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Feel free to submit articles that you may write, newsworthy links, and other assorted Davidson Basketball related info to me at: davidsonbasketball94@yahoo.com

I may post your article or link on the blog. I'm always up for a little help.

Blog updated for 2006-07

I've updated the roster and pictures in the sidebar, and made a few other minor changes for this season.

I'm in the process of coming up with a possible new look, as this standard "blogger.com" template look is geting old. I've also reserved a new domain, www.davidsonbasketball.net, which will ultimately be the new domain for the blog. I don't know if I will get around to moving the site over to the new domain this season. I'll just see how it goes. I've got a little research to do before I get the new site up and running. Don't count on anything drastic any time soon. I'll be sure to let you know when that happens.

In the meantime, I'll keep blogging away to try to keep you updated as to the happenings of DC basketball.

Official Outlook for 2006-07

2006-07 Season Outlook

Davidson coach Bob McKillop is always up for a good challenge. That's the good news, because with seven players graduated from last year's Southern Conference champions, he has his work cut out for him if he hopes to keep the Wildcats in a challenging position for the 2007 SoCon championship.

Click here for entire article.

Unofficial Davidson 2006-07 outlook

Davidson Wildcats 2006-2007 Basketball Preview
By Ricky Dimon

When the final buzzer sounded on their 2006 season after a close loss in the NCAA Tournament to the No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes, the Davidson Wildcats endured a mass exodus of UNC-post-2005 proportions.

Gone are starters Brendan Winters, Matt McKillop, Ian Johnson, and Kenny Grant. Super-sub Jason Morton and valuable reserve Eric Blancett have also departed. In total the Cats graduated 59.4 points per game, or 76.6% of their total scoring last season. They parted with their floor general, their emotional leader, perhaps the most polished big man in the conference, and the MVP of the 2006 Southern Conference Tournament.

Fortunately, the Cats are not without the man at the top, Bob McKillop. Despite several off-season rumors linking the coach to major conference schools such as Seton Hall and Kansas State, McKillop is back for is 18th season at the helm of the Davidson Wildcats. He’s established the program as perennial Southern Conference powerhouse, leading the Cats to NCAA Tournament berths in 1998, 2002, and 2006. Let’s also not forget that another year, 2005, Davidson went 16-0 in Southern Conference play before being upset by UNC-Greensboro at the SoCon Tournament.

Click here for entire article.

Open Letter to Coach McKillop

Coach McKillop:

On behalf of all of the Davidson Basketball fans, I want to say "thank you".

First, I want to thank you for coming to Davidson. Hiring you as the coach in 1989 was far and away the best decision the athletic department had made in a long, long time. You brought a winning attitude to our school, and you have not wavered in your commitment to winning. You brought players to our school that represent Davidson proudly both on and off the court, yet you still managed to win year after year. Your record on the court speaks for itself. Your players' graduation rate and other accomplishments off the court also speak volumes.

Second, I want to thank you for staying at Davidson. It is common knowledge that some bigger schools have courted you, and you have probably had some opportunities to leave that none of us know anything about. The stabillity you have provided for the basketball program has been unbelievably important. You have been a blessing for Davidson. Without your constant presence, the incredible success the program has enjoyed over the past two decades would not have been possible.

We thank you for everything you have done for Davidson. You ARE Davidson Basketball. We just hope that we can keep you around until you retire. We look forward to many, many more years with you on the sideline.

Thank you, Coach.

Best Coaching Staff in the SoCon

Head Coach: Bob McKillop
Associate Head Coach: Matt Matheny
Assistant Coach: Jim Fox
Assistant Coach: Tim Sweeney
Director of Basketball Operations: Jeremy Henney

Freshman Curry scores 27 in debut

Freshman Curry Scores 27 in Wildcats 84-64 Exhibition Win over Guelph

DAVIDSON, N.C. — Freshman Stephen Curry led four Wildcat players in double-figures with 27 points as Davidson cruised to an 84-64 exhibition victory over the University of Guelph in men’s basketball action Friday evening at Belk Arena.

Curry, a 6-1 guard from nearby Charlotte, N.C., and product of Charlotte Christian poured in 18 of his final points total including four treys in the first stanza. The frosh also concluded his preseason debut with seven rebounds, seven assists, four steals and just one miscue.

The Wildcats were also led by juniors Boris Meno and Jason Richards, who contributed 18 and 16 points, respectively. Meno hit seven of his 10 attempts and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, six on the offensive side to finish with a double-double. Freshman William Archambault was the other Davidson player to hit double-digits as he added 13 off the bench in 22 minutes of action.

Click here for entire article from Davidson official website.

Game Notes: Click here.
Box Score: Click here.

Archambault skies to the rim for a two-handed flush early in the second half.

Cougars the trendy pick to win SoCon

Wildcats picked to finish 4th in South Division.

Article from The State in Columbia, SC:

Cremins’ Cougars lead pack in SoCon
Former Ga. Tech coach has C of C poised to make run at conference title
By BOB GILLESPIE

GREENVILLE — Wofford basketball coach Mike Young has the perfect description for the mix of new College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins and the team he will put on the floor this season: “The Perfect Storm.”

It’s not enough, Young said during the Southern Conference’s Tip-Off media day, that Cremins instantly becomes the league’s highest-profile coach. The former USC player, Georgia Tech coach and TV analyst also has the returning players to live up to high expectations.

“(Former Cougars coach) Tom Herrion left the talent level there in superior shape,” Young said. “And Bobby will do a great job of getting all the pieces going in the proper direction.

Click here for entire article.

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Article from The Greenville News (SC):

Furman picked second in SoCon's south division

Thursday, November 2, 2006

By Ann GreenSTAFF WRITER

Furman coach Jeff Jackson attended his first Southern Conference Basketball Tip-off on Wednesday and got a nice "welcome to Greenville" present.

His men's team was picked by the SoCon coaches to finish second in the league's south division behind another team with a new head coach, the College of Charleston under Bobby Cremins.

"I don't think we'll be boring. We'll play at a pretty good pace," Jackson said at the annual gathering of the coaches and the media at the Greenville Hilton.

Jackson, a former Vanderbilt assistant named to replace Larry Davis last April, said he's pleased with his team's work ethic. The men are preparing for an exhibition game Saturday night (7 p.m.) vs. Francis Marion in Timmons Arena, then will open the season at home Nov. 11 vs. Charleston Southern.

Click here for entire article.

Scrimmage

The Davidson Wildcats scrimmaged last Saturday against the Davidson Wildcats.

The Davidson Wildcats won.

GO WILDCATS!!

A Night with the 'Cats

Friday - October 13th, 6-9 p.m.

DAVIDSON, N.C. — Don’t miss your first opportunity to witness both the Davidson men’s and women’s basketball teams in “A Night With the ‘Cats” Friday, Oct. 13 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Belk Arena on the campus of Davidson College.

Activities Include: FREE Kids Carnival and Prizes, Cake Walk, Student Competitions, Meet the Teams, Performances by Both Teams, Autograph Sessions, Speeches and Food Vendors — Bellacino’s, Chick-fil-A and Matt’s Chicago Dogs.

Admission is Free, for more information call (704) 894-2374.

Click here for flyer.

DC Basketball Blog traffic info

For anybody that might be interested, here's a graph showing the hits and page views for the past year. Keep in mind that the blog didn't start until January. The traffic was predictably highest in March, during tournament time, with a big drop-off after the season ended. It will be interesting (OK, probably not all that interesting) to see how the traffic progresses once the season starts.

SINCE JANUARY 12TH, 2006:

TOTAL VISITS: 8,748.........TOTAL PAGE VIEWS: 18,561

Wildcats get good press

Here's an article about the Western Michigan University basketball schedule. Davidson is mentioned as one of the teams that made the NCAA tournament last year that makes the WMU non-coference schedule "brutal". I love it!
Click here for the article.

Also, Jim Boeheim of Syracuse mentions playing "unbelievable mid-majors" such as Davidson, etc.
Click here for the article.

Thanks to Pete Wagner for the tip on the Boeheim article!!

(Note: Problems with the links are now corrected.)

Davidson's drama dept apparently rocks

Here's a little news I happened to come across. Since it's a bit slow for hoops right now, I thought I'd post it. This blog is, after all, subtitled "Coverage of Wildcat Basketball and all things Davidson". Therefore, why can't I veer away from hoops from time to time??

Perfect 10: Davidson sweeps drama awards

Davidson finished the evening a perfect 10-for-10 in the college and university category at the Metrolina Theatre Awards last Sunday, including the 'Outstanding' awards for director, production, actor and actress.

Although the college competed against UNC Charlotte, Gardner-Webb and Pfeiffer universities, Davidson often competed against itself, with at least two nominations in every category. Davidson had 21 nominations overall after receiving 11 at last year's awards.

Davidson's 'She Loves Me,' a musical similar to the movie 'You've Got Mail,' swept the awards.

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Pictured above: Ryan Creighan '07 and Hanley Smith '07 won best actor and actress awards for their lead roles in last spring's "She Loves Me."
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Let's hear it for the drama people. I don't know who they are, but they are apparently pretty darn good. Drama's not my thing, but I'll give them their due. Good job, drama people! It's not all just about basketball at good 0ld Davidson!

Note from the author

I guess I need to get geared up to do this all over again. Don't take that the wrong way. That's not lack of desire in my voice. I'm looking forward to it....it's just that the season has just snuck up on me. I still feel like basketball season just ended, and the new season is four or five months away. Hell, football just got started.

Last year, I didn't start this blog until mid-season (January), so my blogging activities only lasted for a couple of months, and it really wore me out by the end of the season. It got to be pretty intense trying to keep up with posting updates during the SoCon Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. It was, however, lots of fun. I'm not sure exactly what, if anything, will be different on the blog this season. I'll just let it flow and see where it takes us. Hopefully a few of you will read, and maybe even enjoy....perhaps post a comment or two?

I'm not sure how I even ended up doing this blog, to be honest. It just hit me last January that, unlike the big schools, there was not much of a way to keep up with DC basketball, other than the official website, which is very limited. I do love Davidson Basketball, but I'm not what you would really call a "basketball nut" by any stretch of the imagination. I don't follow stats (boring....can't stand all that fantasy football garbage), I don't watch basketball all the time during the season, and I try not to live and die by how my favorite teams are doing. (Life's too darn short for that type of approach.) I'm just pretty much an average basketball fan....and I happen to enjoy keeping up with the Wildcats. I figured there might be a few more of you like me out there that would enjoy reading this stuff and getting a few good links to articles about our team. So, I'll keep up the blogging this season. Hopefully we'll enjoy this year as much as last year.

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Incidentally, I am contemplating some changes (hopefully improvements) to this blog. I'm not sure what all I will get done. I'm sure it will be a work in progress. It will also depend on family time, work, etc. After all, I do have a wife, two kids, and a law pratice to keep up with. As hard as it may be to believe, I don't get paid for this!

Holy Cow...basketball season is 7 weeks away???

Is it just me, or does it seem like it was just March? Didn't football season just get going??

Well, the Wildcats tip off the hoops season on November 10th in Ann Arbor, Michigan. That's only 7 weeks away!!

....And there's an exhibition game only 6 weeks away!!

Where did the time go?

Tentative schedule released

Games against Duke, Michigan and Missouri are the big non-conference contests. All three games are on the road.

The Wildcats will play in two "events". First, they will be part of the John Thompson Foundation Challenge from November 10-12 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Then they will play in the Arizona State Hoops Classic from December 21-22 in Tempe, Ariz.

The SoCon Tournament will once again be in Charleston. Maybe that's a good omen for the Wildcats. Charleston has, after all, been pretty good to Davidson.

Click here to view the tentative schedule.

Get your 2006 SoCon Championship gear

Here's a link to get your t-shirts and hats to celebrate winning the 2006 SoCon Tournament. Honestly, it's pretty slim pickings, and the shirts aren't all the great, but our team still won!!

Click here.

Former All-American Wildcat, John Gerdy, writes books

Air Ball: American Education's Failed Experiment with Elite Athletics

John Gerdy, former Wildcat, is now Dr. John Gerdy (PhD).....another example of how Davidson athletes are truly student-athletes. Click here for a profile. Click here for some Gerdy quotes.

"Lest his theories be dismissed as the sour grapes of a "nerd" who never competed in "elite" sports, Gerdy is a former All-American basketball player at Davidson College, played professional in the Continental Basketball Association. He served as associate commissioner of the Southeastern Conference from 1989-1995 and as a legislative assistant at the NCAA from 1986-1989."

Click here to read article from The Clarion Ledger (Mississippi)

Click here to read release from the University Press of Mississippi

Click here to read an article that John Gerdy wrote (May 2006) for The Chronicle Review "For True Reform, Athletics Scholarships Must Go"

This is not Gerdy's first book. In 2002, Sports: The All-American Addiction was published.

Former Wildcat Puff Summers making noise

Going job hunting
From the Culpeper Star-Exponent
Jeff Say
Sports Editor
Wednesday, August 23, 2006

The moment Lawrence “Puff” Summers walked into the gym in Raliegh, N.C., he stood out to USA Select Basketball general manager Sean Kilmartin.

It wasn’t because Summers blocked out the sun. The Culpeper native stands just 5-feet-9-inches –“ 5-10 on a good day,” “Puff” jokes.

Summers stood out for another reason. It was what he was wearing.

The 2005 graduate of Davidson College showed up for practice wearing a Davidson jersey, something that caused Kilmartin to laugh.

When the USA Select Basketball GM was a college player, he played for Davidson rival Appalachian State University. So when he saw Summers sporting a Wildcat shirt, it was strike one.

But that didn’t stop Kilmartin from choosing Summers for the USA Select team, a squad that will travel overseas to Europe Sept. 5 to play an exhibition schedule against the top teams France, England, Wales and Belgium have to offer.

Click here for the entire article. It's pretty long and all about the former Wildcat.

Wildcats get an apparent commitment

Aaron Bond

6-5, 180

"Georgetown Prep’s senior guard Aaron Bond has chosen his college this month. Reached yesterday via telephone, Bond shared 'I’m going to Davidson (College)'. "

"Bond, a 6’4”+, 180lb senior guard who attends Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda, MD), averaged 13 points, six assists, six boards, and three steals, while shooting 75% from the free throw line and 48% from the field as a junior"

Click to read both articles about Aaron Bond: Article 1 and Article 2

Here's Aaron (in black uniform) fighting for position during a game: