Around FCS: Hoops or Football?
Published: March 21, 2008
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Like most folks interested in sports, I'm keeping a keen eye on the opening rounds of the NCAA Division I basketball tournament this week. But as I'm watching teams like Davidson, Georgetown, Drake, Butler, San Diego and Cornell, I'm thinking about how college basketball impacts the Football Championship Subdivision.
It comes as no surprise that some of the teams that are thriving on the basketball court are non-scholarship schools in FCS.
There has always been a tendency for some schools to divert funds from football to benefit basketball, particularly for colleges that struggle with their budgets. And there have always been schools that have been better-known for their hoops prowess than their gridiron success.
But seldom has there been a year where the rewards for such a strategy have seemed so plentiful.
In all, four teams that compete in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League (Butler, Davidson, Drake and San Diego) made the field in NCAA basketball. Georgetown - a Patriot League member in football - and the Ivy League's Cornell also punched NCAA tickets.
Four of those six (Georgetown, Davidson, Drake and Butler) have notable basketball resumes.
Georgetown has won a national championship. Drake nearly beat Lew Alcindor and UCLA in a Final Four. Davidson has come within an eyelash of a Final Four appearance. Butler's Hinkle Gym was the venue for the film "Hoosiers." And San Diego has made a trio of trips to the NCAA tournament.
Sacred Heart lost to American in the final of the Northeast Conference, to keep another FCS team from reaching the tourney.
American was one of 17 schools without football to reach the NCAAs. Siena and St. Mary's are among those who have dropped their FCS programs in recent years, to the benefit of basketball.
Only four scholarship teams in FCS made the NCAA hoop field - Villanova, Mississippi Valley State, Portland State and Austin Peay. Two of them are known for their basketball, two are not.
Villanova has long been a basketball powerhouse, with two trips to NCAA championship game and one national championship banner hanging from the rafters of its arena. There is little doubt on the Main Line where the Wildcats' fancy lies.
Austin Peay is another school with a rich basketball tradition. Anyone remember Fly Williams? Interestingly, the Governors made the basketball tournament in the same year that they decided to move back to the Ohio Valley Conference in football, and began offering football scholarships again.
Mississippi Valley State made its fourth trip to the NCAA basketball tournament, but more people remember Jerry Rice, Willie Totten, and their football accomplishments than anyone who has played basketball there.
Portland State's basketball program may have been helped by the rising profile of the Vikings' football team, as coach Jerry Glanville has tirelessly promoted the school since being hired a year ago. Whatever the case, PSU earned its first NCAA hoops trip.
One of the more interesting cases of a school de-emphasizing football and seeing its basketball fortunes soar is Davidson, a school that made some noise with an upset over Gonzaga on Friday afternoon.
The Wildcats chose to drop athletic scholarships in football after the 1987 season, and were promptly kicked out of the Southern Conference. Davidson petitioned for reinstatement and was accepted back in every sport but football in 1991. The Wildcats remained a football independent until joining the PFL in 2001.
In the meantime, Davidson has seen a resurgence in its basketball fortunes, hearkening back to days of coaches Lefty Driesell and Terry Holland. The Wildcats have made five NCAA tournament appearances under coach Bob McKillop, including three in succession.
Taking a different approach to helping basketball is Western Kentucky, which matched up with Drake in a first-round tournament encounter on Friday. The Hilltoppers, the 2002 FCS national champions, moved to the Football Bowl Subdivision at least in part due to a stated desire to make its basketball program more attractive.
WKU's football program has gone steadily downhill since their championship run of 2002, and isn't likely to improve much with a frequent diet of money games. But the Hilltoppers, who reached the Final Four in 1971 with center Jim McDaniels patrolling the middle, have long cared more about basketball, with football as a mere afterthought.
Western Kentucky hopes that in moving up to 85 scholarships in football that it will be able to attract a better basketball home than its current Sun Belt Conference locale. The Hilltoppers would like to find themselves in Conference USA, or perhaps the Mid-American Conference, in years to come.
There isn't much love lost around FCS or in WKU's former football league - the Gateway Conference - for the Hilltoppers, due to the bridges they burned on their way out of FCS.
Like most FCS supporters, I was rooting whole-heartedly for Drake in its first-round, overtime battle with Western Kentucky - even thought the Bulldogs came up just a little short of a big upset.
And, I'll continue to root for those FCS schools throughout the NCAA basketball tournament.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Curry future NBAer (Let's hope for the 2010 NBA draft)
He might look like he's 16 years old, but he shoots like a seasoned pro. I didn't see Stephen Curry's name on the top of any lists of likely top NBA draft picks heading into March Madness, but he's certainly on mine now.
Check out...
the Charlotte Observer's Above the Rim blog. Lots of Davidson stuff.
Also, Davidson's Charlotte Observer page.
Also, Davidson's Charlotte Observer page.
Lefty thinks Davidson can beat the Hoyas
Davidson's rise reminds coach of Lefty's strong run with team in '60s
The Virginian-Pilot
March 23, 2008
RALEIGH, N.C.
The Virginian-Pilot
March 23, 2008
RALEIGH, N.C.
Lefty Driesell's name was mentioned here in the break between first- and second-round NCAA t ournament games.
Davidson College, one of the schools where Driesell coached, is back on the national radar as it heads into this afternoon's game against No. 2 seed Georgetown. When the 10th seed toppled Gonzaga on Friday, it marked the Wildcats' first tournament victory since 1969, Driesell's last season with the school.
For a fleeting moment Saturday afternoon, Bob McKillop waxed nostalgic about an era when tiny Davidson was a prominent player on the national stage. That was before Driesell departed for Maryland and the balance of power in college basketball shifted even further to schools from heavyweight conferences.
What Driesell accomplished in the ' 60s, McKillop said, was no less than "one of the extraordinary stories in college annals."
"Well, he's probably right," Driesell said Saturday from his Virginia Beach home, laughing over the phone at the happy memories.
"Davidson's kind of always been my favorite, because it was my first college job," he added. "I was only 28 years old when I went there."
It was a different era, to say the least.
"I grew up in a time period," said the 57-year-old McKillop, in his 19th year as Wildcats head coach, "when people wanted to go to Davidson College."
People, young men and women, still clamor to attend the small, academically rigorous school - enrollment 1,700 - located just outside of Charlotte, N.C.
"Players," McKillop said. That's what he meant.
Stephen Curry is a player; the most compelling in the tournament to date. Curry is at Davidson, though, only because Virginia Tech and other schools rejected him.
Forty-five years ago, Driesell fought more or less on even terms in his recruiting battles, even though Davidson's enrollment at the time was less than 1,000 and all male. The Lefthander didn't earn his reputation as a master recruiter by accident.
"The thing that I sold was, Davidson is a great academic school," he said.
The second syllable of Lefty's last name is "sell." Could he ever. Before the 1964-65 season, Sports Illustrated picked Davidson as its No. 1 team. His final season at Davidson, his team finished No. 3 in the polls.
"See if there's ever been a school ranked as high for as many years as we were with 900 men in the school," he said. "Only men."
For Lefty, Charlie Scott was the one that got away. Scott verbally committed to Davidson before signing with North Carolina and Dean Smith. In 1969, in Driesell's final game for Davidson, it was Scott who hit the game-winning shot at the East Regional final that kept Davidson from reaching the Final Four.
That game lives on for fans who recall Driesell's catalogue of heartbreak, but no one of any age could possibly imagine Davidson and North Carolina in a recruiting battle for the same player today. It would never happen.
McKillop understands his program's limitations, but he's put together a team that, with an upset today, could create something of a national identity of its own.
With a 23-game winning streak, the longest in the nation, and Curry firing from the outside, who's to say that Davidson doesn't have a chance against bigger, stronger Georgetown?
Not Lefty.
"When you've got a guy who can shoot like that," he said, "you can beat anybody."
Davidson knows what to expect from Georgetown because McKillop scheduled the big boys this season, losing by only four points to North Carolina in Charlotte in November, and falling to UCLA and Duke.
"Bobby's done a great job of getting them playing together," said Driesell. "I'd like to see them go to the Final Four like George Mason did a couple years ago."
Davidson's success has Lefty feeling frisky.
"I might come down for the game," he said, "if I can get someone to come with me. And if I can get a ticket."
That last part should be no problem.
--Bob Molinaro
Davidson College, one of the schools where Driesell coached, is back on the national radar as it heads into this afternoon's game against No. 2 seed Georgetown. When the 10th seed toppled Gonzaga on Friday, it marked the Wildcats' first tournament victory since 1969, Driesell's last season with the school.
For a fleeting moment Saturday afternoon, Bob McKillop waxed nostalgic about an era when tiny Davidson was a prominent player on the national stage. That was before Driesell departed for Maryland and the balance of power in college basketball shifted even further to schools from heavyweight conferences.
What Driesell accomplished in the ' 60s, McKillop said, was no less than "one of the extraordinary stories in college annals."
"Well, he's probably right," Driesell said Saturday from his Virginia Beach home, laughing over the phone at the happy memories.
"Davidson's kind of always been my favorite, because it was my first college job," he added. "I was only 28 years old when I went there."
It was a different era, to say the least.
"I grew up in a time period," said the 57-year-old McKillop, in his 19th year as Wildcats head coach, "when people wanted to go to Davidson College."
People, young men and women, still clamor to attend the small, academically rigorous school - enrollment 1,700 - located just outside of Charlotte, N.C.
"Players," McKillop said. That's what he meant.
Stephen Curry is a player; the most compelling in the tournament to date. Curry is at Davidson, though, only because Virginia Tech and other schools rejected him.
Forty-five years ago, Driesell fought more or less on even terms in his recruiting battles, even though Davidson's enrollment at the time was less than 1,000 and all male. The Lefthander didn't earn his reputation as a master recruiter by accident.
"The thing that I sold was, Davidson is a great academic school," he said.
The second syllable of Lefty's last name is "sell." Could he ever. Before the 1964-65 season, Sports Illustrated picked Davidson as its No. 1 team. His final season at Davidson, his team finished No. 3 in the polls.
"See if there's ever been a school ranked as high for as many years as we were with 900 men in the school," he said. "Only men."
For Lefty, Charlie Scott was the one that got away. Scott verbally committed to Davidson before signing with North Carolina and Dean Smith. In 1969, in Driesell's final game for Davidson, it was Scott who hit the game-winning shot at the East Regional final that kept Davidson from reaching the Final Four.
That game lives on for fans who recall Driesell's catalogue of heartbreak, but no one of any age could possibly imagine Davidson and North Carolina in a recruiting battle for the same player today. It would never happen.
McKillop understands his program's limitations, but he's put together a team that, with an upset today, could create something of a national identity of its own.
With a 23-game winning streak, the longest in the nation, and Curry firing from the outside, who's to say that Davidson doesn't have a chance against bigger, stronger Georgetown?
Not Lefty.
"When you've got a guy who can shoot like that," he said, "you can beat anybody."
Davidson knows what to expect from Georgetown because McKillop scheduled the big boys this season, losing by only four points to North Carolina in Charlotte in November, and falling to UCLA and Duke.
"Bobby's done a great job of getting them playing together," said Driesell. "I'd like to see them go to the Final Four like George Mason did a couple years ago."
Davidson's success has Lefty feeling frisky.
"I might come down for the game," he said, "if I can get someone to come with me. And if I can get a ticket."
That last part should be no problem.
--Bob Molinaro
From NY Times
For the Currys, a Keen Shooting Eye Runs in the Family
RALEIGH, N.C. — Dell Curry spent 16 seasons smooth-shooting his way through the N.B.A. as a guard for Utah, Cleveland, Charlotte, Milwaukee and Toronto. He was a model of consistency from behind the 3-point arc, which inevitably made him unbeatable in all of those family games of H-O-R-S-E.
That was until one day last year, when Curry finally lost. The winner? Stephen Curry, Dell’s son and a guard for the Davidson Wildcats.
“Right now I have the win streak going,” Stephen Curry said Thursday. “He can still shoot, so competitions are pretty even.”
Stephen Curry can shoot a little, too, as Gonzaga found out on Friday. Curry scored 40 points to lead 10th-seeded Davidson to an 82-76 victory against No. 7 Gonzaga in a Midwest Region first-round game at the RBC Center. It was the first tournament victory in 39 years for Davidson, and it sent the Wildcats into a second-round game against No. 2 Georgetown on Sunday.
Curry’s performance came in front of his parents, who are regulars at Davidson games and watched from the front row.
“It was amazing, man,” said Dell Curry, who retired from the N.B.A. in 2002 and now works for the Charlotte Bobcats. “I tell you, I know what my parents felt like now.”
Click here for entire article.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Dell Curry spent 16 seasons smooth-shooting his way through the N.B.A. as a guard for Utah, Cleveland, Charlotte, Milwaukee and Toronto. He was a model of consistency from behind the 3-point arc, which inevitably made him unbeatable in all of those family games of H-O-R-S-E.
That was until one day last year, when Curry finally lost. The winner? Stephen Curry, Dell’s son and a guard for the Davidson Wildcats.
“Right now I have the win streak going,” Stephen Curry said Thursday. “He can still shoot, so competitions are pretty even.”
Stephen Curry can shoot a little, too, as Gonzaga found out on Friday. Curry scored 40 points to lead 10th-seeded Davidson to an 82-76 victory against No. 7 Gonzaga in a Midwest Region first-round game at the RBC Center. It was the first tournament victory in 39 years for Davidson, and it sent the Wildcats into a second-round game against No. 2 Georgetown on Sunday.
Curry’s performance came in front of his parents, who are regulars at Davidson games and watched from the front row.
“It was amazing, man,” said Dell Curry, who retired from the N.B.A. in 2002 and now works for the Charlotte Bobcats. “I tell you, I know what my parents felt like now.”
Click here for entire article.
Sporting News preview: Davidson/Georgetown
G'town vs. Curry: No. 1 'D' vs. No. 1 shooter
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The politically correct thing to say when some reporter tries to bait you into making a basketball game personal is that there's no extra challenge, no extra motivation to shut down one guy. We're a team, they're a team and the only thing that matters is moving to the next round.
The Georgetown players stuck to the script when prodded about how the best Division I defense (the Hoyas) would cope with facing quite possibly the best Division I shooter (Davidson's Stephen Curry) on Sunday at 2:40 p.m. ET.
"Our defense has definitely won games for us," Georgetown forward Patrick Ewing Jr. said. "Just because of one player, we're not going to change anything. It's about us and the things that we do. They're a good team other than Curry. They've got other great players there."
That might be true, but Curry is the one who pumped in an NCAA Tournament-high 40 points Friday against Gonzaga in the first round, including 30 in the second half to fuel an 11-point comeback. He hit eight three-pointers in 10 attempts. The other Wildcats? They were setting screens and/or passing the ball to No. 30.
Curry can't beat the second-seeded Hoyas alone.
So there has to be a little, just a little, extra motivation for Georgetown players -- proud of their grinding-and-banging-and-denying reputation -- to not get poster-ized by Curry, right? You can't hold opponents to 36.7 percent shooting (best in the country) or 57.6 points (fifth best) without being angry at every ray of light coming from the scoreboard.
Right?
Not to hear the Hoyas tell it. Or, more accurately, not tell it. Curry's great. They'll do their best and hope it works out.
You're not going to get any opponent mad with talk like that. What, are the Hoyas afraid Curry will score 50?
Maybe. Actually, after his performance against the Zags, probably.
"Every team that's still playing, you're not going to reinvent the wheel this time of year," Hoyas coach John Thompson III said. "You have to pay special attention to him and how they get him the ball, but we're not going to go in and come up with the special Davidson-and-Curry defense.
"He's averaging 25, 26 points a game, so no one has stopped him all year. And no one was stopped them all year from scoring points. So you have to focus on doing what you do."
Which is shut down opponents. Fordham's Marcus Stone scored 27 on Georgetown this season, the best effort by an opponent, but the Hoyas won 82-66. Friday against Maryland-Baltimore County, a talented squad that averaged more than 75 points per game, Georgetown allowed just 47 points on 16-of-50 shooting (32 percent).
Nevertheless, Curry looked and sounded Saturday like a man who fears no defense. Perhaps that's what happens when you've drained 45 percent of your three-pointers in an astounding 327 attempts.
"I don't think we're going to see anything different (from Georgetown)," Curry said. "It's just going to be different players on the defensive end. We just need to stick to our system. I'm not going to try to do anything special or anything that I'm not capable of. So I'm not worried."
Well, somebody should be. Shouldn't they?
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The politically correct thing to say when some reporter tries to bait you into making a basketball game personal is that there's no extra challenge, no extra motivation to shut down one guy. We're a team, they're a team and the only thing that matters is moving to the next round.
The Georgetown players stuck to the script when prodded about how the best Division I defense (the Hoyas) would cope with facing quite possibly the best Division I shooter (Davidson's Stephen Curry) on Sunday at 2:40 p.m. ET.
"Our defense has definitely won games for us," Georgetown forward Patrick Ewing Jr. said. "Just because of one player, we're not going to change anything. It's about us and the things that we do. They're a good team other than Curry. They've got other great players there."
That might be true, but Curry is the one who pumped in an NCAA Tournament-high 40 points Friday against Gonzaga in the first round, including 30 in the second half to fuel an 11-point comeback. He hit eight three-pointers in 10 attempts. The other Wildcats? They were setting screens and/or passing the ball to No. 30.
Curry can't beat the second-seeded Hoyas alone.
So there has to be a little, just a little, extra motivation for Georgetown players -- proud of their grinding-and-banging-and-denying reputation -- to not get poster-ized by Curry, right? You can't hold opponents to 36.7 percent shooting (best in the country) or 57.6 points (fifth best) without being angry at every ray of light coming from the scoreboard.
Right?
Not to hear the Hoyas tell it. Or, more accurately, not tell it. Curry's great. They'll do their best and hope it works out.
You're not going to get any opponent mad with talk like that. What, are the Hoyas afraid Curry will score 50?
Maybe. Actually, after his performance against the Zags, probably.
"Every team that's still playing, you're not going to reinvent the wheel this time of year," Hoyas coach John Thompson III said. "You have to pay special attention to him and how they get him the ball, but we're not going to go in and come up with the special Davidson-and-Curry defense.
"He's averaging 25, 26 points a game, so no one has stopped him all year. And no one was stopped them all year from scoring points. So you have to focus on doing what you do."
Which is shut down opponents. Fordham's Marcus Stone scored 27 on Georgetown this season, the best effort by an opponent, but the Hoyas won 82-66. Friday against Maryland-Baltimore County, a talented squad that averaged more than 75 points per game, Georgetown allowed just 47 points on 16-of-50 shooting (32 percent).
Nevertheless, Curry looked and sounded Saturday like a man who fears no defense. Perhaps that's what happens when you've drained 45 percent of your three-pointers in an astounding 327 attempts.
"I don't think we're going to see anything different (from Georgetown)," Curry said. "It's just going to be different players on the defensive end. We just need to stick to our system. I'm not going to try to do anything special or anything that I'm not capable of. So I'm not worried."
Well, somebody should be. Shouldn't they?
Sporting News preview: Davidson/Georgetown
Midwest Matchup: No. 2 Georgetown vs. No. 10 Davidson
People thought little Davidson had a chance against Gonzaga on Friday, a game the school ended up winning. Sunday against Georgetown will be another story. The Wildcats are back to their customary place as David against Goliath, but after what Stephen Curry did to the Zags, who wants to miss the encore?
Davidson game plan: It would be easy to say "let Stephen Curry shoot," and that's of course a big part of it. But more importantly, the Wildcats have to find a way to not get overwhelmed by the Hoyas. Gonzaga towered over Davidson, and Georgetown is even bigger, not to mention more athletic. Running its motion offense and forcing turnovers will be Davidson's only hopes.
Georgetown game plan: Don't let Stephen Curry shoot. Gonzaga couldn't do it, but reality says there's just no way Curry can hit 8-of-10 3s two games in a row even if the Hoyas ignore him. Or is there? In any event, you can bet Georgetown -- which leads the nation in field-goal percentage defense -- will be taking it as a special challenge to shut down Curry. And if Curry doesn't get at least 30, the Wildcats can't win.
X-factor: Ball control. Davidson won't even try to beat Georgetown and 7-2 Roy Hibbert inside. The Wildcats know they'll lose the battle on the boards, but there's hope to be found in the 15 turnovers Maryland-Baltimore County forced against the Hoyas on Friday. Georgetown guards Austin Freeman and Jessie Sapp had three apiece, and if Davidson can squeeze a few more out of those two, there's a chance.
Bottom line: Watching those two teams on the court, it simply seems impossible that Davidson can handle Georgetown's sheer physicality. The entire arena will be behind the Wildcats, but it won't be enough.
(Editorial comment from WB: We'll see about that! We've seen upset after upset already in this tournament.....there's room for at least one more upset!)
People thought little Davidson had a chance against Gonzaga on Friday, a game the school ended up winning. Sunday against Georgetown will be another story. The Wildcats are back to their customary place as David against Goliath, but after what Stephen Curry did to the Zags, who wants to miss the encore?
Davidson game plan: It would be easy to say "let Stephen Curry shoot," and that's of course a big part of it. But more importantly, the Wildcats have to find a way to not get overwhelmed by the Hoyas. Gonzaga towered over Davidson, and Georgetown is even bigger, not to mention more athletic. Running its motion offense and forcing turnovers will be Davidson's only hopes.
Georgetown game plan: Don't let Stephen Curry shoot. Gonzaga couldn't do it, but reality says there's just no way Curry can hit 8-of-10 3s two games in a row even if the Hoyas ignore him. Or is there? In any event, you can bet Georgetown -- which leads the nation in field-goal percentage defense -- will be taking it as a special challenge to shut down Curry. And if Curry doesn't get at least 30, the Wildcats can't win.
X-factor: Ball control. Davidson won't even try to beat Georgetown and 7-2 Roy Hibbert inside. The Wildcats know they'll lose the battle on the boards, but there's hope to be found in the 15 turnovers Maryland-Baltimore County forced against the Hoyas on Friday. Georgetown guards Austin Freeman and Jessie Sapp had three apiece, and if Davidson can squeeze a few more out of those two, there's a chance.
Bottom line: Watching those two teams on the court, it simply seems impossible that Davidson can handle Georgetown's sheer physicality. The entire arena will be behind the Wildcats, but it won't be enough.
(Editorial comment from WB: We'll see about that! We've seen upset after upset already in this tournament.....there's room for at least one more upset!)
Postgame thoughts from Michael Kruse (published on DavidsonCats.com)
(By Michael Kruse, not me)
Dear America,
It was, up until now, a hopeful but hypothetical conversation. We’ve had it over beers in bars. We’ve had it on cell phones from Boston to San Francisco, from New York to Atlanta, from Charlotte to Tampa. We’ve had it in the fall and in the winter, and in the spring and summer, too. We’ve had it for years.
What if?
What if we won in the tournament?
It’s SUCH a good story, we said to each other –- little school, big dreams, cute town, smart kids. People, we kept saying, WANT to tell this story. They just needed a reason. They needed us to win.
This tournament is a series of finite 40-minute windows of opportunity. Seize one and you earn another. Win and you get another two days of news cycle. Win and you get to tell your story.
You have to understand something about us and our school. I don’t know if it’s Southern gentility or Presbyterian humility, but we’ve always been institutionally reluctant to say, Hey, look, look at us. It’s just not what we’ve done and so it’s not what we do.
But we want so badly for people to know.
So we’ve looked to Bob McKillop and his basketball team.
He went 4-24 in his first season at Davidson. That was 19 years ago. He has taken us from the Southern Conference tournament to the NIT to the NCAAs and now to a win in the NCAAs. He built this. He didn’t leave us when he could have. He has raised his family in a house across the street from campus. His oldest son played for him. His youngest son plays for him now. His daughter went to Davidson and is engaged to a Davidson man. He tears up when he talks about this.
His team went to the NIT in ’94.
His team lost in the conference finals in ’96 after going undefeated in league play. Another NIT.
In ’98, a conference tournament title, a trip to the NCAAs. It seems so, so long ago, but not really, and we were giddy. That felt like this feels. Really it did.
Finally.
There were trips back, in ’02, in ’06, in ’07.
Close, close, close. But never that win.
Now THIS.
Make no mistake: We beat a good team today. This was not about the bounces or the breaks. No. We beat a really good team that played really well because WE played really well.
Because we got a ballsy gutsy late three from Max.
Because we got 13 rebounds from Andrew.
Because we got two huge buckets late from Rossiter.
Because we got nine assists and 15 points from Jason.
And also, of course, because we got 40 from Steph. Not just any 40. An 8-for-10-from-three 40. A 14-for-22 40. A five-steals 40. A first-round-record-setting-40. A forever 40.
But this whole thing is less about how it happened and more about what it means.
After the game, Joey Beeler, the men’s basketball media relations guy, was looking frazzled. His life just got crazy. He said his phone started going off right as the buzzer sounded.
The story. Let it be told.
We are one of the smallest schools in Division I.
We are 1,700 students in Davidson, N.C., just north of Charlotte, that’s it, all undergrad.
We are NOT Davidson University.
We are ranked ninth in the U.S. News and World Report and 23rd in the AP poll.
We keep in touch with our professors after we graduate.
We watch basketball games on grainy Web video from wherever we live.
A couple weeks ago, at the Southern Conference tournament championship game, there was a man with a sign, and the sign said:
YOU
MAKE
US
PROUD
And they do, and in a way that’s much, much more intimate than most other Division I programs, and certainly most other programs that are playing this weekend for a spot in the Sweet 16. This program, our program, is now big enough to matter but still small enough to touch.
After the game on Friday, in the locker room, there were the lights, the mics, the pens and the pads, the bigness, and there was Steph, surrounded by a scrum three- and four-deep, saying what he said, tired, happy, as always the faintest of facial hair on his chin and his upper lip.
We see in the peach-fuzzed face of this pretty kid from Charlotte the potential of what happened today.
The hypothetical is no longer hypothetical.
He helped make our conversation real.
Sincerely,
Michael Kruse
Davidson College
Class of 2000
Dear America,
It was, up until now, a hopeful but hypothetical conversation. We’ve had it over beers in bars. We’ve had it on cell phones from Boston to San Francisco, from New York to Atlanta, from Charlotte to Tampa. We’ve had it in the fall and in the winter, and in the spring and summer, too. We’ve had it for years.
What if?
What if we won in the tournament?
It’s SUCH a good story, we said to each other –- little school, big dreams, cute town, smart kids. People, we kept saying, WANT to tell this story. They just needed a reason. They needed us to win.
This tournament is a series of finite 40-minute windows of opportunity. Seize one and you earn another. Win and you get another two days of news cycle. Win and you get to tell your story.
You have to understand something about us and our school. I don’t know if it’s Southern gentility or Presbyterian humility, but we’ve always been institutionally reluctant to say, Hey, look, look at us. It’s just not what we’ve done and so it’s not what we do.
But we want so badly for people to know.
So we’ve looked to Bob McKillop and his basketball team.
He went 4-24 in his first season at Davidson. That was 19 years ago. He has taken us from the Southern Conference tournament to the NIT to the NCAAs and now to a win in the NCAAs. He built this. He didn’t leave us when he could have. He has raised his family in a house across the street from campus. His oldest son played for him. His youngest son plays for him now. His daughter went to Davidson and is engaged to a Davidson man. He tears up when he talks about this.
His team went to the NIT in ’94.
His team lost in the conference finals in ’96 after going undefeated in league play. Another NIT.
In ’98, a conference tournament title, a trip to the NCAAs. It seems so, so long ago, but not really, and we were giddy. That felt like this feels. Really it did.
Finally.
There were trips back, in ’02, in ’06, in ’07.
Close, close, close. But never that win.
Now THIS.
Make no mistake: We beat a good team today. This was not about the bounces or the breaks. No. We beat a really good team that played really well because WE played really well.
Because we got a ballsy gutsy late three from Max.
Because we got 13 rebounds from Andrew.
Because we got two huge buckets late from Rossiter.
Because we got nine assists and 15 points from Jason.
And also, of course, because we got 40 from Steph. Not just any 40. An 8-for-10-from-three 40. A 14-for-22 40. A five-steals 40. A first-round-record-setting-40. A forever 40.
But this whole thing is less about how it happened and more about what it means.
After the game, Joey Beeler, the men’s basketball media relations guy, was looking frazzled. His life just got crazy. He said his phone started going off right as the buzzer sounded.
The story. Let it be told.
We are one of the smallest schools in Division I.
We are 1,700 students in Davidson, N.C., just north of Charlotte, that’s it, all undergrad.
We are NOT Davidson University.
We are ranked ninth in the U.S. News and World Report and 23rd in the AP poll.
We keep in touch with our professors after we graduate.
We watch basketball games on grainy Web video from wherever we live.
A couple weeks ago, at the Southern Conference tournament championship game, there was a man with a sign, and the sign said:
YOU
MAKE
US
PROUD
And they do, and in a way that’s much, much more intimate than most other Division I programs, and certainly most other programs that are playing this weekend for a spot in the Sweet 16. This program, our program, is now big enough to matter but still small enough to touch.
After the game on Friday, in the locker room, there were the lights, the mics, the pens and the pads, the bigness, and there was Steph, surrounded by a scrum three- and four-deep, saying what he said, tired, happy, as always the faintest of facial hair on his chin and his upper lip.
We see in the peach-fuzzed face of this pretty kid from Charlotte the potential of what happened today.
The hypothetical is no longer hypothetical.
He helped make our conversation real.
Sincerely,
Michael Kruse
Davidson College
Class of 2000
Links galore
No way I can post all these articles in full, so I'm delivering only links. Sorry. GO CATS!!
Stephen Curry carries on family tradition to second round
Curry’s Hot Hand Carries Davidson Past Gonzaga
Davidson's Stephen Curry is Wally Szczerbiak, circa 1999
Son of Ex-NBA Star Curry Lifts Davidson
OK, the heck with it. Here's the link to the Google News search for "Davidson Gonzaga". This will give you about EVERY news story published about the game. Read until you can read no more.
GO CATS!!!
Stephen Curry carries on family tradition to second round
Curry’s Hot Hand Carries Davidson Past Gonzaga
Davidson's Stephen Curry is Wally Szczerbiak, circa 1999
Son of Ex-NBA Star Curry Lifts Davidson
OK, the heck with it. Here's the link to the Google News search for "Davidson Gonzaga". This will give you about EVERY news story published about the game. Read until you can read no more.
GO CATS!!!
Dick Vitale previews NCAA Round 2: Davidson vs. Georgetown
(Pssssst....Dick....it's pronounced "Steff-en", not "Ste-ffon".)
"World, meet Davidson's Stephen Curry."
Davidson's Curry hits 'em in, out, right, left, deep ...
By Ron Wagner
RALEIGH, N.C. -- World, meet Davidson's Stephen Curry. That goes double for you, ACC coaches.
The artist-formerly-known-as Dell Curry's son dropped 40 on Gonzaga on Friday, and as if that weren't painful enough for the likes of, say North Carolina State, he did in it Raleigh, right smack dab in the middle of the conference that essentially ignored him as a high school player at Charlotte Latin (of course, Stephen was playing point guard, but that's another story).
Sensational is the only way to describe Curry's performance against Gonzaga, starting with 80 percent shooting from the three-point line. The slender 6-3 sophomore hit 'em when he was open, he hit 'em when he was covered, he hit 'em going left and he hit 'em going right. A split second was all he needed to snap his wrist and release shots so soft you half expected to see a cooing baby on top of the ball as it floated through the net.
"He'd shoot it from 22 feet, and his ball was like he'd shot it from 5," Gonzaga's David Pendergraft said with a shake of his head. "It was that soft."
When things were said and done, Curry had given Davidson its first NCAA Tournament victory since 1969, set a school record for single-game scoring at a neutral site (breaking Terry Holland's mark of 39 set in 1961, and if you didn't know that was a stat you probably didn't recruit Curry of out high school, either) and left an arena full of fans gasping in astonishment.
Click here for entire article.
By Ron Wagner
RALEIGH, N.C. -- World, meet Davidson's Stephen Curry. That goes double for you, ACC coaches.
The artist-formerly-known-as Dell Curry's son dropped 40 on Gonzaga on Friday, and as if that weren't painful enough for the likes of, say North Carolina State, he did in it Raleigh, right smack dab in the middle of the conference that essentially ignored him as a high school player at Charlotte Latin (of course, Stephen was playing point guard, but that's another story).
Sensational is the only way to describe Curry's performance against Gonzaga, starting with 80 percent shooting from the three-point line. The slender 6-3 sophomore hit 'em when he was open, he hit 'em when he was covered, he hit 'em going left and he hit 'em going right. A split second was all he needed to snap his wrist and release shots so soft you half expected to see a cooing baby on top of the ball as it floated through the net.
"He'd shoot it from 22 feet, and his ball was like he'd shot it from 5," Gonzaga's David Pendergraft said with a shake of his head. "It was that soft."
When things were said and done, Curry had given Davidson its first NCAA Tournament victory since 1969, set a school record for single-game scoring at a neutral site (breaking Terry Holland's mark of 39 set in 1961, and if you didn't know that was a stat you probably didn't recruit Curry of out high school, either) and left an arena full of fans gasping in astonishment.
Click here for entire article.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Overload
I'm on Davidson overload, and can't possibly post everything that is being published about tomorrow's game.My suggestion: Go over to www.DavidsonCats.com to check out what's going on. There are links galore over there to everything you could ever want to read about the game.
PS: I'm not going to make it to the game tomorrow. Can't make it for a couple of reasons (sigh). But I will be pulling the boys through at home at 12:25.
GO CATS!!!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
To go or not to go, that is the question.
I just got a text message from a very evil friend of mine in town that suddenly had a ticket to the game "fall in his lap". After telling me there was very little chance that he would go...yep, you guessed it....he's going to the game. Now he's nudging me a little to find a ticket and go with him.Obviously, I'd go in a heartbeat if I could. However, I've got a full schedule both Thursday and Friday. I've contemplated how in the world I could possibly clear my schedule so I could be out of the office all day Friday. Can I do it? Should I do it? I'm only about 5 hours away from Raleigh. Hmmmmmm.
Oh, the temptation...
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Davidson ranked #23 in final ESPN/USA Today poll
I know we're all jacked up about the NCAA Tournament right now, and rightfully so. But, our beloved Wildcats finished #23 in the final ESPN/USA Today poll. Pretty awesome to finish the year ranked.
AP poll still forthcoming.
Go Cats!!
AP poll still forthcoming.
Go Cats!!
NCAA Tournament pairing
Davidson gets #10 seed and will face Gonzaga in Raleigh on Friday!
Go Cats!!
Go Cats!!
My initial thoughts:
I really like this matchup. Gonzaga has been the standard by which all other "mid-majors" have been measured for a number of years. Having the chance to knock them off is exciting. Plus, this Gonzaga team is arguably not as strong as the Gonzaga teams of recent years. Additionally, Gonzaga is going to have to travel all the way across the continent for this game, and the crowd should be pro-Davidson. I imagine there will be a number of Tarheel fans pulling for Davidson, if they are in attendance.
In my opinion, this is easily the best matchup Davidson has had in the NCAA Tournament during the McKillop era.
This is exciting...very exciting.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Announcement
Basketball Selection Show Viewing Party Set for SundayDAVIDSON, N.C. - The Davidson community will have the opportunity to gather with the men’s basketball team to watch the NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show on CBS Sunday in the C. Shaw Smith 900 Room, located in the Alvarez College Union.
Admission is free, and doors will open at 5 p.m. Head coach Bob McKillop is expected to speak at around 5:30 p.m., and the selection show begins at 6 p.m.
The Davidson Book Store, located on the lower level of the Alvarez College Union, will be open, and SoCon Championship and March Madness T-Shirts will be available for purchase.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Interesting conversation
I had a brief, but interesting, conversation with Steph's grandmother after the UNC-G game on Sunday. During the conversation, she said, "there's just something special about this group of boys."
You know what? I agree.
Go Cats!
You know what? I agree.
Go Cats!
From The Post & Courier
No. 1 Davidson 65, No. 7 Elon 49 Wildcats looking beyond SoCon
By Jeff Hartsell (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Their ownership of the Southern Conference secure, Davidson's Wildcats are planning to broaden their horizons.
Fresh off a 65-49 victory over seventh-seeded Elon in the SoCon Tournament championship game Monday night at the North Charleston Coliseum, top-seeded Davidson is determined to do more than win a third straight SoCon title.
They are after something no Davidson team has accomplished since Lefty Driesell was the Wildcats' basketball coach — a victory, or two, or three — in the NCAA Tournament.
"We've got all the necessary ingredients for it," said tournament MVP Stephen Curry, who scored 23 points as Davidson clinched a third straight automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"We have senior leadership, we have playmakers and a great defense. We've just got to keep this momentum going when we get into the NCAA Tournament."
The 23rd-ranked Wildcats, who are 26-6 and own the nation's longest win streak at 22 straight, may find themselves in position to do just that, if projected seeds for the NCAA Tournament can be believed. Projections on Monday ranged from as high as a No. 7 seed (by ESPN's bracketologist) to a No. 12 or 13 seed.
Coach Bob McKillop, who celebrated his fifth SoCon Tournament title in 19 years at Davidson, obviously hopes to land on the high end of that scale when the brackets are announced next Sunday.
His teams have been seeded 13th, 14th and 15th in their last four trips to the Big Dance, resulting in first-round losses to Michigan in 1998, Ohio State in 2002 and '06, and to Maryland last season.
"I clearly believe that we have demonstrated a lot in terms of seeding," said McKillop, whose team lost to Top 10 teams North Carolina (72-68), Duke (79-73) and UCLA (75-63) early this season. "We went 20-0 in conference play, no one did that. And the NCAA committee has said it's who you play, where you play and how you play — not that you win.
"And we did a pretty good job of playing North Carolina on a neutral site where there were 12,000 Carolina fans and four of ours. We played three of the top 10 teams in the country pretty well."
Elon coach Ernie Nestor, is a believer.
"They are a very confident basketball team," said Nestor. "I think they can advance to the round of 16."
The Wildcats showed that Monday as they fought off the gritty Phoenix, the lowest seed to play for a SoCon title since No. 7 VMI in 1988. Rugged senior Thomas Sander scored 11 points and forward Andrew Lovedale added 10 for Davidson.
Sophomore forward T.J. Douglass hit 6 of 10 from 3-point range for 18 points to lead Elon (14-19), and sophomore Brett James added 13 points.
After Davidson made easy work of Wofford and UNC Greensboro — the Wildcats won the first two games by a combined 63 points, and set tourney records for fewest points allowed (150) and field goals allowed (51) — unlikely finalist Elon put on a much better show for 4,181 fans at the Coliseum, and a national TV audience.
Elon ended its remarkable tournament run with a reputation as Davidson's toughest foe in the SoCon this season. Nestor's squad lost to Davidson by margins of two and 10 points during the season, and was the only team in the tournament to give the Wildcats any run at all.
"Davidson is the measuring stick of our conference," Nestor said. "We know what we have to go to get to that level, because if we can play with Davidson, we can play with anybody."
The fresher Wildcats, who enjoyed a first-round bye on Friday, pulled away from Elon with a 15-6 run to start the second half. Curry hit a long trey and two free throws, and Davidson went up by 17 at 45-28 with 13:28 left.
But Elon, playing its fourth game in four days, would not go quietly. Douglass' fourth 3-pointer keyed a 9-0 run that cut Davidson's lead to 45-39 with 8:40 left, and forced McKillop to call a timeout.
"We were in the center ring, slugging away, and they were, too," McKillop said. "We had them on the ropes a couple of times, but we couldn't knock them out. They are a tough team to knock out."
Curry calmly swished another 3-point bomb to push the lead back to 10, but James hit a turnaround jumper and Douglass his fifth 3-pointer to pull Elon to within 51-46 with 4:22 left.
A quick 7-0 run for Davidson sealed it, and point guard Jason Richards — who had only four points, but 11 assists — was the key. He drove the lane as the shot clock ran down and dished to Andrew Lovedale for a bucket, then whipped a pass to Bryant Barr in the corner. His 3-pointer made it 58-46 with 2:23 left, setting off a frenzy — and a chorus of "Sweet Caroline" — among Davidson fans.
Perhaps they'll get to sing it again two or three more times in March.
By Jeff Hartsell (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Their ownership of the Southern Conference secure, Davidson's Wildcats are planning to broaden their horizons.
Fresh off a 65-49 victory over seventh-seeded Elon in the SoCon Tournament championship game Monday night at the North Charleston Coliseum, top-seeded Davidson is determined to do more than win a third straight SoCon title.
They are after something no Davidson team has accomplished since Lefty Driesell was the Wildcats' basketball coach — a victory, or two, or three — in the NCAA Tournament.
"We've got all the necessary ingredients for it," said tournament MVP Stephen Curry, who scored 23 points as Davidson clinched a third straight automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"We have senior leadership, we have playmakers and a great defense. We've just got to keep this momentum going when we get into the NCAA Tournament."
The 23rd-ranked Wildcats, who are 26-6 and own the nation's longest win streak at 22 straight, may find themselves in position to do just that, if projected seeds for the NCAA Tournament can be believed. Projections on Monday ranged from as high as a No. 7 seed (by ESPN's bracketologist) to a No. 12 or 13 seed.
Coach Bob McKillop, who celebrated his fifth SoCon Tournament title in 19 years at Davidson, obviously hopes to land on the high end of that scale when the brackets are announced next Sunday.
His teams have been seeded 13th, 14th and 15th in their last four trips to the Big Dance, resulting in first-round losses to Michigan in 1998, Ohio State in 2002 and '06, and to Maryland last season.
"I clearly believe that we have demonstrated a lot in terms of seeding," said McKillop, whose team lost to Top 10 teams North Carolina (72-68), Duke (79-73) and UCLA (75-63) early this season. "We went 20-0 in conference play, no one did that. And the NCAA committee has said it's who you play, where you play and how you play — not that you win.
"And we did a pretty good job of playing North Carolina on a neutral site where there were 12,000 Carolina fans and four of ours. We played three of the top 10 teams in the country pretty well."
Elon coach Ernie Nestor, is a believer.
"They are a very confident basketball team," said Nestor. "I think they can advance to the round of 16."
The Wildcats showed that Monday as they fought off the gritty Phoenix, the lowest seed to play for a SoCon title since No. 7 VMI in 1988. Rugged senior Thomas Sander scored 11 points and forward Andrew Lovedale added 10 for Davidson.
Sophomore forward T.J. Douglass hit 6 of 10 from 3-point range for 18 points to lead Elon (14-19), and sophomore Brett James added 13 points.
After Davidson made easy work of Wofford and UNC Greensboro — the Wildcats won the first two games by a combined 63 points, and set tourney records for fewest points allowed (150) and field goals allowed (51) — unlikely finalist Elon put on a much better show for 4,181 fans at the Coliseum, and a national TV audience.
Elon ended its remarkable tournament run with a reputation as Davidson's toughest foe in the SoCon this season. Nestor's squad lost to Davidson by margins of two and 10 points during the season, and was the only team in the tournament to give the Wildcats any run at all.
"Davidson is the measuring stick of our conference," Nestor said. "We know what we have to go to get to that level, because if we can play with Davidson, we can play with anybody."
The fresher Wildcats, who enjoyed a first-round bye on Friday, pulled away from Elon with a 15-6 run to start the second half. Curry hit a long trey and two free throws, and Davidson went up by 17 at 45-28 with 13:28 left.
But Elon, playing its fourth game in four days, would not go quietly. Douglass' fourth 3-pointer keyed a 9-0 run that cut Davidson's lead to 45-39 with 8:40 left, and forced McKillop to call a timeout.
"We were in the center ring, slugging away, and they were, too," McKillop said. "We had them on the ropes a couple of times, but we couldn't knock them out. They are a tough team to knock out."
Curry calmly swished another 3-point bomb to push the lead back to 10, but James hit a turnaround jumper and Douglass his fifth 3-pointer to pull Elon to within 51-46 with 4:22 left.
A quick 7-0 run for Davidson sealed it, and point guard Jason Richards — who had only four points, but 11 assists — was the key. He drove the lane as the shot clock ran down and dished to Andrew Lovedale for a bucket, then whipped a pass to Bryant Barr in the corner. His 3-pointer made it 58-46 with 2:23 left, setting off a frenzy — and a chorus of "Sweet Caroline" — among Davidson fans.
Perhaps they'll get to sing it again two or three more times in March.
From ESPN.com
Davidson completes remarkable 23-0 SoCon season
By Pat Forde
ESPN.com
By Pat Forde
ESPN.com
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Southern Conference championship finally assured, Davidson coach Bob McKillop emptied the bench at just the right time:
Twenty-three seconds left in the Wildcats' 23rd SoCon win without a loss.
On his way off the floor, senior center Thomas Sander affectionately rubbed his hand across McKillop's perfectly combed silver hair. Without smiling, McKillop quickly reached up and smoothed his 'do back into place.
It was a revealing glimpse into what helps make McKillop one of the most successful coaches in college basketball. He allows no mess in his life. Not in the way he looks, not in the way he coaches.
"I think sloppiness is a disease," McKillop said. "When you don't set a screen right, when you don't execute a play properly, when you're not in position on defense, that's sloppiness. When you leave your tape on the floor in the locker room, that's sloppiness.
"I try to represent the un-sloppy way as much as I can."
What could be any less sloppy than a perfect record? Buttoned-down Davidson completed the fifth unbeaten SoCon slate since 1960 -- a 20-0 regular season, plus three wire-to-wire wins here in the conference tournament. The Wildcats never trailed in 120 minutes of this event, controlling everything as they have all season.
It's part of a formidable Davidson run: three straight SoCon tournament titles and 46 league wins in its last 47 games. It has been fueled by a McKillopian fastidiousness: no glaring breakdowns, no frayed edges, no frayed nerves.
No sloppy basketball.
But as much as the scores made it look easy -- the Wildcats won here by margins of 33, 30 and 16 points -- the final 40 minutes against massive underdog Elon was a struggle. Not sloppy, mind you, but not pristine, either.
And that's the way it is in Mid-Major Land. In the leagues where there's usually only one bid -- and only one way to get it -- you don't reach the Big Dance without breaking a sweat at least once. It's simply hard to do.
Ask Gonzaga, South Alabama, Virginia Commonwealth, Robert Morris and UNC Asheville. They all won their league regular-season titles but have been beaten in their league tournaments. Through Monday night, the Championship Week breakdown is 50-50 for top seeds earning the automatic bid.
"When you're the favorite, everyone's out to get you," said savvy senior point guard Jason Richards. "It's everyone's last chance to win that conference tournament."
So when little old Elon -- the SoCon seventh seed, a 14-18 impostor that lost to Tusculum back in December -- clawed within five points a couple times in the second half, you could sense some pressure building on the shoulders of the favorites.
"Our guys thought we had to win by 30 tonight," McKillop said. "That's the biggest mistake we could make. When we didn't put them away, it was almost like a letdown. I continually said in the huddle, 'We're in the lead. We're in control.'"
Even with its superior talent -- beginning but not ending with America's best shooter, Stephen Curry -- Davidson probably needed the reassurance. Just as the weight of trying to go undefeated seemed to wear down the New England Patriots, it was a factor on a smaller scale with the Wildcats.
"As a coach, this is the most challenging, taxing, trying but exhilarating challenge you could have," said McKillop, a New York native. "This is the Cyclone at Coney Island, the Wild Mouse at Coney Island, the Funhouse, all at once. And the parachute jump thrown in.
"Having gone through a 20-0 conference ledger basically put our guys on edge from maybe the last seven weeks of the season. There were some who thought that was a walk in the park, 20-0. That was expected. Our guys dealt with that expectation."
Now Davidson must deal with a new expectation, as one of the trendy upset picks in the NCAA tournament. This is where McKillop's aggressive early scheduling could be a major advantage.
The Wildcats played an insane nonconference schedule that included North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, North Carolina State, Charlotte and Western Michigan. (Oh, Davidson also threw in a preseason scrimmage with Texas for good measure.) The result was a 4-6 nonconference record, and speculation that the Wildcats would have to win the automatic bid to be in.
Now that they've done that, they can summon confidence from their close losses to the Tar Heels (four points), Blue Devils (six) and Bruins (12).
"Sometimes you don't learn lessons from winning," McKillop said. "You learn from losing. Great people get up from the mat. … We got knocked to the mat with no apology."
Then they got back up and eventually forgot how to lose. Last time it happened: Dec. 21. They'll take the nation's longest winning streak into the NCAAs, where SoCon coaches believe they'll be a very tough out.
"They've tested themselves, had an opportunity to play a variety of competition," said Elon coach Ernie Nestor. "I think that will bode very well for them. They had some early losses and that set them back, but they're a very confident basketball team. They could advance to the Sweet 16.
"They're the best basketball team we've played this year, and we played Virginia Tech, VCU and Georgia. Davidson is more difficult because they guard a lot better than people think. Their defense is extremely underrated."
As Wofford coach Mike Young told the Charleston Post and Courier: "With the right seed -- a 10 or an 11 or a 12 -- they can do what George Mason did two years ago in the NCAA tournament. I'm absolutely convinced. They're big enough. They handle it well enough. And it would be rare against anybody, with the exception of a few top-ranked teams, for them not to have the best player on the floor."
That, of course, would be Curry, now the two-time MVP of this tournament in his two years as a collegian. Even when he didn't have a great night shooting the ball (8 of 18 from the field, 5 of 13 from 3-point range), he managed a game-high 23 points. He's simply impossible to lock up for a full 40 minutes.
The son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry has pro potential of his own, but he has said he'll definitely be back at Davidson next season. He'll get a chance to play point guard then, which should be his pro position.
How many games there are between Curry's shooting guard career and his transition to the point remain to be seen. Last season, Davidson came close to a first-round upset of Maryland but faded at the end. This time around, don't bet against the Wildcats.
"We played a pretty good 34-minute game [against Maryland]," Curry said. "If we can build on that and play 40 minutes, I think we can pull one out."
Pull one out in the NCAAs, and Bob McKillop won't even mind if his players mess up his hair. Well, maybe he wouldn't mind too much.
Twenty-three seconds left in the Wildcats' 23rd SoCon win without a loss.
On his way off the floor, senior center Thomas Sander affectionately rubbed his hand across McKillop's perfectly combed silver hair. Without smiling, McKillop quickly reached up and smoothed his 'do back into place.It was a revealing glimpse into what helps make McKillop one of the most successful coaches in college basketball. He allows no mess in his life. Not in the way he looks, not in the way he coaches.
"I think sloppiness is a disease," McKillop said. "When you don't set a screen right, when you don't execute a play properly, when you're not in position on defense, that's sloppiness. When you leave your tape on the floor in the locker room, that's sloppiness.
"I try to represent the un-sloppy way as much as I can."
What could be any less sloppy than a perfect record? Buttoned-down Davidson completed the fifth unbeaten SoCon slate since 1960 -- a 20-0 regular season, plus three wire-to-wire wins here in the conference tournament. The Wildcats never trailed in 120 minutes of this event, controlling everything as they have all season.
It's part of a formidable Davidson run: three straight SoCon tournament titles and 46 league wins in its last 47 games. It has been fueled by a McKillopian fastidiousness: no glaring breakdowns, no frayed edges, no frayed nerves.
No sloppy basketball.
But as much as the scores made it look easy -- the Wildcats won here by margins of 33, 30 and 16 points -- the final 40 minutes against massive underdog Elon was a struggle. Not sloppy, mind you, but not pristine, either.
And that's the way it is in Mid-Major Land. In the leagues where there's usually only one bid -- and only one way to get it -- you don't reach the Big Dance without breaking a sweat at least once. It's simply hard to do.
Ask Gonzaga, South Alabama, Virginia Commonwealth, Robert Morris and UNC Asheville. They all won their league regular-season titles but have been beaten in their league tournaments. Through Monday night, the Championship Week breakdown is 50-50 for top seeds earning the automatic bid.
"When you're the favorite, everyone's out to get you," said savvy senior point guard Jason Richards. "It's everyone's last chance to win that conference tournament."
So when little old Elon -- the SoCon seventh seed, a 14-18 impostor that lost to Tusculum back in December -- clawed within five points a couple times in the second half, you could sense some pressure building on the shoulders of the favorites.
"Our guys thought we had to win by 30 tonight," McKillop said. "That's the biggest mistake we could make. When we didn't put them away, it was almost like a letdown. I continually said in the huddle, 'We're in the lead. We're in control.'"
Even with its superior talent -- beginning but not ending with America's best shooter, Stephen Curry -- Davidson probably needed the reassurance. Just as the weight of trying to go undefeated seemed to wear down the New England Patriots, it was a factor on a smaller scale with the Wildcats.
"As a coach, this is the most challenging, taxing, trying but exhilarating challenge you could have," said McKillop, a New York native. "This is the Cyclone at Coney Island, the Wild Mouse at Coney Island, the Funhouse, all at once. And the parachute jump thrown in.
"Having gone through a 20-0 conference ledger basically put our guys on edge from maybe the last seven weeks of the season. There were some who thought that was a walk in the park, 20-0. That was expected. Our guys dealt with that expectation."
Now Davidson must deal with a new expectation, as one of the trendy upset picks in the NCAA tournament. This is where McKillop's aggressive early scheduling could be a major advantage.
The Wildcats played an insane nonconference schedule that included North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, North Carolina State, Charlotte and Western Michigan. (Oh, Davidson also threw in a preseason scrimmage with Texas for good measure.) The result was a 4-6 nonconference record, and speculation that the Wildcats would have to win the automatic bid to be in.
Now that they've done that, they can summon confidence from their close losses to the Tar Heels (four points), Blue Devils (six) and Bruins (12).
"Sometimes you don't learn lessons from winning," McKillop said. "You learn from losing. Great people get up from the mat. … We got knocked to the mat with no apology."
Then they got back up and eventually forgot how to lose. Last time it happened: Dec. 21. They'll take the nation's longest winning streak into the NCAAs, where SoCon coaches believe they'll be a very tough out.
"They've tested themselves, had an opportunity to play a variety of competition," said Elon coach Ernie Nestor. "I think that will bode very well for them. They had some early losses and that set them back, but they're a very confident basketball team. They could advance to the Sweet 16.
"They're the best basketball team we've played this year, and we played Virginia Tech, VCU and Georgia. Davidson is more difficult because they guard a lot better than people think. Their defense is extremely underrated."
As Wofford coach Mike Young told the Charleston Post and Courier: "With the right seed -- a 10 or an 11 or a 12 -- they can do what George Mason did two years ago in the NCAA tournament. I'm absolutely convinced. They're big enough. They handle it well enough. And it would be rare against anybody, with the exception of a few top-ranked teams, for them not to have the best player on the floor."
That, of course, would be Curry, now the two-time MVP of this tournament in his two years as a collegian. Even when he didn't have a great night shooting the ball (8 of 18 from the field, 5 of 13 from 3-point range), he managed a game-high 23 points. He's simply impossible to lock up for a full 40 minutes.
The son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry has pro potential of his own, but he has said he'll definitely be back at Davidson next season. He'll get a chance to play point guard then, which should be his pro position.
How many games there are between Curry's shooting guard career and his transition to the point remain to be seen. Last season, Davidson came close to a first-round upset of Maryland but faded at the end. This time around, don't bet against the Wildcats.
"We played a pretty good 34-minute game [against Maryland]," Curry said. "If we can build on that and play 40 minutes, I think we can pull one out."
Pull one out in the NCAAs, and Bob McKillop won't even mind if his players mess up his hair. Well, maybe he wouldn't mind too much.
Kevin Cary's Observations from The Observer
Observations No. 23 Davidson 65, Elon 49
Southern Conference Championship
KEVIN CARY
• Stephen Rossiter's parents missed the Davidson warm-ups, but they had a good reason.
Their other son, Ryan,also was playing Monday night for an NCAA tournament berth, for Siena in the Metro Atlantic Athletic conference title game. Steve Rossiter, their father, watched that game at a Charleston sports bar, then hustled into the arena for the start of Davidson's game.
"This is a great day, but hopefully it will be a better night," Rossiter said. It was at the start. Siena won 74-53.
• Davidson players had a special spectator for the second consecutive championship game. Dick Sanderson has ALS, a neurological condition; the players presented him with the net after last season's game. He took his customary spot in section 108.
• Davidson's crowd is not only loud, it is punctual. The fans filled up five sections of the arena 90 minutes before tip-off.
• Stephen Curry is getting more comfortable running the Wildcats offense. He directed teammates where to be on offensive sets and implored them to move around more in the motion offense.
Southern Conference Championship
KEVIN CARY
• Stephen Rossiter's parents missed the Davidson warm-ups, but they had a good reason.
Their other son, Ryan,also was playing Monday night for an NCAA tournament berth, for Siena in the Metro Atlantic Athletic conference title game. Steve Rossiter, their father, watched that game at a Charleston sports bar, then hustled into the arena for the start of Davidson's game.
"This is a great day, but hopefully it will be a better night," Rossiter said. It was at the start. Siena won 74-53.
• Davidson players had a special spectator for the second consecutive championship game. Dick Sanderson has ALS, a neurological condition; the players presented him with the net after last season's game. He took his customary spot in section 108.
• Davidson's crowd is not only loud, it is punctual. The fans filled up five sections of the arena 90 minutes before tip-off.
• Stephen Curry is getting more comfortable running the Wildcats offense. He directed teammates where to be on offensive sets and implored them to move around more in the motion offense.
Scott Fowler's column in the Observer
IN MY OPINION
Curry is difference-maker for champion Wildcats
SCOTT FOWLER
NORTH CHARLESTON --It was a normal night for Stephen Curry on Monday in the Southern Conference championship game.
Curry scored 23 points. He did about four things that made you gasp. He wasn't perfect -- he missed 10 shots and got outmuscled a few times. But he was, as usual, the best player on the court in Davidson's 65-49 win against Elon.
"Really not a good shooting game for me," Curry said after being named the unanimous MVP of the tournament. "So I tried to play good defense and get a few rebounds."
Wouldn't you like to score 23 and call it a bad shooting game? But Curry's standards are so high he spoke the truth. Without him, who knows where these Wildcats would be?
With their sensational sophomore, though, they have earned their way into the NCAA tournament again. Ranked No. 23 in the latest Associated Press poll, the Wildcats sport America's longest winning streak (22 games) and haven't lost in 2008.
Five days from now, they really deserve a decent seed on Selection Sunday. I'd guess somewhere around a No. 8 or No. 9, and if it's lower than a No. 10 the Wildcats will have been robbed. Coach Bob McKillop wants something higher, though.
"I have no control over this, but I think we should be seeded as a top-25 club," McKillop said, which would translate to a No. 6. "We went 20-0 in the Southern Conference. We won our tournament. We played Duke, North Carolina and UCLA when those teams were all completely healthy, and all those games were very close."
You can tell McKillop believes that, given the right bracket, the Wildcats can do something special. Much seems possible with Curry, a player Davidson fans will still talk about in 2048.
Davidson has other weapons, but the first time Curry goes 3-for-15 in the NCAA tournament will be the last time Davidson plays this season. The team will need his 25.2 points every game even more from now on, because its usual problems -- lack of height and athleticism -- always become more evident in the NCAA tournament.
But Davidson is good. It's the best squad McKillop has had -- underrated defensively and boasting fine senior leadership. Elon coach Ernie Nestor said afterward he thought Davidson had a good chance to make it to the Sweet 16 this season.
"They're a difficult team to guard," Nestor said, "and they have a great player they can go to in the clutch."
Curry's parents -- Dell and Sonya Curry -- watched the game in their usual way. Dell never stood up, hid behind a blue ball cap and dark jacket, held his chin up with his right hand and looked like he might fall asleep at any time. Sonya wore a red Davidson jersey, stood and shook a pompom anytime Davidson did something noteworthy.
Elon was the tournament's feel-good story, a No. 7 seed that entered the tournament with an 11-18 record and got hot. Elon was inspired. Elon hung close.
But Elon had no Curry. That was ultimately the difference.
Curry is difference-maker for champion Wildcats
SCOTT FOWLER
NORTH CHARLESTON --It was a normal night for Stephen Curry on Monday in the Southern Conference championship game.Curry scored 23 points. He did about four things that made you gasp. He wasn't perfect -- he missed 10 shots and got outmuscled a few times. But he was, as usual, the best player on the court in Davidson's 65-49 win against Elon.
"Really not a good shooting game for me," Curry said after being named the unanimous MVP of the tournament. "So I tried to play good defense and get a few rebounds."
Wouldn't you like to score 23 and call it a bad shooting game? But Curry's standards are so high he spoke the truth. Without him, who knows where these Wildcats would be?
With their sensational sophomore, though, they have earned their way into the NCAA tournament again. Ranked No. 23 in the latest Associated Press poll, the Wildcats sport America's longest winning streak (22 games) and haven't lost in 2008.
Five days from now, they really deserve a decent seed on Selection Sunday. I'd guess somewhere around a No. 8 or No. 9, and if it's lower than a No. 10 the Wildcats will have been robbed. Coach Bob McKillop wants something higher, though.
"I have no control over this, but I think we should be seeded as a top-25 club," McKillop said, which would translate to a No. 6. "We went 20-0 in the Southern Conference. We won our tournament. We played Duke, North Carolina and UCLA when those teams were all completely healthy, and all those games were very close."
You can tell McKillop believes that, given the right bracket, the Wildcats can do something special. Much seems possible with Curry, a player Davidson fans will still talk about in 2048.
Davidson has other weapons, but the first time Curry goes 3-for-15 in the NCAA tournament will be the last time Davidson plays this season. The team will need his 25.2 points every game even more from now on, because its usual problems -- lack of height and athleticism -- always become more evident in the NCAA tournament.
But Davidson is good. It's the best squad McKillop has had -- underrated defensively and boasting fine senior leadership. Elon coach Ernie Nestor said afterward he thought Davidson had a good chance to make it to the Sweet 16 this season.
"They're a difficult team to guard," Nestor said, "and they have a great player they can go to in the clutch."
Curry's parents -- Dell and Sonya Curry -- watched the game in their usual way. Dell never stood up, hid behind a blue ball cap and dark jacket, held his chin up with his right hand and looked like he might fall asleep at any time. Sonya wore a red Davidson jersey, stood and shook a pompom anytime Davidson did something noteworthy.
Elon was the tournament's feel-good story, a No. 7 seed that entered the tournament with an 11-18 record and got hot. Elon was inspired. Elon hung close.
But Elon had no Curry. That was ultimately the difference.
McKillop not bashful about seeding
Gotta love this:
"I have no control over this, but I think we should be seeded as a top-25 club," McKillop said, which would translate to a No. 6. "We went 20-0 in the Southern Conference. We won our tournament. We played Duke, North Carolina and UCLA when those teams were all completely healthy, and all those games were very close."
Go Cats!!
"I have no control over this, but I think we should be seeded as a top-25 club," McKillop said, which would translate to a No. 6. "We went 20-0 in the Southern Conference. We won our tournament. We played Duke, North Carolina and UCLA when those teams were all completely healthy, and all those games were very close."
Go Cats!!
From the Observer
Davidson going back to NCAAs
Wildcats hold off Elon to grab tournament title, automatic bid
KEVIN CARY
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE FINAL NO. 23 DAVIDSON 65, ELON 49
NORTH CHARLESTON --Davidson's 65-49 win against Elon in the Southern Conference tournament championship Monday showed the power of faith within a team.
The Wildcats struggled to put away Elon for their 22nd straight win, and with four minutes left, Davidson had only a 51-46 lead.
That's when coach Bob McKillop called timeout and gave a message to point guard Jason Richards.
"He said, `You have to take control of the game,' " Richards said. "When he tells you something like that, it gives you confidence."
Stephen Curry, the tournament MVP for the second straight year, had struggled with his shot. Richards had made just one of his eight shots. But the Davidson coach said he knew Richards could do other things to help the Wildcats win. The point guard leads the nation in assists, and two of his biggest sparked the closing 14-3 run that gave Davidson its third straight NCAA tournament berth.
Richards found Andrew Lovedale cutting for a layup, before driving again on Davidson's next possession. Richards found Bryant Barr open on the right baseline, and the Davidson sophomore sank the pivotal 3-pointer that gave the Wildcats a 58-46 lead with two minutes left.
Richards gave Barr a sly smile after the shot, and the two exchanged high-fives. "We knew we could finish it after that," Richards said. "You can't help but have fun out there."
Most of Monday night wasn't that way for the Wildcats because Elon (14-19) hung around with gritty defense and clutch shots. Davidson had been a 17-point favorite, and even Cathy McKillop, the coach's wife, said she wasn't nervous before the game.
Davidson (26-6) never trailed in the tournament, but the Wildcats had to grind out this win. McKillop credited the team's experience and a little faith among teammates. "These guys trust each other out there," he said. "The way that we are really a family makes all this that much more special."
That family has a lot of basketball lineage. Curry is one of several Davidson players whose fathers played college basketball. Dell Curry said he didn't need to talk to Stephen before Monday's game, but he sent him a pointed text message. "Stay aggressive, attack the basket."
Curry (23 points) didn't heed that advice for most of the night. Ten of his first 15 shots were 3-point attempts, and when those shots started to miss, Davidson started to stagnate. The Wildcats didn't score for almost six minutes midway through second half, and that helped Elon close the gap. At least until the Wildcats renewed their faith.
"Coach told us to have fun out there," forward Thomas Sander said. "Sometimes, you can freak out. But we took a deep breath, and then Jason helped get us going."
Wildcats hold off Elon to grab tournament title, automatic bid
KEVIN CARY
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE FINAL NO. 23 DAVIDSON 65, ELON 49
NORTH CHARLESTON --Davidson's 65-49 win against Elon in the Southern Conference tournament championship Monday showed the power of faith within a team.The Wildcats struggled to put away Elon for their 22nd straight win, and with four minutes left, Davidson had only a 51-46 lead.
That's when coach Bob McKillop called timeout and gave a message to point guard Jason Richards.
"He said, `You have to take control of the game,' " Richards said. "When he tells you something like that, it gives you confidence."
Stephen Curry, the tournament MVP for the second straight year, had struggled with his shot. Richards had made just one of his eight shots. But the Davidson coach said he knew Richards could do other things to help the Wildcats win. The point guard leads the nation in assists, and two of his biggest sparked the closing 14-3 run that gave Davidson its third straight NCAA tournament berth.
Richards found Andrew Lovedale cutting for a layup, before driving again on Davidson's next possession. Richards found Bryant Barr open on the right baseline, and the Davidson sophomore sank the pivotal 3-pointer that gave the Wildcats a 58-46 lead with two minutes left.
Richards gave Barr a sly smile after the shot, and the two exchanged high-fives. "We knew we could finish it after that," Richards said. "You can't help but have fun out there."
Most of Monday night wasn't that way for the Wildcats because Elon (14-19) hung around with gritty defense and clutch shots. Davidson had been a 17-point favorite, and even Cathy McKillop, the coach's wife, said she wasn't nervous before the game.
Davidson (26-6) never trailed in the tournament, but the Wildcats had to grind out this win. McKillop credited the team's experience and a little faith among teammates. "These guys trust each other out there," he said. "The way that we are really a family makes all this that much more special."
That family has a lot of basketball lineage. Curry is one of several Davidson players whose fathers played college basketball. Dell Curry said he didn't need to talk to Stephen before Monday's game, but he sent him a pointed text message. "Stay aggressive, attack the basket."
Curry (23 points) didn't heed that advice for most of the night. Ten of his first 15 shots were 3-point attempts, and when those shots started to miss, Davidson started to stagnate. The Wildcats didn't score for almost six minutes midway through second half, and that helped Elon close the gap. At least until the Wildcats renewed their faith.
"Coach told us to have fun out there," forward Thomas Sander said. "Sometimes, you can freak out. But we took a deep breath, and then Jason helped get us going."
Monday, March 10, 2008
PMM's pregame thoughts
Feasting on Some Phoenix
Wildcat fans smell blood, and there is a juicy big bird in sight. While most in the college basketball media appear convinced the Selection Committee will ultimately extend an invitation to Davidson regardless of tonight's Conference Finals outcome, this game is a must win for the 'Cats. Unlike Elon, Davidson's mission has never been to be the lucky underclassman who gets invited to the senior prom, but instead to rip up the dance floor a la Fred Astaire. To lose tonight, regardless of how probable an at-large appears to be, would make for a very different atmosphere at the Wildcat team practices this next week. Even for Coach McKillop, to motivate a deflated squad between Tuesday and Selection Sunday would be a daunting endeavor. To be successful in the Tournament, Davidson must enter it with their current confidence.
Fortunately, waiting out the week for the CBS Selection Sunday show with bated breath is avoidable. Granted, Elon has positioned themselves to ride on emotions alone. As a low seed they improbably dismantled 3 teams over the weekend. That included the heavily backed College of Charleston team who filled the Coliseum with 6500+ fans; Elon barely surpassed that number, if at all, in their season home attendance totals. Further, Elon is the only Southern Conference team this year to show they may actually have some teeth when having taken bites at the Davidson apple. This combination of recent success and a "we-coulda-should-almost-took-down-the-big-boys" attitude is no doubt volatile petrol for the Phoenix engine.
The appropriate cliché for the Cats, of course, is to embrace the bulls-eye. There is the sense that the team yearns for these high stakes games. As Michael Kruse appropriately noted, at an instinctive level it would seem Stephen Curry has yet to play his best in this tournament simply because it has not yet been needed. That is a scary prospect given he only played 63 minutes of basketball this weekend, and scored 43 floor points. Our starters spent large portions of the two games this weekend on the bench weekend, and had the luxury of watching the reserves maintain, if not pad, sizeable leads. Elon, however, has played three games since Friday afternoon, and also got to bed later than Davidson last night following their late tip-off.
Davidson's blow-out weekend shows the team is finally worthy of national poll rankings. Unlike the ESPN coaches poll that put Davidson at #25 after an "admirable" loss to the Tarheels early in the season, this week's two rankings acknowledge the longest winning streak in the country and the 'Cats deafening declaration of dominance. Again, blind to the numbers, at an instinctive, gut sense, the team seems to get into a better rhythm with every performance. Each night, we see new elements of talent emerge such as a stifling defense that shut down Kyle Hines, and another player getting the hot hand and rivaling Stephen in scoring. The lamenting "home-run" metaphors that Coach McKillop adopted frequently in December and January are these days noticeably missing in his post-game interviews.
In turn, the Feral Faithful are rabid. Since the buzzer sounded last night, I have heard from fans from Lusaka, Zambia to San Francisco to Anchorage, Alaska who will be huddling around the tube to take in tonight's game. On this week night, one hardcore group of Queen City businessmen are, as I write this, en route to Charleston by stretch-Hummer, fully equipped with a Beirut table. In the remotest parts of the land, revelers in black and red will be requesting spouses and bartenders to turn the channel to a team that is about to become a household name. It is March, it is madness and it is sublime.
--PMM
Wildcat fans smell blood, and there is a juicy big bird in sight. While most in the college basketball media appear convinced the Selection Committee will ultimately extend an invitation to Davidson regardless of tonight's Conference Finals outcome, this game is a must win for the 'Cats. Unlike Elon, Davidson's mission has never been to be the lucky underclassman who gets invited to the senior prom, but instead to rip up the dance floor a la Fred Astaire. To lose tonight, regardless of how probable an at-large appears to be, would make for a very different atmosphere at the Wildcat team practices this next week. Even for Coach McKillop, to motivate a deflated squad between Tuesday and Selection Sunday would be a daunting endeavor. To be successful in the Tournament, Davidson must enter it with their current confidence.
Fortunately, waiting out the week for the CBS Selection Sunday show with bated breath is avoidable. Granted, Elon has positioned themselves to ride on emotions alone. As a low seed they improbably dismantled 3 teams over the weekend. That included the heavily backed College of Charleston team who filled the Coliseum with 6500+ fans; Elon barely surpassed that number, if at all, in their season home attendance totals. Further, Elon is the only Southern Conference team this year to show they may actually have some teeth when having taken bites at the Davidson apple. This combination of recent success and a "we-coulda-should-almost-took-down-the-big-boys" attitude is no doubt volatile petrol for the Phoenix engine.
The appropriate cliché for the Cats, of course, is to embrace the bulls-eye. There is the sense that the team yearns for these high stakes games. As Michael Kruse appropriately noted, at an instinctive level it would seem Stephen Curry has yet to play his best in this tournament simply because it has not yet been needed. That is a scary prospect given he only played 63 minutes of basketball this weekend, and scored 43 floor points. Our starters spent large portions of the two games this weekend on the bench weekend, and had the luxury of watching the reserves maintain, if not pad, sizeable leads. Elon, however, has played three games since Friday afternoon, and also got to bed later than Davidson last night following their late tip-off.
Davidson's blow-out weekend shows the team is finally worthy of national poll rankings. Unlike the ESPN coaches poll that put Davidson at #25 after an "admirable" loss to the Tarheels early in the season, this week's two rankings acknowledge the longest winning streak in the country and the 'Cats deafening declaration of dominance. Again, blind to the numbers, at an instinctive, gut sense, the team seems to get into a better rhythm with every performance. Each night, we see new elements of talent emerge such as a stifling defense that shut down Kyle Hines, and another player getting the hot hand and rivaling Stephen in scoring. The lamenting "home-run" metaphors that Coach McKillop adopted frequently in December and January are these days noticeably missing in his post-game interviews.
In turn, the Feral Faithful are rabid. Since the buzzer sounded last night, I have heard from fans from Lusaka, Zambia to San Francisco to Anchorage, Alaska who will be huddling around the tube to take in tonight's game. On this week night, one hardcore group of Queen City businessmen are, as I write this, en route to Charleston by stretch-Hummer, fully equipped with a Beirut table. In the remotest parts of the land, revelers in black and red will be requesting spouses and bartenders to turn the channel to a team that is about to become a household name. It is March, it is madness and it is sublime.
--PMM
Thoughts on the weekend and tonight's finals
This was my initial plan for the tournament: drive to Charleston Saturday morning, go to the game, drive an hour to Edisto to spend the night, drive an hour back to Charleston for the game Sunday night, then drive home to Greenville after the game (got home around 11:15), then close 5 loans today at the office Monday, then leave to drive 200 miles back to Charleston for the game, spend the night, then drive 200 miles back to Greenville Tuesday morning and work the rest of the day.
Well, that all came together nicely until my car was dead this morning. Unfortunately, I will not be making the trip back to Charelston for tonight's game. I want to, but can't do it.
So, enough about that.
I feel confident about tonight's game, but Elon is the one team I did not want to play again. They gave us fits in both games this year, and I expect the same tonight. But, we've got a couple of things in our favor.
First, Elon is going to be playing their 4th game in 4 days. They will be running on fumes. Their collective tank may run dry late in the first half. We, on the other hand, have had 2 blowout wins, and have been able to rest our team a fair amount. This will be a big advantage. Look for Elon's shot to be coming up short often in the second half due to having tired legs.
Second, we have a better team. I'm not being an "arrogant Davidson fan"; it's just the truth. If the guys can get into playing their game, they should roll in this game as they have the past two nights.
Don't forget: ESPN2 tonight at 9:00.
GO CATS!!!
Well, that all came together nicely until my car was dead this morning. Unfortunately, I will not be making the trip back to Charelston for tonight's game. I want to, but can't do it.
So, enough about that.
I feel confident about tonight's game, but Elon is the one team I did not want to play again. They gave us fits in both games this year, and I expect the same tonight. But, we've got a couple of things in our favor.First, Elon is going to be playing their 4th game in 4 days. They will be running on fumes. Their collective tank may run dry late in the first half. We, on the other hand, have had 2 blowout wins, and have been able to rest our team a fair amount. This will be a big advantage. Look for Elon's shot to be coming up short often in the second half due to having tired legs.
Second, we have a better team. I'm not being an "arrogant Davidson fan"; it's just the truth. If the guys can get into playing their game, they should roll in this game as they have the past two nights.
Don't forget: ESPN2 tonight at 9:00.
GO CATS!!!
Davidson move up to #23 in AP poll; breaks into the ESPN/USA Today poll at #25
After making a brief (1 week) appearance in this poll after the UNC game earlier this year, the Wildcats have rolled back into the ESPN/USA Today Top 25. The boys moved up to #23 in the AP poll. This is the first time Davidson has been ranked in both polls since the days of Lefty, and the first time being ranked in consecutive weeks since Lefty. (Edit: Davidson was ranked under Holland....sorry for the error.....I sort of lump the Holland era in with the Lefty era in my mind.)
AP Top 25 poll
1. North Carolina (52) 29-2
2. Memphis (13) 30-1
3. UCLA (5) 28-3
4. Tennessee (2) 28-3
5. Kansas 28-3
6. Texas 26-5
7. Duke 26-4
8. Wisconsin 26-4
9. Georgetown 25-4
10. Xavier 26-5
11. Stanford 24-6
12. Butler 28-3
13. Louisville 24-7
14. Notre Dame 24-6
15. Connecticut 24-7
16. Drake 28-4
17. Purdue 24-7
18. Vanderbilt 25-6
19. Michigan State 24-7
20. Gonzaga 25-6
21. Washington State 23-7
22. Indiana 25-6
23. Davidson 25-6
24. Brigham Young 25-6
25. Marquette 22-8
ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. North Carolina (23) 29-2
2. UCLA (4) 28-3
3. Memphis (3) 30-1
4. Tennessee 28-3
5. Kansas (1) 28-3
6. Wisconsin 26-4
7. Duke 26-4
8. Texas 26-5
9. Georgetown 25-4
10. Butler 28-3
11. Stanford 24-6
12. Xavier 26-5
13. Louisville 24-7
14. Notre Dame 24-6
15. Connecticut 24-7
16. Purdue 24-7
17. Vanderbilt 25-6
18. Drake 28-4
19. Michigan State 24-7
20. Indiana 25-6
21. Washington State 23-7
22. Gonzaga 25-6
23. Brigham Young 25-6
24. Marquette 22-8
25. Davidson 25-6
AP Top 25 poll
1. North Carolina (52) 29-2
2. Memphis (13) 30-1
3. UCLA (5) 28-3
4. Tennessee (2) 28-3
5. Kansas 28-3
6. Texas 26-5
7. Duke 26-4
8. Wisconsin 26-4
9. Georgetown 25-4
10. Xavier 26-5
11. Stanford 24-6
12. Butler 28-3
13. Louisville 24-7
14. Notre Dame 24-6
15. Connecticut 24-7
16. Drake 28-4
17. Purdue 24-7
18. Vanderbilt 25-6
19. Michigan State 24-7
20. Gonzaga 25-6
21. Washington State 23-7
22. Indiana 25-6
23. Davidson 25-6
24. Brigham Young 25-6
25. Marquette 22-8
ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. North Carolina (23) 29-2
2. UCLA (4) 28-3
3. Memphis (3) 30-1
4. Tennessee 28-3
5. Kansas (1) 28-3
6. Wisconsin 26-4
7. Duke 26-4
8. Texas 26-5
9. Georgetown 25-4
10. Butler 28-3
11. Stanford 24-6
12. Xavier 26-5
13. Louisville 24-7
14. Notre Dame 24-6
15. Connecticut 24-7
16. Purdue 24-7
17. Vanderbilt 25-6
18. Drake 28-4
19. Michigan State 24-7
20. Indiana 25-6
21. Washington State 23-7
22. Gonzaga 25-6
23. Brigham Young 25-6
24. Marquette 22-8
25. Davidson 25-6
Sorry...
My hopes for internet access at the beach house did not pan out. I'm home now (literally just walked in the door from Charleston), and just now getting to post.
Friday, March 07, 2008
"Programming note"
I'm going to be in Charleston for the game tomorrow. I'm taking my laptop, camera and video camera. I'm not sure what I'm going to have for you, but I'm going to try my hardest to give you updated posts after the game. I'm getting a wireless hookup at the beach house tomorrow, so I can stay in touch with the blog.
PMM's thoughts: Wednesday before Charleston
Modern History for the Feral Faithful: Reflections on the Past, Visions of the Future, and Euphoria Now
Visiones vero quas vidi, non eas in somnis, nec dormiens, nec inphrenesi, nec corporeis oculis aut auribus exterioris hominis, nec in abditis locis percepi, sed eas vigilans et circumspecta in pura mente, oculis et auribus interioris hominis, in apertis locis, secundum voluntatem Dei accepi. Quod quomoodo sit, carnali homini perquirere difficile est.
But the visions that I saw, not in dreams, nor sleeping, nor in a frenzy, nor with bodily eyes or ears of an outward person, nor in hidden places did I see them, but awake and alert with a clear mind, with eyes and ears of an inward person, in open places, according to the will of God I received them. As to how it may be, it is hard for a fleshly person to investigate.
--Hildegard of Bingen
Again, the Davidson Wildcats find themselves before the threshold of excellence. But so far from crossing it are we. Those in the Feral Faithful know too well the delicate footing we have on this precipice of Southern Conference perfection, sense too well the presence of death. Contemplating the recent past, let us enjoy the present and embrace the future.
Just seven years into his tenure as head coach, Bob McKillop and Davidson boasted the fourth highest number of regular season wins in the nation following a 14-0 regular season conference sweep, and 25 wins in all. The 1996-97 team posted most wins since Lefty Driessell’s 1968-69 team won 27 games. Establishing an ignorant precedent in reviewing the amplitude of such an accomplishment, the NCAA Selection Committee was nonplussed and, following the Davidson’s premature Southern Conference Tournament departure, relegated the team to the depths of the NIT.
Davidson extended a 13-2 conference record in 1997-98 with three wins in the Conference tournament for Coach McKillop’s first NCAA tournament bid. Despite being just down I-85 at the Georgia Dome, in an ominous Friday the 13th tip-off, the ‘Cats were quickly and unceremoniously swept off the dance floor by Michigan, 80-61.
Four years later, the Wildcats returned to the NCAA tournament in 2002 after a season that marked the Wildcats’ first win over the North Carolina Tarheels in decades, among other impressive victories. The team went 11-5 in the Southern Conference before taking that championship. After a career game for the Prague Prodigy Martin Ides and late game heroics by Pete Anderer, the ‘Cats fell just short to Ohio State, 69-64.
The 2004-05 season was another reminder that regardless of Southern Conference dominance, a hiccup in the Southern Conference Tournament gives the Selection Committee a perfect excuse to reward Goliath and shun Davidson. Echoing 1996-97, the ‘Cats went undefeated in regular season conference play, this time winning 16 games but lost to UNC-Greensboro in the semi-finals of the conference tournament.
In the fall of 2005, the ‘Cats began the season with a foul taste in their mouths. After conference perfection in 2004-2005, the Wildcats went deep into the NIT with wins over Virginia Commonwealth and Missouri State, effectively amounting to the dubious achievement of making out with one’s own sister. So while the ’06-07 ‘Cats had some invaluable experience, in the locker room there was a palpable lust for a hot date come March. The Wildcats raided the conference schedule for a 10-5 record, then pillaged the Southern Conference Tournament Finals in a 30 point win over UT-Chattanooga. Again, the team faced Ohio State in the NCAA tournament. Again it was a Davidson big man, Ian Johnson, putting on a career performance against OSU. Again, the effort was admirable but not enough to avoid a 70-62 loss in the #2 seed Buckeyes’ backyard in Dayton, Ohio.
The Wildcats returned in 2006-2007 with a season that showed Bob McKillop no longer recruits blue chip mid-major players, he spawns All-Americans. The roster included not a single scholarship senior. Team Captains Jason Richards and Thomas Sander had not been regular starters the year before. The Wildcats were picked to finish 5th in their Division. But when a baby-faced 18 year old came off the bench in the team’s second game of the season and posted 32 points against Michigan, the greatest back-court in the nation was born. Davidson went on with just one loss in Conference play, and still harboring the bitter NIT nightmares of 2004-05, repeated as Southern Conference Tournament champs. In McKillop’s best NCAA showing to date, the ’Cats just missed advancing past Maryland in a contest where Curry dropped 30 in the face of D.J. Strawberry who three months later was drafted by the Phoenix Suns.
In the time Boris Meno, Thomas Sander, and Jason Richards have been on the Davidson roster, the Wildcats have won 61 regular season Southern Conference games, and lost just 6. Of their 6 losses as seniors tri-captains, 3 have been to teams ranked in the top five in the country going into the last week of the regular season (and presumably destined make up 3 of the 4 #1 NCAA Tournament seeds). And despite draconian increases in conference games on the schedule (15, 18, and now 20 mandatory games) because of apathetic athletic directors elsewhere in the Southern Conference, the Class of ‘08 has reigned supreme.
This cursory review of the last ten years in the McKillop era indicates that when Davidson makes the tournament, they unequivocally represent the league as the best Southern Conference team. Conversely, and so frustrating for our Feral Nation, when Davidson is overwhelmingly the best team in the Conference, they do not always make the tournament.
Yet despite this oftentimes troubling position we find ourselves in vis a vis the Conference and the Selection Committee, this team is arguably different from any Davidson team we have seen. No team in Division-I has ever won 20 conference games in a season, and it is likely no team will cap perfection as admirably as the Wildcats did in the past week.
The games against Appalachian State on Senior Night and at inhospitable Georgia Southern show how much the team’s leaders have matured. They certainly show why fringe elements like the Boris Meno Fan Club were once so inspired to draft its charter four years ago. Playing in front of his mother for the first time in his collegiate career, Boris demonstrated that he has never lost focus despite losing his starting role. Undoubtedly, this sort of unselfish behavior typifies the greatest aspects of college sport, and distinguishes NCAA basketball from its professional counterpart. We see in Boris the love of the game personified; as even the most casual observer will note, Boris’s charm has endeared him to the student body.
The tri-captains’ efforts the past two months have shown that Charleston will be hosting a truly different monster this weekend. After the one-point loss at N.C. State in December, the college basketball world effectively ended the affair with these ’Cats. After a short Haagen-Dazs pity-party, the Wildcats turned into the scorned ex-girlfriend who dyes her hair, and joins a new gym quickly dropping twenty pounds before buying a red ’67 Carmengia and hitting the town. All of the sudden, it’s time for the annual spring blowout party and you see her there, talking to Doug Gottlieb and some sports editor at the New York Times, showing off a new pair of Blahniks with legs which, silkier than a Curry jumper, just four months ago had you begging for buttermilk.
Davidson basketball history certainly offers an explanation for why Championship Week is a unnerving time. But Davidson history has arguably never witnessed a team with such experienced veterans who keep finding new ways to blow teams out but always with an air of vindictiveness. January and February will be remembered as the month when the seniors lit a flame under their younger teammates; this identifiable leadership-by-example will no doubt resonate throughout the remaining Curry Era. The coming weekend should be a time for the ‘Cats to fine tune the fundamentals Coach McKillop has engrained in them and fortify the confidence they ought rightly exude going into March.
To convey the bliss this year has created for the Feral Faithful is as difficult a task as it is to explain away the visions we perceive of the team going deep into the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps, the feeling is most similar to that extraordinary but familiar sensation Richard Juhlin describes in tasting excellent Champagnes: the mind races forward into honed, euphoric thought, but the legs become sluggish, unable to follow, and the drinker is left momentarily paralyzed in place and time to focus on this brilliant, glorious instant.
--PMM
Visiones vero quas vidi, non eas in somnis, nec dormiens, nec inphrenesi, nec corporeis oculis aut auribus exterioris hominis, nec in abditis locis percepi, sed eas vigilans et circumspecta in pura mente, oculis et auribus interioris hominis, in apertis locis, secundum voluntatem Dei accepi. Quod quomoodo sit, carnali homini perquirere difficile est.
But the visions that I saw, not in dreams, nor sleeping, nor in a frenzy, nor with bodily eyes or ears of an outward person, nor in hidden places did I see them, but awake and alert with a clear mind, with eyes and ears of an inward person, in open places, according to the will of God I received them. As to how it may be, it is hard for a fleshly person to investigate.
--Hildegard of Bingen
Again, the Davidson Wildcats find themselves before the threshold of excellence. But so far from crossing it are we. Those in the Feral Faithful know too well the delicate footing we have on this precipice of Southern Conference perfection, sense too well the presence of death. Contemplating the recent past, let us enjoy the present and embrace the future.
Just seven years into his tenure as head coach, Bob McKillop and Davidson boasted the fourth highest number of regular season wins in the nation following a 14-0 regular season conference sweep, and 25 wins in all. The 1996-97 team posted most wins since Lefty Driessell’s 1968-69 team won 27 games. Establishing an ignorant precedent in reviewing the amplitude of such an accomplishment, the NCAA Selection Committee was nonplussed and, following the Davidson’s premature Southern Conference Tournament departure, relegated the team to the depths of the NIT.
Davidson extended a 13-2 conference record in 1997-98 with three wins in the Conference tournament for Coach McKillop’s first NCAA tournament bid. Despite being just down I-85 at the Georgia Dome, in an ominous Friday the 13th tip-off, the ‘Cats were quickly and unceremoniously swept off the dance floor by Michigan, 80-61.
Four years later, the Wildcats returned to the NCAA tournament in 2002 after a season that marked the Wildcats’ first win over the North Carolina Tarheels in decades, among other impressive victories. The team went 11-5 in the Southern Conference before taking that championship. After a career game for the Prague Prodigy Martin Ides and late game heroics by Pete Anderer, the ‘Cats fell just short to Ohio State, 69-64.
The 2004-05 season was another reminder that regardless of Southern Conference dominance, a hiccup in the Southern Conference Tournament gives the Selection Committee a perfect excuse to reward Goliath and shun Davidson. Echoing 1996-97, the ‘Cats went undefeated in regular season conference play, this time winning 16 games but lost to UNC-Greensboro in the semi-finals of the conference tournament.
In the fall of 2005, the ‘Cats began the season with a foul taste in their mouths. After conference perfection in 2004-2005, the Wildcats went deep into the NIT with wins over Virginia Commonwealth and Missouri State, effectively amounting to the dubious achievement of making out with one’s own sister. So while the ’06-07 ‘Cats had some invaluable experience, in the locker room there was a palpable lust for a hot date come March. The Wildcats raided the conference schedule for a 10-5 record, then pillaged the Southern Conference Tournament Finals in a 30 point win over UT-Chattanooga. Again, the team faced Ohio State in the NCAA tournament. Again it was a Davidson big man, Ian Johnson, putting on a career performance against OSU. Again, the effort was admirable but not enough to avoid a 70-62 loss in the #2 seed Buckeyes’ backyard in Dayton, Ohio.
The Wildcats returned in 2006-2007 with a season that showed Bob McKillop no longer recruits blue chip mid-major players, he spawns All-Americans. The roster included not a single scholarship senior. Team Captains Jason Richards and Thomas Sander had not been regular starters the year before. The Wildcats were picked to finish 5th in their Division. But when a baby-faced 18 year old came off the bench in the team’s second game of the season and posted 32 points against Michigan, the greatest back-court in the nation was born. Davidson went on with just one loss in Conference play, and still harboring the bitter NIT nightmares of 2004-05, repeated as Southern Conference Tournament champs. In McKillop’s best NCAA showing to date, the ’Cats just missed advancing past Maryland in a contest where Curry dropped 30 in the face of D.J. Strawberry who three months later was drafted by the Phoenix Suns.
In the time Boris Meno, Thomas Sander, and Jason Richards have been on the Davidson roster, the Wildcats have won 61 regular season Southern Conference games, and lost just 6. Of their 6 losses as seniors tri-captains, 3 have been to teams ranked in the top five in the country going into the last week of the regular season (and presumably destined make up 3 of the 4 #1 NCAA Tournament seeds). And despite draconian increases in conference games on the schedule (15, 18, and now 20 mandatory games) because of apathetic athletic directors elsewhere in the Southern Conference, the Class of ‘08 has reigned supreme.
This cursory review of the last ten years in the McKillop era indicates that when Davidson makes the tournament, they unequivocally represent the league as the best Southern Conference team. Conversely, and so frustrating for our Feral Nation, when Davidson is overwhelmingly the best team in the Conference, they do not always make the tournament.
Yet despite this oftentimes troubling position we find ourselves in vis a vis the Conference and the Selection Committee, this team is arguably different from any Davidson team we have seen. No team in Division-I has ever won 20 conference games in a season, and it is likely no team will cap perfection as admirably as the Wildcats did in the past week.
The games against Appalachian State on Senior Night and at inhospitable Georgia Southern show how much the team’s leaders have matured. They certainly show why fringe elements like the Boris Meno Fan Club were once so inspired to draft its charter four years ago. Playing in front of his mother for the first time in his collegiate career, Boris demonstrated that he has never lost focus despite losing his starting role. Undoubtedly, this sort of unselfish behavior typifies the greatest aspects of college sport, and distinguishes NCAA basketball from its professional counterpart. We see in Boris the love of the game personified; as even the most casual observer will note, Boris’s charm has endeared him to the student body.
The tri-captains’ efforts the past two months have shown that Charleston will be hosting a truly different monster this weekend. After the one-point loss at N.C. State in December, the college basketball world effectively ended the affair with these ’Cats. After a short Haagen-Dazs pity-party, the Wildcats turned into the scorned ex-girlfriend who dyes her hair, and joins a new gym quickly dropping twenty pounds before buying a red ’67 Carmengia and hitting the town. All of the sudden, it’s time for the annual spring blowout party and you see her there, talking to Doug Gottlieb and some sports editor at the New York Times, showing off a new pair of Blahniks with legs which, silkier than a Curry jumper, just four months ago had you begging for buttermilk.
Davidson basketball history certainly offers an explanation for why Championship Week is a unnerving time. But Davidson history has arguably never witnessed a team with such experienced veterans who keep finding new ways to blow teams out but always with an air of vindictiveness. January and February will be remembered as the month when the seniors lit a flame under their younger teammates; this identifiable leadership-by-example will no doubt resonate throughout the remaining Curry Era. The coming weekend should be a time for the ‘Cats to fine tune the fundamentals Coach McKillop has engrained in them and fortify the confidence they ought rightly exude going into March.
To convey the bliss this year has created for the Feral Faithful is as difficult a task as it is to explain away the visions we perceive of the team going deep into the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps, the feeling is most similar to that extraordinary but familiar sensation Richard Juhlin describes in tasting excellent Champagnes: the mind races forward into honed, euphoric thought, but the legs become sluggish, unable to follow, and the drinker is left momentarily paralyzed in place and time to focus on this brilliant, glorious instant.
--PMM
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
SoCon Media Awards: Richards & Sander All-SoCon, Curry is Player of Year, McKillop is Coach of Year
Media All-SoCon Men's Basketball Team Announced
Written by: Southern Conference
Release: 03/04/2008
The Southern Conference Sports Media Association (SCSMA) announced the organizations 2008 SoCon men’s basketball honorees.
Davidson sophomore Stephen Curry was a unanimous choice as the conference’s Malcolm U. Pitt Player of the Year. The sophomore from Charlotte, N.C. leads the conference in scoring with a 25.3 average and helped guide the Wildcats to an undefeated record in league play and the top seed in the conference tournament.
The Citadel’s Cameron Wells was the choice of the media for the league’s Freshman of the Year. The league’s leading scorer among freshmen (14.6 ppg), the guard from Houston, Texas edged Appalachian State’s Donald Sims, College of Charleston’s Andrew Goudelock and Georgia Southern’s Willie Powers for the honor.
Davidson coach Bob McKillop won in the voting for the Anton Foy Coach of the Year Award. McKillop McKillop led the Wildcats to a perfect 20-0 record in conference play and an overall mark of 23-6. Davidson owns the nation’s longest winning streak (19) and has won 31 consecutive Southern Conference games and 44 of the last 45.
Nine teams had players named to the SCSMA all-conference team. Davidson (Curry, Jason Richards and Thomas Sander), and College of Charleston (Jermaine Johnson, Andrew Goudelock and Tony White, Jr,.) each had three players earn all-conference honors. Appalachian State (Donte Minter and Jeremy Clayton) and Chattanooga (Nicchaeus Doaks and Stephen McDowell) each landed two players on the all-league squad. Elon (Ola Atoyebi), Georgia Southern (Louis Graham), UNC Greensboro (Kyle Hines), Western Carolina (Brandon Giles) and Wofford (Drew Gibson) all had one player represented.
The Southern Conference coaches all-conference team will be announced on Thursday, March 6.
Written by: Southern Conference
Release: 03/04/2008
The Southern Conference Sports Media Association (SCSMA) announced the organizations 2008 SoCon men’s basketball honorees.
Davidson sophomore Stephen Curry was a unanimous choice as the conference’s Malcolm U. Pitt Player of the Year. The sophomore from Charlotte, N.C. leads the conference in scoring with a 25.3 average and helped guide the Wildcats to an undefeated record in league play and the top seed in the conference tournament.The Citadel’s Cameron Wells was the choice of the media for the league’s Freshman of the Year. The league’s leading scorer among freshmen (14.6 ppg), the guard from Houston, Texas edged Appalachian State’s Donald Sims, College of Charleston’s Andrew Goudelock and Georgia Southern’s Willie Powers for the honor.
Davidson coach Bob McKillop won in the voting for the Anton Foy Coach of the Year Award. McKillop McKillop led the Wildcats to a perfect 20-0 record in conference play and an overall mark of 23-6. Davidson owns the nation’s longest winning streak (19) and has won 31 consecutive Southern Conference games and 44 of the last 45.
Nine teams had players named to the SCSMA all-conference team. Davidson (Curry, Jason Richards and Thomas Sander), and College of Charleston (Jermaine Johnson, Andrew Goudelock and Tony White, Jr,.) each had three players earn all-conference honors. Appalachian State (Donte Minter and Jeremy Clayton) and Chattanooga (Nicchaeus Doaks and Stephen McDowell) each landed two players on the all-league squad. Elon (Ola Atoyebi), Georgia Southern (Louis Graham), UNC Greensboro (Kyle Hines), Western Carolina (Brandon Giles) and Wofford (Drew Gibson) all had one player represented.
The Southern Conference coaches all-conference team will be announced on Thursday, March 6.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Davidson reaches AP Top 25
Davidson enters the AP Top 25 poll this week at #25. Davidson was in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 early this season.Exciting time to be a Wildcat, no doubt.
Stories:
Charlotte Observer
Above the Rim Blog
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Davidson gets big article in NY Times
Small and Quirky Davidson Faces Uphill Fight
By JOHN BRANCH
Published: March 1, 2008
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Among the unusual facets of Davidson College, besides a basketball team with the nation’s longest winning streak, is a low-slung building amid the stately ones made of red bricks and white columns.
The Lula Bell Houston Laundry is where the 1,700 Davidson students can drop off their dirty clothes, to be cleaned and folded at no charge. Last week, the center did 815 bundles of laundry weighing 7,913 pounds — nearly four tons — so that the students could focus on other things.
“You drop it off, and two days later it’s folded in a big paper bag for you, in a bundle,” said Stephen Curry, the team’s silk-shooting sophomore guard. “It’s pretty nice.”
Davidson has its quirks. An honor code allows students to schedule their own final exams, and tests are taken without proctors. Davidson recently eliminated student loans, relying instead on grants and work-study programs, so that no student graduates with debt. The campus sits in a cocoon of a village 15 miles north of sprawling Charlotte, far closer in feel to North Carolina’s fictitious Mayberry.
But the most surprising aspect of Davidson may be the basketball team, led by Bob McKillop, a 57-year-old from Queens who has quietly rebuilt a once-proud program at one of the most elite liberal arts colleges in the country.
Basketball polls have the Wildcats at the edge of the top 25, but the 2008 U.S. News & World Report rankings placed Davidson ninth on the list of top liberal-arts colleges, a list devoid of other Division I basketball powers.
Davidson can brag of 23 Rhodes scholars, but it has not produced a single N.B.A. All-Star. That has not kept McKillop from believing, 19 seasons into his tenure, that Davidson can reclaim the elite basketball status it had 40 years ago under Lefty Driesell.
Behind Curry, the son of the former N.B.A. star Dell Curry, and an assembly of perfectly cast role players, the Wildcats (22-6) have won 18 games in a row. They are 19-0 in the Southern Conference heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at second-place Georgia Southern.
If any team in the country is positioned to play the spoiler at this year’s N.C.A.A. tournament, it is this one — if Davidson makes the 65-team bracket.
The Ratings Percentage Index seems to hold more sway than records or rankings, and Davidson was at No. 61 in the most recent R.P.I., just inside the tournament’s proverbial bubble. It tried to combat its weak conference schedule with difficult nonconference games.
“They gave Carolina all they could take, they gave Duke a good game, and they had U.C.L.A. down 18 points in the first half,” said Kenneth Norton, 79, who has provided haircuts in Davidson since he was 14 and who summed up this season from behind his chair at Raefords Barber Shop.
Davidson could not complete the early-season upsets, losing to No. 1 North Carolina, 72-68; to No. 7 Duke, 79-73; and to No. 7 U.C.L.A., 75-63. The Wildcats may have to win their conference tournament, as they did the past two years, to guarantee another chance to win their first N.C.A.A. tournament game since 1969. The Southern Conference has never received an at-large bid.
“We understand that,” McKillop said in his office, where classical music played in the background. “That’s the dynamic we have to deal with.”
McKillop might be the most unusual Davidson feature of all. The son of a New York City police officer, he played college basketball at East Carolina and Hofstra. He made a bigger name for himself as a New York high school coach, at Holy Trinity and Long Island Lutheran.
He took the job at Davidson in 1989, seeing a slingshot to bigger college programs. His team did not finish above .500 until his fifth season, and he said he felt fortunate not to have been fired.
“I was a cocky high-school coach who enjoyed great success because I had great players,” said McKillop, whose silver hair and assuring voice give him the air of a trusty news anchor. “I came here thinking I could wave a magic wand and move up the basketball ladder.”
Instead, he has pulled Davidson up the rungs gradually. McKillop has often been a candidate for jobs in the Northeast, including at St. John’s, Seton Hall and Boston College in recent years. But no one has yet pulled him from Davidson, where he and his wife, Cathy, live in a white house across from campus, with a Wildcats flag on the porch and a wreath on the door.
Two of their children graduated from Davidson. Their youngest, Brendan, is a freshman on his father’s team.
“How many Division I basketball coaches have been able to raise three children in the same house?” athletic director Jim Murphy said.
McKillop has embraced the town’s intimacy and the college’s hurdles — its small size (and fan base) and its academic standards: 88 percent of this year’s freshmen finished in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
Skip to next paragraph After a 68-55 victory against Appalachian State on Wednesday, McKillop and his coaches and players mingled with family and fans, as they always do, at the Brickhouse Tavern. Five players soon left for the campus library, where they stayed until nearly 1 a.m. McKillop is one coach without the constant worry over what his players are doing.
“I’m not suggesting that we have nerds,” McKillop said. “But I am suggesting that there is a measure of accountability and responsibility that permeates the campus.”
Davidson has more international players (six) than players from North Carolina (three) on its roster. This season’s team, however, rides largely with Curry, the slippery shooting guard from Charlotte who is averaging 25 points. Overlooked by bigger programs because of his slight frame (still growing, he is 6 feet 3 inches and 185 pounds), Curry has a quick release and a deft passing touch, which he may hone further next season as the point guard.
“I wouldn’t want my son to play for anybody else,” Dell Curry said while sitting among Wednesday’s sellout crowd of 5,838 at Davidson’s Belk Arena.
Stephen (pronounced STEFF-in) Curry and the senior Jason Richards, who leads N.C.A.A. Division I in assists a game, could be the nation’s best backcourt tandem, and probably the most underrated.
Add a bevy of midsize bangers, like Thomas Sander (from Cincinnati), Boris Meno (Paris) and Max Paulhus Gosselin (Carignan, Quebec), and the Wildcats could be a dangerous tournament team.
“You saw what we did against those big-name teams in the beginning of the season,” Richards said. “Yeah, we didn’t win, but came really close, and we kind of proved to ourselves that we can play with anyone.”
Davidson is motivated by the recent successes of small programs. Gonzaga is a basketball power. George Mason reached the Final Four two years ago. The likes of Butler, Drake and Kent State are surging this season.
But Davidson does not have to look elsewhere for inspiration. On a table in McKillop’s office are two Sports Illustrated magazines in clear vinyl sleeves. One, from 1968, cast three contenders to U.C.L.A. — North Carolina, Kentucky and Davidson; Davidson lost to the Tar Heels in the national quarterfinals. The other, from 1964, tabbed Davidson as the preseason No. 1 team. It finished 24-2 and ranked sixth, but missed the N.C.A.A. tournament because it was beaten by West Virginia in its conference final.
“Each day I walk into the office, and I keep them in my vision as a reminder that it has happened here,” McKillop said. “Now, can it happen again? The stars have to be so uniquely aligned for it to happen again.”
McKillop smiled. The stars are on the move.
By JOHN BRANCH
Published: March 1, 2008
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Among the unusual facets of Davidson College, besides a basketball team with the nation’s longest winning streak, is a low-slung building amid the stately ones made of red bricks and white columns.
The Lula Bell Houston Laundry is where the 1,700 Davidson students can drop off their dirty clothes, to be cleaned and folded at no charge. Last week, the center did 815 bundles of laundry weighing 7,913 pounds — nearly four tons — so that the students could focus on other things.“You drop it off, and two days later it’s folded in a big paper bag for you, in a bundle,” said Stephen Curry, the team’s silk-shooting sophomore guard. “It’s pretty nice.”
Davidson has its quirks. An honor code allows students to schedule their own final exams, and tests are taken without proctors. Davidson recently eliminated student loans, relying instead on grants and work-study programs, so that no student graduates with debt. The campus sits in a cocoon of a village 15 miles north of sprawling Charlotte, far closer in feel to North Carolina’s fictitious Mayberry.
But the most surprising aspect of Davidson may be the basketball team, led by Bob McKillop, a 57-year-old from Queens who has quietly rebuilt a once-proud program at one of the most elite liberal arts colleges in the country.
Basketball polls have the Wildcats at the edge of the top 25, but the 2008 U.S. News & World Report rankings placed Davidson ninth on the list of top liberal-arts colleges, a list devoid of other Division I basketball powers.
Davidson can brag of 23 Rhodes scholars, but it has not produced a single N.B.A. All-Star. That has not kept McKillop from believing, 19 seasons into his tenure, that Davidson can reclaim the elite basketball status it had 40 years ago under Lefty Driesell.
Behind Curry, the son of the former N.B.A. star Dell Curry, and an assembly of perfectly cast role players, the Wildcats (22-6) have won 18 games in a row. They are 19-0 in the Southern Conference heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at second-place Georgia Southern.
If any team in the country is positioned to play the spoiler at this year’s N.C.A.A. tournament, it is this one — if Davidson makes the 65-team bracket.
The Ratings Percentage Index seems to hold more sway than records or rankings, and Davidson was at No. 61 in the most recent R.P.I., just inside the tournament’s proverbial bubble. It tried to combat its weak conference schedule with difficult nonconference games.
“They gave Carolina all they could take, they gave Duke a good game, and they had U.C.L.A. down 18 points in the first half,” said Kenneth Norton, 79, who has provided haircuts in Davidson since he was 14 and who summed up this season from behind his chair at Raefords Barber Shop.
Davidson could not complete the early-season upsets, losing to No. 1 North Carolina, 72-68; to No. 7 Duke, 79-73; and to No. 7 U.C.L.A., 75-63. The Wildcats may have to win their conference tournament, as they did the past two years, to guarantee another chance to win their first N.C.A.A. tournament game since 1969. The Southern Conference has never received an at-large bid.
“We understand that,” McKillop said in his office, where classical music played in the background. “That’s the dynamic we have to deal with.”
McKillop might be the most unusual Davidson feature of all. The son of a New York City police officer, he played college basketball at East Carolina and Hofstra. He made a bigger name for himself as a New York high school coach, at Holy Trinity and Long Island Lutheran.
He took the job at Davidson in 1989, seeing a slingshot to bigger college programs. His team did not finish above .500 until his fifth season, and he said he felt fortunate not to have been fired.
“I was a cocky high-school coach who enjoyed great success because I had great players,” said McKillop, whose silver hair and assuring voice give him the air of a trusty news anchor. “I came here thinking I could wave a magic wand and move up the basketball ladder.”
Instead, he has pulled Davidson up the rungs gradually. McKillop has often been a candidate for jobs in the Northeast, including at St. John’s, Seton Hall and Boston College in recent years. But no one has yet pulled him from Davidson, where he and his wife, Cathy, live in a white house across from campus, with a Wildcats flag on the porch and a wreath on the door.
Two of their children graduated from Davidson. Their youngest, Brendan, is a freshman on his father’s team.
“How many Division I basketball coaches have been able to raise three children in the same house?” athletic director Jim Murphy said.
McKillop has embraced the town’s intimacy and the college’s hurdles — its small size (and fan base) and its academic standards: 88 percent of this year’s freshmen finished in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
Skip to next paragraph After a 68-55 victory against Appalachian State on Wednesday, McKillop and his coaches and players mingled with family and fans, as they always do, at the Brickhouse Tavern. Five players soon left for the campus library, where they stayed until nearly 1 a.m. McKillop is one coach without the constant worry over what his players are doing.
“I’m not suggesting that we have nerds,” McKillop said. “But I am suggesting that there is a measure of accountability and responsibility that permeates the campus.”
Davidson has more international players (six) than players from North Carolina (three) on its roster. This season’s team, however, rides largely with Curry, the slippery shooting guard from Charlotte who is averaging 25 points. Overlooked by bigger programs because of his slight frame (still growing, he is 6 feet 3 inches and 185 pounds), Curry has a quick release and a deft passing touch, which he may hone further next season as the point guard.
“I wouldn’t want my son to play for anybody else,” Dell Curry said while sitting among Wednesday’s sellout crowd of 5,838 at Davidson’s Belk Arena.
Stephen (pronounced STEFF-in) Curry and the senior Jason Richards, who leads N.C.A.A. Division I in assists a game, could be the nation’s best backcourt tandem, and probably the most underrated.
Add a bevy of midsize bangers, like Thomas Sander (from Cincinnati), Boris Meno (Paris) and Max Paulhus Gosselin (Carignan, Quebec), and the Wildcats could be a dangerous tournament team.
“You saw what we did against those big-name teams in the beginning of the season,” Richards said. “Yeah, we didn’t win, but came really close, and we kind of proved to ourselves that we can play with anyone.”
Davidson is motivated by the recent successes of small programs. Gonzaga is a basketball power. George Mason reached the Final Four two years ago. The likes of Butler, Drake and Kent State are surging this season.
But Davidson does not have to look elsewhere for inspiration. On a table in McKillop’s office are two Sports Illustrated magazines in clear vinyl sleeves. One, from 1968, cast three contenders to U.C.L.A. — North Carolina, Kentucky and Davidson; Davidson lost to the Tar Heels in the national quarterfinals. The other, from 1964, tabbed Davidson as the preseason No. 1 team. It finished 24-2 and ranked sixth, but missed the N.C.A.A. tournament because it was beaten by West Virginia in its conference final.
“Each day I walk into the office, and I keep them in my vision as a reminder that it has happened here,” McKillop said. “Now, can it happen again? The stars have to be so uniquely aligned for it to happen again.”
McKillop smiled. The stars are on the move.
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