COLUMBIA, S.C. — Monte Lee has been through this scenario before.
After seven years at the College of Charleston, the Lugoff-Elgin grad took over the Clemson program prior to the 2016 season and one of the opponents on that year’s schedule was the College of Charleston.
This Friday, South Carolina will be at Doug Kingsmore Stadium for game one of this weekend’s series and that will mark Lee’s return to the facility where he had spent the previous seven years.
A former Gamecock assistant under Ray Tanner, Lee is in his first season working under head coach Mark Kingston as South Carolina’s associate head coach/recruiting coordinator.
As was the case when he took over at Clemson, Monte will look out of the dugout Friday night and see players that he recruited and coached during his time in the Upstate.
“Coming from the College of Charleston when I was the head coach at Clemson, I had to experience that, being in the dugout and playing against a group of kids that you love and coaching against a program you loved being a part of,” Lee said Wednesday.
“I’ve had that experience before. It’s a little bit weird before the game starts because as you go into the ballpark or they come into your ballpark, you see the kids. You remember recruiting them, remember coaching them and just being there with them through good times, bad times and all the special moments you spend together. It’s really about the people more than the opponent.”