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Back on Campus
March 25, 2008
"So is it pretty crazy back on your campus this morning?" asked Joe Reporter.
"Actually there aren't any students here because of Easter Break," answered Jason Richards.
It seemed so ironic that during Davidson's biggest weekend in decades, all of its students were home celebrating a religious holiday. But while the students did not come back until Tuesday evening for Wednesday classes, there was something very special and beautiful about this campus over the last two days.
The clues that something remarkable had happened were everywhere. The school police bought out the bookstore's supply of car flags (which was only about 15-20 to start with) and hooked them to the top of their windows. The Wildcat had a stuffed dog in its mouth, while Coach McKillop's house was covered in toilet paper.
Belk Arena was completely dark except for a small light deep in the dungeon of the complex. The Sports Information office was buzzing as phones rang with interview requests from all parts of the country. The lone printer buzzed and clanged as it printed off article after article from every newspaper in the country. The union was filled with mini basketball hoops, an arcade hoops game next to the fireplace, and full-sized basket in the bottom atrium where a handful of students played knockout.
A CBS film crew arrived on campus bright and early on Tuesday looking for scenic shots.
"We would have loved to have gotten shots of students going to class, but we got some incredible views of the sun coming up over the old well. This place is absolutely beautiful. The serenity of this morning made it seem so special."
But as the sun rose higher, the activity level followed a positive correlation. In just over two hours during the afternoon, most of the bookstore's new shipment of Sweet 16 shirts had sold out. Outside on Davidson's brick sidewalks, a local news crew got shots of members of Davidson's cheerleading squad and Mr. Cat. Students filled up the last available parking spots and made it to their room to find an email from the Dean of Students announcing that the CBS Early Show would be broadcasting live from Davidson on Thursday morning.
By the evening, campus was packed again. The Union Cafe was filled with kids sporting newly bought red t-shirts as we all replayed the events of the weekend over and over again.
"We are famous...I can't believe it."
Yes, we are. Yes, we are.
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World, meet Davidson
March 24, 2008
Davidson is a college, not a university, located in North Carolina right outside of Charlotte. This school is home to 1,700 students with academic profiles comparable to the Ivy League schools of the north. Davidson students earn liberal arts degrees where they study music, history, english, Classics, math and science to cultivate a well-rounded academic experience. There is no such thing as a business, journalism, marketing or accounting major at Davidson. All of the athletes are held to the same academic standards as everyone else at Davidson and the basketball team is not given special tutors or study sessions to give them any edge.
Davidson takes pride in its basketball program. Davidson students own the national mark for highest percentage of a student body that attends basketball games throughout a season. The Davidson community has embraced the basketball program often with memories of the Elite 8 runs of Lefty Driesell when he coached Davidson in the 1960's.
Davidson's "song," Sweet Caroline, was started last year by a marketing assistant who knew how much students like to sing along at campus parties. After playing it during a conference home game, the crowd continued the chorus a cappella during an opponent's free throw and he missed. The song has been a staple of Davidson games ever since.
Davidson's Stephen Curry continues to be one of the best players in the country that people don't know that much about. He is the son of former NBA star Dell Curry and his name is pronounced Steff-in...not Steve-in or Steph-awwnn. He chose Davidson after being passed over from ACC schools for being too small. He has subsequently grown into the nation's leader in three-pointers and a second-team All-American. Curry will not be leaving Davidson this spring for the NBA. And it's not because he wouldn't be that high of a draft pick. If Davidson won the national championship, Curry would still stay.
Davidson point guard Jason Richards was a preseason nominee for the Bob Cousy Award for the best point guard in the country. He did not make it as a finalist in one of the worst errors by an awarding body in college basketball this season. Richards leads the nation in assists this season after finishing second last year, and has been the team leader on and off the court for the Sweet 16-bound Wildcats. Jason is not the son of Richard, so please stop calling him Jason Richardson. He plays for the Bobcats down the road.
Davidson scheduled one of the nation's toughest out-of-conference schedules as they took on UCLA, North Carolina and Duke. After dropping those games by an average of seven points, the Wildcats went on to lose games against WMU, Charlotte and N.C. State. Davidson was written off a small-time program trying to bite off more than they could chew. The national public saw six losses and thought the scheduling move was a failure because Davidson played itself out of the at-large picture. But the Wildcats haven't lost since their 1-point falter at N.C. State. They gained the confidence to play against Kevin Love and Tyler Hansbrough. Against Gonzaga's Heytfelt and Georgetown's Hibbert, they showed no fear. Those games directly link to Davidson's success in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
So that's us. That's Davidson. We've had to tell our story over and over again to the next big-time program that's come in front of us. But we kind of like it when everyone writes us off. We like it when the Southern Conference gets so sick and tired of us winning all the time. We like it when people taunt Stephen Curry by saying he's too young or Jason Richards by saying he's too slow. We like our odds from our 6-7ish frontline against your 7-0 frontline. We like it when you know you are going to beat us. We like that you have no idea what we are made of. We have the types of souls that don't quit when down 17 to a team from last year's Final Four. We always believe. Heck, we are David. Just give us a few more rocks for that slingshot, we have a few more giants to kill.
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Introducing Omar Pickett "Tha Ticket"
Feb. 18, 2008
Behind every great team, there is a great manager. And with Davidson's Omar Pickett, the greatness often overflows the kettle. Pickett is known to Wildcat fans the world around for his pinstripe suits and his unceasing energy behind the Davidson bench. I recently had the chance to sit down with Omar Pickett "Tha Ticket."
Favorite food: Rice and Hot Dogs (HA!!! YOU THOUGHT IT WAS BOJANGLES!!!)
Favorite academic subject: Anything about Political Science
Favorite piece of clothing: Anything Under Armour
Reason you became a manager: Free Powerade after practice
Favorite moment in your managerial career: When the team got me an IPOD Nano
Player you like going 1-on-1 against the most: Dan Nelms
How often have you beat him: Once (he was on his cell phone the whole time, but a win is a win)
Plans for the summer: Internship in DC or a Christian Nature camp in Tennessee
Favorite road gym you've managed in so far ... why? Cameron Indoor Stadium...Cause I found out how crappy it looks in real life.
Favorite Davidson coach ... why? They're all great, but I'd pick Coach Matheny, cause he can be smooth and intimidating at the same time
Biggest conspiracy in professional sports: Right after 9/11, when everyone wants to be PATRIOTIC, the PATRIOTS win the Super Bowl. |
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Go Ahead, You're on the Air
Women's Basketball vs. Furman
Jan. 29, 2008
I experienced yet another perspective on Davidson Athletics on Tuesday night, when Wildcat radio man Derek Smith asked me to fill in for Tia Washington and do color for the radio broadcast of the Women’s basketball team’s game against Furman. The most color commentary that I have ever done came in my own living room bantering with my Dad as we watched a game with the sound turned down. Derek said that was all I needed to do on the radio, as long as I didn’t say anything too far out there. Not a bad deal.
As it turned out, I had a lot of fun. While I was expecting to be very nervous by those pregnant pauses that meant that I was supposed to have something witty and insightful to say, I found that there was so much going on in the game that Derek didn’t pause enough for me to get everything in. I do admit that there were a few moments where Derek’s up-tempo play-by-play lulled me into silence that I had to wake myself up and remember to say something.
So what actually happened in the game? Well Davidson overcame a 16-8 deficit to open up a 22-16 lead midway through the first half. During that stretch, they dominated the Paladins on the boards and mixed a potent three-point shooting attack with great entry passes that ended in open layups. The Wildcats were used to Furman’s 2-3 zone as they had faced something similar just a games earlier at Elon.
Although Davidson had way too many ball-handling turnovers and went through an offensive slump to start the second half, they held on for the double-digit victory thanks to some strong play from Mercedes Robinson and Ashley Lax. Robinson put together another double-double by scoring 16 and rebounding 10, while Lax came off the bench to score a career high of 11 points.
I learned throughout the game of the constant torment of the color-man: you often don’t get the chance to say what you want and you never have much to say when you are put on the spot. I probably sounded like a broken record as I talked about the “great passes and good looks” that resulted in made baskets. I hope I wasn’t too ridiculously obvious with my commentary. Some of the best moments of the night included joking with Derek about the ease of some Wildcat baskets while he chided me for making it sound easier than it really was for a man like himself.
Overall, I really enjoyed breaking down Davidson’s play on the fly and organizing some thoughts for the world to hear. It definitely beats having to organize thoughts with these stupid commas and periods and all the rest. Maybe I should start on an audio blog. Hmm, there’s a thought. |
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Substance over Style
Women's Basketball at Elon
Jan. 21, 2008
Danielle Hemerka is not a flashy player. In fact, if you look in your library’s thesaurus, Hemerka’s name comes up as item one as the antonym of flashy.
So while Stephen “cocked hand/sliding across midcourt/making everyone buy his jersey” Curry was continuing to assault the record books with a 29 point performance at Western Carolina, Hemerka did some assaulting of her own down I-40 in Elon.
I decided to make this trip to Elon with a friend who knows a little a bit about breaking records: women’s soccer goalie Bevin English, she of the all-time shutout record (which she set against Elon, I might add). When we arrived at the gym, we were surprised. Well yeah, of course, we all have heard how tiny it is…but even more, we found that it was mostly populated by fans clad in red and black. Davidson was 4-2 and 10-7 heading into the game, but their loyal fanbase knew that as a road game in the Southern Conference, this one was as important as any, more important than some.
The overall tone of the game was defined by runs of smooth execution, interwoven with periods of languid play. But I came to realize, that throughout the rollercoaster ride of Davidson extending a lead and then letting Elon cut back into it, Hemerka always had the steady hand.
The greatest thing about Hemerka is that she defies every attempt at pigeonholing. She’s tough as nails and strong as all get out, but her play is smooth. She can shoot from anywhere on the court and yet can always be found in the middle of the rebounding scrum, skying high for the loose ball. She controls her dribble, finds teammates in space and forces turnovers all over the court.
On this night, she became the 11th Davidson player all-time to score 1,000 points for a career. She hit the clinching shot by fading away at the top of the key after hitting layups on the immediately preceding possessions. As soon as she hit it, the Davidson contingent went nuts. Hemerka let her happiness shine through as she ran back on defense with a gigantic smile on her face. She proceeded to shut down her assignment, secure yet another rebound and pick up an assist or two before Coach Watts took her out to a standing ovation.
The whole situation seemed fitting for a four-year player who has contributed to the Davidson women’s basketball program in every way she knows how since 2004. Hemerka is now 8th all-time in threes, 5th all-time in steals, 12th all-time in assists, 4th all-time in rebounds and 11th all-time in points. No Wildcat has ever put up the wide range of statistics that Hemerka has accrued over four years.
Hemerka had family and friends on hand Monday night when she reached her 1,000th point. She had two little girls cheering her name from the first row even as they were wearing the jerseys of her teammates. And she secured her fifth career double-double by diving for a rebound with the game in hand and the clock ticking away. She was all smiles. |
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History in the Making
Davidson, N.C.
Jan. 21, 2008
Gathered on a snowy Davidson campus on Saturday were seven decades of basketball alumni who had returned for the 100th anniversary celebration of Davidson basketball. All of those players and coaches represented the change and evolution of Davidson College and its athletic program over the years: different gyms, different coaches, different conferences and opponents, different win-loss records, different lengths of basketball shorts. But at the heart of everything was a common thread.
The event activities for the public began on Saturday morning with a panel discussion with the basketball alumni who were in the Davidson Athletic Hall of Fame.
“The great thing about Davidson has always been that it produces intelligent, well-rounded people,” said all-time leading scorer John Gerdy ’79 at Saturday’s panel. Gerdy remembered how graduating from college was the expected norm at Davidson, but it was exceptional among his colleagues at pro camps.
Graduating just five years after Gerdy, Kenny Wilson ‘84 expanded on that sentiment by talking about the way that basketball fully served the purpose of the college.
“I always think of College as a place and time to be transformed as a person into something better and fuller,” Wilson said. “For me and many of my teammates, that transformation came because of our experience as basketball players. It taught us about the lessons of life and made us better people. As far as I understand it, that is the mission of Davidson College.”
While the panel had its moments of serious reflection, it was not without side-splitting humor. Charles “Lefty” Driesell, one of the all-time leaders in collegiate coaching victories, told several hilarious stories about his time as Davidson’s coach from 1960-1969.
“Back in those days, they only gave me a couple hundred dollars a year to recruit. It didn’t help that I spent most of it in the first week.”
When moderator John Kilgo asked Davidson legend and NBA star Dick Snyder ’66 what he learned from being coached by Lefty, Snyder slowly leaned into the mic and let out a loud sigh. The crowd burst into laughter.
“But no really,” Snyder continued after the commotion died down. “[Lefty] taught me how to play defense. I learned to move my back foot first and that made me a better defender in college and in the NBA. I still cringe to watch players who handicap themselves by not moving their back foot first.”
While the panel was taking place in the Duke Performance Hall, several basketball alums were playing in a pickup game of basketball over Belk Arena. Although the ages were wide in range, they put together competitive teams and enjoyed themselves on the Davidson hardwood once again.
When later asked if there were any coaches out there helping, Bob McKillop chuckled and flashed his million dollar smile: “No. There definitely wasn’t any coaching at all.”
Although the weather threatened to dampen the weekend from the very beginning, nothing was able to hold back the enjoyment that alums and younger fans alike had coming together in one place. The climax of the weekend came on Saturday afternoon as the current Davidson Wildcats came out and walloped North Division leader Chattanooga, 85-58.
Rallying around the emotional alley-oop dunks, unceasing defense and extraterrestrial three-point shooting of Stephen Curry, the crowd created an atmosphere akin to a conference championship or NCAA tournament game.
“It was an emotional day for me,” Bob McKillop said afterwards. “I wanted to treat all of these people that had laid the foundation of the Davidson basketball program. I was really proud of the spirit of our team.”
What happened on Saturday really was history in the making. That particular collection of Davidson basketball alumni will probably never reassemble in the same magnitude. But for one day, they all had the chance to remember the glory days, reconnect with old friends, and be reassured that the future of the program they love so much is in the very capable hands of a coach that has won over 300 games and a shooting guard that ranks among the best in the country.
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