Showing posts with label hinkle fieldhouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hinkle fieldhouse. Show all posts
11.17.2009
11.16.2009
One more take on Saturday
Lefty’s Legacy:
The result against Butler last season provoked a hopeless feeling; last Saturday’s game, on the contrary, made me feel significantly hopeful. Last year’s game was a sloppy version of Davidson basketball, too reliant on one player who was off his game due to injury and fatigue; this year’s game featured more than a few moments of perfect Bob McKillop basketball -- an energized and balanced offense, crisp passing, smart cuts, excellent rebounding, and tough defense. I could be biased given the negativity that pervades my reflections on last season, but the team on Saturday reminded me more of 2008 than last year’s team ever did.
11.15.2009
Numbers I like
In flight back to Florida -- thanks to the generosity of the community -- and I’m looking again at the box score.
1. Five guys made four field goals.
2. 24 baskets. 17 assists.
3. Won rebounds 31-27. Bryant didn’t play his best game, obviously, but he did have six boards from his guard spot.
4. Won bench points 19-14 against a deep Butler team.
5. Shot 47.1 percent from the floor against a team that last year held its opponents to 38.5 percent.
1. Five guys made four field goals.
2. 24 baskets. 17 assists.
3. Won rebounds 31-27. Bryant didn’t play his best game, obviously, but he did have six boards from his guard spot.
4. Won bench points 19-14 against a deep Butler team.
5. Shot 47.1 percent from the floor against a team that last year held its opponents to 38.5 percent.
The morning after
David’s gamer in the Indy Star:
Butler fans and college basketball analystswere eager to see the Bulldogs in action. Their coach was, uh, more subdued.
“I dreaded this game for six months,” Brad Stevens said.Indeed, all his apprehensions -- that Davidson was seasoned, saucy and sizable -- were in evidence Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The 11th-ranked Bulldogs were thrown into the fray right away, and they responded by rallying from a 10-point deficit to win 73-62.
McKillop in the presser: “We had a 10-point lead, and all of a sudden we wanted to have a 20-point lead.” More: “New experiences for all of them. Different roles.” “Every one of them has adjusted to a new role.” “For us to get this kind of performance from them is very encouraging to me.” And on Butler: “That’s the great thing about this program. It’s a program. It’s not a season. It’s not a team. It’s a program.” Listen also to his radio chat with Kilgo.
Some notes from Butler
*** Watched Brad Stevens find McKillop in a Hinkle hallway after the game and extend his hand. “Big fan,” the young Butler coach said. “You guys are great.”
*** First time in Hinkle. The place is a treat. It’s not in a parking lot, it’s in a neighborhood, and it comes out of nowhere almost Fenway-style. Inside, the big windows up top let the natural light in, and the sounds of the bounce of the ball and the squeaks of the shoes sound the way they’re supposed to sound. And what happened after Davidson and Butler finished their game? Little kids. Rec league.
*** Tripp’s trip: He left his house in Charlotte at 2:50 a.m. and drove the 600 or so miles to Indianapolis, making only one stop, somewhere in Tennessee, he said, where he bought six Cracker Barrel biscuits and ate them all.
*** Radio man Ken Hall after the game: “I think this year’s team can be better than last year’s team.”
*** Enjoyed some postgame pizza and Blue Moons at Binkley’s with Waitress from Cats.com and his road-tripping daughter.
*** First time in Hinkle. The place is a treat. It’s not in a parking lot, it’s in a neighborhood, and it comes out of nowhere almost Fenway-style. Inside, the big windows up top let the natural light in, and the sounds of the bounce of the ball and the squeaks of the shoes sound the way they’re supposed to sound. And what happened after Davidson and Butler finished their game? Little kids. Rec league.
*** Tripp’s trip: He left his house in Charlotte at 2:50 a.m. and drove the 600 or so miles to Indianapolis, making only one stop, somewhere in Tennessee, he said, where he bought six Cracker Barrel biscuits and ate them all.
*** Radio man Ken Hall after the game: “I think this year’s team can be better than last year’s team.”
*** Enjoyed some postgame pizza and Blue Moons at Binkley’s with Waitress from Cats.com and his road-tripping daughter.
That was Davidson basketball
I’m not talking about production, although go look at the box, and go look at the balance. I’m not even so much talking about execution, although anybody who’s watched this program for any amount of time saw plays, cuts and reads they’ve seen before.
I’m talking more about … disposition. Demeanor. What did they look like?
From where I sat in Hinkle, they didn’t look lost, they didn’t look scared, they didn’t look overmatched, and they didn’t look like they were looking for the guy who’s no longer there. They looked right.
This might sound funny or strange, and hopefully I can think this through a little more over the coming weeks and months, but I’ll give it a shot after Game 1:
Last year was entertaining. Saturday afternoon was interesting. What was most interesting last year, at least to me, often was more the stuff going on around the court, and less the stuff going on actually on the court.
It’s kind of a difficult distinction to draw, because wider, outside attention isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it struck me at Hinkle on Saturday that nobody was there to ogle or gawk. The people who were there, 6,713 of them, were there to watch two good teams play good basketball. There wasn’t any see-to-be-seen.
I’m mixing senses here, but it makes me think about what Scott Fowler wrote the other day, the thing about “the new era at Davidson,” after Stephen, and how it’s going to be “a much quieter one.”
That depends on what you’re listening to, and what you’re listening for.
McKillop didn’t look quiet on Saturday. Not to me he didn’t. That bench didn’t look quiet. The five guys in red out there on the court didn’t look quiet either. And I don’t just mean sound. I mean energy. And it was an energy that was familiar. And it was familiar in a way that sometimes last year’s energy was not.
After the game, standing against a wall in a hallway at Hinkle, McKillop talked about the closed scrimmage last month at Texas and how his guys went down 15-4, quick, and then fought back, and how he saw that same thing in the second half on Saturday.
“I saw great fight,” he said.
A little later I talked to Rossiter outside the locker room.
“We saw what we could do,” he said.
And a little after that I talked to Fox on his way to the bus to the airport.
“We’re going to be who we are,” he said.
I’m talking more about … disposition. Demeanor. What did they look like?
From where I sat in Hinkle, they didn’t look lost, they didn’t look scared, they didn’t look overmatched, and they didn’t look like they were looking for the guy who’s no longer there. They looked right.
This might sound funny or strange, and hopefully I can think this through a little more over the coming weeks and months, but I’ll give it a shot after Game 1:
Last year was entertaining. Saturday afternoon was interesting. What was most interesting last year, at least to me, often was more the stuff going on around the court, and less the stuff going on actually on the court.
It’s kind of a difficult distinction to draw, because wider, outside attention isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it struck me at Hinkle on Saturday that nobody was there to ogle or gawk. The people who were there, 6,713 of them, were there to watch two good teams play good basketball. There wasn’t any see-to-be-seen.
I’m mixing senses here, but it makes me think about what Scott Fowler wrote the other day, the thing about “the new era at Davidson,” after Stephen, and how it’s going to be “a much quieter one.”
That depends on what you’re listening to, and what you’re listening for.
McKillop didn’t look quiet on Saturday. Not to me he didn’t. That bench didn’t look quiet. The five guys in red out there on the court didn’t look quiet either. And I don’t just mean sound. I mean energy. And it was an energy that was familiar. And it was familiar in a way that sometimes last year’s energy was not.
After the game, standing against a wall in a hallway at Hinkle, McKillop talked about the closed scrimmage last month at Texas and how his guys went down 15-4, quick, and then fought back, and how he saw that same thing in the second half on Saturday.
“I saw great fight,” he said.
A little later I talked to Rossiter outside the locker room.
“We saw what we could do,” he said.
And a little after that I talked to Fox on his way to the bus to the airport.
“We’re going to be who we are,” he said.
11.14.2009
Stevens on Davidson
After the game: “It’s great opening against a team like this. You have to do everything well to compete against them. I’m talking about entering the ball out of bounds, moving from side-to-side. I’m a real admirer of the program. These are two good teams.”
Report from Hinkle
My DavidsonNews.net debut:
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Davidson men’s basketball team didn’t get a win Saturday afternoon, but what happened in the Cats’ season opener here at Hinkle Fieldhouse wasn’t a total loss.The Wildcats played 10th-ranked Butler even for much of the game before losing 73-62 before a crowd of 6,713.
More to come of course.
Saying the right things
Brad Stevens: “You replace guys in a program, and those guys have a program.”
11.13.2009
These two teams
One more thing from the sky before we land in Indy: Davidson College and Butler University, with enrollments of 1,700 and 4,000 students, respectively, have combined to win 170 basketball games over the last three years -- 85 apiece.
Tomorrow’s opponent
The Butler Bulldogs:
CHN game preview. Forde: They’ll go to the Final Four.
Butler’s players don’t exactly back away from the forecasts. They acknowledge their goal is to win the national championship.
CHN game preview. Forde: They’ll go to the Final Four.
11.11.2009
Q&A with the Butler beat writer
I sent David Woods of the Indianapolis Star some questions about Butler and he sent me some about Davidson heading into Saturday’s game up at Hinkle. His questions and my answers are over on his blog. My questions and his answers are here:
*** Gordon Hayward: What’s he do well? What’s he do really well? What’s he do just okay?
Hayward, at 6-9, is very versatile wing player. He shot 3-pointers at 45 percent last season and probably had his best game against Davidson, scoring 20 of his career-high 27 points in a span of 10 minutes. He accelerated his rate of improvement by helping the U.S. team win a gold medal in the under-19 World Championship at Auckland, New Zealand. He made the five-man all-tournament team there. Hayward could still be more assertive, especially if he’s the best player on the floor, as he will be in almost every Butler game. He is not yet adept at driving to the basket, although he is getting better at it. And he has become better at rebounding and blocking shots.
*** How many points is Hinkle worth?
Hinkle is great home court, and perhaps worth five or six points. A crowd of 3,000 can sound like twice that many. I'd expect about 6,500 for Davidson. But just about every team is better at home. One odd thing about Hayward is that all of his best games have come on the road. He has never scored more than 18 in a game at Hinkle.
*** One of the major reasons for the consistency of success at Davidson -- the major reason -- is the consistency at the top of the coaching staff: Bob McKillop. He’s going into his 21st season. Not the case at Butler. What’s the secret up there?
Barry Collier revived Butler’s program in the 1990s, and the defense-first, team-oriented system he introduced has remained intact. Collier was succeeded by one of his assistant coaches, Thad Matta. Then Matta was succeeded by an assistant, Todd Lickliter. Then Lickliter was succeeded by an assistant, Brad Stevens. Stevens began with Matta in 2000-01, so Stevens has been a constant throughout the decade. Collier is now the athletic director at Butler and a resource for Stevens.
*** To echo one of your questions: What should Davidson be worried about heading into this game?
If the Bulldogs are making their 3-pointers, they are nearly impossible to beat. But they didn’t shoot well from the arc in their two exhibition games. Their staple is defense.
*** Gordon Hayward: What’s he do well? What’s he do really well? What’s he do just okay?
Hayward, at 6-9, is very versatile wing player. He shot 3-pointers at 45 percent last season and probably had his best game against Davidson, scoring 20 of his career-high 27 points in a span of 10 minutes. He accelerated his rate of improvement by helping the U.S. team win a gold medal in the under-19 World Championship at Auckland, New Zealand. He made the five-man all-tournament team there. Hayward could still be more assertive, especially if he’s the best player on the floor, as he will be in almost every Butler game. He is not yet adept at driving to the basket, although he is getting better at it. And he has become better at rebounding and blocking shots.
*** How many points is Hinkle worth?
Hinkle is great home court, and perhaps worth five or six points. A crowd of 3,000 can sound like twice that many. I'd expect about 6,500 for Davidson. But just about every team is better at home. One odd thing about Hayward is that all of his best games have come on the road. He has never scored more than 18 in a game at Hinkle.
*** One of the major reasons for the consistency of success at Davidson -- the major reason -- is the consistency at the top of the coaching staff: Bob McKillop. He’s going into his 21st season. Not the case at Butler. What’s the secret up there?
Barry Collier revived Butler’s program in the 1990s, and the defense-first, team-oriented system he introduced has remained intact. Collier was succeeded by one of his assistant coaches, Thad Matta. Then Matta was succeeded by an assistant, Todd Lickliter. Then Lickliter was succeeded by an assistant, Brad Stevens. Stevens began with Matta in 2000-01, so Stevens has been a constant throughout the decade. Collier is now the athletic director at Butler and a resource for Stevens.
*** To echo one of your questions: What should Davidson be worried about heading into this game?
If the Bulldogs are making their 3-pointers, they are nearly impossible to beat. But they didn’t shoot well from the arc in their two exhibition games. Their staple is defense.
11.10.2009
A trip to Hinkle
Bro Krift, today on the phone, edited and condensed: “It was March 20, 2003. We were there in Indianapolis for the NCAA tournament first and second rounds at the RCA Dome. We stayed in an Econo Lodge the night before across from a place called the Classy Chassy. We took the picture in the morning. Tripp had a screen printer do the uniforms with the HICKORY and the 15 on the front. There was a pickup game going on, professors and random people, and we walked in there dressed like that. That place is so cool. The windows and the bleachers, cold spots, drafty spots. It kind of has that drippy-faucet feel. On my fridge I have the schedule magnets from ’07-’08 and ’95-’96, I have a picture of Stephen as a freshman shooting a layup against Charleston, I have a picture of me and Tripp and Stephen after we beat Georgetown, and I have a picture of the UTC game from January of ’08. And I have a picture of Tripp Cherry as Jimmy Chitwood.” Bro and Tripp.
11.08.2009
10.30.2009
The Butler Bulldogs
No. 10 in the nation in the USA Today/ESPN preseason poll: Bulldogs have loads of talent back and could be poised to make noise nationally. Gordon Hayward and Matt Howard pace the frontcourt with Shelvin Mack and Willie Veasley providing a veteran backcourt punch. Nov. 14 opener at Hinkle.
8.09.2009
November in Hinkle
Scheduling note from the Indy Star: Butler opens the season at home Nov. 14 against Davidson.
2.19.2009
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