Former Myrtle Beach resident helping assist Georgia State’s Cinderella run

Assistant coach and former Myrtle Beach resident Claude Pardue said all of the calls and texts he’s received since No. 14 Georgia State’s upset win over third-seeded Baylor on Thursday in the Round of 64 of the NCAA tournament has been overwhelming.

If the Cinderella story continues, it could just be the beginning.

“There’s been so many people calling and texting me from the Myrtle Beach area,” said Pardue, who attended high school at Carolina Forest until his junior year. “A bunch of my teammates and friends from Carolina Forest High School, my basketball coach there, Eric Lyons, also called to congratulate us. Even a friend emailed me from Japan, so people from all over are witnessing history. It’s just so overwhelming and kind of unbelievable.”

The Panthers are set to take on No. 6 Xavier on Friday at 6:10 p.m. in the Round of 32, following a win that got as much national exposure from head coach Ron Hunter’s fall off a chair upon a game-winning shot by his son, RJ, that sunk the Bears as it did for the upset.

Ron Hunter had to have unique seating for the game after rupturing his Achilles’ tendon while celebrating the Panthers’ win over Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt tournament championship game. Soon after, the fall instantly became one of the more memorable moments so far in March Madness.

“Really in that moment, though, only a couple people from the team actually saw it happen. Of course from the camera’s view, everyone in the country saw it,” Pardue said. “But from the bench, we were all focused on the shot and I didn’t even see him. It wasn’t until one of the other assistants came over and told me that I realized what happened. But it’s funny and kind of taken that pressure off. We’ve stayed loose throughout the day and [Hunter is] having a good time with it.”

Hunter had to have his cast replaced after cracking it during the fall. While Hunter has recently earned fame for his antics and creative quotes, Pardue said the coach is much more than a man with a talent for punchlines.

“He’s great. It’s been good to learn from him and when he came from IUPUI, he needed a couple of assistants and took a chance on me,” said Pardue, who had been a graduate assistant at Georgia State before joining the staff as an assistant. “It’s been unbelievable and he’s a great inspiration. He has such a great character and that goes into how we play; if you watched us, you saw it. You kind of take on the characteristics of your leader and that’s what this team has done. But working for him is great; it’s been awesome.”

Plenty of people are watching this time of year, and Hunter’s fall has been played over and over as Georgia State is getting exposure money can’t buy.

“[The exposure has] been great and we said it a couple of times this morning, but it’s really taking some of the pressure off the kids. In the NCAA tournament that’s huge; the higher seed team is expected to win so sometimes they kind of get tight and the underdog teams just want to take it,” Pardue said. “But [Hunter has] been rolling around on that scooter, and he’s taken the jokes and the comments well. The pressure is certainly off and we’ve had a good time with it.”

Pardue, who was born in North Carolina and whose father, Claude, is the owner of Mystical golf, said his ambition to become a coach came from his time on the Grand Strand. He credits Lyons and Myrtle Beach High football coach Mickey Wilson, whom he played basketball for in middle school, for breeding his desire to become a coach. He later played AAU for the Beach Ball Select team, which was coached by longtime Socastee coach Dan D’Antoni, who now is the head coach at Marshall after serving several years as an NBA assistant.

“Those connections have helped me through this day,” said Pardue, who comes back here to visit once or twice a year.

Pardue played collegiately at Emory University in Atlanta, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Arts in Economics and later added a Master’s of Science in Sports Administration from Georgia State while working as a graduate assistant. He rejoined the Panthers as an assistant coach in 2011-12.

During college, Pardue also founded and coached Grand Stand’s Finest, a Myrtle Beach-based AAU program that reached the state semifinals in 2006 and 2007. He said he still has recruiting ties from relationships he made in those days.

“It was a fun experience,” he said.

Now, Pardue is in the midst of another enjoyable time on the hardwood in helping the Panthers play Cinderella. Next up: a date with the Musketeers.

“We just got out of our film session. Were confident. We beat a 3 seed,” Pardue said. “We’re loose. Our guys are getting rest. They played their hearts out yesterday and we’re excited to be fortunate enough to have this opportunity. It’s a blessing.”

This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Former Myrtle Beach resident helping assist Georgia State’s Cinderella run."