USA vs. France: Post-game interviews

Click here to watch video interview with Steph.

Click here to listen to a different interview with Steph (audio only).

Team USA advances to U19 World Championship Finals

Team USA came back from a 4th quarter deficit of 11 points to win the semifinal game against France 78-75. Steph Curry hit the game clinching jumper.

Team USA faces Serbia, the host country, in the finals tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Live video should be availabe on the FIBA website.

More to come.

Highlight video of Brad Smith, former Davidson kicker

For those that may not know, Brad has graduated from Davidson, but still has eligibility remaining. He's enrolled in graduate school at the University of Southern California (yep, USC), and is walking on to the football team there to play out his eligibility. Good luck, Brad!!

Watch Steph & Team USA vs. France at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time

USA vs. France

Saturday: 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Team USA is in the semifinals of the U19 World Championship tournament. They will face France at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Team USA already beat France once last Wednesday, 87-82, and it was supposedly an upset. Therefore, this will likely be a tough game. France is apparently the tournament favorite.

Click here to watch live.

UPDATE: The video does not seem to be working. I'm not sure what's going on. The game is in progress right now.

UPDATE #2: Video is on again. The FIBA website must have been having problems during the 1st half.

Steph in action vs. Argentina

Post-game interview with Steph: Click here

Watch USA face Argentina at 7:30 am EST

USA vs. Argentina

WATCH ONLINE:
Quarterfinals of U19 World Championship
NOTE: Gametime is 7:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on FRIDAY MORNING.

Click here to go straight to the FIBA video link page. It's free, so watch it if you can!

Steph playing vs. France

Watch Steph & Team USA today online

CORRECTION: OOPS! NO VIDEO TODAY. SORRY!
Video starts in the quarterfinals (July 20th).

USA vs. France

Gametime is 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Click here to go straight to the FIBA video link page. It's free, so watch it if you can!

More pics of Steph with Team USA

Curry in action vs. Serbia

Steph had 19 pts, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals in the win against Serbia.

Steph doing well for Team USA

Steph's averages:
5 Games
Minutes per game: 18.0
Points per game: 11.4
Rebounds per game: 4.4
Assists per game: 2.6
Steals per game: 2.6

Click here to link to Steph's FIBA U19 profile page.

Steph's profile page has all his individual game stats.

Watch Curry and Team USA live

FIBA To Offer Free Online Video Streaming Of Men's U19 Worlds Medal Round

GENEVA, Switzerland (July 17, 2007) – FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, today announced that it will provide free Internet broadcasting of the 2007 FIBA U19 Men's World Championship medal rounds from Novi Sad, Serbia. Fans can follow the July 20 quarterfinals, July 21 medal semifinals and the July 22 gold and bronze medal games at http://www.serbia2007.fiba.com/.

Click here for the direct link to the video.

Article on SI.com about UCLA game

West meets East
UCLA to host Davidson at Wooden Classic on Dec. 8

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- UCLA will play Davidson in the 14th annual John R. Wooden Classic basketball doubleheader in December.

The Dec. 8 game will be the first meeting between the teams since 1975, when UCLA won 91-64 at Pauley Pavilion in the same season Wooden retired.

The Bruins will be making their fifth consecutive appearance and 11th overall. They have a 7-3 record in the event.

UCLA made its second straight Final Four appearance last season.

Davidson has played in two consecutive NCAA tournaments and had a school-record 29 wins last season.

The other teams have not yet been announced.

Curry interview: Team USA

STEPHEN CURRY:
On the long travel day and his first impression of Serbia:
It's my first time over in Europe, so it's definitely a change from back in the States. The travel day was kinda long, just sitting in the airport and the long flight. We got over here, and it was tough adjusting to the time difference. The first practice was a little rough, but it got us adjusted to playing over here. I'm just having fun touring the city and practicing before the games.

On seeing McDonald's down the street from the hotel:
I'm happy to see McDonald's and some food that I recognize, but a different culture is an eye-opening experience. Stepping out of the box and being in a different country is always fun, so I'm enjoying it.

Do you know about the history between the USA and Serbia?
I'm just learning about the history and what happened back in the day, but definitely we want to handle ourselves responsibly, act right all the time and have our best behavior to represent our country well.

On first game:
That's what I've been waiting for since I got here. Practice is fun, but it's all about the games when it comes down to it. I've been looking forward to it. Sitting down here, looking at all the teams and stuff, it's starting to sink in that tomorrow we're going to be playing tomorrow, and I'll definitely be ready.

Steph Curry in action for Team USA

Curry helps U.S. hold off Serbia at U-19 World Championships
NOVI SAD, Serbia -- In their closest game yet in the Under-19 World Basketball Championships, the U.S. rode a 19-point, seven-rebound effort from Stephen Curry as it held off Serbia in the final two minutes for an 82-78 win Saturday.
The U.S. team improved to 3-0 and advances to the second round and will face Lithuania on July 16 before playing Brazil (July 17) and France (July 18).

Davidson adds UCLA to schedule

Davidson will play @ UCLA on December 8th. John Wooden, etc......yes, that UCLA!!

How about the non-conference schedule, huh? UNC, Duke, NC State, UCLA? Wow!!! The great thing is that Coach McKillop and Coach Matheny have built the program up to the point that we can now realistically win these types of games. These are exciting times for Davidson Basketball.

Anybody up for a trip to Cali in December?

Here's a note from Coach McKillop:

Dear Wildcat Family,

The process of developing our schedule is always very challenging. Our associate head coach, Matt Matheny, spends an extraordinary amount of time and energy meeting this challenge and has always been sensational in fulfilling this responsibility. We are close to completing our 2007-08 schedule and I thought you might like some early information about our latest addition. On December 8th we will travel to Anaheim, California to play UCLA as part of the John Wooden Classic. We will play this one game as part of an afternoon double-header and it will be another opportunity for us to be on the national stage. To paraphrase the great poet Robert Browning: "Man's reach should exceed his grasp or what's a heaven for." Our players and our staff are passionate about their commitment to make our program better. Thanks to all of you for your continuing support and inspiration.

Bob McKillop

Head Basketball Coach

Curry in action for Team USA vs. China

Curry dropped 16 points on Team China in an exhibition game, which included NBA overall #6 draft pick, Yi Jianlian. Yao Ming is also on the Team China roster, but did not play. It is my understanding that Team China was the senior national team, not their under-19 team (which explains why Yao is on the roster).

I will update other games soon.

Another Curry-related article

"Live from the Kobe Skills Academy"

...Another guy who stood out from the pack was Davidson’s Stephen Curry. Despite being the shortest collegian in attendance, Curry was making it rain from various spots on the hardwood. It’s no shock that his father is former NBA marksman, Dell Curry, a career 40 percent three-point shooter in 16 NBA seasons. Curry also gave a good defensive effort and was somehow active under the boards.

...The final 15 minutes of the session was the 5-on-5 scrimmage. The teams were broken down into white and black jerseys. Black team: Budinger, David Lighty (Ohio State), Chris Lofton (Tennessee), Josh Carter (Texas A&M) and Wayne Ellington (UNC).White team: Curry, Marcelus Kemp (Nevada), Gerald Henderson (Duke), Jerel McNeal (Marquette), Bryce Taylor (Oregon).

Curry mentioned in Team USA article

The relevant portion from the article on SI.com:

Whenever I visit with coaches who have had players compete for one of USA Basketball's summer teams, they rave about how much confidence their guys gained while practicing against some of America's top collegians for a month. By that standard, the players who seem poised to gain the most from the under-19 experience are Patrick Beverley, a 6-1 guard from Arkansas; Stephen (pronounced STEFF-in) Curry, a 6-1 guard from Davidson and Deon Thompson, a 6-8 center from North Carolina...

...Curry, meanwhile, gave the Americans a huge lift off the bench Sunday, scoring 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 4 for 4 from three-point range. Curry was the only player on the team who hailed from a mid-major school. (Gonzaga guard Matt Bouldin is also on the U.S. squad, but most people have stopped thinking of Gonzaga as a mid-major.) True hoops junkies know all about Curry; he broke the NCAA's single-season freshman record for threes made (122) while leading the Southern Conference in scoring (21.5 ppg) and free throw percentage (85.5 percent). He has yet to carve out a national reputation. That should change next season, when Davidson returns all 11 scholarship players from the team that went 29-5 and almost beat Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament. "I had a little sour taste coming out of high school knowing that none of the major D-I schools wanted to take a chance on me," Curry said. "For me to come here and be able to practice bringing the ball up the court against really good defensive guards I don't usually see is going to help me get better."

Steph Curry's Team USA bio page

Click on the image to enlarge to readable size.

Steph Curry makes Team USA

USA Men's U19 World Championship Team Named

DALLAS, Texas (June 30, 2007) – Selecting from 18 players who participated in the USA Basketball U19 World Championship Trials in Dallas, Texas, USA Basketball announced today the official 12 player roster for the USA U19 squad. Featuring three members of last summer’s victorious USA U18 Team, the selected players will represent the United States in the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship (players must be born on or after Jan. 1, 1988) that will be held July 12-22 in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Selected for the USA U19 World Championship squad were: Darrell Arthur (Kansas / Dallas, Texas); Michael Beasley (Notre Dame Prep, Mass./ Frederick, Md.); Patrick Beverley (Arkansas / Chicago, Ill.): Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga / Highlands Ranch, Colo.); Stephen Curry (Davidson / Charlotte, N.C.); Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls H.S. / Niagara Falls, N.Y.); Donte’ Greene (Towson Catholic H.S. / Baltimore, Md.); DeAndre Jordan (Bellaire Episcopal H.S. / Humble, Texas); David Lighty (Ohio State / Cleveland, Ohio); Raymar Morgan (Michigan State / Canton, Ohio); Tajuan Porter (Oregon / Detroit, Mich.); and Deon Thompson (North Carolina / Torrance, Calif.).

Click here for Team USA U19 Roster

ESPN.com preseason: Davidson #23, projected #9 NCAA seed

Yeah, it's early, but this is fun stuff anyway. Here's what Andy Katz of ESPN.com has to say about the Wildcats in his preseason Top 25 poll:

23. Davidson
2006-07 Record: 29-5, 17-1

"Don't really care if you think this pick is crazy. Davidson has one of the hidden gems in Stephen Curry. Bob McKillop is one of the top coaches who gets zero pub. This team will win 28 to 29 games and be a tough out in the NCAAs. So deal with Davidson in the Top 25."

In the meantime, Joe Lunardi has put out his first preseason "Bracketology" on ESPN.com. He's got Davidson listed as #9 seed.

Another Davidson All-American

Kristen Meister: All-American

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – Davidson’s freshman track standout Kristen Meister concluded her impressive rookie campaign with an 11th place finish in the high jump finals, earning All-America status at the 2007 NCAA Track and Field Championships on Friday evening in Sacramento, Calif.

Meister cleared 1.77 meters to finish tied for 11th place with Lacy Wilson of Texas Tech. Destinee Hooker was the event champion with a jump of 1.92 meters and no misses to best Alabama’s Miruna Mataoanu, who also cleared 1.92 meters with a pair of misses.

Levern Spencer (Georgia), Sharon Day (Cal Poly), Rhonda Watkins (UCLA), Inika McPherson (California), Peaches Roach (Iowa) and Kaylene Wagner (Kansas State) were the top eight in the event, earning All-America status.

Meister, who became just the second Davidson woman to qualify for the NCAA track championships, concludes an impressive rookie campaign with a pair of conference titles and conference and school records.

Meister also became the school's first track All-American with her 11th place finish. In Division I field and track, the top eight finishers in each event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships are eligible for All-America status. In the individual events, if one or more of the top eight finishers are of another nationality, eight American-born athletes are selected in addition to any foreign-born All-Americans.

***********************

This is obviously a major achievement. This is THE All-American list; Kristen is in elite company. Keep in mind that Kristen was competing with the big-time schools (UCLA, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, etc.) Here's the list of other high-jump athletes that received All-American honors, which helps illustrate how major this is for her and Davidson:

High Jump
Kristen Meister, Davidson College
Miruna Mataoanu, University of Alabama
Inika McPherson, University of California
Rhonda Watkins, University of California Los Angeles
Levern Spencer, University of Georgia
Peaches Roach, University of Iowa
Destinee Hooker, University of Texas
Sharon Day, California Polytechnic State University
Rebecca Christe, Harvard University
Kaylene Wagner, Kansas State University
Kristina Bolter, Miami University (Ohio)
Lacy Wilson, Texas Tech University

Congratulations, Kristen!!

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."