March Sadness for Davidson (McKillop) Nation ...

The definition of Class -

#Davidson #DavidsonWildcat post game presser - #NCAA #MarchMadness - ncaa.com/menshighlights…
— DigitalSportsDesk (@DigSportsDesk) March 22, 2013

TL

Steph: The next big thing... because of mental toughness

I was hoping this story would come a year from now, but it is here today and may God Bless Steph Curry on making a firm decision and doing what he felt was right.  I am sure it was a very difficult decision.

I understamd from the early media reports how upset Coach McKillop was at the announcement.  Mixed emotions, I am sure, but the young man has made his decision and its time to g forward to the NBA.

 

Here is to a long, healthy and wonderful career in the NBA with true global popularity and a few titles to come for this true champion to be:

New Item:

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Davidson guard Stephen Curry will skip his senior season and take his sweet shooting stroke to the NBA.

After weeks struggling to decide, the nation's leading scorer announced Thursday that he'll enter the NBA draft, where he could be a lottery pick.

With his father, former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, and Davidson coach Bob McKillop nearby, the nation's leading scorer said at an on-campus news conference that his goal has always been to play in the NBA.

The lightly recruited Curry burst onto the national scene a year ago in helping tiny Davidson get within a missed a 3-pointer of the Final Four.

The 6-foot-3 Curry moved to point guard this season and averaged 28.6 points. He had 15 games of 30 or more points and three of 40 or more.

Curry, who said he'll hire an agent, took longer with his decision than expected. Two days after scoring 26 points in Davidson's loss to Saint Mary's in the NIT, Curry said he'd quickly make up his mind after speaking with his parents.

But Curry wavered because of his desire to get his college degree. Davidson does not have a summer school program, which will make it difficult for Curry to finish his required courses outside the NBA season.

Curry told school officials Wednesday afternoon he would announce his decision on Thursday, but didn't tell McKillop or his father what he'd do. About 30 minutes before the news conference, sports information director Marc Gignac acknowledged he didn't know the decision and had been unable to write a news release.

The decision captivated the region, with four Charlotte-area television stations broadcasting the decision live. Curry said he finally made up his mind 90 minutes earlier while eating breakfast.

Despite a weaker supporting cast than a season ago, Curry shot 45 percent from the field in 2008-09, including 39 percent from 3-point range. He was voted a first-team Associated Press All-American.

He finished his college career with a school record 2,635 points, the most in school history. If Curry had returned for his senior season, he would have had an outside shot at breaking Pete Maravich's NCAA Division I record of 3,667 points.

While Curry is perhaps the best shooter in college basketball, there are questions about how successful he'll be in the NBA. Curry will have to beef up his slight frame to withstand the rigors of an 82-game schedule. He's also still adjusting to the move to point guard, a position he'll likely have to play be a starter in the NBA.

Curry struggled at times when facing taller defenders with long arms, a likely nightly occurrence at the next level. But his lightning-quick release, surprising quickness, high basketball IQ and late growth spurt will make lottery teams take notice.

Curry has plenty of high-profile fans, too. Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James attended a Davidson NCAA tournament game last year and sat courtside in December when Curry scored 44 points in a win over North Carolina State.

"He's like a [Richard] Hamilton in our league. He never stops moving," James said after that game. "He's the type of player that's hard to guard no matter how big you are. Guys in the NBA don't want to continue to chase guys like that."

The major schools ignored Curry in high school because he was just 5-foot-9 in his junior year. He reached 6-feet as a freshman at Davidson and grew three more inches. After getting an MRI on an injured ankle in February, Curry said a doctor told him his growth plates showed he could sprout another two inches.

His father had a similar late growth spurt at Virginia Tech. Dell Curry then spent 16 years in the NBA, mostly with the Charlotte Hornets. He works in the Charlotte Bobcats' front office.

Stephen Curry's younger brother, Seth, led the nation's freshmen in scoring at 20.2 points a game for Liberty this season. He announced last month that he was transferring to Duke.

Despite his high draft stock, Stephen Curry struggled with the decision shortly after Davidson's season ended. Curry clearly enjoyed school and the small, liberal arts school 20 miles north of Charlotte, N.C.

He has said that he wanted to graduate, and a rule requiring Davidson players to have a degree before their number is retired could delay No. 30 being raised to the Belk Arena rafters.

Curry, fighting back tears, said he still planned to one day get his degree.

Davidson's Curry Named to two MORE All-America Teams

Although you are following the Celts game live blog by TPL - and The Blog @ terryLyons.com - you might as well hear a little March Madness news update ... Tell 'em ... You heard it here first:

Davidson guard Stephen Curry has been named a State Farm first-team Division I All-America by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and the junior has been selected to the Dick Vitale All-America Team and a first-team All-American by NaismithLives.com, a basketball Web site.
Curry is the third Wildcat to earn All-America honors from the NABC and the first to be named to the first team since Fred Hetzel in 1965. Hetzel was named to the third team in 1964, while Mike Maloy earned third-team honors in 1969 and 1970.
Curry led the nation in scoring with 28.6 points an outing and led the Southern Conference in assists (5.6/gm) and steals (2.5/gm). He became Davidson’s and the Southern Conference’s career scoring leader and currently ranks 25th on the NCAA Division I career scoring chart (2,635 points) and fourth in 3-pointers (414).

Curry has already been named first-team All-America by The Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and The Sporting News in addition to being named a John R. Wooden Award All-American.

The NABC has been selecting men’s college basketball All-America teams for the past 63 seasons. The first NABC All-America team was selected in 1946-47 with a first and second team for nine seasons in Division I before adding a third team in 1955-56.

NOT FOR NOTHIN' - But I applaud the fact that the Pro Basketball Writers Association changed their name to just that - the Pro Basketball Writers Assn. (and they dropped the - of America) in honor of the many international journalists who were joining up as the NBA covereage grew GLOBAL.

The college basketball writer's association continues to keep the "U.S." in the title, and that is not fair to the many, many international writers who cover the NCAAs. (Never midn our neighbors to the north in Canada).

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.

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.

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.

CURRY ON DAVIDSON ...

Back in the beginning of February, some wisenheimer cracked a comment that I should consider changing the blog title to "COVERT.com" after I posted a series of consecutive posts on the biography of Bob Delaney, the NBA ref.

Well, if you think I should consider renaming TERRYLYONS.COM to DAVIDSON.WILDCATS.COM, you are right. And, tough luck.

The Davidson Wildcats disposed of the Wisconsin Badgers, 75-56, anchored by a very convincing second half offensive attack and a similarly impressive defensive crackdown of the #3 seed in the region.

Davidson awaits Kansas who defeated Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats.

I left a nice message for Coach McKillop this evening, using the exact same words, a true sign of superstition.

"Get a few more Ws coach. Just get me a few more."

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.