‘Words that help me understand’

Claire:

After we hang up, I stand there. The frigid white sunlight shines through the dim blinds; my physical surroundings are completely disconnected from my tears, and the silence is so apathetic, so detatched, it's slightly laughable. What a picture I make, woman in transition. I feel 18/19/20/21/22 all at once, time-less and time-stopped and time-whooshing-by. I pick up the phone again, dial two numbers, leave two voicemails. Morgan. Michael. They were there, so much more within it than I am at this moment, and yet I need them to know that I was in it too. Two that I care so much about, two who are on different parts of the journey, student and alum -- and in a split second (that was actually two hours that was actually a season that was actually four years, how the hell did this happen?), I’ve left one part and crossed to the other.

Read the whole thing.

Mike Young

On Stephen: “I’m glad he’s not in the league anymore.”

New feel for the SCT

Cremins: “This conference is as balanced as I’ve ever seen it. It's not a one-horse race. The last few years, it’s been Davidson, Davidson, Davidson.”

Three thoughts for now

1. Davidson lost 15 games this year, including this one, not only because of the loss of the kid who’ll play across town tomorrow night for the Golden State Warriors but also the loss of the coach who spent this afternoon coaching his ass off down on the other end of the court.

2. Speaking of No. 30: So no appearance for him to watch his former teammates and classmates and roommates here in the conference quarters. That’s too bad. Would’ve been a cool moment for the school. Would’ve been a cool moment for him.

3. Steve Rossiter, Bryant Barr, Will Archambault, Dan Nelms: Steve was a captain, Will was a 1,000-point scorer, Bryant hit those threes in Detroit. Steve and Bryant were on the court when Jason took the shot. That happened. They were a part of it.

SCT: Elon 66, Davidson 59

AP:

CHARLOTTE -- Chris Long scored 15 points, including four clutch free throws in the final minute, as Elon beat Davidson 66-59 on Friday in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament.

Longs free throws were apart of a 6-0 run to end the game after the Phoenix led 60-59 going into the final minute.

The victory moved Elon (9-22), the sixth seed in the SoCon North, into a Friday quarterfinal matchup against Western Carolina. The Phoenix’s win over Davidson avenged a 99-96 double overtime loss on Feb. 27 after the Wildcats hit two 3-pointers in the final 3 seconds.

Observer: Six days after stunning Elon by hitting two 3-pointers in the final three seconds to steal a double-overtime victory at Elon, the Wildcats couldn’t summon the same escape magic. Burlington: That’s what Elon did, never wavering despite the rippling drama and the weight of history during what became a 66-59 first-round upset victory in Davidson’s backyard at the Southern Conference Tournament for men’s basketball. Winston: Matt Matheny embraced Bob McKillop near midcourt at Bojangles Coliseum yesterday, just moments after the student topped the teacher in the opening game of the Southern Conference Tournament. DavidsonWildcats.com: Elon ended a 15-game losing streak against Davidson, including three games in the SoCon Tourney. McKillop: “This team has a lot of tournament experience, but it doesn't have a lot in the roles they're playing now.” Also in his presser: “Matt Matheny has done a fantastic job all year long, and that doesn’t surprise me.” Video: Matt after the game.

Let’s do that again

Last weekend in Elon: McKillop: “For a basketball aficionado, to see the different counters each team made, there was a lot of chess going on out there.” Matheny: “To be in a heavyweight bout like we were and make the plays that we made to keep extending it into overtime after overtime, we have come a long way. My feeling is we have not yet played our best game.” The Rossiter shot.

Basketball and family

Big Steve Rossiter: “It was a goal of both boys to play Division I basketball. So it’s something we’ve tried to share with them.”

Taking another shot

DeCourcy:

It’s amazing how quiet it is now that Davidson is Davidson again.

With Stephen Curry gone to the NBA, the Wildcats finished 16-14, 11-7 in the Southern Conference. So maybe they’re not really Davidson; even before Curry, this wouldn’t have been a vintage finish under Bob McKillop.

His teams have won the Southern’s automatic bid five times. The Wildcats begin their trek toward another NCAA appearance Friday against the Elon Phoenix, whom they defeated on the road in overtime in their final league game.

There’s no more Steph Curry, but Davidson still is one of college basketball’s best programs. The 2010 Southern Conference tournament is another chance to prove it.

Katz on the SCT: Nobody from the Southern Conference has a player like former Davidson guard Stephen Curry. But at least some of these teams have had the experience of beating a high-level opponent and will go into this tournament with confidence. If the semifinals in Charlotte are Western Carolina-Wofford and Charleston-Appalachian State, the league should have a highly competitive final two days. The Observer points out: Brendan McKillop’s assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.7 is the best in conference.

Here

Left St. Pete at 9 last night. Need coffee.

The Stephen show: in town after all

Scott:

There is one tinge of irony to the weekend. Southern Conference organizers hoped that Curry would stay at Davidson for his senior year and become the star attraction at this weekend's tournament.

Instead, Curry went pro a year early. Yet he's going to end up being in Charlotte anyway.

“I found out this was going to be a possibility in the fall,” Curry said, “when the schedules all came out. My one trip to Charlotte all season comes at tournament time. It's pretty funny. It's going to be great for me, of course, but it's going to be great for a lot of people besides me, too. A weekend like this just shows how big basketball really is in Charlotte, and how well the city can showcase such a great sport so many of us love.”

Cremins: “Is it inconvenient? In a lot of ways, yes it is.” Iamarino: “I would have preferred if the Warriors to come to Charlotte on a different weekend. Guess I didn't have David Stern's ear on that one.” Stephen: “I'm putting the pressure on my Davidson boys. They better win Friday so I can see them in person Saturday.”

A history lesson for the new folks in Charlotte

Terry Holland, in this morning’s piece by Ron Green Jr., which certainly is worth the read: “The burgeoning number of ACC basketball games on television had a tremendous impact on game attendance, particularly for Davidson with its small alumni base. The television exposure began to give every ACC team a recruiting edge over even the best Southern Conference teams, like Davidson. So what Bob McKillop has done in an even tougher environment is the greatest coaching 'resurrection' since Lefty did it in the 1960s.”

And a funny juxtaposition from Larry Brown: “There was nothing about that job that wasn’t appealing. It was just some things that happened that didn’t quite work out.”

One of those sentences is necessarily untrue.

Try again?

Getting ready for Friday

Elon game notes: The Phoenix is 4-5 in its last nine games, losing the four games by an average of 5.0 ppg. ... Davidson is one of only two league teams that Elon has not beaten during its time in the Southern Conference -- the ‘Cats are 14-0 against Elon over the past seven seasons. ... Davidson and Elon have met four times in the SoCon Tournament, the last time in the 2008 championship game when No. 23 Davidson turned out a 65-49 victory. At that time, current Elon head coach Matt Matheny was the associate head coach for Davidson. SCT info. The Wildcats have won four SoCon Tourney titles in the Queen City, including three in a row from 1968-70: Davidson game notes.

Saturday in Charlotte?

Stephen a bit ago in the tunnel: “Can’t wait.”

To win 4 at the SCT?

Chattanooga Times Free Press: The College of Charleston came close last year only to run out of air against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the men's championship game in McKenzie Arena. Elon won three games the year before and lost in the fourth. Furman had the same fortune in 2002.

Watching from afar

Stephen: Just watched Davidson get a win on Senior Night. The boys are gonna make some noise in the SOCON tournament I know it. Just wait and see! Floor general.

An early SCT preview

Bleacher Report:

Davidson is a team that could be spurred on by the home-town crowd when the tournament comes to Charlotte in a little over a week for the 90th renewal of the tourney. Davidson probably stands the best chance of winning the SoCon title of the teams that play on Friday.

I’ll buy that.

Oops

Jeff Hartsell on the SCT in the Queen City:

Well, Curry will be in Charlotte all right -- with Golden State on Saturday, March 6, against the Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena, competing directly for fans and media attention with the SoCon quarterfinals on the same night at Bojangles Arena.

Wait, there's more -- the Lakers and Kobe Bryant will be in Charlotte on March 5, just in time for the SoCon's opening night.

At least in Chattanooga, the SoCon was only competing with Mr. Belding.

Just put it, and leave it, in Charleston.

2007 SoCon champs

Contribute to The Davidson Project. Deadline is Jan. 1.

March 2007

Will in the stands after the SCT. More (and more to come) over at The Davidson Project. Deadline for contributions is Jan. 1.

March 2008 in Charleston

Championship game against Elon. More pictures over at The Davidson Project.