Brooks inks with the Wildcats

The 6'8" Power Forward from Hopewell High School in Huntersville has signed with the Wildcats. De'Mon Brooks had previously signed with Howard University, but he re-opened his recruitment when Howard fired their coach. Brooks chose Davidson over Appalachian State and Elon this time around.

De'Mon was the I-MECK Conference Player of the Year during the 2009-2010 season. The big man played varsity basketball for just two seasons, and the Titans lost just four games during his tenure. Brooks has also played in unquestionably the best basketball conference in the state the past two seasons. De'Mon Brooks joins fellow Hopewell teammate, Jordan Downing in the 2014 class at Davidson.

This signing proves that the Wildcats are branching deeper into recruiting ties in the local area. In recent years the Wildcats have signed Stephen Curry, Brendan McKillop, Jordan Downing and now De'Mon Brooks from the Charlotte area. This signing wraps a third straight exceptional recruiting class for the Wildcats since the 2008 Elite Eight run.

Coach Watts Resigns

The Davidson women's basketball coach, Annette Watts, has stepped down after 9 seasons at the helm. Watts is the all-time wins leader in women's basketball at Davidson College. The Lady Cats finished 6th in the Southern Conference last season, and never won a conference title during her reign.

This marks a change in typical business in Davidson athletics. Many rumors are circulating that Watts was "forced" to resign. Very rarely do Wildcats coaches get fired simply for not winning enough games. The success of the men's basketball team in recent seasons probably had a significant effect on the resignation.

The Davidson Athletic Department now has a serious opportunity to bring in a high-profile women's basketball coach. The men's and women's basketball programs are some of the few at Davidson College with the max amount of athletic scholarships. There is proof that men's basketball can win with the right coach at Davidson, now it's time to bring in the right coach for the Lady Cats to win.

The last 16.8

With 16.8 seconds left in the 2008 Elite Eight matchup between Davidson and Kansas, the Wildcats called a timeout down 59-57. KU assistant Joe Dooley and Stephen Curry, then Davidson's star guard, describe what happened next.



:16.8 left
DOOLEY: In the huddle, we talked about keeping everybody in front of you. We didn't want them to have any momentum up the court. Everyone in the arena knew where the ball was going.
CURRY: We talked about starting the play with the ball in the hands of our point guard, Jason Richards. But we didn't want him trapped where he couldn't find me. So I took the inbounds.

:15.9 left
DOOLEY: We had Brandon Rush guard Curry off the inbounds. We wanted Brandon to make sure Curry caught the ball going backward.
CURRY: I moved up the court deliberately; there was plenty of time left. I waited for Thomas Sander to set the flat ball screen up top. Depending on what I saw, I would drive the lane to tie, shoot a three or find Bryant Barr off of another screen. He was hot that night.




:7.8 left
DOOLEY: The plan was to switch on all ball screens and handoffs. It's something our guys were familiar with and, with the exception of Rush's slipping, something our team executed perfectly.
CURRY: That first screen is supposed to be on a big, but they had four guards out there and were able to switch. That kind of defeated the purpose of the play. The one big out there [Rush] was really a guard in a forward's body, so he was able to recover pretty quick after slipping.


:7.0 left
DOOLEY: When Brandon went down, Mario Chalmers saw it and ran back at Curry.
CURRY: I went toward the second screen, but Chalmers slipped it. Rush was up by then, and I was doubled just long enough to keep me from getting off a shot before one of them backed off.



:5.1 left
DOOLEY: Curry ran two screens to get open between about the five- and three-second mark, and it was the same situation. We weren't going to double him because he's not a big, and that's not what we do with guards.
CURRY: I got a good ball fake in, and Rush really bit on it. But Jason's defender [Sherron Collins] got a late break when Jason came back up the sideline, and he ended up in the perfect place at the perfect time to pick me up.


:2.0 left
DOOLEY: Curry didn't get a good look and eventually had to pass it off to Richards for a shot.
CURRY: Jason really beat himself up over missing that shot. He keeps apologizing for it. It was just good defense. I'd dish it off to him again right now if we were there again.

March Madness

It's that time of year. The whole world stops for a few days to watch CBS all day and night. The NCAA Tournament is on for 3 weeks. Everyone in America fills out the office pool and hopes they can pick the "Cinderella".

2 years ago, that cinderella was Davidson College. The school of 1,700 students located just north of Charlotte. They had lost close games to Duke and UNC early in the regular season, but they started out 4-6. Then the Wildcats won 22 straight games heading in to the NCAA Tournament. They got a 10 seed scheduled to play Gonzaga in Raleigh in the first round.

Gonzaga was the program Davidson most wanted to be like. A "mid-major" that had made 10 straight NCAA appearences. They had made it to the Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight. They had superstar players like Adam Morrison and Blake Stepp. And their coach never bolted for the big time job.

Davidson beat them 82-76 behind a 40 point performance from Stephen Curry.

Next was Georgetown. The 2 seed that was unbeatable. They had made the Elite Eight the year before and they returned nearly everybody. They had Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, two top-10 NBA picks. Davidson came back from a 17 point second half deficit and won 74-40. Stephen Curry had 25 points... in the second half.

Wisconsin was next. The 3 seed that played "hard-nosed" defense and was "tough". Everyone said they were the team that could shut down Steph. The game wasn't even close. The Wildcats won 73-56. Stephen Curry had 33 points. Jason Richards had 13 assists and 0 turnovers.

In the Elite Eight, Kansas came calling. The number one seed that would go on to win it all. They had Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers and Cole Aldridge and Sherron Collins and many other McDonald's All-Americans. Davidson had a team... and a shot to advance to the Final Four. With 16.8 seconds left (this would go on to inspire a book), Davidson had the ball and was down 59-57. They held it for one shot and put it in the hands of Stephen Curry. He got double teamed and dished it back to Jason Richards. Richards took the deep three and the whole world paused...

What if...

The shot clanked off the background. The miracle run was done. The #9 Liberal Arts school in the nation was one shot away from the Final Four. They finished the season ranked #9 in the national rankings.

Chris Czerapowicz

6'6" Small forward from Sweden.

MVP of the U18 European Championships.

18.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Ranked #8 best U19 player in Europe.

Chris will be a freshman at Davidson in the fall of 2010. He is one of the three members of a very heralded incoming recruiting class for the Wildcats.

His father is half American and always told him about the great experience of going to college. This pushed Chris to leave Europe and attend Davidson College. He initially heard of Davidson through a friend that had a cousin that went to Davidson. The 2008 tournament run by Davidson really impressed Chris. He realized that they had a very good basketball team and wanted Davidson to be one of his top options. Czerapowicz was also recruited by Georgetown, San Francisco, Maine and Rhode Island. Chris is a huge fan of Boston sports and Paul Pierce is his favorite NBA player. Czerapowicz said his goal is not to be "the next Stephen Curry." He recognizes how good Steph was and realizes that they have quite a different playing style. Chris says his goal is to make an impact on the team and lead them back into the NCAA Tournament.

Thanks Seniors

Friday was the last game Will Archambault, Steve Rossiter, Bryant Barr and Dan Nelms would play in a Davidson uniform. They were key contributors to the Wildcats 2008 Elite Eight run. The seniors made two NCAA tournaments and an NIT appearance during their careers. This group won 101 games from 2006-2010, a Davidson record. Archambault is in a select category as a Davidson hoopster to score 1,000 career point. Will, Bryant, Steve and Dan were not only great basketball players at Davidson, but also great students and ambassadors of Davidson College.

Cats Lose in first round

The season ended Friday for the Davidson Wildcats in the Bojangles Coliseum. Elon beat Davidson 66-59 in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament. This game was a rematch from just six days before when Davidson won in double overtime. This was the first victory for Matt Matheny over his mentor, Bob McKillop.

Four players scored in double figures for the Wildcats, but they shot just 35.6% from the field and 20.8% from three point land.

Davidson finished the 2009-2010 campaign with a 16-15 record.

SOCON Brackets

Friday, March 6

Game 1 - (4N) Appalachian State (9-11) vs. (5S)Georgia Southern (5-15), 2:00 p.m.

Game 2 - (3S) College of Charleston (15-5) vs. (6N) UNC Greensboro (4-16), 30 minutes following first game

Game 3 - (4S) Wofford (12-8) vs. (5N) Elon (7-13), 7:00 p.m.

Game 4 - (3N) Samford (9-11)vs. (6S) Furman (4-16), 30 minutes following Wofford-Elon

Saturday, March 7
(1S) Davidson vs. Game 1 winner, 2:00 p.m.

(2N) Western Carolina (11-9 )vs. Game 2 winner, 30 minutes following first game

(1N) Chattanooga vs. Game 3 winner, 7:00 p.m.

(2S) The Citadel (15-5) vs. Game 4 winner, 30 minutes following

Sunday, March 8
Semifinal 1 – 6:00 p.m.

Semifinal 2 – 30 minutes following first semifinal

Monday, March 9
Championship Game – 7:00 p.m.

Southern Conference Tournament

The SOCON Tournament returns to Charlotte, NC for the first time in decades. The first two rounds will be held at Bojangles Coliseum on Independence Boulevard. This is formerly the Charlotte Coliseum which was Davidson's "home away from home" in the 1960's and 1970's. The final two rounds will be played in Time Warner Cable Arena, the home of the Charlotte Bobcats, located downtown.

This happens to be a huge weekend of basketball in the Charlotte area. The Bobcats play the best team in the NBA on Friday night, the LA Lakers. On Saturday, Stephen Curry plays in Charlotte for the first time in his short NBA career. The rookie left Davidson last year after going down as the school's all-time leading scorer. Davidson fans will have a chance to see the men's and women's SOCON tournaments along with Stephen and Kobe all in one weekend.

"The Play"

The final 15 seconds of video in double overtime at Elon: (click on link)

The final 15 seconds called by "the voice of the Wildcats" -John Kilgo:

Miracle win provides optimism heading into SOCON Tourney

Davidson had a 16 point first half lead. Elon had a 12 point lead with 4 minutes left and 6 point lead with 30 seconds left.

It was Bob McKillop vs his protege, Matt Matheny. Matheny is in his first season as head coach of the Phoenix after 16 years as a Davidson assistant.

It was a run-and-gun game with huge swings of momentum. Davidson had a 15-0 run early led by the hot shooting of Brendan McKillop. Elon hit 13 of their last 15 shots in the first half to eliminate the deficit.

The game seemed all but over in the second half, until JP Kuhlman put the team on his back. The freshman from the Sunshine State hit two three pointers in the final thirty seconds to send the game to overtime.

A three-point play the "old fashioned way" by Brendan McKillop sent the game into a second overtime.

In the second OT Elon led by 3 points with 11 seconds remaining, when superstar JP Kuhlman missed a shot attempt that seemed to end the Wildcats hopes. Then out of nowhere fellow freshman Nic Cochran chased down an offensive rebound in the corner and kicked it to Brendan McKillop. Brendan shook his defender and knocked down his seventh three of the game with 1.9 seconds left.

The game appeared to be heading to a third overtime... until the Davidson captain showed up once again on a defensive play. Senior Steve Rossiter stole the inbounds pass in the left corner and threw up a prayer as he fell out of bounds. The shot fell and the Wildcat players stormed the court.

This game showed the heart of a Bob McKillop coached team. Davidson had locked up the third seed in the south in the Southern Conference Tournament. They would play Friday at 2 at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, win or lose. They trailed by 14 late in the game, but for some reason they continued to fight and to show why the Wildcats are such a successful program.

Friday's game will certainly be an interesting one as Matheny and McKillop meet again.

Tough Stretch

The Wildcats have lost 2 out of their last 3 games to insure themselves of a spot in the play-in round in the SOCON Tournament next month.

Wofford demolished the Wildcats 73-51 at Belk Arena on Thursday in a battle of top South division teams. Davidson set a school record for least number of field goals made.

Davidson beat Furman 61-58 at home on Saturday. The Paladins missed a shot at the buzzer that would have sent the game in to overtime.

The Cats then went on the road Monday to Chattanooga. A sinking UTC team won 78-73 on their senior night.

The recent change in the Wildcats lineup, along with bad losses mark a lack of improvement in the team that appeared earlier in the season. Davidson is hoping to close out the regular season with 2 wins against UNCG and at Elon.

A good month for Steph

Stephen Curry, the 7th pick in the 2009 NBA draft out of Davidson College is already leaving his mark in the league.

February 1st: Named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January.

February 11th: Gets his first career triple-double with 36 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. Becomes just the 6th rookie in NBA history with 35+ points, 10+ rebounds and 10+ assists in a game. The list also includes Jason Kidd, Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West.

February 12th: Curry scored 14 points in the first win in eight years for the "first-years" in the Rookie vs. Sophomore game.

February 13th: Stephen finished second in the NBA three point shootout. He won the first round with 18 points, but came up short to Paul Pierce in the final round.

Wildcats get a big win in Cullowhee

Davidson beat Western Carolina 75-72 on Saturday night. The Wildcats were led by very balanced scoring in the SOCON contest. Cohen and Cochran (14), Allison (12), Kuhlman (11) and Rossiter (10). Brendan McKillop did not score but posted an impressive 9 assists to 0 turnovers. The Davidson freshman showed how much they've grown throughout the season to push Davidson to 8-5 in conference play. Nik Cochran had a career high 14 points and JP Kuhlman and Jake Cohen combined to go 3-4 at the free throw line in the last 30 seconds to seal the deal. The Wildcats shot 46.4% from the field and outrebounded the Catamounts 38-31.

Davidson next plays on Wednesday night vs Wofford in what promises to be a South Division showdown.

"If you care about academics, root for Davidson"

Gregg Doyel Article

This article explains why Doyel agrees with expanding the field of the NCAA Tournament to 96 teams. The author basically states that Davidson is the only school that another NCAA Tournament game would effect. In turn stating that Davidson is the only Division-1 basketball program that takes its academics seriously, that has real "Student-Athletes".

Davidson swept by App St.

Donald Sims scored 44 at Belk Arena in a January win over Davidson for App. He scored 25 more at home in a 66-56 win over Davidson at the Holmes Center on Thursday night. The Wildcats let a two point halftime lead slip away by shooting just 2-14 from three point land in the second half. Davidson shot just 32.8% for the game from the field and were outrebounded 41-28. Senior Bryant Barr led the Wildcats with 15 points on 5-7 shooting from deep. The two dominant freshman for Davidson, JP Kuhlman and Jake Cohen combined for 8-25 shooting from the floor. Davidson fell to 7-5 in the SOCON, while Appalachian improved to 9-4. This was a major hit in the Wildcats goal to finish in first or second place in the South Division, which would lead to a bye in the Conference Tournament. The Wildcats continue their road trip on Saturday when they travel to Cullowhee to face Western Carolina. WCU is 18-7 and beat Davidson at Belk Arena 77-67 earlier in the season.

Michael Kruse

Michael Kruse is a class of 2000 Davidson College graduate. He currently writes for the St. Petersburg Times and he was previously a senior writer for Basketball America and the editor for the ACC Basketball Handbook. Following the 2007-2008 Davidson basketball season, Kruse decided to write a book about the improbable season. He centered his book around the Davidson-Kansas game in which the Wildcats had an opportunity to win the game with 16.8 seconds remaining and advance to the Final Four. He felt this was the “Davidson Basketball moment” in which all basketball fans realized how amazing this team really was.

The website for the book 16.8 can be found at: 16point8
His blog for 16.8 can be found at: 16point8.blogspot

His newest piece of work is called The Davidson Project. Kruse, along with Claire Asbury will collect pieces of writing, pictures and ideas from the Davidson Basketball community. When all of this is compiled, they will attempt to put it all together.

The Davidson Project blog can be found at: TheDavidsonProject