JP: SoCon Freshman of the Year

Back on Dec. 4 in Charleston: These two rookies. And: The Southern Conference Freshman of the Year is going to be a Davidson Wildcat. Today: Kuhlman joins current assistant coach Landry Kosmalski and Stephen Curry as the only Wildcats to claim the coaches’ Freshman of the Year accolade. With Jake, of course, on the all-rookie team, too: It’s the first time Davidson has had two players on the All-Freshman Team since 2003, when Ian Johnson and Brendan Winters earned the honor. Telep in August. JP in Jacksonville. JP Kuhlman from St Paul's Middle School ...: Florida Hoops.

Thoughts from Charleston

1. That these guys made quite competitive three games that could’ve been so lopsided says something good about them. That the early holes were so deep says something maybe not so good.

2. Many of the biggest shots in Davidson’s second half came from JP and Jake.

3. Radio man Ken Hall said after the game that we’d seen 59-57 before. Then he opened up his copy of the book standing in the hall down a bit from the Davidson locker room and reminded me of a part on page 47:

In Detroit a reporter had asked McKillop about his team’s 4-6 start.

“We did not surrender,” McKillop said.

“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,” he said again.

4. Tripp made the good point watching the game Sunday that for the last seven years Davidson basketball has had a clear No. 1 scorer. There were the three years of Stephen but also before that the four years of Brendan Winters. Best not to forget Brendan Winters.

5. The first option on that last play? JP.

Brendan with the bounce

Dusseldorf Giants.

Logan and Brendan speak German

Kind of. Also: schedule and results so far.

Brendan in Germany

Training like Beckham

From the Dusseldorf Giants:

Question to Brendan: You played an extremely strong preseason and scored in double digits in almost all the games. How do you explain the good shape you are in?

Answer from Brendan: This summer I worked especially on making my legs stronger and worked with a personal trainer on that. He was an athletic trainer in the Premier League for a long time and in the U.S. he worked for the L.A. Galaxy and there with David Beckham among others. So he knew his stuff. We met twice a week. So far it has really paid off.

Translation help? Danke.

Wildcats in Deutschland

Brendan and Logan in Dusseldorf.

Brendan Winters

Tweeting: Ok, so I’m going to start tweeting for all the Dusseldorf Giants and DC Wildcat fans out there who have been asking for the inside scoop!

A thought here

When a recruit goes to Davidson to play pickup on summer evenings at Belk, and when he sees the incoming basketball freshmen already on campus because it’s where they want to be, and when he sees program alums who graduated three years ago, four years ago, seven years ago, 10 years ago -- guys who play in Europe, guys who make their livings doing that, guys who are pros, and guys who still come back to their alma mater every summer because it’s where they want to be -- and then when he sees the program’s most visible face come back to run and work, even though he’s a Golden State Warrior now, even though he has millions of NBA dollars now, because it’s where he wants to be ...

June 15, 2008

Chris Clunie on the phone from New York: “Matt didn’t want to disappoint his dad, and his dad didn’t want to disappoint Matt, and I think that permeated throughout the team.”

Brendan Winters on the phone from Denver: “He was harder on Matt than anybody else. He rode Matt. So it was okay when he did it to the rest of us.”