Mobile Home Sales in Nesmith, SC

Growing up, Aaron Nesmith watched the NBA Finals while sitting in front of his family’s television in Charleston, dreaming of one day playing on basketball’s biggest stage.

That dream will become reality Thursday when the Boston Celtics take on the Golden State Warriors in game one of the 2022 NBA’s championship series.

Boston clinched a spot in the NBA Finals on Sunday after beating the Miami Heat in game seven of a turbulent Eastern Conference Finals.

The win also guaranteed a second year in a row where the finals will feature a player who is a South Carolina native and an alumnus of Porter-Gaud school in Charleston.

A year ago, three-time NBA All-Star Khris Middleton helped the Milwaukee Bucks bring home their first NBA title since 1970. This year, Nesmith will look to help the Celtics win their first championship since 2008.

While Nesmith is aware of the importance and magnitude of bringing home an NBA title, he’s also aware of the uniqueness of having Porter-Gaud alumni in back-to-back NBA Finals.

“I think it’s amazing,” Nesmith told The State. “I think it does so much for the Porter-Gaud community and just shows the excellence and the standard that, you know, coach John Pearson and the entire staff at Porter-Gaud hold their student-athletes to.”

The Cyclones compete in Class 3A of the S.C. Independent School Association.

Pearson has been a basketball coach at Porter-Gaud for 25 years, the last 17 of those as head coach in which he’s been a part of six state championships.

“It’s really cool to have guys that are impacting the NBA, and they’re impacting our community, the way they are,” Pearson said. “It’s unbelievable. ... It’s a testament to their hard work and the decisions that they’ve made in their life.”

Bernie Nesmith, Aaron’s father, said Aaron benefited early in his high school career from early-morning workouts that Middleton and Aaron would have together when the Bucks forward was back home in Charleston.

“For him to see him put that kind of work in when nobody was watching, I think that was a huge boost,” Bernie Nesmith said.

Aaron himself said Middleton’s presence at Porter-Gaud made his own dream of making the NBA feel more realistic.

“It definitely was everything to me to be able to just lay eyes on an NBA player,” Aaron said. “With him being from the same city, going to the same school, walking the same hallways, that showed me that it’s possible. Somebody in my situation can make it to the NBA.”

Nesmith won three state championships with the Cyclones, carrying the lessons he learned from Middleton’s workouts along the way with him to college at Vanderbilt.

Former Vanderbilt head coach Bryce Drew was ecstatic about Nesmith’s arrival to Nashville, saying that he always knew he would be “something special.”

“He’s always been a star,” said Drew, now the head coach at Grand Canyon University. “His habits of getting in the gym, working hard, competing, you know, every drill, every possession. He had all that stuff when he came to us.”

The 6-foot-6 forward used those tools to play in 46 games across his two years at Vandy, averaging 23 points per game in his sophomore year before being selected No. 14 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft by Boston.

Nesmith hasn’t been able to fully crack the rotation, but he has played in 98 games and averaged 12.7 minutes in his young career. He made the most of his playing time during game one of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat, playing 11 minutes and collecting a steal and three blocks.

“He’s put in a lot of work and it’s paid off. I think it’s incredible,” Bernie Nesmith said.

After winning it all last year, Middleton brought the Larry O’Brien championship trophy back to Porter-Gaud in celebration, something Nesmith hopes to get a chance to do as well.

“I’ll definitely come back to Porter-Gaud. It’s always one of my first stops whenever I get free time. As soon as the season ends, I’m going straight back to Charleston,” Nesmith said. ”So after we win this trophy — definitely, hopefully — I’ll be able to make my rounds and be able to bring it back to the gym.”

Middleton and Nesmith faced off in the Eastern Conference semifinals in May. Nesmith said he and “big brother” Middleton shared a few words and caught up throughout the series that ultimately ended with the Celtics advancing and sending the Bucks home.

Middleton’s NBA Finals advice for his fellow Porter-Gaud alumnus was simple.

“He just told me to enjoy the moment and enjoy every second of it,” Nesmith said.

Game 1: Boston at Golden State, Thursday, June 2, 9 p.m., ABC

Game 2: Boston at Golden State, Sunday, June 5, 8 p.m., ABC

Game 3: Golden State at Boston, Wednesday, June 8, 9 p.m., ABC

Game 4: Golden State at Boston, Friday, June 10, 9 p.m., ABC

Game 5: Boston at Golden State, Monday, June 13, 9 p.m., ABC (If necessary)

Game 6: Golden State at Boston, Thursday, June 16, 9 p.m., ABC (If necessary)

Game 7: Boston at Golden State, Sunday, June 19, 8 p.m., ABC (If necessary)

CONWAY, S.C. (WPDE) — The upcoming election is a little more than a month away and one Horry County man is making sure one particular group gets to vote-- Horry County's inmates.

Antonious NeSmith with NeSmith Political Consulting said it's all about ensuring everyone's constitutional rights.

He said he met with local election and jail leaders to help educate inmates to let them know how to register and cast their votes if they're eligible.

NeSmith said he was previously incarcerated and wasn't very aware of his own voting rights while in jail.

However, he wants to turn that around for the inmates at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

RELATED: S.C. non-profit registers nearly 1,000 Black men to vote in Horry County over two months

"You can always get back on your feet and register to vote," NeSmith said. "It can get you in places where you've never been had you done so."

In a July meeting with local election and jail officials, NeSmith recommended a jail voting coordinator. He said this person would be responsible for helping inmates register to vote.

NeSmith also asked jail leaders to post flyers to educate inmates on their voting eligibility.

A spokesperson with the Horry County Sheriff's Office said they've posted voting information for inmates in the J. Reuben Long facility.

RELATED: MB woman chooses to vote absentee-by-mail to protect parents during the COVID-19 pandemic

"I don't want to leave any stone is unturned. I think that everybody's vote matters whether it comes from inmates or someone else, "NeSmith added.

In South Carolina, inmates can register for an election and vote as long as they haven't been convicted.

They can also register and vote while awaiting trial.

If someone was previously convicted of a felony and served their sentence, they can also vote. However, they must have served their entire sentence including probation or parole.

RELATED: Elderly poll workers share concerns about working the polls this upcoming election season

NeSmith said there's a big reason he wants to see current and former inmates exercise their right to vote.

"It's your voice. It's your way to be able to hold leaders accountable," he said.

A Horry County election leader said fewer than ten applications for ballots have been requested and returned from J. Reuben Long so far.

NeSmith said that's a good start and he's hopeful more inmates will request ballots once more inmates learn they can register to vote.

Matt NeSmith is six minutes removed from his third round at the Wells Fargo Championship on Saturday, and he’s thinking about anything but golf.

This isn’t some mental exercise for the former South Carolina star, trying to suppress some wayward round. He fired a 2-under-par 68 to move into a tie for 20th ahead of the final day of competition at Quail Hollow. That comes in the midst of an up-and-down start to his 2023 season.

No, NeSmith is distracted, at least momentarily, while trying to sift through his iPhone to find the score of the South Carolina-Kentucky baseball game.

“I know we lost last night,” NeSmith told The State. “Me and my wife went to the Auburn game on Friday (the week before) and we lost. We’re convinced we’re bad luck.”

NeSmith, now in his fourth full year on the PGA Tour, is candid about his struggles of late. He’d missed cuts in six of his last 10 events entering the Wells Fargo Championship. His world ranking, too, had dipped to 116th. But where it matters in maintaining his tour card for the following season — the FedEx Cup points rankings — he’s a cool 55th.

That carries weight.

NeSmith has teetered on the edge of maintaining his tour card before. He finished 100th and 115th in the FedEx Cup rankings in 2020 and 2021, respectively. That brings stress. It makes one press. Missed cuts, not winning points — there’s pressure in that.

But NeSmith performed well enough in 2022 for that feeling to dissipate through his recent ebbs and flows. He finished in the top 10 in three straight weeks to open October. His runner up-finish at the Shriners Children’s Open marked his best tour-level result to date.

A T4 finish at the Zurich Classic team event in New Orleans with playing-partner Taylor Moore marked his first top 10 since that run in mid-October. NeSmith’s T35 at Quail Hollow this past week against a field that included 20 of the top 25 players in the world is also a big step in his burgeoning professional career.

That NeSmith performed this past week isn’t without precedent.

But there’s a semblance of pressure in playing a tournament just up the road from his college town. Couple that with the star-studded field and a $20 million purse —

NeSmith fired a 2-under 69 on Saturday to sneak inside the top 20 after rounds of 67 and 71, making the cut at 4-under over the first two days of the tournament. His Sunday 3-over finish in tricky scoring conditions tempered the final result some, but the golf he played on a course that’s slated to host is a step in the right direction.

NeSmith, a North Augusta native, notes the Wells Fargo feels like a pseudo-home event for him (though he clarifies the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head is closer to that given it’s actually South Carolina). Based in Aiken, where he plays out of along with fellow tour pros Kevin Kisner, Scott Brown and Richie Werenski, Quail Hollow is just 142 miles from his home club.

Sticking a short pitch to three-feet to set up a birdie putt on Friday, the crowd around the 346-yard par-4 8th hole roared. “Let’s go, Matt! Go Cocks!” a boisterous male voice rang out above the fray — aided, perhaps, by a few light beverages.

“I

NeSmith has stayed plenty connected with his Columbia roots. He gets back for baseball and football games when the PGA Tour schedule allows. He’s also tight with head football coach Shane Beamer, while receivers coach has become a close friend.

But the big one lingering in the back of NeSmith’s mind? That’d be .

Aaron Nesmith knows that one day, he’ll have to stop dribbling a basketball, hang up his sneakers and go out in the real world and find a job.

Maybe Nesmith will be an entrepreneur or perhaps an engineer or maybe even a lawyer.

The one thing that Nesmith knows for sure is that day will eventually come and he wants to be ready for it once it does.

Unlike most 18-year-olds, Nesmith, Porter-Gaud’s 6-6 starting forward, has a life plan that includes a life after basketball.

“You can’t play basketball your whole life,” Nesmith said. “There’s so much more to the world than playing basketball. I love playing the game, my dream is to play in the NBA, but I want to be known for more than just being a basketball player.

“There’s friends and family and relationships that are very important to me that have nothing to do with basketball. Giving back to the community is important to me and becoming the best version of myself, a well-rounded person, is important to me.”

As good a basketball player as Nesmith has become over the past four years, he might be an even stronger student in the classroom. It’s one of the reasons why he committed to play for Vanderbilt back in September. He wanted a place where he could excel on and off the court.

“People throw around the term student-athlete a lot and it doesn’t mean anything,” said Porter-Gaud coach John Pearson. “Aaron Nesmith is a student-athlete in every sense of the word. He’s just as committed and just as focused on his classwork as he is on basketball. He wants to go as far as he can in basketball, but he also wants to set himself up after basketball with a good education.”

After what he hopes will be a long and productive career in the NBA, Nesmith isn’t sure what the rest of his life will bring.

“I’m thinking business or engineering or maybe even law,” Nesmith said. “I’m pretty good at math, so probably leaning toward something involved with that. Excelling in the classroom is really important to me. I really value education.”

Despite being averaging more than 19 points and seven rebounds a game and leading the Cyclones to back-to-back Class AAA SCISA state titles, not many major schools were looking at Nesmith back in the spring. There were plenty of mid-majors programs interested and even a couple of Ivy League schools because of Nesmith’s strong academic record, but none from Power 5 conferences.

“I couldn’t understand it because I knew what was out there and he was just as good as some of the so-called Power 5 prospects,” Pearson said.

All that changed in April. Nesmith, a two-time Lowcountry player of the year, began to turn heads during an AAU tournament in Charlotte.

“I think that tournament got me on everyone’s radar,” Nesmith said.

In late June and early July, he made another jump. After a strong showing in an Under Armour tournament in July, Nesmith’s stock began to soar and his phone would not stop ringing. South Carolina was the first Power 5 school to make a scholarship offer, then, three hours later it was Virginia Tech. Florida soon followed.

Each day seemed to bring in a new offer.

“It went from a trickle to a flood,” Pearson said. “A lot of the mid-majors liked him and were recruiting him, but by the end of June and early July there was a buzz about him. He’s an elite offensive threat and he’s an elite defensive player. I knew last year he was a Power 5 caliber player. It just took the Power 5 coaches a little longer to realize that. Once they did, Aaron just blew up.”

Nesmith is off to a quick start his senior season. He is averaging 20 points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists a game. Nesmith scored 26 points in a 75-56 win over Spartanburg Day School this past weekend. The Griffins were without Zion Williamson, who is considered one of the top prospects in the country this season.

“Aaron has taken his game to another level,” Pearson said. “He’s worked really hard on his ball handling. He’s always been a good shooter, but now he can put the ball on the floor and get to the rim.”

Across the United States and the rest of the world, the new normal for social interaction has become video conference since the spread of the coronavirus has caused closings and cancellations of sporting events, businesses and schools.

Mauldin High School defensive coordinator Sayre Nesmith hasn't been able to escape this new reality either, but Wednesday morning he got to join a video conference he was happy to give.

He got to announce to his team that he was going to be their new head coach.

The Mauldin athletic department's official Twitter announced that Nesmith would take over the job after new Chapman head coach Harry Cabaniss resigned from the same job at Mauldin in March.

Nesmith is a familiar face to the Maverick football program. He has been the defensive coordinator since 2012 under Cabaniss and former coach Lee Taylor.

"It’s something I’ve had my eyes on and been hoping for awhile now and it’s kind of a perfect situation," Nesmith said. "I’ve been here seven years and it fell into place. It was perfect timing and a perfect situation."

Nesmith graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 2009 and coached at Saline High School in Michigan during his college years before moving on to Hillcrest from 2009-2011 and taking over at Mauldin as defensive coordinator in 2012.

Nesmith was also the athletic director for two seasons at Mauldin before resigning in December. That position was filled by Mauldin baseball head coach Jim Maciejewski.

Maciejewski said the hire was made to build on what the program has been able to accomplish last season.

"I think he has a great plan in place to make a few adjustments that he thinks need to be made to help us continue to move in the right direction," he said. "He knows the kids, he knows the coaching staff, and I think his eagerness to get to work and his love for our school, our football program and our kids was something that was second to none."

Last season Mauldin went 6-6 in a difficult Region 2-AAAAA, which consisted of Upper State champion Dorman as well as Byrnes and Gaffney. Those three schools went a combined 35-7 last season.

The season was highlighted by Mauldin's 41-38 upset over T.L. Hanna in the first round of the Class AAAAA playoffs.

Nesmith said Cabaniss left the program in a good place, and his job is to continue the momentum that has been built.

"I hope to retain as much of the staff as possible, and I’ll put my own flavor on it, and we’ll do a few different things on the offensive side of the ball, but I hope to take what coach (Cabaniss) and coach (Lee) Taylor before him have been doing and take it to the next level," he said. "There’s always room for improvement, being there seven years I’ve been able to sit back and evaluate. I feel like I know things we can tweak, not that it needs a whole lot of fixing, to take things to the next level."

Nesmith said during the seven years he was the defensive coordinator he never hoped he would take the job away from one of his bosses, but he did look around for head coaching jobs at other places.

Some things can be blessings in disguise, and Nesmith said in retrospect he is grateful for not getting an opportunity sooner because this was the situation he was made for.

"I had been searching for the last few years to be a head coach, I put in for a few jobs and it didn’t work out and now I’m extremely happy that it didn’t because this is the perfect situation," he said. "I can step right in and I know the kids, their families and the community. We have a great administration, I get along with everyone from the grounds people, teachers, whole staff and faculty."

While Maciejewski wasn't the only person involved in making the decision, the past relationship between athletic director and assistant athletic director could help the entire athletic department.

Before resigning from the job in December, Nesmith had given Maciejewski opportunities to run the administrative side of football games that happened at Freeman Field during the two seasons he was athletic director.

Maciejewski has been the head baseball coach at Mauldin for 11 seasons, and he thinks he can be as much of a resource to Nesmith as he leads his first program as Nesmith can be to him with his athletic director duties.

"It’s going to be something that may go both ways," Maciejewski said. "He was an AD longer than I’ve been an AD and I’ve been a head coach longer than he’s been a head coach. I’ll be able to lean on him from the AD aspect and I’d love for him, if he needs something, to lean on me as far as questions he may have in terms of running a program."

Nesmith has already had to balance the coach-athletic director relationship when he was working under Cabaniss. On the field, Cabaniss was his boss, once they left the field, the roles reversed.

He said it was a testament to Cabaniss that the different power dynamics didn't get in the way of the ultimate goal for the program and department.

"It was kind of a weird thing," Nesmith said. "It takes a good leader like himself to be able to balance that and understand my time commitments and how that had to be split."

Both Nesmith and Maciejewski said the new head coach's experience with the players will be especially important as the spread of the coronavirus has put the sports world and normal life to a halt.

"It would be real tough to go to a new school and have zero face-to-face right now," he said. "You’re trying to get these kids to believe in what you want to implement and they already know me, they know what my standards are so there won’t be as much catching up to do as if I was going into a whole new situation."

Nesmith his heart was especially broken for his players during the process. While in limbo about who their new coach was going to be, they were sent home from school and not able to access their assistant coaches in the hallways of Mauldin to find out how the search was going.

"They were left out in the dark, and that’s a tough place to be," he said.

With the progress the Mavericks made last season, Nesmith thought it was in the best interest for the players he had gotten to know so well over the last few years for someone to coach them who knew them.

"One of the first things that came in my head when the job became open was that I wanted to do everything I could to secure this job for the players’ sake," he said. It’s (the program) in a good place, it’s not broken, it’s not a failing program that’s in need of a reboot."

Geoff Preston covers high school sports in Greenville County.

Follow him on twitter @ByGeoffPreston