Davidson adds NC State to schedule

Davidson adds game at N.C. State on Dec. 21

KEVIN CARY

Davidson has added a third ACC opponent to its 2007-08 schedule, playing at N.C. State Dec. 21. Davidson will also get a home game with the Wolfpack in the 2008-09 season.

The two teams haven't played since 1995. Both teams have been mentioned in preseason top 25 polls for next season. Davidson went 29-5 last season and has every scholarship player returning, including freshman standout Stephen Curry. N.C. State returns four starters from a 20-16 team.

Davidson has already scheduled two games at Charlotte Bobcats Arena against ACC opponents. Davidson will play North Carolina in a 7 p.m. game televised by ESPN Nov. 14, and will also play Duke Dec. 1. Coach Bob McKillop said it has not been determined whether the Duke or N.C. State games will be televised.

Davidson also has a game scheduled at Charlotte Dec. 5, and another game to be scheduled at Western Michigan. McKillop said the school is still trying to determine the rest of its nonconference opponents.

"We want to provide the best experience for our players and for our fans," McKillop said. "These games do that, and also give the best exposure to our program."

Condolences to our neighbors, Winthrop

Winthrop player Adams dies of injuries
Single-car accident on Saturday
GARY McCANN

De'Andre Adams, the fiesty backup point guard for Winthrop’s basketball team, died early today in Atlanta Medical Center from injuries sustained in a Saturday morning single-car accident.

He was 20.

Adams had been in a drug induced coma with swelling of the brain since the accident around 4 a.m. Saturday morning about five minutes from his home in Austell, Ga.

Adams swerved to avoid a tree that had fallen into Clay Road. The car flipped several times before hitting a tree. Adams was wearing his seat belt. It took rescue personnel 45 minutes to cut the top off the car and get him into an ambulance.

He had been holding his own, but took a turn for the worst on Tuesday night. The 5-foot-6, 156-pound Adams would have been a junior this year. In two seasons with the Eagles he had endeared himself to his teammates and fans with his aggressive, energetic play.

Nicknamed “soy sauce” by his teammates because, they said, “he spiced things up” when he came on the floor, Adams played in all of Winthrop’s 65 games the past two seasons and was a key player in the Eagles’ first-ever NCAA Tournament win, a 74-64 victory over Notre Dame in Spokane, Wash. last March.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Davidson featured on NBC Nightly News

Davidson students and Baghdad University students had a video conference to discuss the situation in Iraq.

NBC Nightly News was on campus to cover the event.

Click here to watch. I don't know how long this link will remain active, so check it out ASAP if you want to watch.

Sidenote: I know nothing about how this event came to be....but I can't help but wonder if Tony Snow had any part in getting this event to Davidson - to garner some publicity for his alma mater. It's just a thought, and not too much of a stretch. He is apparently a big Davidson supporter, and he's got a connection or two.

UPDATE: I was too quick to credit Mr. Snow for this. Like I said, it was just a hunch.

FROM C. DANIEL'S COMMENT:
C. Daniel said...
James Zogby, head of the Arab-American Institute arranged it. He taught at Davidson for a semester as a visiting prof, and did the same thing around the time he taught here (4 years ago, perhaps?).

Brendan McKillop to be a Wildcat

Brendan McKillop signs with Davidson
Charlotte Catholic standout will be coached by his father

LANGSTON WERTZ JR.

His father is the men's basketball coach at Davidson. His brother was a high school basketball star who played for his father at Davidson.

Because of all that, Charlotte Catholic's Brendan McKillop, who signed with Bob McKillop's Davidson team Monday, was never sure he wanted to be a Wildcat until he watched them play in the NCAA tournament.

Brendan, a 6-foot-1 point guard, was the Queen City 3A/4A Player of the Year last season after averaging 26 points, five rebounds and five assists. He shared the Observer's player of the year award in Mecklenburg County with Butler's Demontez Stitt.

"At first, I wanted to get away from home and do my own thing," Brendan said. "I'd lived there my whole life. My brother (Matt) played at Davidson, and I've always been in my brother's shadow growing up and going to all the same schools he did."

Brendan got heavy interest from N.C. State, Virginia Tech, George Mason, Penn State and St. John's, said his high school coach, Bob Moran.

But Moran said Brendan began to "fall in love" with the Wildcats during workouts with the players. "And I think those players wanted him there," Moran said. "They saw he could fit in."
Brendan said he made his decision while watching Davidson play in the NCAA tournament this year, seeing how much fun the players were having. So he'll follow his brother after all. Matt graduated in 2006 and is an assistant at Emory University in Atlanta, Brendan said.

"I wasn't sure for a while," Brendan said, "but I'm glad I decided to go."