Thoughts at the half at McAlister

1. I like it when those big guys take (and make) threes. Or even just take them. 1. Because they’re good shots. 2. Because it feels like Davidson basketball. Makes me think of Landry shooting them, or Stephen Marshall, or Martin Ides, or ...

2. McKillop: “Steve! Singles!”

3. About two and a half minutes before the break: McKillop calls timeout. Draws something up. Two-man game on the left side with JP and Jake. Turns into two points. Ken came over to say that those two scored 16 of the Wildcats’ last 19 points. Noted.

4. That’s a pretty good half against a pretty good team in this league.

5. Also: nice little turnout in red here for a Thursday in the Lowcountry. Spotted in the stands: Hobby Cobb, Danny Smith, Lee Sargent, Big Steve Rossiter, the Barrs, the Archambaults, Will Bryan’s folks ...

Athlon is out

They say:

LAC (Life after Curry) begins for the Wildcats, but it might not be so bad. Bob McKillop consistently had Davidson in the mix for the league title before Stephen Curry ever set foot on campus. The Wildcats will be big inside with Ben Allison, Frank Ben-Eze and Steve Rossiter. The key will be finding a go-to scorer and someone to knock down perimeter jumpers. Bryant Barr could be the answer to both needs.

Davidson is picked second in the South division behind Charleston. No Wildcats on the five-man all-league team. Look at the bottom of the picture of C of C’s Andrew Goudelock, the player of the year pick, and who do you see in the stands? Hello there, Lee Sargent.

May 16, 2008

Tom Richards in Huntersville: “Jason was a man.”

Lee Sargent in Huntersville: “Jason and Thomas gave him a chance to take a breath.”

Jane Sander: “After the Georgetown game, he came into the stands, and I hugged, and I said, ‘Thomas, can you believe this?!’ And he said, matter of fact, ‘Yeah, Mom, we’re really good.’”

Saturday

Left west central Florida. Drove. Saw on I-95 in South Georgia a silver Infiniti with Florida plates and inside was a man and a son and they were wearing matching red WITNESS caps and the boy had on a 30 jersey. Saw Hanner sell out and stay silent. Saw all those folks cram in there to see Stephen and instead just sit there and have to watch a team that doesn’t lose in its league. Saw Davidson in the first half miss 22 shots and six free throws and two-thirds of its threes. Saw Stephen miss eight threes. Saw Davidson still have 51 points at half. Saw Davidson get 52 rebounds. Saw Will Archambault. Saw Dan Nelms. Saw Davidson play defense. Saw Georgia Southern go long stretches, chunks of minutes, here, there, everywhere, and not have even a remotely, reasonably decent look. Saw Bryant make shots he can make. Saw Andrew go for 16 and 15. Saw people leaving with NINE minutes to go. Saw Will Reigel and A.J. Atkinson get into the game. Saw Lee Sargent. Saw Doodle Wally. Saw Bob McKellar. Signed his book. Sat with Meg Clark. Drove. Drove more. Got back.

And then this ...

Jeanette Scire came into the press room before the game Saturday afternoon and said she had seen a man outside holding a sign saying he needed tickets. Scott Fowler said on press row he had seen a father with his redheaded toddler daughter standing outside, and both of them, the man and his little girl, were holding up two fingers, looking for a way in. Tripp Cherry said after the game that he had seen the same things.

For a game against Samford.

On Jan. 3.

Over Christmas break.

With no students on campus.

Not a seat to be had.

Jeanette’s been at Davidson for a while, almost 20 years, and so she remembers on game days in the early ‘90s going around town with Susan Mercer and trying to give people tickets.

Here.

Just take them.

Just please come.

Sometimes these days, like yesterday, when I sit there and I look around at 5,223 at Belk, crammed in, all those people making all that noise all the way up to the roof, I think of something good fan Danny Smith told me last summer when we talked for the book. I don’t have my notes with me, so I hope I’m remembering this right, but he said he brought his family to Belk in December 1995 to watch Davidson play N.C. State. It was their first game ever.

They enjoyed it so much they decided to buy season tickets, Danny said, so he came back to campus the following week and found Lee Sargent, the ticket man at the time, and asked about maybe getting some seats.

Lee took Danny into the arena.

He walked toward center court.

He took a right and started to walk down the steps, and he kept walking, and he didn’t stop until he was standing in the front row.

Lee looked at Danny.

“How about these?”

That was 13 years ago.