Stephen in the Journal

As told to Meg Kimmel on page 20 of the Summer issue:

It’s interesting. Going in, I didn’t see Davidson as the best fit for me. You could say I was basketball motivated. I mean, I was excited, but a little hesitant. I could not imagine what it would be like. So I guess one of of the best lessons from Davidson is not to go into a situation judging what it will be like. Being open to things. Because you never know.

Also this:

When I was making this NBA decision, I wasn't worried about missing basketball -- I knew I would have basketball. But giving up being a student -- I just loved all of that, the social aspect. Giving that up before I had to, that was the hardest part. ... I loved being a Davidson student. I loved every bit of it.

May 7, 2008

Meg Kimmel at Summitt: “It’s the hard stuff at the beginning. When you get to the top, the air is thinner. Up above the clouds, you have a shot.”

David Matheny at the Brickhouse: “Georgetown? They’re huge. But you don’t have to beat them four out of five. You only have to beat them the one time. Please, I said. Let it be Sunday.”

Stan Brown on the phone: “I think people who aren’t into Xs and Os, they could still sense: They’re doing something, and it’s not an accident. It’s not luck.”

Fran Fraschilla on the phone: “I would call it an elegant toughness.”

Matt Garfield in Charlotte: “Everything happened fast. The timeout went fast. Everything happened fast. Then all of a sudden the ending was there. If the season was a movie, the ending was just there, bam. There was no time. One second we’ve got a shot for the Final Four. The next second we’ve got a 10-hour drive home from Detroit.”

Davidson Journal

In the current issue:

Like many Davidson graduates, Michael Kruse ‘00 watched the Wildcats’ Elite Eight run last March, much of it from the stands at Detroit’s Ford Field. In the days that followed, he thought about what he had seen, talked about it with others, and read an Internet post by the Rev. William Robertson ’75 about that final shot in the Kansas game, and about Trust, with a capital T.

Kruse decided to take a risk -- and a three-month leave from his job with the St. Petersburg Times. Many miles and 300 interviews later, he wrote a book about that game, those players, that coach, that season, Davidson College, and Trust -- Taking the Shot: The Davidson Basketball Moment.

What does Bob McKillop have to say about Taking the Shot? “Michael gets it,” said the coach.