The Johnsonian

Issue date: 8/22/07 Section: Sports

De'Andre Adams' sudden death struck a cord with students and faculty members alike. His passing impacted the lives of many people within the Winthrop community.

As for me, it was a challenging task to work on stories about Adams and his passing. It took me a month before I could even attempt to start writing about him.

I didn't know Adams on a personal level but I did have class with him and enjoyed every second of being around him.

The atmosphere of being in a CRTW class along with Adams, Mantoris Robinson and Antwon Harris was interesting to say the least. Inside jokes were jabbed back and forth and the camaraderie of the teammates was immediately apparent.

I still remember the day when I first interviewed Adams for a media writing assignment. He was the first athlete I had ever interviewed and one I will never forget.

I was nervous at first when I approached him during our class about doing an interview. Adams just smiled at the chance to help out in any way he could.

"Man, you're getting publicity! Wow!" Antwon Harris said. Of course Harris was mainly playing around with his teammate.

I interviewed Adams after the Coastal Carolina home game at which the Winthrop Coliseum seemed to rock with the force of the fans. This was one of three sold-out games at the Winthrop Coliseum. I asked Adams what he thought of the record-breaking crowd.

"It was a great feeling. All the seats were filled. It was fun playing in front of a big crowd," he said. "I never played in a crowd that big. The team wanted to give them a show and win the game at the same time. The crowd was really big in impacting the game. We were feeding off the crowd. They gave us energy."

I also asked Adams if he thought there was a sign of better things for the basketball program.

"Oh yeah. Everyone wants to be part of a winning program. Recruits-they want to win. Come to Winthrop, develop their game and help us keep winning," Adams said.

Adams put everything he had into the basketball team. He hustled relentlessly and inflamed the crowd with his energy.

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