News
Email
Print
Chasing the Cats
Conference rivals are doing their best to catch up with powerful Davidson
Stephen Curry, a preseason AP All-America, will move to point guard but still will be expected to lead Davidson’s offense.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: November 14, 2008
Updated: 11/13/2008 08:55 pm
Davidson took Southern Conference basketball to a new level last season, making an incredible run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament that didn't end until a shot at the buzzer missed the mark in a 59-57 loss to eventual champion Kansas.
Other than that, the Wildcats seldom missed. They swept to a third straight SoCon title, won 25 straight games before the loss to Kansas and wound up No. 9 in the final USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll.
After two straight 29-win seasons and last season's amazing run, the Wildcats have a lot to live up to this season.
"Any team that has success always faces the challenge the next year of validating what it did," Coach Bob McKillop of Davidson said. "The New York Giants are going through that validation right now. Did they really deserve to win it last year or were they lucky?
"The greatest strength of a successful program is endurance and consistency. That's the challenge we have, and that's what we're after.
"We've had consistency, but last season we kind of went off the chart with that success. Are we going to be like George Mason? Or are we going to be able to do something comparable to last season?"
There's a chance that the Wildcats can match or better last season's success.
And, with catalyst Stephen Curry returning, it's a very good chance.
Curry backed up a phenomenal freshman season with a sensational sophomore season. He ranked fourth in the nation in scoring with 25.9 points a game and set an NCAA record with 162 3-pointers.
The Wildcats (29-7 overall, 20-0 SoCon) do have some spots to fill. They lost Jason Richards, who led the nation with 8.1 assists a game, and reliable post player Thomas Sander.
Curry, a super-shooter who averaged 33.3 points in NCAA Tournament wins over Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin, spent much of the summer at point-guard camps run by NBA players.
McKillop said that Curry's move to point guard won't alter his role much and that he'll still create offense, often of his own making.
"He's also improved his defense significantly, and I think that will lead us to some baskets as well," McKillop said.
The emergence last season of Andrew Lovedale, now a 6-8, 220-pound senior, will help ease losses inside.
"He's getting better and better," McKillop said. "He uses his strength and has improved his shooting significantly. Without a doubt, he's the anchor of our frontcourt."
McKillop thinks that the key will be the development and contribution of other players, including sharpshooter Bryant Barr, versatile Will Archambault, big guard Max Paulhus Gosselin and big man Steve Rossiter.
But, of course, there's always Curry.
"He gets better and better each day," McKillop said.
Here's a look at other SoCon teams from North Carolina:
❑ UNC Greensboro: The big question for the Spartans (19-12, 12-8) is what will life be like without Kyle Hines?
Hines, a powerful forward, became one of just six players in college-basketball history to score 2,000 points, grab 1,000 rebounds and block 300 shots.
"I haven't found an answer yet," Coach Mike Dement said. "We relied on him so much over the last four years and rightfully so. But now we're going to have to find out who is going to be the go-to guy and establish someone inside."
Ben Stywall, a 6-5, 220-pound junior, will be counted on heavily inside, but the Spartans will most likely be perimeter-oriented with the return of shooters Mikko Koivisto and Kendall Toney. Koivisto hit 46 percent of his 3-point attempts last season, and Toney led the SoCon the season before with a 44-percent success rate on 3s.
"But a lot of that had to do with the way teams played Hines, giving them a lot of open shots," Dement said.
❑ Elon:The Phoenix (14-9, 9-11) made a stunning run in the Southern Conference Tournament last season, becoming just the second team without a first-round bye to make it to the championship game since the league went to a four-day format in 1993.
Can it build off that?
"It doesn't matter in terms of how you're going to play this year, but it does matter in terms of how hard our kids have worked since then," Coach Ernie Nestor said. "It's had a profound impact in that regard.
"They've moved to a different level in terms of commitment."
The Phoenix has most of its players back but will have to replace key guards Montell Watson and Brian Waters. Sophomore Chris Long will take over at the point.
Brett James, a 6-5 senior and All-SoCon selection, is returning after leading the team in scoring with 12.4 points a game. Elon also returns top rebounder Ola Atoyebi, a 6-8, 220-pound senior.
❑ Western Carolina: The Catamounts (10-21, 6-14) finished last season with only seven players. The don't have that problem heading into this season.
"We're at 16 now, so we won't have to go through that again," Coach Larry Hunter said.
The Catamounts do have leaders to build around. Brandon Giles, a 6-6, 200-pound guard, poses a matchup problem for opponents and was an All-SoCon selection after averaging 15.3 points last season as a sophomore. Jake Robinson, a 6-8 forward, is a strong shooter who averaged 10.6 points.
Brigham Waginger led the SoCon in steals with 2.2 a game and will move to shooting guard as junior-college transfer Joey Parker gets a shot at point guard.
"We're more athletic, and we've put a lot of emphasis on defense and rebounding, so hopefully we'll be better in those two areas," Hunter said. "And I think we've got more potential offensive firepower."
Email
Print
