Davidson Rolls Over Duquesne

Since I moved down to Columbia, South Carolina, I have seen the Davidson Wildcats play several times in Belk Arena.   A few times, I was able to get there early, have dinner in downtown, Davidson, an experience I highly recommend, then go to the game.  

Last evening, I had no such luxury of time.   Yesterday had been a baseball bonanza of a day.   First I had Little League Coach Pitch Baseball evaluations.  Over one hundred kids, including my younger son, Jonny, came out to evaluate at Trenholm Park, which happened to be on the same day of a volleyball tournament in the rec center of Trenholm Park.  Thus an overwhelmed parking lot.  Then a group of coaches, consisting of nine teams went into a room at the rec center building and drafted those one hundred players.   That took four hours of my day.

But that wasn't all.  Then I had travel ball practice with my older son, Matthew, who I coach along with eleven talented teammates and friends playing on their first travel team after having won a district coach pitch title the season before.  We took team pictures and then had a strenuous two hour practice.   Most people would be exhausted by that time.

Nope, Matthew and I had tickets to see one of my favorite teams to watch live, the Wildcats.  Wasn't missing that.   But the result was that we got to the University a few minutes after the game started.   We walked through the beautiful campus of Davidson College and made to our seats at Belk Arena ten minutes in the first half with Davidson leading Duquesne 24-13.

When I commented to someone yesterday at the baseball evaluations that I was going to Davidson, he noted about how Stephen Curry put them on the map.   He did, leading them to an Elite Eight appearance in 2008 and nearly a Final Four after a three point loss to Kansas. It was actually the third Elite Eight appearance in school history.  The other two came in 1968 and 1969 under then coach Lefty Driesell.   Both those times they lost close games to North Carolina in the Regional Final.

Those three NCAA Elite Eight appearances are still just a sample of the long history of success of the program.  When you look up in the rafters of the arena, you can't help but notice all the banners; all the Southern Conference championships, the NIT appearances and the twelve NCAA appearances.  Seven of those twelve appearances are a result largely of one man and it's not Steph Curry.  It's Bob McKillop, the man who recruited Curry to Davidson.

McKillop came to Davidson in 1989 after coaching at Long Island Lutheran High School from 1979 to 1989.   I remember that well growing up on the Island.   Long Island Lutheran was a perennial power in high school basketball thanks to McKillop.   And now Davidson is a perennial power in college basketball and the court is now appropriately named after him.

McKillop's teams pride themselves on movement, both with the ball and without the ball.  You will screens, picks, back door cuts, nice post passes and most importantly, good shooters.   Davidson's offense is truly fun to watch and McKillop is the mastermind behind it.

This is Davidson's first year in the Atlantic-10 and Belk Arena shows it.  The 5,000 seat venue was practically full for last night's game with Duquesne.  The Wildcats entered the contest at 5-4 in conference and 14-6 overall.

When we got to our seats, freshman Peyton Aldridge drilled a three to put the Wildcats up 27-15.  With the three pointer, Aldridge already had ten points in ten minutes of action.  The Dukes would respond scoring five of the next six points to cut the lead to eight, 28-20.    Jordan Watkins put Davidson up by ten 30-20.

Then things got really wild. Six of the next seven baskets scored were three pointers; three by Davidson and three by Duquesne.  Tyler Kalinoski assisted on two of the Wildcats' three pointers, and hit the other three pointer.   L.G. Gill capped the three point barrage for the Dukes, banking in a three pointer to cut the Davidson lead to eight once again, 39-31.    Everyone thought it was a one time fluke, but Gill would later bank another three pointer at the end of the first half.  Whether it was a fluke or not, that's for Gill to know and us likely to never find out.

But during the span between the three point bank shots, Davidson went on a 13-4 spurt as Aldridge continued to go to town on Duquesne, scoring another four points in the span.  Only Gill's banked three pointer to end the half kept the halftime deficit at fourteen, 52-38.   The Wildcats shot sixty percent in the first half, including eight of fifteen from beyond the arc.

Duquesne did their best to hang in there, shooting 48 percent from the field in the first half, including shooting fifty percent from three (five of ten),  Yet they were down fourteen points at the half.

One of the things you notice at a Davidson game is that that the student section often carries flags of other countries.  That's because the Wildcats have four players from outside the United States - Nathan Ekwu (Nigeria), Oskar Michelsen (Finland), Ali Mackay (Scotland) and Manu Giamoukis (Greece).

Starting the second half, considering probability, you would figure that the Wildcats would slow down scoring wise in the second half .  And at least for the first minute and a half, the Wildcats did exactly that, as they went scoreless.  The problem was that the Dukes couldn't take advantage and missed on all four of their field goal attempts and turned the ball over once during those first ninety seconds.

When you fail to take advantage of scoring opportunities against an offense that's so well disciplined, that moves so well with and without the ball like Davidson, it's playing with fire.  And Duquesne got burned as the Wildcats heated up from the field.  The Davidson offense played off their three point prowess and got the ball to Aldridge for a couple of post touches and scores.  The Wildcats extended their lead to twenty one, 65-44 with fifteen minutes left in the game.

Gill buried another three pointer and TySean Powell added a three point play to cut the deficit to fifteen, 67-52 with fourteen minutes left in the game.  But that's as close as the Dukes got the rest of the way as Duquesne simply could not keep up with the Davidson offense.    The Dukes went ice cold from beyond the arc in the second half,  shooting one of twelve from three in the last twenty minutes of the game.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats actually matched their first half shooting percentage, shooting sixty percent from the field in the second half.   They shot the ball a little less from three, though almost as accurate, shooting five of eleven from beyond the arc.   Davidson concentrated more on post play and back door cuts in the second half.  As soon as Duquesne converged inside with help defense, the Wildcats would find the open man for the three.  Jordan Barham found Kalinoski for an open three to put Davidson up twenty, 79-59 with 9:18 left.

The barrage on the Dukes was relentless as the Wildcats extended the lead to eventually twenty six, 95-69 with two minutes left.   That's when McKillop cleared his bench and that would be the final score.

Davidson showed incredible balance as six players scored in double figures. Brian Sullivan led the way with twenty three points, Aldridge added nineteen points, while Kalinoski had sixteen points.  Barham chipped in with twelve and  Ekwu and Watkins each had eleven points.

What was scary about this is that the Wildcats second best player, Jack Gibbs is still indefinitely out with a slight meniscus tear in his knee. What might even be more scary is that Kalinoski is the only senior that plays significant minutes for Davidson.

As we headed out, I took a picture of the Wildcat statute, which is directly across from the Belk Arena entrance.  At a night, it's an ominous sight.  And if Davidson keeps playing like they did last night, the Wildcats will be an ominous sight for A-10 opponents for seasons to come.

Six Years, Seven Seasons, A Man's Life - It's All Relative

Saturday evening after Hofstra had defeated Cleveland State, I was presented with a choice.  Originally, I had planned to stay and cover the Boston University vs. Rhode Island game for the 800 Games Played Project on the Mid Majority Site.  But I was very tired, under the weather, lonely for my family and I had my nephew's baptism the next morning.  So instead of watching and recapping a game on my wish list, I took the three hour drive back to New York.  

For someone who has driven ten hours to Wright State for a basketball game, staying two extra hours in Kingston seemed like child's play.  And normally, it would have been.  But there wasn't just the cold I that I had and my nephew's baptism involved in my decision to head back.  Driving home, I knew I had to be back in Mineola for sure for Monday morning.  

For the past two plus weeks starting on November 14 until this past Tuesday morning, I have been on jury duty in Mineola.  Specifically, I have been a member of a twelve person jury deciding the fate of a man charged with murder in the second degree, three counts of robbery and two other counts of criminal possession of a firearm.  We had a break over Thanksgiving weekend, so I was able to go up to Rhode Island to watch the tournament.  But I was mentally beat from the week's proceedings and still trying to recover from a cold that I had for the better part of a week.

That's why I when I wrote my recap of LIU vs. Iona, I couldn't go into details of why I was exasperated on Monday.  I was exasperated by the slowness of the proceedings, the wheels of justice.  It wasn't our jury deliberations whatsoever.  Our jury actually did an excellent job deciding the counts and there was no acrimony whatsoever. It was all the other processes, the long delays to find an open courtroom and jury room every morning.  The delays to hear testimony replayed.  When a man's life is at stake, justice should be a lot more streamlined and not have the person have to wait out their fate due to overlengthy procedures.

On December 4, 2011, it will be exactly six years that I have written this blog.  What began on a dare has become a wonderful journey to various gyms and arenas in the United States.  I have seen parts of the country that I might never have gone to had it not been for college basketball.  In the past six years, I have been to places such as Worcester, Massachusetts; Lawrence, Kansas; Charleston, South Carolina; Dayton, Ohio and Charlotte, North Carolina to name just a few to watch basketball games. It's been a lot of fun, but at times, like the trip to Dayton, it's been a long and winding road.  I still don't know how Kyle Whelliston did it all these years

For eight of the past nine years, I have taken a pilgrimage to Richmond every first weekend in March to watch the CAA Tournament.  I got to see an unforgettable NCAA regional in Raleigh in March 2008.  And this past March, I got to see live my first conference championship game since 2001.   

More importantly, I have made so many friends along the way.  I consider Defiantly Dutch, aka Jerry Beach one of my good friends, even if he still won't get back to me with his answers for my blog post (yeah, Jer, I am calling you out!).  And he's a damn good writer too.  I consider Kyle Whelliston a mentor, friend and the best college basketball writer there is, outside of John Feinstein.  His work has inspired me beyond measure.

And there are others.  There's Joe Suhoski, Mr. ODU.  It turns out also he is a very good college football writer as well. Brian Mull and Mike Litos are two very good college basketball writers and I have been following their work for years.  John Templon is as good a writer as Kyle told me he was and his Big Apple Buckets site is awesome. I even have two Mid Majority mentees in Julia Prior and Michael Hadley, Mr Red Zone IUPUI, both terrific, hilarious people.

And there's good people I have got to know somewhat like Travis Mason Bushman (you are a legend and a leader, so to speak), Garrett Wheeler, Mike Greiner, Dominic Pody, Kraig Williams, Matt Cerilli, Brendan Loy (the man behind #PANIC), Guy Falotico of IonaHoops.com, the folks at CAAZone and last but not least, Gheorghe The Blog. If you are one of my followers on Twitter, I truly appreciate the support.

Writing about college basketball has opened up an entire new world for me. Though I am not accredited media, I no longer just watch games.  I cover them.  And when the official Iona Gaels twitter account acknowledges your game tweets along  with Jon Rothstein's. Matt Norlander's and Adam Zagoria's tweets, all terrific college basketball analysts and writers,  I consider it a great honor.

Six years ago, I had no idea that I would be doing any of this today.  I still don't know how long this will continue, as I noted in November of last year.   But this is now my seventh college basketball season. And this season is special.  I am now writing for two sites.   And when that 800th game recap is written, I will celebrate with everyone else who is contributing to the Mid Majority Site.

And so far, I have written nine game recaps for the 800 Games Played Project, which have been posted here as well due to Creative Commons license.   I figure I have another thirty five to forty to write this season, if all goes well. 

But last Saturday,  my better judgment overruled staying to recap another live game.  There were bigger obligations.  Deadlines and commitments as I noted last year.  

On Tuesday, we found the defendant not guilty of murder, guilty of three counts of robbery and not guilty of two counts of criminal possession of a firearm.  I truly believe our jury was thoughtful, measured and certainly unanimous in our judgment.   We epitomized the term "civic duty".

As much as I love it, college basketball is just a game.  In the grand scheme of life, six years and seven seasons pale in comparison to the past two weeks.  It was an experience that everyone should have once in their life.  And one I won't ever forget.

NBA Lockout Got You Down? How About Being A College Hoops Junkie?

With the lockout potentially canceling the entire season, NBA fans are looking for other avenues to fill their sports fix.  For those of you who want to see some quality hoops, it's time you joined the rest of us fans of the college hardwood (and I mean the sport, not my blog, though I certainly will gladly take more readers and followers on Twitter at gmoore21566).  Thus, for those of you pro basketball fans new to following college basketball, here are some suggestions for you.

1. Pick a Team to Follow - I certainly have no problems with people who love college basketball in general.  And of course, I will drop whatever I am doing if there is a good game to watch.  But what makes college basketball more fun is if you pick a team/college to root for whether it's live or on TV.  Now for those of you living in many NBA cities, you often have a lot of choices (especially for us in New York, more on that in a second), but some NBA cities don't have that many college basketball team alternatives (hello, Orlando!).
2. When Picking a Team, May I Suggest a Mid Major Team  - Now for many pro basketball fans in big market cities, many Lakers' and Clippers' fans likely will trend to USC or UCLA , while Knicks' fans will likely tend to veer towards St John's and Celtics' fans may go down the road to Chestnut Hill for Boston College.  However,  Bobcats' fans, you don't have to venture far to support the 49ers of Charlotte or Davidson, or even for those Bobcats' fans on the coast, UNCW over the more traditional staples of UNC and Duke.
   
   But if you are the supporter of a NBA team and have no particular allegiance to any big conference schools, there are plenty of mid major teams in your local area that you can support.   Pacers fans have Butler right down the road, or IUPUI, which is not the former mascot of the Expos, but the home of Michael Hadley's Jaguars of the Summit Conference.  Sixers' fans have plenty of choices besides Villanova.  There is Saint Joseph's, UPenn, Temple and my pick to win the CAA this season, Drexel.
   
   Nets' and Knicks fans have lots of mid major teams to choose from besides the usual duo of St John's and Seton Hall.   First, you have potentially the best mid major team in the country in New Rochelle in the Iona Gaels.   For those Nets' fans craving Brooklyn basketball, there are the entertaining Blackbirds of LIU- Brooklyn, the defending NEC champions who love to put the ball in the hoop.  If you are on Staten Island, the Hurley brothers are quickly turning Wagner into a contender. In the Bronx, there is Fordham and the underrated Rose Hill gym.  And out here on Long Island, you have two choices; Hofstra and Stony Brook, two programs definitely on the rise.
   
   And you have lots of other mid majors in NBA cities.  Detroit could be the favorite for the Horizon in Pistons' land, but UW Milwaukee might have a say about the Horizon in Bucks' land.  Jazz fans may finally have a chance to see the gem of a team Stu Morrill always has at Utah State.  Cavaliers' fans probably are glad to see the NBA lockout and now they can enjoy another good Xavier team this season.
3. Go to Live College Basketball Games -  Yes, watching college basketball on TV is fun. But it seriously pales in comparison to live games.  Live games are so much more fun.  You get a better appreciation for the skill level of talented college basketball players.   You have lively,often creative student sections and animated coaches like Bruiser Flint that will entertain you for two non stop hours.  It's also one of the most inexpensive outings you can find, plus some tasty food selections (see further down for Delaware BBQ).  Thus I recommend...
4. Bring a Friend or Better Yet, Bring Your Children to a Live Game -  There is never a better outing to hang out with a good friend or with your children than a college basketball game.  For almost ten years now, I have had Hofstra season tickets with my good friends Mal and Tony.  It's quality time with two longtime friends.  You can catch up on each other's lives, comment on the play of the game and throw in a good natured barbing of quality CAA officiating.
   
   But better yet, if you have a young son into sports, like my older son Matthew, college basketball is a very exciting sport to a child.  It also helps if your son's first game of the season with you is the game where Charles Jenkins ends up on SportsCenter....on your birthday no less.  There is no better bonding with father and son than a sporting event.  And a two hour college basketball game is the perfect sport for young children.  Matthew is now hooked on college basketball.
5. Take a Road Trip to See a Game  - One of my favorite things the past several years is taking a road trip.  Whether it was a pre-season tournament in Charleston, South Carolina, or a weekend trip to Atlantic City, then Philly for some good food and a Drexel-Hofstra Basketball game with Bruiser Flint at his foot stomping finest, a jaunt down to Newark for some bball and barbecue, or a long road trip to Dayton for a BracketBuster game and a terrific national museum, college basketball road trips with a good friend in support of your team are memories that you will treasure for years to come. But for the best college basketball road trip...
6. Go to a College Basketball Conference Tournament - Sans one year due to my younger son's surgery, I have been going to the CAA Tournament since the 2002-03 season.  Especially since 2005-06 when the Colonial became twelve teams, there is nothing better than seeing ten games in three days (alas, I have never been able to stay for the CAA Championship game).  I have also been to several Big East Conference Tournament games.
   
   There is nothing like a conference tournament live. The games are incredibly exciting, the atmosphere is often raucous and the level of play is tremendous.   I can't even begin to tell you the history I have seen at the Richmond Coliseum and MSG over the years.  You can not truly call yourself a college basketball fan if you have not gone to a conference tournament.
   
   And there are so many conference tournaments to choose from if you are a fan.  Especially for those in the Northeast/Atlantic in 2012, you have the MAAC Tournament in Springfield, Massachusetts, the CAA in Richmond, the Atlantic 10 in Atlantic City and yes of course, the Big East Tournament at the Garden.  You can't go wrong by attending any of those tournaments.
7. Go to a Mid Major Conference Tournament Championship Game -  Now what I mean by this is that several mid major conferences have their tournament championship game at the highest remaining seed's home court.   The America East, the Patriot League, the NEC and the Horizon are several conferences that have this in effect.
   
   I have been fortunate to see two of these games.  In 2001, I saw Hofstra defeat Delaware in the Mack Center in Hempstead for the America East Championship (in what would also be the swan song for both teams in the America East).  And this year, I was fortunate to see LIU win at home over Robert Morris to win the NEC Championship.   Talk about an incredibly amazing atmosphere in front of sold out, mostly partisan crowds.  And of course, you have fans storming the court at the end of the game.  Now that's fun.  But if you really want an event to remember...
8. Go to a NCAA Tournament Regional - In 2008, my friends Mal, Tony and I went to Raleigh for the first round regional.  It was the experience of a lifetime.  This was of course where Stephen Curry became a national star for his performances vs. Gonzaga and Georgetown.  You also had North Carolina basically playing home games as well in the same regional.  Talk about raucous. When the Wildcats made their historic comeback vs. the Hoyas, the place was rocking.   A NCAA Regional is definitely something a fan should see for themselves.

Now you have eight reasons to become a college basketball junkie. You can start by looking at various team's schedules.   The best place to go for that is Basketball State and click on Schools.  There you will find "Schedule/Results" on the left hand side.  And if you really want your fill of hoops, like me, you can plan out an entire year's schedule around several teams (that's my assignment for this weekend).

And if you follow my advice and pick a mid major team to follow, you can share your experiences by tweeting them.  You would be surprised on how few tweeters there are of mid major teams or of the CAA in general.  By tweeting some of the action, you will gain followers, trust me on this.

So NBA fans, do not despair.  You can get your fill of hoops by joining us in the world of the College Hardwood.  And yes, this time, that was a plug.