When it comes to high school basketball in South Carolina, the tiny town of Great Falls comes up big. Really big.  
 
The school, which has averaged around 200 hundred students in the ninth through 12^th grades for years has 11 state championships and numerous second place finishes.  
 
And it continues to turn out college standouts. That list includes: Charles Brunson, who was a two-time NAIA All-American at Winthrop. He's the Eagles second all-time leading scorer with 1,850 points and 913 rebounds. Danny Strong, who scored 787 points at North Carolina State and was an international professional standout for 15 years. Torey Craig, who scored 2,128 points for USC Upstate and plays for the NBA's Chicago Bulls. 
      
The latest in that line of standout hoopsters is Winthrop senior Kelton Talford, a 6-7 inside player who became the 27th Eagle to join the prestigious 1,000-point club earlier this year in a win over Bob Jones University.  Basketball for Kelton is much like it is for most everyone in the tiny town of less than 2,000 --- a way a life. It's been that way as far back as he can remember. Great Falls can't get enough of high school basketball.  
  
"Oh 100 percent." Kelton said after a recent practice.  "Everyone in Great Falls loves basketball and the support is like no other place you'll see. It's a staple of the community."  
 
That shows when, more times than not, standing room only crowds pile into the small gym. And, the Red Devils history isn't lost on the young men who up in the once thriving textile community.  
 
"Basketball in Great Falls is generation to generation and that's a big deal," he said   
 
And Talford more than did his part to add to that legacy. In four years at Great Falls he was:  All-Region four times and earned Player of the Year honors three times, a three-time All-State selection, and averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks as a senior.  
 
"I played baseball, football, basketball and tried track for a little while. When you're at a school that small you play everything or there might not be enough players to have a team. I'd leave football practice and walk to the gym and practice basketball."  

Even with his stellar numbers Kelton didn't draw interest from big time recruiters.  
 
"Maybe it was my size, but when you play at a small high school like I did you don't usually get much attention," he said.  
 
Talford got offers from Western Carolina, Presbyterian, USC Upstate and Winthrop.  

"I'm a homebody from a small town and Winthrop reminded where I grew up," KT, as he's known to his teammates, said. "Here you have limited distractions and I'm close to home. It has everything I wanted."  
 
After a decent freshmen season, Kelton started to show visions of what the future would bring in his second season. He started five of 31 games he played and averaged 8.5 points and 4 rebounds a game. 
  
Things only picked up last season when he earned All-Big South first team honors, averaged 16.2 points and 8.2 rebounds a game, scored in double figures 28 times and shot .669 percent from the field which ranked sixth nationally.  
 
Despite going up against bigger and stronger post defenders night after night Kelton is a scoring machine inside, where he constantly uses multiple head and pump fakes until he scores.   

"Growing up I was always the tallest kid in my class and when I got to Great Falls my dad knew I was going to be a five (post)," Kelton said. "He's always told me you'll never be the tallest or the strongest but I could make up for it with by footwork. So, we just did endless repetitions of footwork drills. 
   
"It's just making quick moves and try to wear them down. They might be bigger but they're usually slower."  

Because he started his college career in 2020 – the COVID season -- Kelton has earned another season of eligibility if he wants.   
 
"I haven't thought that much about it," he said. "I'm living in the moment and taking this season one game at a time."