This was fun ...

Somehow, through an old friend and PR colleague, Jack Gallagher, my name made its way to Ed Odeven, an editor at The Japan Times.  Today, Ed posted this:

The Definitive interview!

http://edodevenreporting.wordpress.com/2014/10/02/thedefinitiveinterviewwithterrylyons/

Ramble On ... Notes

Happy Valentine's Day to one and all.  Well, not really... just to my little Valentines and to everyone in the Lyons/Martin family!

***

An interesting note on the globalization of the rank and file teams of the NCAA:  According to STATS LLC, 214 Division I programs have at least one non-American player, a 71 percent jump from the 125 schools just 15 years ago. Among players who have appeared in at least one game this season, 8.4 percent are foreign-born. That figure jumps to 31 percent for players 6 feet 10 and taller.


***

This news item from the NYT Publishing blog:

It looks as if Kirkus Reviews will live another day to praise — and skewer — authors, but with some rather unorthodox owners. Herb Simon, the owner of the Indiana Pacers and chairman emeritus of Simon Property Group, a shopping mall developer, has bought the venerable journal of prepublication book reviews from the Nielsen Company, which announced in December that it was closing the magazine. Terms were not disclosed.

***

Please tell me when Brit Hume lost his mind? Wasn't he an emmy award winning reporter for ABC News in the '80s and '90s with the White House beat and frequent hosting roles on Nightline?  Now, at FOX, he's a cartoon character.  Too bad.


***

The Vancouver Winter Olympics began in full crisis communications mode when a member of the luge team of Georgia died in a test run during the afternoon before opening ceremonies on Feb 12.  All the planning and all the preparation in the world cannot prepare anyone for the loss of a human life in such an instant.

The New York Times Blog report from a day after the tragedy states:

While insisting that the track at the Whistler Sliding Center was safe, Olympic and luge officials announced at a news conference here Saturday morning that the men’s competition would start lower on the track, at the current women’s start, to limit speeds. They also said that the wall around Curve 16 had been raised.

The modifications to the track, an unusual move at an Olympics, were announced less than 24 hours after Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia died after crashing during a training run. He flew over the wall after losing control in Curve 16.

Officials also said they were considering whether to adjust the women’s and doubles start as precautionary measures, which may mean eliminating the first curve.

Svein Romstad, secretary general for luge’s international governing body, said the decisions were made by the race director, the group’s jury and the technical delegates, who consulted the team captains before the decision. “The primary concern we have right now is the emotional component,” he said, adding that the changes might lower speeds around 10 kilometers an hour.

Kumaritashvili was reportedly going 143.3 kilometers per hour on his fatal run, or 89.7 miles per hour. 

The IOC dedicated the opening ceremony to Kumaritashvilli and his teammates marched in the procession of athletes, grim-faced and in shock.  It was a terrible accident and the Vancouver Olympics will always be remembered by the loss of life, rather than the celebration of sport.  See this report from the Washington Post.

***

My Davidson Wildcats Take a BIG "L"

Oh no. My Davidson Wilcats lost in the Southern Conference tourney:

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Antwaine Wiggins didn't score a single point on Sunday night during College of Charleston's 59-52 win over top-seeded Davidson in the Southern Conference tournament semifinals, but he lived up to his nickname.

"That's the Curry stopper," teammate Tony White Jr. said.

The 6-foot-7 Wiggins helped force Wildcats star guard Stephen Curry into a 5-for-18 shooting night, including 2-for-11 from 3-point range. The nation's leading scorer still led Davidson with 20 points, but his Wildcats may be in grave danger of missing the NCAA tournament this year after reaching the Elite Eight one year ago.

Davidson coach Bob McKillop pointed out that four nonconference losses have come against Duke, Oklahoma, Butler and Purdue and that, "26 wins is 26 wins." McKillop has a supporter in College of Charleston (26-7) coach Bobby Cremins. His Cougars are now responsible for two of Davidson's (26-7) losses, including a 77-75 win on Feb. 7 that snapped the Wildcats' 43-game SoCon winning streak.

TL Note: Let's see if the NCAA men's committee provides Davidson with an At-Large bid to recognize the major contribution they made to the 2008 NCAAs and the big-time 26-win season they had this year. The SoCon has never had an At-Large Bid.

McKillop Named USA U-18 National Coach; USA to Play Canada in Las Vegas Tune-Up ...

USA Basktball named Davidson Coach Bob McKillop as head coach of the US Under-18 National Team which will compete in the FIBA U18 championship in Argentina in mid-July. Here is the official release information:

After leading Davidson College to a Cinderella storybook season, head coach Bob McKillop has been selected to head the 2008 USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team that will compete in the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship scheduled for July 14-18 in Formosa, Argentina. Virginia Commonwealth University’s Anthony Grant and Georgetown University’s John Thompson III will serve as assistants. The coaching staff selections were made by the USA Basketball Men’s Collegiate Committee, chaired by USA Men’s Senior National Team assistant and Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim, and approved by USA Basketball’s Executive Committee.
"It is an honor to represent our country," McKillop said. "Any time you have the opportunity to put on the red, white and blue it is a special feeling. There is a sense of pride that comes with wearing the USA symbol. I am excited to wear it proudly and to be working with such talented and respected colleagues. It is sure to be an educational experience and a growing experience and I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together for this USA team."

The 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship will qualify the top four finishing teams for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship that is slated to be held July 2-12 in New Zealand.

Trials for the USA U18 National Team will be held July 1-3 at the Verizon Center, home to the Washington Wizards, in Washington, D.C., with approximately 30 U.S. hopefuls, born on or after Jan 1, 1990, participating. Following the selection of finalists, the Americans will continue to train July 4-10 in Washington before departing for Argentina.

The FIBA Americas U18 Championship format divides eight teams into two preliminary round groups consisting of four teams each. Preliminary round play will be held July 14, 15 and 16, as each team will compete against the other three teams in its preliminary group. The top two finishing teams in each preliminary round group will then advance to the July 17 medal round semifinals and the gold medal will be contested

July 18. Teams placing third and fourth in each preliminary round group will advance to the consolation semifinals and play for 5th-8th places.

In addition, USA Basketball and Las Vegas Events started cranking up the buzz for this summer's pre-Olympic Game mini-camp and training. The Las Vegas Review ran this story on Wednesday:

Las Vegas camps will determine men's basketball squad for Olympics

By STEVE CARP
REVIEW-JOURNAL

With the Beijing Olympics less than three months away, Team USA's quest to recapture the men's basketball gold medal will resume in June in Las Vegas.

USA Basketball will have a minicamp June 27 to 29 at Cox Pavilion to decide the final 12-man roster. That group will reconvene July 20 to 25 at a Las Vegas site to be determined, ending with the Americans' lone pre-Olympic tuneup against the Canadian National Team at 5 p.m. July 25 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Tickets, priced from $12 to $75, will go on sale at 10 a.m. today at the Thomas & Mack box office and UNLVTickets.com.

Jerry Colangelo, the team's managing director, said only a few roster spots will be up for grabs in Las Vegas, and the roster must be turned in by July 1 to FIBA, basketball's world governing body. The competition will be fierce.

"Right now I think we're looking at 15, 16 (players) in the mini-camp," Colangelo said Tuesday from Chicago. "But it's a moving target. That number may change because of injuries and availability."

Colangelo will spend the next few weeks meeting with players to make sure they will be able to play in Las Vegas and Beijing. He is to meet with Dwyane Wade today to check on the Miami Heat guard's progress after left knee surgery. Wade did not play for Team USA last summer when it won the FIBA Americas Tournament in Las Vegas.

Colangelo also needs an update on the condition of forward Chris Bosh, the Toronto Raptors All-Star who hurt his right knee in March. A foot injury caused Bosh to miss last summer with Team USA.

Among other players with injury concerns are the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (back, finger), the Detroit Pistons' Chauncey Billups (hamstring) and the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (back). Bryant and Billups are still competing in the NBA playoffs.

"There's no one who has a serious enough injury that they're eliminated from consideration, but we have some people we need to talk to and see where they're at," Colangelo said. "We have to be very careful about not using up a roster spot on someone who can't (play in the Olympics)."

Colangelo said players such as Lamar Odom and Carlos Boozer could be considered for the roster, even though neither participated with Team USA in the last two years because of personal reasons and injuries.

-30-

Ramble On ... Davidson

Among the benefits of an undefeated Southern Conference season and the great run in the NCAA tournament, the recruiting reports have established the fact that 6-10 center Frank Ben-Eze has signed on with the Davidson Wildcats.

Said ESPN.com:

For most of Bob McKillop's 19 seasons at Davidson, recruiting top-tier talent to the small liberal arts college outside of Charlotte, N.C., hasn't been easy.

In the past week, though, with the buzz of the Wildcats' Final Four near-miss still fresh, recruiting has been Eze. That's Frank Ben-Eze, a highly touted 6-foot-10 forward from Arlington, Va., who chose the Wildcats despite several high-majors reportedly showing interest.

A player recruited by Davidson and Bob McKillop is the luckiest player in the shooting match.

***

Nice item on Doug Collins in an issue of the Rocky Mountain News earlier this week:


Collins remains top NBA analyst

By Dusty Saunders

I first reviewed Doug Collins' NBA work in May 1991, mentioning that he had a squeaky TV voice similar to that of Fred Savage, the adolescent hero on The Wonder Years.

I also mentioned that Collins, on TNT, was the best NBA analyst on television.

Only one thing has changed in 17 years - the voice of Savage, now an active grown-up producer-actor on the Hollywood scene.

Collins still offers a squeaky tone and retains his credentials as the best analyst working the NBA playoffs.

Viewers can easily find a handful of analysts and play-by-play personalities with deep, mellifluous voices.

But no one zeros in on the intricacies of the NBA better than Collins, who has survived and thrived in the musical- chairs game constantly played in the NBA.

He's been a player (76ers), a coach (Bulls, Pistons, Wizards) and a broadcaster.

Such varied experience provides Collins with in-depth insight into the past and the present.

Probably because he's aware of his voice limitations, Collins basically stays away from the wowie!- and zowie!- type exclamations used by many along broadcasting row.

As a former coach, Collins is at his best enlightening viewers on the art of substitution, particularly in the closing minutes of a tight contest.

Because of his skills, Collins always improves the broadcasting work of his partners.

Working tonight with Kevin Harlan on TNT's Boston-Cleveland game, Collins will be the network's main analyst during coverage of the Western Conference final.

Unless the Lakers fall into the basketball sinkhole being dug by the Utah Jazz, Collins should be able to "critique" the work of Phil Jackson, who succeeded Collins as coach and guided the Michael Jordan-dominated Bulls.

I am sick of the Sprite commercial "Sprite Liquid Freedom" where the kids jump into the pool that looks like a basketball court - "I'm falling away, with you."

Everyone wondered about the music track to the commercial and it was often misreported as being a track from an Australian band. Here's the latest scoop, not confirmed but on numerous Internet sites:

The music for the Sprite Liquid Freedom ad was created exclusively by staff at sound and music company Human Worldwide, New York. The music was not written or played by New Zealand band, Evermore, despite the attribution of a Limewire track to them. I stated earlier here that the music was performed by an unknown Australian band. People jumped to conclusions and assumed it was Evermore, even though Evermore are from New Zealand and not Australia.

Benjamin Pacheco wrote and recorded the music for the first track. See the Boards article from April 1, 2006 and credits for the Australian version. Pacheco told Boards that he wrote and recorded the music at home. For more of Pacheco’s work see his band site Mus-OK and Mus-OK MySpace site. The track is now hosted at the Union Devo MySpace site, named Counting Backwards, and can be downloaded there as an mp3 audio file.

The ‘Falling Away’ track was written by Lindsay Jehan, Hugh Wilson, Andy Bloch, and Morgan Visconti at Human Worldwide. The song was recorded at Human Worldwide’s studio by Hugh Wilson (vocals) and Lindsay Jehan (instruments), Australians living in New York at the time. Wilson is performing the full song at his live shows. Hugh Wilson has the track available to play on his MySpace site.

Regardless, I've watched my share of NBA playoff games and I am officially SICK of that commercial and it's only the conference semi-finals.

***

I read the following sentence in a column on the NCAA and OJ Mayo on Yahoo.com's sports page:

The best thing for the NCAA is to fight Stern’s age limit as best it can and stop the forced hammering of square pegs into round holes.

Brand, of course, is doing the opposite. He even got CBS to run a propaganda special during the Final Four where he and Stern sat together and concluded they needed “more cooperation” – i.e. a 20-year-old age limit.

Two thoughts:

How and why should the NCAA have anything to do with the way the NBA sets its rules and conducts its business? The only say in the age rule should be from the NBA (Stern representing the league and its owners) and the NBA Players (Billy Hunter representing the players as a whole).

The age limit used to be 18 (after HS grad). Now, it's 19. Stern would like age 20, but lost that in his collective bargaining agreement with the players association. So be it. That's the rule.

***

The NBS Spring concert included the Class V chorus performing a terrific Irish song, called "Irish Friendship Wish." Here are the lyrics:

May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.


-30-

A shot in the Air to Advance to Final 4

If I were an NCAA coach and someone offered me a chance each season to have one of my two best players get a good look at a last second shot in the NCAA Regional finals, giving me a chance to advance to the Final 4 if the shot fell? I would take that every year, every day of the week.

Here's to the Davidson Wildcats. The best sports story of 2008.

Some cool stats from Davidson's official website:

#1 – Place of “Davidson College” on Googletrends’ list of most-searched words Sunday night (“hotness trend: volcanic”)
#4 –Googletrends’ Sunday night ranking of the search term “Davidson University”
#10—Googletrends’ Sunday night ranking of search term “Davidson Wildcats”
#11—Googletrends Sunday night ranking of search term “Stephen Curry”

Teams with bulldog mascots that have been beaten by Davidson in the NCAA tournament: 2

Bulldog toys stuffed into the mouth of the Wildcat statue on the Davidson campus: 1

Number of consecutive games Davidson has won to date: 24 (longest winning streak in the country)

Players on Davidson’s team: 14
Players who come from countries outside the U.S.: 6
Players who speak French fluently: At least 4

Years Bob McKillop has coached at Davidson: 19
Percentage of McKillop’s four-year players who have graduated in that period: 100

Percentage increase in transfer inquiries received by Davidson’s Admission Office since Sunday’s win over Georgetown: 1,200 percent
Since Sunday, calls to the Admission Office inquiring about Davidson’s application deadline (which has already passed): 10
Unsolicited applications received since Sunday, even though Davidson’s deadline has passed: 1

Reported number of Facebook “friend” requests received by one member of the Davidson basketball team after Sunday’s victory: 1,800

Miles from the Davidson campus in Davidson, N.C. to Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. (the arena hosting Davidson’s “Sweet 16” game against Wisconsin): 648.65
Buses secured by the college to transport interested students to the game (Davidson’s Board of Trustees created a fund to cover the cost): 7
Students making the trip by bus: Approximately 350
Seating capacity of Ford Field for the NCAA Tournament: 72,000

Students, faculty, staff, alumni, townspeople and others who rallied to wave goodbye to the team when the Wildcats’ bus left campus Wednesday, March 26: Perhaps 1,000

Doughnuts consumed at the on-campus “pep rally” broadcast during the CBS Early Show Thursday, March 27: 600
Times the Pep Band led pep rally guests in rousing versions of “Sweet Caroline”: 2

Year in which Davidson last made it into the "Sweet Sixteen": 1969

Days that Tom Ross ’72 has been Davidson’s president (he counts):

Here's to my favorite coach and and a life-long friend, Bob McKillop

Click on headline above or click here.

When you set goals for a team, you establish limitations...

The Washington Post:

McKillop doesn't believe in setting goals for his teams, because "when you establish goals, you establish limitations." Instead, he is "on a quest for the perfect performance, the perfect game, the perfect season." And that requires a tremendous attention to detail.

***

NO RETREAT, BABY, NO SURRENDER:

By Camille Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 28, 2008; Page E08

DETROIT, March 27 -- At least one young fan inside of cavernous Ford Field seemed disenchanted with the crisp, precise, businesslike way the Davidson Wildcats ran through their open practice Thursday afternoon, the day before their NCAA Midwest Region semifinal against Wisconsin.

There had been lots of drills and very few crowd-pleasing dunks -- a staple of the low-key workouts for many teams -- during the first 30 minutes or so. But here, finally, was a chance for a highlight, as Stephen Curry came up with a loose ball during a scrimmage.

"Dunk it!" the boy in the stands screamed, as the star sophomore guard drove to the basket, all alone. Curry, however, opted for a smooth finger roll. The boy groaned.

That 50-minute practice on the Ford Field floor might not have enthralled fans the way that the 10th-seeded Wildcats did during the opening week of the tournament, as they upset seventh-seeded Gonzaga and second-seeded Georgetown behind the brilliance of Curry and senior point guard Jason Richards. But it was an example of what has helped the Southern Conference champions put together a 24-game winning streak, the longest in the nation.

"That's the way we play," sophomore forward Stephen Rossiter said, shrugging his shoulders. "Simple, yet effective."

Much of that stems from Bob McKillop, the disciplined, detailed and intense coach of the Wildcats, who in his 19th season has won more games than any other coach in school or conference history (339). He was attentive to everything on the court. He screamed at senior captain Boris Meno to use the backboard during a layup drill. He yelled at Andrew Lovedale to attack the basket, after the junior forward opted for a pull-up jumper during a two-on-one drill.

His players love that intensity and feed off that energy; as Max Paulhus Gosselin said, "You don't want your coach to have more energy than you do." The junior guard from Quebec discovered just how competitive the 57-year-old coach is when he went to McKillop's house for dinner on his recruiting trip.

"There's a hoop behind his house for his two sons, and I was just shooting when all of a sudden Coach comes in and bodychecks me," the 6-foot-6 Gosselin said. "I'm not the type of guy to let that happen, so I said, 'Is there something I can do for you, Coach?' It turned into one-on-one. . . . It was a great experience. Obviously I won, to say the least. I think it's good to have a coach that's a competitor on every level."

McKillop doesn't believe in setting goals for his teams, because "when you establish goals, you establish limitations." Instead, he is "on a quest for the perfect performance, the perfect game, the perfect season." And that requires a tremendous attention to detail.

Every minute of practice is planned out, down to the minute. Assistant coach Matt Matheny, who played for McKillop and then joined his staff as an assistant in 1993, pulled a copy of Thursday's schedule out of his pocket to show a reporter. It is handwritten in a tight script: 12:00-12:02: Full-court layups. 12:02-12:10: Secondary options. And so on. Toward the end of practice, the players line up for foul shots -- but they don't shoot them. Instead, an assistant stands at the line and deliberately misses, so the players can practice rebounding.

"He's disciplined in every single movement that we do, so that way it becomes habit," Rossiter said of McKillop. "When the game comes around, it's just natural and you don't even think about doing it."

But as single-minded as McKillop can be in the gym, he wants his player to think broadly outside of it. He often uses basketball to impart life lessons; when he stresses the importance of good communication on the court, for instance, he references the divorce rate in the country.

"The problem is, people aren't talking to each other," Matheny said. "To develop trusting and caring and committed relationships, communication is a vital part of it. That's true on the basketball court, and it's also true in life."

The main lesson now, according to his son, freshman guard Brendan McKillop, is to "smell the roses. Enjoy the experience."

Bob McKillop says that he's never felt more at ease, more grounded than he does right now, because this trip -- Davidson's first appearance in the region semifinals since 1969 -- is "an affirmation of and a validation of dreams that I've been selling to our program, to our players, to our community, year after year after year. It's doable. It's possible."

He uses one of his favorite movies, "Life Is Beautiful" -- which he prefers to call by its Italian name, "La Vita ¿ Bella" -- to illustrate his point. There is a song in the movie called "Abbiamo Vinto," which loosely translates to "We have won."

"Whether we have gotten to the Sweet 16 or won 28 games, we have won because we have this belief that's been lived. That's what I mean by it," said McKillop, whose team overcame deficits to beat both Gonzaga and Georgetown. "We did not surrender. Our world today is full of surrender: People surrender morals, principles, beliefs, dreams, at the first sign of a challenge, at the first sign of failure.

We did not surrender."

Best Story in USA Sports ...

See Tom Sorenson in the Charlotte Observer:

Cats cruising in Motor City
TOM SORENSEN
IN MY OPINION To call Davidson the best story in college basketball does not go far enough. Since this is March, Davidson is the best story in U.S. sports.

The best story just got better.

Davidson stunned No. 3 seed Wisconsin 73-56 at Ford Field Friday to advance to the Elite Eight. Think about it. Only eight college teams are still playing meaningful basketball and the Wildcats are one of them.

This is an extraordinary story, an extraordinary run. But how extraordinary?

"If Davidson makes the Final Four, this is bigger than Appalachian State," says Southern Conference Commissioner John Iamarino. "And that was the biggest story in the country."

Six months ago, Appalachian State upset Michigan in football. The Wildcats upset Wisconsin in basketball. But nothing about this felt like an upset. It felt easy.

The Badgers are known for their defense. They beat you down, wear you out, make it tough to breathe. The last time they gave up as many points as Davidson scored was in 2007.

The Wildcats were tougher. They were so tough that Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan complained to officials about Davidson's rough play.

What did Ryan tell the officials?

That Davidson is a school with 1,700 students whose team has nobody in its rotation taller than 6 feet 8 inches? That the Wildcats go to class and eat in the same cafeteria as the other students and know the majority of them by name? That they beat Wofford twice this season?

Please, Mr. Official, tell Davidson not to be so mean.

Davidson played better defense, and when a ball was unclaimed it was the Wildcats who invariably claimed it. But since this is Davidson we're talking about, let us now pause to praise Stephen Curry.

Curry hit six 3-pointers and scored 33 points.

Some came via amazing shots such as the scoop he hit, extending his hand wide and willing the ball up and in and drawing a foul and enticing the uninitiated to look at each other to try to verify what they saw.

Every time Curry hits an astonishing shot, another fan joins the Wildcats' cause. Every time Davidson wins a game folks think, why can't we?

Did you hear them in Ford Field? Attendance was unofficially 55,000, and the Wildcats fans were the only ones you heard. Davidson supplied all the passion and all the noise.

When the rout ended, the Wildcats pointed to the fans and the fans to the team. This isn't about the 12 guys who played for Davidson. This is about the community and ideals those 12 players represent.

Dell Curry, father of Davidson star Stephen, was in his seat 11 rows from the court, and extremely numb, after the game. How's Detroit working for you? I ask.

"Better," he says.

For the Wildcats, the city's snow has melted, the cold has abated and there's nothing but sunshine.

SWEET 16 ...

Click on the headline above and you'll be brought back to a few posts from the terrylyons.com blog, the earliest one from October, 2007 when Jay Bilas used his Insider ESPN column to explain the simple philosophy of Davidson basketball under Bob McKillop.

I remember thinking that Davidson had opened the window to NCAA tournament berths a year ago, as the Wildcats ran the table at the Southern Conference before losing to Maryland in the NCAA opening round.

This year, with a year of experience under Stephen Curry's belt, it just might be different.

Indeed it is.

Davidson upended Gonzaga in the first round on Friday, then stared Georgetown down on this Easter Sunday afternoon. I hoped for a good, fast start as I sat down to watch the game with my in-laws in Boston, wife and two daughters each at my side. The kids were quiet and attentive all game long as they knew their Dad was rooting for his longtime friend, confidant and former Holy Trinty HS teacher (and coach) Bob McKillop, the head coach of the Southern Conference champion Davidson Wildcats.

There were some mixed emotions in the family, as my brother-in-law attended Georgetown in the Dikembe Mutombo era. In fact, he was attending the game in Raleigh, NC, and his immediate family found it strange to have a non-Hoya fan in the house.

My friends at CBS Sports did us NO FAVORS, as the Davidson-vs-Georgetown game went into a double-figure Hoya lead during a half-time break that seemed to last an hour. CBS promptly switched over to the Tennessee vs. Butler game that the Vols would eventually win in overtime.

Knowing CBS' mentality of staying with the 'closer' game, and losing some faith and enthusiasm, I made my way up the staircase to the very computer I am typing on right now. A few clicks, a log-in to CBS Sportsline.com and the Hoya lead was down to two. Davidson had just gone on a 9-0 run and the game intensified. CBS switched back to the game and I ran down the stairs to join the rest of the family. It was great, as I coached the team from the couch, suggested pressuring the ball on in-bounds plays, watched as the clock counted its way down and rejoiced as Steph Curry buried a big-time 'three' and a series of free throws. My wife watched at my side, understanding just how close I felt to the Davidson bench.

At one point, early last summer, I told her that I dreamed of taking a full year off from work and thought about a volunteer, assistant coach position just to learn more about the game from the Davidson bench. That was never meant to be, I know, but today, I wondered what it would have been like to be at Coach McKillop's side as his Davidson team upset Georgetown and earned a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16.

Within seconds of the game ending, I left a message on Coach McKillop's mobile phone and glanced down to see a quick half-dozen emails and txt messages loading into my blackberry. A number of friends and co-workers, one as far off as London, England, sent notes of congratulations to me, as they knew of my love and devotion to my former high school mentor and great friend.

For those of you who might wonder, I met Bob McKillop in September, 1974 at Holy Trinity High School on Long Island. He was the JV coach my freshman year and would quickly move up to take the varsity coaching job when I was a sophomore. I was not talented enough to play for Coach McKillop but would somehow, through the years, become very close to him.

We kept in touch, always by phone, rarely email -- mainly because email hadn't been invented in 1977 -- but more out of friendship as the years went by. I loved to hear his voice, and I know, he felt the same way. He knew he had a loyal, trusted friend on the line. We often talked about European basketball and he always had a tidbit of news from his many sources in Europe, such as former players like Marco Baldi, Detlef Musch or Augusto Binelli who had ventured back to the old country to play or coach. Baldi has an administrative position with the Milano team in Italy.

Coach McKillop always kept in touch with his former players and stayed very aware of their lives.

I fit into that category, and I treasure that fact.

While I made dozens of friends at Holy Trinity, Coach McKillop was my true connection. He taught me a lot while I was at school, but taught me more as the years went by. The subjects? Life, loyalty, friendship, returning phone calls promptly, listening, understanding, sharing, doing things for the benefit of others, teaching, coaching, timing, recruiting, respect, faith, understanding the rules and following the rules. I could go on.

A few days after my brother's recent and sudden death, Coach McKillop was on the phone. He knew exactly what to say and how to say it. No tap-dancing. He went straight to the point and put me at ease. He chose the perfect words, spoken just the right way at just the right time.

One of my fondest memories of my years with the NBA and USA Basketball was having Coach McKillop join the USA Basketball contingent at the 2002 World Championship in Indianapolis. He came for three early round games and was a welcome guest, as he had volunteered his time as court coach and assistant coach for some of USA's junior teams. The USA Basketball people loved him, and rightfully so.

I would often champion his cause, but without need, as everyone knew he was one of the top two-or-three basketball coaches in the country, any level, no doubt.

Coach took me aside at the Westin in Indianapolis before he headed off, and we caught up on things, laughing and chatting. It was a special night, and he said some things to me about my role with the United States team, my co-workers and many of the top NCAA administrators that I had worked with over the years. His message was a simple, "keep it up, you are well-liked and appreciated." His words of encouragement meant the world to me.

I have followed the Southern Conference closely these many years, more so as St. John's began to falter in the BIG EAST. I have talked about attending a game at Davidson for years, and that appointment is long over due.

Maybe I should plan a trip to Detroit?

Or, get real greedy, and plan for ...

Stay tuned.

Ramble On ... Favre, Steve Hondo and Davidson SOCON basketball ...

The timing of the announcement on Brett Favre's retirement from the NFL was interesting. Why now?

I read into it a bit and that connection will help me mourn my brother's sudden and early death. I have one special memory of Favre's career as a Green Bay Packers QB. As I remember, it was a Monday Night Football game that I watched in Hoboken with my buddy, Chris B., and Favre played very well -- a come-from-behind-W with a few TDs upon hearing of his father's death.

For that game and many more thereafter, Favre answered the bell. He reached deep and used his father as motivation in the most positive way. He didn't mope around. He didn't feel sorry for himself. He rallied. He didn't give up. He showed up for work and performed at a very high level.

I have mentioned my brother in this blog a number of times over the past few days, and have done so in a selfish way to help me move forward, to help me mourn, to provide a little insight to readers without going overboard.

I might sprinkle a few more items in if it strikes me. I'm not sure. I ask you to bear with me on this and feel free to provide some feedback.

***

I enjoy listening to Mike and Mike radio on ESPN2 in the morning. I also like ESPN's First Take.

***

We're thinking of buying a car!

It'll be the first car that I will purchase since my prized 1980 Chevy Camaro.

The finalists: Honda CR V, Toyota Rav4 (isn't it funny that the 4 and the $ are the same key on a typewriter keyboard?), the Acura RDX.

Lease or buy?

These models or another?

Discuss?

***

When I buy the car, it will need a nickname.

Our family has had a few cool nicknames for cars, the best being "Tin Can" a description for a Martin family car that my kids are NOT allowed to enter!

The all time best? A Buick, named Johnny Bucyk.

If we buy the Honda, I will name it after Louie Carnesecca's all-time favorite BIG East/college basketball ref, Steve Hondo.

***

A few people have asked how the COVERT trail is moving along? Quite nicely, is the answer. A CNN piece is upcoming - most likely airing next weekend on CNN and CNN Headline News. Bob Delaney continues to do a ton of media, especially when he does local book signings in the likes of Detroit, San Antonio and a few others. He did about 10-12 TV interviews via a satellite tour and a number of fans have been seeking out copies of COVERT in all corners of the USA and Canada.

***

This just in from the SOCON:

Davidson coach Bob McKillop won in the voting for the Anton Foy Coach of the Year Award. McKillop led the Wildcats to a perfect 20-0 record in conference play and an overall mark of 23-6. Davidson owns the nation’s longest winning streak (19) and has won 31 consecutive Southern Conference games and 44 of the last 45.

***

Here is some more:

SPARTANBURG, S.C. --- Davidson sophomore Stephen Curry, the leading scorer in the Southern Conference in 2007-08, was named the league’s Player of the Year in a vote of the conference coaches. The guard from Charlotte, N.C. received the maximum 10 votes from the coaches (coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players). UNC Greensboro’s record-setting forward Kyle Hines received one first-place vote.

The Citadel’s Cameron Wells earned Freshman of the Year recognition, receiving five votes from the coaches. The guard from Houston, Texas is the league’s leading scorer among freshman. Appalachian State’s Donald Sims (three votes), Georgia Southern’s Willie Powers (two votes) and College of Charleston’s Andrew Goudelock (one vote) also received consideration.

Davidson coach Bob McKillop was named Coach of the Year by his peers. McKillop led the Wildcats to a perfect 20-0 record in conference play and an overall mark of 23-6. Davidson owns the nation’s longest winning streak (19) and has won 31 consecutive Southern Conference games and 44 of the last 45.

***

Davidson won its first round Southern Conference match-up over Wofford, 82-49. I spoke with Coach McKillop when his Davidson Wildcats were en route to Charleston for the tournament. He passed along his condolences as he knew my brother Tim from early coaching stints on Long Island.

I had one request- a la Talia Shire (Adrian) in Rocky.

W's. A lot of Davidson W's.

They are Top 25.

-30-

A tale of two programs ...

My New York Times was wrapped in a rubber band to keep the Saturday paper connected with the inserts for tomorrow's multi-section edition. The SportsSaturday section of the paper included two interesting stories. The first, a take-out on the Davidson College basketball program, featuring longtime friend and head coach of the team, Bob McKillop. The other was a story a news item on the St. John's men's basketball program announcing that they will honor Norm Roberts' final year on his contract and the proverbial 'vote of confidence' to allow Roberts to continue to recruit players for the year to come.

Two programs. Two different directions.

If St. John's had only hired McKillop instead of Mike Jarvis, I can only imagine what March would be like for college basketball at St. John's.

Small and Quirky Davidson Faces Uphill Fight

By JOHN BRANCH
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Among the unusual facets of Davidson College, besides a basketball team with the nation’s longest winning streak, is a low-slung building amid the stately ones made of red bricks and white columns.

The Lula Bell Houston Laundry is where the 1,700 Davidson students can drop off their dirty clothes, to be cleaned and folded at no charge. Last week, the center did 815 bundles of laundry weighing 7,913 pounds — nearly four tons — so that the students could focus on other things.

“You drop it off, and two days later it’s folded in a big paper bag for you, in a bundle,” said Stephen Curry, the team’s silk-shooting sophomore guard. “It’s pretty nice.”

Davidson has its quirks. An honor code allows students to schedule their own final exams, and tests are taken without proctors. Davidson recently eliminated student loans, relying instead on grants and work-study programs, so that no student graduates with debt. The campus sits in a cocoon of a village 15 miles north of sprawling Charlotte, far closer in feel to North Carolina’s fictitious Mayberry.

But the most surprising aspect of Davidson may be the basketball team, led by Bob McKillop, a 57-year-old from Queens who has quietly rebuilt a once-proud program at one of the most elite liberal arts colleges in the country.

Basketball polls have the Wildcats at the edge of the top 25, but the 2008 U.S. News & World Report rankings placed Davidson ninth on the list of top liberal-arts colleges, a list devoid of other Division I basketball powers.

Davidson can brag of 23 Rhodes scholars, but it has not produced a single N.B.A. All-Star. That has not kept McKillop from believing, 19 seasons into his tenure, that Davidson can reclaim the elite basketball status it had 40 years ago under Lefty Driesell.

Behind Curry, the son of the former N.B.A. star Dell Curry, and an assembly of perfectly cast role players, the Wildcats (22-6) have won 18 games in a row. They are 19-0 in the Southern Conference heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at second-place Georgia Southern.

If any team in the country is positioned to play the spoiler at this year’s N.C.A.A. tournament, it is this one — if Davidson makes the 65-team bracket.

The Ratings Percentage Index seems to hold more sway than records or rankings, and Davidson was at No. 61 in the most recent R.P.I., just inside the tournament’s proverbial bubble. It tried to combat its weak conference schedule with difficult nonconference games.

“They gave Carolina all they could take, they gave Duke a good game, and they had U.C.L.A. down 18 points in the first half,” said Kenneth Norton, 79, who has provided haircuts in Davidson since he was 14 and who summed up this season from behind his chair at Raefords Barber Shop.

Davidson could not complete the early-season upsets, losing to No. 1 North Carolina, 72-68; to No. 7 Duke, 79-73; and to No. 7 U.C.L.A., 75-63. The Wildcats may have to win their conference tournament, as they did the past two years, to guarantee another chance to win their first N.C.A.A. tournament game since 1969. The Southern Conference has never received an at-large bid.

“We understand that,” McKillop said in his office, where classical music played in the background. “That’s the dynamic we have to deal with.”

McKillop might be the most unusual Davidson feature of all. The son of a New York City police officer, he played college basketball at East Carolina and Hofstra. He made a bigger name for himself as a New York high school coach, at Holy Trinity and Long Island Lutheran.

He took the job at Davidson in 1989, seeing a slingshot to bigger college programs. His team did not finish above .500 until his fifth season, and he said he felt fortunate not to have been fired.

“I was a cocky high-school coach who enjoyed great success because I had great players,” said McKillop, whose silver hair and assuring voice give him the air of a trusty news anchor. “I came here thinking I could wave a magic wand and move up the basketball ladder.”

Instead, he has pulled Davidson up the rungs gradually. McKillop has often been a candidate for jobs in the Northeast, including at St. John’s, Seton Hall and Boston College in recent years. But no one has yet pulled him from Davidson, where he and his wife, Cathy, live in a white house across from campus, with a Wildcats flag on the porch and a wreath on the door.

Two of their children graduated from Davidson. Their youngest, Brendan, is a freshman on his father’s team.

“How many Division I basketball coaches have been able to raise three children in the same house?” athletic director Jim Murphy said.

McKillop has embraced the town’s intimacy and the college’s hurdles — its small size (and fan base) and its academic standards: 88 percent of this year’s freshmen finished in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

After a 68-55 victory against Appalachian State on Wednesday, McKillop and his coaches and players mingled with family and fans, as they always do, at the Brickhouse Tavern. Five players soon left for the campus library, where they stayed until nearly 1 a.m. McKillop is one coach without the constant worry over what his players are doing.

“I’m not suggesting that we have nerds,” McKillop said. “But I am suggesting that there is a measure of accountability and responsibility that permeates the campus.”

Davidson has more international players (six) than players from North Carolina (three) on its roster. This season’s team, however, rides largely with Curry, the slippery shooting guard from Charlotte who is averaging 25 points. Overlooked by bigger programs because of his slight frame (still growing, he is 6 feet 3 inches and 185 pounds), Curry has a quick release and a deft passing touch, which he may hone further next season as the point guard.

“I wouldn’t want my son to play for anybody else,” Dell Curry said while sitting among Wednesday’s sellout crowd of 5,838 at Davidson’s Belk Arena.

Stephen (pronounced STEFF-in) Curry and the senior Jason Richards, who leads N.C.A.A. Division I in assists a game, could be the nation’s best backcourt tandem, and probably the most underrated.

Add a bevy of midsize bangers, like Thomas Sander (from Cincinnati), Boris Meno (Paris) and Max Paulhus Gosselin (Carignan, Quebec), and the Wildcats could be a dangerous tournament team.

“You saw what we did against those big-name teams in the beginning of the season,” Richards said. “Yeah, we didn’t win, but came really close, and we kind of proved to ourselves that we can play with anyone.”

Davidson is motivated by the recent successes of small programs. Gonzaga is a basketball power. George Mason reached the Final Four two years ago. The likes of Butler, Drake and Kent State are surging this season.

But Davidson does not have to look elsewhere for inspiration. On a table in McKillop’s office are two Sports Illustrated magazines in clear vinyl sleeves. One, from 1968, cast three contenders to U.C.L.A. — North Carolina, Kentucky and Davidson; Davidson lost to the Tar Heels in the national quarterfinals. The other, from 1964, tabbed Davidson as the preseason No. 1 team. It finished 24-2 and ranked sixth, but missed the N.C.A.A. tournament because it was beaten by West Virginia in its conference final.

“Each day I walk into the office, and I keep them in my vision as a reminder that it has happened here,” McKillop said. “Now, can it happen again? The stars have to be so uniquely aligned for it to happen again.”

McKillop smiled. The stars are on the move.

***

MEN’S COLLEGE ROUNDUP
St. John’s Says Roberts Will Stay

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The St. John’s men’s basketball coach, Norm Roberts, will return next season to finish his contract, and the athletic director Chris Monasch said Friday that he would meet with Roberts after the season to pursue an extension.

The Red Storm (10-17, 4-11) enters Saturday’s home game against Seton Hall one game behind the 12th and final berth for the Big East tournament.

“In recent weeks there has been speculation regarding the status of Norm Roberts’s future as head men’s basketball coach at St. John’s University,” Monasch said in a statement. “Most of those comments focused on the pace of progress measured solely by wins. Our assessment of what Norm and his staff have accomplished over the past four years is broader than that.”

Roberts’s record at St. John’s is 47-65 in four years, including 19-44 in the Big East.

Midnight Madness for College Hoops

When the full-year sports calendar is under the microscope, mid-October is the best time of the year. All four major league sports are up and running, the NBA being the only sport in preseason mode. College football is at full tilt and NCAA basketball opening with its famed midnight madness workouts which begin the month-long 'official' practice time.

Jay Bilas of ESPN.com went straight to the source of the best college basketball coach in the business when he interviewed Coach Bob McKillop of Davidson about the upcoming season for the top mid-major in the country, the Davidson Wildcats.

I have a direct connection with McKillop as we have remained close since my high school days at Holy Trinity on Long Island. McKillop took over a fair to decent program and turned it into a championship team.

Here is what Bilas wrote on his ESPN blog today:

McKillop emphasizes simplicity

The McKillop Way
Davidson is expected to be one of the best mid-majors this season and a Top 25 team. The Wildcats have a tough slate, with games against North Carolina, Duke, NC State and UCLA, but will not be able to sneak up on anyone. The word is out. Davidson is good. During Davidson's open workout on Thursday evening, Wildcat coach Bob McKillop, the all-time winningest coach in Southern Conference history, said that his team had a bull's-eye on its collective back, and needed to "embrace the bull's-eye" in order to meet lofty expectations. After a 29-5 season and three straight 20-win seasons, much is expected of Davidson in 2008, but its foundation has been solid for many years.

McKillop has been in coaching for more than 30 years, starting as a high school coach in Long Island, N.Y. Through the years, his success and manner have made him a respected coach here and abroad. McKillop does it his own way and has learned that simplicity is perhaps the most important element in his coaching. Here are some of McKillop's beliefs and methods:

*On offense, McKillop wants his team to run, push the ball upcourt and see. According to McKillop, too few players truly see the game, and one of his "rules" on offense is for each player to "catch and see" before making any predetermined move or decision.

*McKillop believes in rhythm and flow. He wants to get his team into a rhythm and disrupt the rhythm of the opposing team. He runs a motion-based offense and mostly man-to-man defense, but will switch things up to disrupt. McKillop wants his team to maintain a "patient flow" in which his team is willing to hit singles instead of swinging wildly for the fences.

*Davidson has "Seven Keys" upon which the basketball part of the program is based:

1. See: McKillop wants his players to learn to see the game and to have great vision. You cannot make a play if you cannot see it.

2. Talk: Communication is valued. If you talk, you are automatically a better and more engaged player, and a better team. Talk provides confidence and awareness individually and collectively.

3. Hit Flesh: Davidson is unafraid of contact, and the players will lay their bodies on the line, whether for a loose ball, a rebound or setting a screen.

4. Do Details: No detail is too small, and McKillop insists that his players pay attention to detail.

5. Finish Everything: McKillop is adamant that his players should finish every shot, every possession, every drill, every sprint, every play.

6. Balance: Everything should be done with balance. Sometimes, that is difficult with limited athleticism, but it is still emphasized.

7. Act: Whether it is a shot fake, moving with or without the ball or using your eyes or your feet, deception is the essence of the game. Players need to act instead of react.

Note: It is included in the ESPN Insider section, so you might not have access if you just click through. - That's why I did the cut and paste.