this action. His eagerness and determination to close with the enemy and to destroy him was an inspiration to the entire command, and are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Private Henry S. Finkenbiner (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on April 9, 1865, at Dingles Mill, South Carolina. His citation reads:

While on the advance skirmish line and within direct and close fire of the enemy's artillery, crossed the mill race on a burning bridge and ascertained the enemy's position.

Lieutenant John William Finn (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on December 7, 1941, at Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Territory of Hawaii. His citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, on 7 December 1941, Lt. Finn promptly secured and manned a .50-caliber machinegun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machinegun strafing fire. Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and to return the enemy's fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention. Following first aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning planes. His extraordinary heroism and conduct in this action were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.


The I’m just sayin… Top 2,613 Movies of All-Time Countdown

1318 I Think I Love My Wife
Chris Rock
Chris Rock, Kerry Washington, Gina Torres
2007

1317 Pony Express
Jerry Hopper
Charlton Heston, Rhonda Fleming, Forrest Tucker
1953

1316 The Road to Hong Kong
Norman Panama
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Joan Collins
1962

1315 Planet of the Apes
Tim Burton
Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Estella Warren, Kris Kristofferson
2001

1314 Happy Feet Two
George Miller
Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore (Pink), Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Sofía Vergara, Hugo Weaving, Richard Carter, Common, Magda Szubanski, Anthony LaPaglia
2011

1313 Seven Days in May
John Frankenheimer
Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Fredric March, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Martin Balsam, Hugh Marlowe
1964

1312 Time After Time
Nicholas Meyer
Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen
1979

1311 My Foolish Heart
Mark Robson
Susan Hayward, Dana Andrews
1949

1310 A Thousand Clowns
Fred Coe
Jason Robards, Martin Balsam, Barbara Harris, Barry Gordon
1965

1309 The Flamingo Kid
Garry Marshall
Matt Dillon, Richard Crenna, Hector Elizondo
1984

1308 Shining Through
David Seltzer
Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith, Liam Neeson, Joely Richardson, John Gielgud
1992

1307 Source Code
Duncan Jones
Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
2011

1306 Wild Things
John McNaughton
Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Denise Richards, Bill Murray
1998

1305 Shrek the Third
Chris Miller, Raman Hui
Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz
2007

1304 Wise Guys
Brian De Palma
Danny DeVito, Joe Piscopo, Harvey Keitel, Dan Hedaya
1986

1303 Tammy and the Bachelor
Joseph Pevney
Debbie Reynolds, Walter Brennan, Leslie Nielsen
1957

1302 Going the Distance
Nanette Burstein
Drew Barrymore, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Ron Livingston, Rob Riggle, Christina Applegate, Kelli Garner, Natalie Morales, June Diane Raphael, Kristen Schaal, Jim Gaffigan, Sarah Burns
2010

1301 The Assassination of Richard Nixon
Niels Mueller
Sean Penn
2004

1300 The Thin Red Line
Andrew Marton
Keir Dullea, Jack Warden
1964

1299 This Above All
Anatole Litvak
Tyrone Power, Joan Fontaine
1942

1298 Twisted
Philip Kaufman
Ashley Judd, Samuel L. Jackson, Andy García
2004

1297 The Sea Wolf
Michael Curtiz
Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, John Garfield
1941

1296 Buddy Buddy
Billy Wilder
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Paula Prentiss, Klaus Kinski
1981

1295 Pirate Radio
Richard Curtis
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Jack Davenport
2009
Quentin: "So... expelled?"
'Young' Carl: "That's right".
Quentin: "What for?"
'Young' Carl: "I suppose smoking was the clincher".
Quentin: "Drugs or cigarettes?"
'Young' Carl: "Well, both".
Quentin: "Well done! Proud of you. So your mum sent you here in the hope that a little bracing sea air would sort you out?"
'Young' Carl: "Something like that".
Quentin: "Spectacular mistake".
"
1294 A Piece of the Action
Sidney Poitier
Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones
1977

1293 The Day the Earth Stood Still
Robert Wise
Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal
1951

1292 Runaway Jury
Gary Fleder
John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz
2003

1291 The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
Otto Preminger
Gary Cooper, Rod Steiger, Charles Bickford, Elizabeth Montgomery
1955

1290 Up Close & Personal
Jon Avnet
Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Joe Mantegna
1996

1289 Go Tell the Spartans
Ted Post
Burt Lancaster, Craig Wasson
1978

1288 Lost Command
Mark Robson
Anthony Quinn, Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon
1966

1287 Play It Again, Sam
Herbert Ross
Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Susan Anspach
1972

1286 Street Smart
Jerry Schatzberg
Christopher Reeve, Morgan Freeman, Kathy Baker
1987

1285 The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
Nicolas Gessner
Martin Sheen, Jodie Foster
1976

1284 The Next Man
Richard C. Sarafian
Sean Connery, Cornelia Sharpe
1976

1283 Quiz Show
Robert Redford
Ralph Fiennes, John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Paul Scofield, Christopher McDonald, David Paymer, Barry Levinson, Martin Scorsese
1994

1282 The Switch
Josh Gordon and Will Speck
Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, Juliette Lewis
2010

1281 The High and the Mighty
William Wellman
John Wayne, Robert Stack, Laraine Day, Claire Trevor, Jan Sterling, Robert Newton, Sidney Blackmer, Phil Harris
1954

1280 Norma Jean & Marilyn
Tim Fywell
Ashley Judd, Mira Sorvino
1996

1279 There's No Business Like Show Business
Walter Lang
Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Marilyn Monroe, Mitzi Gaynor
1954

1278 They Came to Blow Up America
Edward Ludwig
George Sanders, Anna Sten, Ward Bond
1943

1277 The Fan
Tony Scott
Robert De Niro, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin, Benicio del Toro
1996

1276 The Honeymooners
John Schultz
Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall
2005
Ralph Kramden: "Unlike most dogs, Eggy is a survivor. Like Seabiscuit,Rocky or Destiny's Child".

1275 Eat Pray Love
Ryan Murphy
Julia Roberts, James Franco, Richard Jenkins, Viola Davis, Billy Crudup and Javier Bardem
2010

1274 Surviving Christmas
Mike Mitchell
Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate, Catherine O'Hara
2004

1273 Meteor
Ronald Neame
Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden
1979

1272 Madea Goes to Jail
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry, Sofía Vergara, Vanessa Ferlito, Derek Luke, Keshia Knight Pulliam, David Mann, Ion Overman, Ronreaco Lee, Viola Davis
2009
Dr. Phil: "What is wrong with you? Why do you feel the need that you gotta 'get' somebody all the time?"
Madea: "Well when you gettin' 'got' and somebody done 'got' you and you go 'get' them, when you get 'em everybody's gon' get got".
Dr. Phil: "Yea but you're gettin' the gotters when they didn't do anything to even get you".
Madea: "Yea but if the gotters get me I'm gonna get my glock".

1271 The Day the Earth Stood Still
Scott Derrickson
Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith
2008

1270 The Royal Tenenbaums
Wes Anderson
Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, Bill Murray
2001

1269 Suicide Kings
Peter O'Fallon
Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Sean Patrick Flanery, Johnny Galecki, Jay Mohr, Jeremy Sisto, Henry Thomas, Cliff DeYoung, Laura San Giacomo
1998

1268 The Three Faces of Eve
Nunnally Johnson
Joanne Woodward, Lee J. Cobb
1957

1267 Forced Vengeance
James Fargo
Chuck Norris, David Opatoshu, Frank Michael Liu
1982

1266 The Ides of March
George Clooney
Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright and Evan Rachel Wood
2011

1265 Some More of Samoa
Del Lord
The Three Stooges
1941

1264 10 Items or Less
Brad Silberling
Morgan Freeman, Paz Vega
2006

1263 Kill Bill Volume 1
Quentin Tarantino
Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen
2003

1262 Grown Ups
Dennis Dugan
Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, David Spade
2010

1261 Once Upon a Time in America
Sergio Leone
Robert De Niro, James Woods, Tuesday Weld, Elizabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci, Jennifer Connelly, Treat Williams, Danny Aiello
1984

1260 Butterflies Are Free
Milton Katselas
Goldie Hawn, Edward Albert, Eileen Heckart, Paul Michael Glaser
1972

1259 The Landlord
Hal Ashby
Beau Bridges, Louis Gossett Jr., Lee Grant
1970

1258 Big Trouble in Little China
John Carpenter
Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Victor Wong
1986

1257 Shaft
Gordon Parks
Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn
1971

1256 50/50
Jonathan Levine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anjelica Huston
2011

1255 Mother, Jugs & Speed
Peter Yates
Raquel Welch, Bill Cosby, Harvey Keitel
1976

1254 The Santa Clause 2
Michael Lembeck
Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, David Krumholtz
2002

1253 Doctor Detroit
Michael Pressman
Dan Aykroyd, Howard Hesseman, Fran Drescher, Lynn Whitfield
1983

1252 The Verdict
Sidney Lumet
Paul Newman, Jack Warden, James Mason, Charlotte Rampling
1982

1251 Shadow Conspiracy
George P. Cosmatos
Charlie Sheen, Donald Sutherland, Linda Hamilton, Sam Waterston
1997

1250 The Sunshine Boys
Herbert Ross
Walter Matthau, George Burns
1975

1249 Cue Ball Cat
Hanna Barbera
Tom and Jerry
1950

1248 Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?
Ulu Grosbard
Dustin Hoffman, Jack Warden, Barbara Harris
1971

1247 Love Me or Leave Me
Charles Vidor
Doris Day, James Cagney
1955

1246 The Lincoln Conspiracy
James L. Conway
Bradford Dillman
1977

1245 The Mackintosh Man
John Huston
Paul Newman, James Mason
1973

1244 The Marine
John Bonito
John Cena, Kelly Carlson, Robert Patrick
2006

1243 An American in Paris
Vincente Minnelli
Leslie Caron, Gene Kelly
1951

1242 The French Connection
William Friedkin
Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider
1971

1241 Bringing Down the House
Adam Shankman
Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, Eugene Levy
2003

1240 G.I. Jane
Ridley Scott
Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft
1997

1239 Butterfly
Matt Cimber
Pia Zadora, Ed McMahon, Orson Welles, Lois Nettleton, Edward Albert, Stacy Keach, June Lockhart
1982

1238 Hulk
Ang Lee
Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas
2003

1237 Prince of the City
Sidney Lumet
Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Lindsay Crouse, Bob Balaban, James Tolkan, Lane Smith, Lance Henriksen, Carmine Caridi
1981

1236 Big Daddy
Dennis Dugan
Adam Sandler, Cole and Dylan Sprouse, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Stewart, Rob Schneider
1999

1235 Young Frankenstein
Mel Brooks
Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Gene Hackman, Kenneth Mars
1974

1234 The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
Irving Reis
Cary Grant, Shirley Temple, Myrna Loy
1947

1233 Flying Tigers
David Miller
John Wayne
1942

1232 Howard the Duck
Willard Huyck
Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins
1986

1231 Hope Floats
Forest Whitaker
Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick, Jr., Gena Rowlands
1998

1230 Unaccompanied Minors
Paul Feig
Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams
2006

1229 The Love Guru
Marco Schnabel
Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Romany Malco, Justin Timberlake
2008

1228 Flubber
Les Mayfield
Robin Williams
1997

1227 Middle Men
George Gallo
Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Gabriel Macht, James Caan, Jacinda Barrett, Laura Ramsey, Terry Crews, Rade Šerbedžija, Kelsey Grammer, Kevin Pollak, Robert Forster
2010

1226 Snake Eyes
Brian De Palma
Nicolas Cage, Gary Sinise, Carla Gugino, John Heard, Stan Shaw
1998

1225 Silent Movie
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks, Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Sid Caesar
1976

1224 Charly
Ralph Nelson
Cliff Robertson, Claire Bloom
1968

1223 Who's Minding the Store?
Frank Tashlin
Jerry Lewis, Jill St. John, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Walston
1963

1222 He Said, She Said
Ken Kwapis
Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Perkins, Nathan Lane, Sharon Stone
1991

1221 The Mosquito Coast
Peter Weir
Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, River Phoenix
1986

1220 The Big Fix
Jeremy Kagan
Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Anspach, Bonnie Bedelia, John Lithgow
1978

1219 Live and Let Die
Guy Hamilton
Roger Moore
1973
James Bond: "Bond, James Bond"

1218 The Remains of the Day
James Ivory
Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Peter Vaughan, Ben Chaplin, Hugh Grant
1993

1217 Panic Room
David Fincher
Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam
2002

1216 Money from Home
George Marshall
Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis
1953

1215 The Big Shot
Lewis Seiler
Humphrey Bogart, Irene Manning
1942

1214 Hot to Trot
Michael Dinner
Bobcat Goldthwait, Dabney Coleman
1988

1213 Hit Parade of 1941
John H. Auer
Kenny Baker, Frances Langford, Hugh Herbert
1940

1212 A Hole in the Head
Frank Capra
Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Eleanor Parker, Carolyn Jones, Keenan Wynn, Eddie Hodges
1959

1211 Marooned
John Sturges
Gregory Peck, Gene Hackman, David Janssen, Richard Crenna, James Franciscus, Lee Grant, Mariette Hartley
1969

1210 Liar Liar
Tom Shadyac
Jim Carrey, Justin Cooper, Maura Tierney, Cary Elwes, Jennifer Tilly, Amanda Donohoe, Swoosie Kurtz
1997
Fletcher: "Your honor, I object!"
Judge: "Why?"
Fletcher: "Because it's devastating to my case!"
Judge: "Overruled".
Fletcher: "Good call!"

Guy in the Washroom: "What the hell are you doing?"
Fletcher: "I'm kicking my ass! Do you mind?"


The I’m just sayin… Know Your South Carolina Athlete

You will recall just a couple of weeks ago, my “Thankful Thursday” was about being alive. Part of that is because I can’t help but think about former Winthrop basketball player De’Andre Adams around this time of year. One thing that I realized a long time ago is that once an athlete is gone, there is a tendency to make it seem like he was better than he really was. I first noticed this in high school when I’d hear Coach Hatley telling a senior everything he was doing wrong, and then one year later he would talk about that same guy as if he was a Hall of Fame type player. Honestly, it made me look forward to graduating. No kidding. I also notice it while watching old Clemson football DVDs. As highly as I think of the Clemson defense from the ‘80s/early ‘90s, they did have bad games. There were times when they’d give up a big play or miss a tackle. I say all of this to let you know that I am trying to not overstate the things I’m about to say about De’Andre. Was he the greatest player in the history of basketball? Probably not. Was he a perfect college basketball player? I doubt it. I didn’t actually know him, but as someone who went to college I’m willing to bet there’s a chance he wasn’t a saint. There, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let me say that I have little doubt De’Andre Adams was the most loved player in Winthrop basketball history. I will also go to my grave believing with all of my heart that his tragic death following his Sophomore season set Winthrop basketball back far more than most people realize. I will post his stats at some point on here and I’m sure at that time you’ll realize there was more to Dre than numbers. His biggest contribution to the team may have just been being who he was. You see, teams (at least great teams) always seem to have at least one guy that the others can “feed” off of. Sometimes it is a star player, but it could just as easily be someone on the bench. This is a guy with so much energy and hustle and heart that even when things start to go bad, he’s able to “will” the team to do better. His energy is contagious. It’s hard to explain, but you know it when you see it. From what I understand about Dre (and from what I saw at games), it was hard to NOT have fun with him around. He was listed at 5’8”, but if he was really 5’8”, then I’m 6’4”. Before I go on, let’s take a quick look at some of his stats:

He played in 65 total games averaging 13.4 minutes a game. He had a 32% shooting percentage (24% from 3) and a 64% free throw shooting percentage. He also had 2.4 career assist per game and 1.69 career points per game.

I know his numbers weren’t the greatest, but make no mistake about it, he was a skilled player. There were times I saw him guarding someone and I thought there’s no way that guy is going to score. He was quick and always gave 100%... and the only reason he was a back-up point guard is that he happened to be at WU at the same time as one of the greatest point guards (Chris Gaynor) to ever play for the school. De’Andre died from injuries he sustained in a single car accident near his home in Georgia. His teammates said he had been the heart and soul of the team that beat Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Spokane, Washington. There was an article in the Spokane newspaper reporting his death. That’s right… all the way across the country the death of the back-up point guard for little ol’ Winthrop was reported. Why? Because in his short time there, the people who saw him play fell in love with him. Below is a video my cousin Alan made shortly after Dre died. I love watching it and I’m sure you will to. Before we get to the video, though, I have one more thing to share. Perhaps my favorite memory of all time from a sporting event that I was watching live (and, perhaps, just my favorite memory period) is from the 2008 Big South Championship Game. Jeremy and I drove up to Asheville to watch the game (he drove, I talked). The morning of the game we head over to Asheville’s gym… if my memory is correct, there was snow on the ground. Anyway, the place was jam packed which isn’t really saying a whole lot because I think it only held about 1,200 people (or something like that). I know a lot of Winthrop fans didn’t like that gym, but I loved it… but that’s a different story. Anyway, UNC Asheville had one of their best teams that season (maybe their greatest ever) with 2 great senior guards and a healthy Kenny George (a 7’7” player who really made the other team change how they played). They also had other very good players, but the team was built around those 3. While Winthrop and Asheville had tied for first place in the regular season, Asheville got to host the championship game due to the fact that they beat Winthrop twice that season (giving them the tie-breaker). Anyway, there was a small but vocal group of Winthrop fans at the championship game. The coolest thing ever came around the end of the game with the Eagles well ahead the Winthrop fans started chanting "DE’ANDRE! DE’ANDRE! DE’ANDRE!" Maybe it seemed loud to me because I was yelling as loud as I could and was in the middle of the Winthrop section… but it felt like we were loud enough to be heard back in Rock Hill. I think there were signs there saying something like “This is for Dre” and things like that. I remember getting goose bumps because seldom in real life does it feel like storybook endings really happen. But there on national TV, the Winthrop Eagles were able to win a Big South Championship for Dre… and the fans were there to remind anyone who would listen that that’s who it was for. So I am happy today to let you know that De’Andre Adams is our SC Athlete You Should Know. Enjoy the video.