Charlotte.com: Davidson Wildcats

Recruiting shapes his days

Sun, 04 May 2008 10:54 EDT

Davidson assistant basketball coach Matt Matheny still couldn't take a deep breath Thursday afternoon.

A career recruiting for players is like that.

The NCAA has strict guidelines for coaches that govern when they can visit and see recruits play, but even though a contact period -- when coaches can visit players in person -- ended Wednesday, Matheny was still busy Thursday.

"Some people are like, `What are you doing once the season is over -- aren't you on the golf course?' " Matheny said. "But it doesn't work like that. You are always talking on the phone or at least sending letters."

The Observer reported that Davidson signed one recruit Wednesday, 6-foot-10 center Frank Ben-Eze. The Wildcats still have at least one scholarship available for next year's team, and recruits still have a few weeks to sign. Signing periods are typically a few weeks in November and also a few weeks between April and May.

According to Matheny and the NCAA Web site, here are the different periods of recruiting the NCAA allows:

Contact periods (typically during the months of September and April): A coach can visit with a player in person, but cannot see him play in a game except during open gym with the player's own team. There are a few traveling team tournaments in April where coaches can evaluate players, but coaches can't talk to them at those events.

Evaluation periods (typically October through March, July): Coaches can come to certified games, but cannot talk to a recruit in person.

Quiet period (typically May and June, August): Recruits are allowed to come to a college campus, but coaches are not allowed to leave campus to see recruits.

Dead period (holidays, the end of May, dates around the start of the signing period, and other scattered days throughout the year): Coaches cannot leave campus to watch or recruit any player and can't talk to recruits on campus.

Coaches can call a recruit, but are limited on the number of phone calls they can make (twice a week for seniors, once a month for juniors), and are not allowed to send text messages to recruits. Recruits are allowed to call coaches when they wish.

Matheny said that four Davidson coaches -- head coach Bob McKillop, Matheny, and fellow assistants Jim Fox and Tim Sweeney -- go out to recruit; but, due to NCAA rules, only three can recruit on any one day.

Matheny said Davidson coaches learn of prospects through high school coaches, national recruiting evaluators and, sometimes, parents of players. Then the coaches decide whether a player is worth scouting.

Matheny said the Davidson staff sees between 20 and 30 high school games a year, but sees an endless number of AAU games during the July evaluation period.

"Sometimes you'll see 12 AAU games in one day," he said.

He said the Davidson coaches are gone virtually that entire month and can also be out for most of other months.

"One September, I didn't return to Davidson for three weeks," Matheny said. "Of course, I wasn't married at that time. I might not be married now if I did it today."

Matheny laughed with that statement. He said he might get some more free time soon.

"It doesn't really slow down until the middle or end of May," Matheny said. "Maybe I can get to the golf course then."

Sources: Davidson signs a top recruit

Thu, 01 May 2008 07:52 EDT

Davidson has signed one of the top remaining recruits in the 2008 national class, the Observer has learned.

Sources familiar with the process confirmed that Frank Ben-Eze, who plays at Bishop O'Connell High in Arlington, Va., signed with Davidson on Wednesday. Joe Wootten, Ben-Eze's coach, said they faxed his letter of intent to Davidson on Wednesday morning.

According to hoopscoop.com, Ben-Eze is the 12th-best prospect overall who had yet to commit to a school.

But Ben-Eze, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound center, decided on Davidson after an official visit over the weekend.

"Frank had visited other schools, but none like Davidson," Wootten said. "Their coaching staff showed him that Davidson has a chance to be very good next season, especially since (Stephen) Curry is coming back."

Ben-Eze (pronounced Ben-A-zee) is ranked No. 21 at his position overall by hoopscoop.com, and would give Davidson immediate help. Davidson reached the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight last season, but no other Davidson player is taller than 6-9.

Ben-Eze's size would benefit a Wildcats team that loses forwards Boris Meno and Thomas Sander to graduation. Ben-Eze is from Nigeria, and played basketball there with current Wildcat Andrew Lovedale.

Ben-Eze might not be on the court at the start of the season. He is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee that he suffered in February.

With this signing, Davidson will have two scholarships available. Coach Bob McKillop has said one might go to current walk-on Ben Allison.

Ben-Eze initially verbally committed to Harvard, but backed away in March. Rivals.com said he also had offers from Marquette and Virginia Tech.

• Davidson College President Tom Ross said he is still negotiating with McKillop on a new contract. McKillop led Davidson to a 29-7 record last season.

Ross said he thinks the school can work out a deal with McKillop and his staff.

"We want to do as much as we can to reward Bob and his staff fairly for their performance," he said. "I don't think it will drag out too long."

Davidson fans savor Wildcats' elite season

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:30 EDT

More than 3,000 fans came to Belk Arena to celebrate Davidson's run to the Elite Eight on Tuesday, but the aftereffects from the season could carry over a long time.

That's because it looks like the coach is sticking around and the star player is getting healthy.

Davidson coach Bob McKillop and college President Tom Ross have discussed a new contract, and Ross said he's hopeful something can be done in the next few weeks. A report on ESPN.com said McKillop had turned down the Providence job, but he declined to talk about that school or any other.

He told the Observer he has had offers, but he's encouraged by what has been going on at Davidson.

"We have really been embraced by our community and the country," he said. "This is what you strive for as a coach."

Guard Stephen Curry has become the biggest star. He shook his head at the crush of kids around him, and said he's still adjusting to life as one of college basketball's most recognizable faces.

"I'm just enjoying myself," he said. "You never know how long it will last."

Curry also received encouraging news. His left wrist still has a slightly torn ligament, but since he is pain free, he isn't planning to have surgery. That would have made him miss two months. He also said an X-ray taken last week showed he still has two inches to grow.

With Curry and two other starters back, Davidson could have a Top 15 ranking next season.

McKillop said the school is having discussions with national networks about televising games, and said Davidson will play N.C. State at Bobcats Arena and Duke in Durham next season.

During Tuesday's celebration, Neil Diamond dedicated "Sweet Caroline" to the Davidson crowd from the video screen, and the crowd savored the moment.

"Another school may have won the national championship," athletics director Jim Murphy said. "But the real winner is Davidson College."

Recruit: I can't attend Davidson

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:10 EDT

If Davidson makes a return to the Elite Eight next season, the Wildcats might have to do it without adding any recruits.

Forward Alex Vouyoukas, who committed to Davidson in September, told the Observer on Monday that he did not academically qualify and will not attend Davidson.

The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Vouyoukas played last season at Blair Academy in New Jersey, after coming from Greece. He was the only commitment Davidson had received this school year. He said Charlotte was among the schools he was considering, along with North Texas and Loyola (Md.). "I know Charlotte has a good team," he said. "That could be a good option for me."

Davidson has three scholarships available for the upcoming season. Coach Bob McKillop has said the school might use one on Ben Allison, who was with the Wildcats last season as a walk-on. Other recruits are also expected to visit the school.

South Carolina's Walvius to quit

South Carolina women's coach Susan Walvius announced her resignation Monday. She will step down May 31, athletics department officials said in a release.Walvius went 165-160 and 51-103 in the SEC in 11 seasons with the Gamecocks. Her teams made the NCAA tournament twice. South Carolina (16-16, 4-10 last season) hasn't made the NCAA tournament or had a winning SEC record since 2003.

"I have one of the best groups of kids ever and leaving them is difficult, but the time is right for me to pursue other opportunities," she said in the release, which didn't say what those opportunities were.

Her decision to step down came a few weeks after two South Carolina players were arrested on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and financial card theft. -- associated press

Elsewhere

TENNESSEE: Guard J.P. Prince had arthroscopic reconstructive surgery on his left shoulder and is expected to make a full recovery by the start of practice in October. He averaged 8.0 points and 3.2 rebounds this past season and was voted the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year by coaches.

SAN FRANCISCO: The school lured ex-NBA player Rex Walters away from Florida Atlantic to take over its struggling basketball program. He had a 31-33 record in two seasons for the Owls. -- observer news services

Davidson recruit will look elsewhere

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:54 EDT

If Davidson makes a return to the Elite Eight next season, the Wildcats might have to do it without adding any new recruits.

Forward Alex Vouyoukas, who committed to Davidson in September, told the Observer Monday he did not academically qualify for the school and will not attend Davidson.

"Davidson just has really high requirements," he said. "I had visited the school with my dad and I had gotten used to the idea of me playing there. It was a major disappointment."

The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Vouyoukas played last season at Blair Academy in New Jersey, after coming over from Greece. He was the only commitment Davidson had received this year.

Vouyoukas said Charlotte is among the schools he is considering, along with North Texas and Loyola (Md.). Charlotte does have one available as of Monday, but Vouyoukas said the school has not offered one. He said he is hoping to visit there in a few weeks.

"I know Charlotte has a good team," he said. "That could be a good option for me."

Davidson, which has 10 scholarship players returning, now has three schoarships available for the upcoming season. Coach Bob McKillop has said that the school might use one on current walk-on player Ben Allison. Other recruits are also still expected to visit the school.

14 teams in town for college golf tourney

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:21 EDT

Planner

Palisades Collegiate Classic

WHEN: Shotgun start at 9 a.m. Monday (two rounds). Final round begins 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Practice starts today at 10 a.m.

WHERE: Palisades Country Club, southeast of Charlotte off N.C. 49 South.

WHAT: 14-team tournament hosted by the Charlotte 49ers, Davidson, Belmont Abbey and the Charlotte Sports Commission.

SCHOOLS ATTENDING: Charlotte, Davidson, Belmont Abbey, Campbell, Francis Marion, Eastern Michigan, Augusta State Marquette, Nebraska, Old Dominion, UNC Greensboro, USC Upstate, Virginia Commonwealth and Xavier.

ADMISSION: Free.

SKINNY: Charlotte has won four tournament titles this season and was the nation's consensus No. 1-ranked team in October. Golfstat has Palisades participants Charlotte ranked fourth, Augusta State 48th, Marquette 69th, Eastern Michigan 72nd and Virginia Commonwealth 93rd.

Charlotte senior Jonas Enander Hedin is ranked eighth individually by Golfweek, and sophomore Corey Nagy (36th) and junior Stefan Wiedergruen (40th) are in the top 40. Enander Hedin's 71.2 stroke average is on pace to set a single-season school record (71.77 by Ray Sheedy, 2005-06).

It was no ordinary week for McKillop

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:16 EDT

As he was running Saturday morning, Bob McKillop imagined what it would have been like if Davidson were playing that night.

He envisioned the Wildcats going through their pregame meal and walk-through practice.

"You kind of pinch yourself and think, `Wow, we could have been there,' " McKillop said Sunday morning in the lobby of the coaches' hotel at the Final Four.

If Jason Richards had hit his hurried 3-point attempt at the buzzer in the Midwest Regional final, Davidson would have reached the Final Four instead of Kansas, which will play Memphis in the NCAA final tonight at the Alamodome.

Instead, McKillop has come to the Final Four for the coaches' convention with unusual emotions. He's proud of the program he's coached for 19 seasons captured the hearts of sports fans nationally.

But he's disappointed Richards, Stephen Curry, Thomas Sander, Andrew Lovedale and the rest of the Davidson players couldn't experience the environment along with him.

Kansas coach Bill Self, who lost in four regional finals before defeating Davidson 59-57, explained how difficult it is to fall one game short of the Final Four.

"Next to losing the championship game, I can't imagine there's a tougher game to lose than the Elite Eight game," Self said, "because a successful season in so many ways is envisioned by getting to the Final Four."

McKillop's situation is a bit different because Davidson wasn't a high seed. As he would during an ordinary year, he has spent time with Phil Martelli and Bobby Cremins in San Antonio. He was scheduled to have dinner with Rick Barnes and Fran Fraschilla on Sunday night.

But McKillop will receive the Clair Bee Award for coaching excellence during a ceremony this morning. McKillop and his players also have had a lot of media opportunities.

Attending Catholic Mass on Sunday is a ritual for McKillop. Going on CNN's Sports Sunday before Mass is unusual.

So is watching Curry on Conan O'Brien.

"It gets repetitive, and sometimes taxing from the standpoint of the amount of time to do it, but I really understood this is an opportunity, not an obligation," McKillop said.

Davidson's deep run in the tournament also could give McKillop opportunities to leave for other coaching jobs. He said he looks forward to speaking soon with Davidson President Thomas Ross about his future there.

One thing he would like is better compensation for his staff, which he said has great chemistry. He referenced the Brazilian national soccer team, known as "the beautiful team," as an example of what he'd like to build.

"We were pretty close to it this year," McKillop said. "Do I think it can happen at Davidson? I'm certainly going to sit down with Davidson at the end of this, I'm going to talk with Tom Ross and we're going to talk about that beautiful team."

McKillop also has spoken to TV executives about scheduling attractive games and moving some games into slots to be televised. Though he's not sure how to do it, he wants to sustain the affection the state and nation developed for his team.

He wore a North Carolina blue tie to the NCAA semifinals Saturday night to thank Tar Heels fans for supporting the Wildcats when both teams were in Raleigh for first- and second-round games.

Memphis coach John Calipari said Sunday that getting to the Elite Eight is like winning three NCAA championships for McKillop at a school like Davidson.

But McKillop isn't satisfied. He wants to coach a team in the Final Four, and he was overcoming his disappointment last week by trying to figure out how to do it.

"We're the common man, and there's common ground with us," McKillop said. "That got people excited about, `They're just like me.' Or, `I like those guys.' I'm really going to try to have our program and our school capitalize on that."

WILDCATS WOWED HOOPS WORLD

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 08:06 EDT

Thanks for the joy.

That's what I'd like to say to Coach McKillop and the Davidson Wildcats.

It's been a season full of joy as we watched these 15 young men develop into the team that captured America's heart for two weeks in March.

The Final Four has rolled on, but the tournament's passion and wonder is gone. It evaporated into the rafters of Ford Field last Sunday night, carried aloft on the hopes and dreams of Wildcat fans old and new.

The town of Davidson came alive as a parade of automobiles filled the streets and people flowed along sidewalks shouting and waving the night of March 28. It was a spontaneous response in celebration of the Cats' victory over Wisconsin to move into the Elite Eight.

On campus, the regular weekend partying kicked up a couple of notches as students also filled sidewalks and balconies to celebrate their team's run on college basketball's grandest stage.

On most nights the sidewalks in Davidson are rolled up at sundown, but the Wildcats' win flooded the normally docile town and campus, immersing us in a sea of joy.

Two nights later that exuberance came crashing back to earth.

Stepping outside after watching Davidson's last-second loss to Kansas, I stood in my driveway and listened. It was quiet and cold, the streetlights glowing with mist from a light fog that encircled the town.

Davidson's joy drooped like the rain-sodden banners hanging from posts and porches all around town. But it's a joy that's muted, not lost, because this team and its improbable March Madness run will never be forgotten.

Last November, Davidson played the top-ranked UNC Tar Heels at Bobcats Arena, losing by a mere four points. At the game, my family and I sat behind famed former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer.

During a late-game timeout, one of the gentlemen sitting with Schottenheimer pointed toward the UNC bench and said, "That's a helluva team, isn't it?"

Schottenheimer responded by pointing down the court to the Davidson bench and saying emphatically, "There, is one helluva team!"

Yes, they are.

Thank you Davidson Wildcats -- for the joy.

In My Opinion | Bill Pitzer

McKillop offers insights based on experience

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 12:04 EDT

Davidson coach Bob McKillop won't predict the outcomes of today's Final Four semifinals in San Antonio.

"I lost $1 when I bet the Yankees would beat the Pirates in the 1960 World Series," said McKillop, who was 10 at the time. "I learned my lesson then."

He brings a unique perspective to today's games; Davidson faced three of the four teams.

UCLA vs. Memphis

Davidson lost by 12 to UCLA, and McKillop said Memphis would be wise to try to wear down UCLA All-America center Kevin Love.

"That's what we tried to do," he said. "We wanted to make him work as much as possible on defense. When you get him into a faster pace, that can make him a little uncomfortable."

Davidson didn't play Memphis, but McKillop said he received a scouting report from friend and Texas coach Rick Barnes.

"Rick said Memphis has taken its defense to a whole new level," McKillop said. "And I know UCLA finds ways to defend every inch of turf once you get past halfcourt. So, the key might be which team can disrupt the other the most defensively."

North Carolina vs. Kansas

McKillop knows both teams well -- Davidson lost by a combined six points to the schools -- and pointed to two pivotal factors in this game.

He said North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson must be able to handle the pressure of facing Kansas point guards Russell Robinson and Sherrod Collins, and Kansas must slow forward Tyler Hansbrough without getting its post players in foul trouble.

"Sasha Kaun can make a difference for Kansas," McKillop said. "He's (6-foot-11), but he plays so much longer than that. But, can he stay on the court against Hansbrough? Because Hansbrough is so good at drawing fouls."

McKillop said the teams' mind-sets could also play a role.

"I know Kansas has to have a sense of relief getting here, because they had not done that under (coach Bill) Self," he said. "So, the pressure's off, but that might make them a little complacent. North Carolina expects to win it, but are the Tar Heels feeling like they have to win to have a successful season?

"These games are going to be something."

McKillop gets national award

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 06:35 EDT

Davidson's Bob McKillop has won the Coach Clair Bee Award, his first national coaching honor.

The award honors the Division I men's basketball coach who has made the most significant positive contribution to his sport in the preceding year. The awards ceremony will take place Monday in San Antonio.

McKillop, 57, led Davidson (29-7) to the school's first Elite Eight appearance since 1969. Davidson had a 25-game winning streak and defeated three ranked opponents in the NCAA tournament.

The nine-member selection committee for the award included Dean Smith, Bobby Knight, Billy Packer and Dick Vitale. Other finalists were Mark Few (Gonzaga), Trent Johnson (Stanford), Ernie Kent (Oregon) and Rick Stansbury (Mississippi State).

Can't shake Davidson withdrawal

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:50 EDT

I see you moping. I see you moving at half speed, not really caring if you get there.

And I hear you. I hear you saying what if. What if Jason Richards had hit the shot and what if Stephen Curry had put the ball in the air and Richards and not Curry had brought the ball up court and Davidson had hit more free throws and Andrew Lovedale had not fouled out?

Three days after Davidson's two-point loss to the Jayhawks and we're -- our city and region -- still not all the way back.

The last time I saw a sporting event leave us so flat was on the second day of February, 2004. The night before, New England had beaten the Carolina Panthers by a field goal in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

What about the Carolina-Seattle NFC championship game two seasons later? That game was huge until it began. The Panthers were overmatched and the Seahawks won by 20.

For pain to linger, a game has to be close because if it's not close there are no what ifs. A 59-57 loss to Kansas, with the ball in the hands of Curry, the best shooter in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, is close.

North Carolina can tell you how badly the loss hurts. The Tar Heels were a victory away from the Final Four last season. But Georgetown beat them in overtime.

Tar Heel Nation was crushed. Fans of, in alphabetic order, Charlotte, Clemson, Duke and Everybody Else seemed to handle the loss just fine.

Most schools have natural enemies. Just as old-time race fans can't drive a Chevrolet and a Ford, college fans can't cheer North Carolina and Duke. But who is Davidson's bitter blood rival, Elon? I suspect that, like the rest of us, the Southern Conference pulled for the Wildcats.

We all loved the Davidson vs. Goliath angle, the 1,700-student school tangling with the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12.

We loved that no matter how famous they became the Wildcats remained tethered to the real world.

Be honest. If you're Curry, and LeBron James is asking for a ticket at courtside because he wants to "watch the kid play," and Dick Vitale and the fellows are praising you nightly and columnists are comparing you to Larry Bird, how humble would you be?

Yet if there was a moment in which Curry alluded to himself as Stephen Curry, chastised those who didn't believe (which is almost everybody) or acted as if his recent celebrity separated him from the rest of the human race, I didn't see it.

This was a team we could embrace and the more it won the more we liked it. And when the end came, it came with a suddenness that was not to be believed.

IT CAN'T BE OVER.

The loss was a stark reminder that the good guys don't always win.

What it is, if we get lucky, is a joyous and exhilarating ride.

Yeah, the last few days have been rough. But would you rather they had lost by 20? IN MY OPINION Tom Sorensen

No second-guessing for Davidson

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:30 EDT

Davidson coach Bob McKillop said he didn't sleep well Sunday night.

Part of that was because of his team's late arrival in town. McKillop was up past 3:30 a.m. talking with supporters who celebrated the Wildcats' magical run to the Elite Eight.

But, he said, reliving Davidson's final possession in its 59-57 loss to Kansas also kept him awake.

"When you are so close to taking that next step," he said, "you always start replaying plays and moments that could have been different."

Jason Richards missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer, and McKillop has heard the questions about the play ever since.

Why didn't Stephen Curry, the Davidson star who had propelled the Wildcats to a chance at the Final Four, take the last shot?

Why didn't McKillop have Richards, the national leader in assists, run the point and get Curry open from screens?

Davidson didn't choose that option, McKillop said, because Kansas had four guards on the floor. That would allow the Jayhawks to quickly switch off screens, and potentially keep the ball out of Curry's hands.

McKillop said the team's decision to run "Flat" -- where Curry had the ball from the outset -- wasn't something new. He had made a 3-pointer against Georgetown in the final three minutes of Davidson's 74-70 win on the same play by creating a shot off the dribble.

"That was a play in our arsenal that had worked," he said. "We went over it in the shootaround that morning. We were very comfortable with it."

McKillop said he asked Curry in the huddle if he was comfortable with the play. Curry said yes.

"Stephen offered a secondary option to the play, where we could run a screen for Bryant Barr," McKillop said. "He was thinking it through, writing it on the clipboard, and showing how make it happen. When I see and feel that kind of confidence from a player in response to a question, I know they are ready."

But McKillop said an unexpected stumble by Kansas confused Curry and the Wildcats for a moment.

Thomas Sander was supposed to screen for Barr. But he had to come over to help Curry once the Jayhawks rotated after the stumble.

"Thomas didn't have time to come over there (to Barr)," McKillop said. "The play was run as it should have been."

Curry said he was too off-balance to shoot in the final seconds, and passed it over to Richards.

"If you told me Jason Richards would have an open 3-pointer with a chance at the Final Four back in November, I'd take that deal," McKillop said. "I'd take it in November, December, anytime."

The shot missed, but McKillop said he's not second-guessing himself.

"If that shot goes in, we are geniuses."

Wildcats one shot away

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:33 EDT

Sixteen seconds remain.

The yellow block letters on the blue scoreboard say: DAVIDSON 57, KANSAS 59.

The ball is in the hands of the best player in college basketball the past 11 days, Davidson's Stephen Curry.

If you're a fan of the Wildcats and underdogs and student athletes and potentially happy endings and, oops, potentially devastating losses and tension like you can't stand, these 16 seconds are for you.

Kansas is an elite basketball program; the first job out of school for many of its players is in the NBA.

Davidson is a small college with 1,700 students and with a high graduation rate. To be here, on this basketball court in the middle of a football stadium in front of more than 57,000 fans Sunday, the Wildcats had to beat two basketball powers and win three games.

Now they are a victory away from legend. If they beat the Jayhawks, they advance to the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas. The play they use to try to get there is called Flat.

The unhurried Curry, a sophomore who will someday look old enough to drive, works his way left around a pick set by teammate Thomas Sander. He goes right, puts on a little fake and prepares to take the shot that will win the game. But Brandon Rush, 4 inches taller at 6-6 and unbearably long armed, leaps in front of him.

Another defender waits on the ground. Curry is surrounded. Time is tight. So he passes to point guard Jason Richards and Richards has to shoot and he misses and that's it.

"Why is the horn going off?" Kansas coach Bill Self asks.

The ending is too abrupt. As heavily favored as Kansas is, nobody, not even Self, expects the best story in sports to simply end.

Curry claps once, looks at the floor and walks to the end of court, in front of the Davidson fans, hands on his knees and jersey in his mouth.

"We were so close to the Final Four," he says later. "And we came so close to building on the story we built in the tournament and all year. One shot and ..."

As the players talk in soft monotones, somebody delivers to the locker room 12 deep dish pizzas. The Wildcats are college students again.

The beauty of this team is that they always were. They don't live in athletic dorms; they never stopped being part of the school they represent. What great emissaries they were, confident yet humble, disciplined but full of humor.

They were strangers to almost everybody outside greater Charlotte when the tournament began. Now there are odes being written about Charlotte's Curry, Chicago's Richards, Cincinnati's Sander, Nigeria's Andrew Lovedale and the unlikeliest of Sunday's stars, Bryant Barr from Falmouth, Maine.

Their fans were as good as they were. Kansas is a school with almost 30,000 students and a basketball tradition handed from generation to generation like an heirloom. And the singing, shouting Davidson fans made so much noise it was as if fans of the Jayhawks asked permission to cheer.

Permission denied.

Sander, a senior, is distraught as he walks off the court after his final game. But before he goes, he points to the Davidson fans.

"It's just incredible," he says. "We're a school of 1,700 and look at how many fans we had. This will never happen again.

"Unless we do it."

Curry's a hit for Prime Time

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:19 EDT

Stephen Curry arrived in Detroit on Wednesday. Since then, he has scored 33 points, pushed his team to a victory against Wisconsin and been called STE-ven, Stef-FAHN and STEF-en.

The proper pronunciation, of course, is Prime Time (PRIME-time). Trainer Ray Beltz gave Curry the nickname, and it stuck.

"I don't exactly know why," Curry says.

Teammate Jason Richards looks at Curry with utter bewilderment.

Gosh, why would anybody call Curry "Prime Time?"

He spends more time on ESPN than Dick Vitale.

His name has appeared in every U.S. publication but GQ, Redbook and the UNC Charlotte Alumni Newsletter.

A woman who works with Detroit Mercy, the host school of the Midwest Regional, walks through a Ford Field hallway Saturday, turns to her college-aged friends and says, "I can't wait to see Stef-EN Curry."

And she wassoexcited!

The five starters from the team that Davidson will play today, Kansas, are a mere 20 yards away. Some will be selected in the first round of the NBA draft. They're the rock, chalk top seed. They were famous first.

But in little more than a week, Curry has eclipsed them. He has eclipsed them all. When you look at the NCAA basketball tournament, it is him you see.

You see him go for 40 points against Gonzaga, 30 against Georgetown and 33 against Wisconsin. You see the Step Back Jack 3s and the how'd he do that 2s and think, "Yes, he's great, but isn't he out past his bedtime?"

If you dropped the best players in the tournament on a playground and had no idea who they were, Curry would be voted Guy We Most Want to Guard. He doesn't look ferocious. He looks 15.

"I thought he was a high school player," says Kansas forward Darrell Arthur, who met Curry in Dallas last summer at the tryout for the Team USA under-19 squad. "Then I saw him play."

The youthfulness enhances his appeal. He doesn't look as if he is supposed to do the things he does. We all watch, no matter where we live or where we went to school, because we can't wait to see what he'll do next.

"To me, he's the best player in the NCAA tournament," LeBron James says before his Cleveland Cavaliers play Detroit on Saturday night.

"He's been lights out," says former N.C. State and NBA legend David Thompson.

"He put this team on his back," says Sean May, the injured Charlotte Bobcats forward who led North Carolina to the 2005 NCAA championship.

On a Denver sports talk show Friday, Thompson picked the Wildcats to beat the Badgers. He'll be in Denver a few more days. He wouldn't mind running into the folks in the studio who ridiculed his pick.

May had Wisconsin in the Final Four. And he still loves Curry.

"Everybody is talking about him," May says.

Nine of the 18 questions asked of Kansas players during their news conference Saturday are about Curry. Four of the first five questions to Kansas coach Bill Self are about Curry.

If presidential candidates drive to Davidson to Curry favor before the N.C. primary, if Curry shows up in the caboose with George Clooney and Renee Zellweger to promote "Leatherheads," if LeBron gets excited because Prime Time shows up at one of his games, will anybody be surprised?

Curry would.

"It's nothing special that I do," he says.

When the DVD comes out, the action figures go on sale and the tour begins, maybe he'll understand. IN MY OPINION

Davidson Elite 8 History

MARCH 15, 1969: North Carolina 87, Davidson 85: After a controversial charge call gave North Carolina the ball, Charlie Scott hit an 18-foot jump shot at the buzzer to give the Tar Heels the win in College Park, Md.

MARCH 16, 1968: North Carolina 70, Davidson 66: Davidson led 34-28 at halftime but couldn't hold the lead at Raleigh's Reynolds Coliseum. The Wildcats shot 29 percent in the second half. -- Kevin Cary

Davidson the-dare-to dream team

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:35 EDT

Stephen Curry talked about living a dream.

"As a kid growing up, these are the kinds of games you dream about," said Davidson's sophomore guard. "You think about hitting the winning shot at the buzzer, and what that would feel like. But it doesn't really hit you until you get a chance to do it on the court."

Davidson is one win away from the Final Four, a quest that has captivated the country. The Wildcats, the No. 10 seed in the Midwest, can earn a trip to San Antonio by beating No. 1 seed Kansas tonight.

But Davidson players insist this is not "Hoosiers" revisited. Davidson won't run a "picket fence" play to conquer the Jayhawks, and the Wildcats aren't fazed by the daunting history high seeds have had against No. 1 teams.

Teams seeded No. 10 and higher have beaten No. 1 seeds twice in the NCAA tournament. No. 11 George Mason beat No. 1 Connecticut to advance to the Final Four in 2006. Louisiana State, an 11 seed, beat No.1 seed Kentucky 71-67 in 1986.

Those lower seeds have suffered more than 100 losses, many of them blowouts.

"We don't look at those numbers," point guard Jason Richards said. "We don't try to get into the hype."

Davidson (29-6) has a 25-game winning streak, but none of those opponents has a pedigree like the Jayhawks. Kansas (34-3) has won 10 straight, and boasts a roster filled with high school All-Americans and NBA prospects.

Jayhawk coach Bill Self said this year's team is the best he has had, and hinted that the Jayhawks should advance today.

"I've said all year that I would reserve judgment (about which team was best) until after this weekend's games," said Self, whose team has lost in the Elite Eight round three times. "But if we play like we are capable of playing, then I think this is the best team we have ever had."

To counter that, Davidson will continue to rely on Curry, who is averaging 34 points in the NCAA tournament. He said he's having "the time of his life" in leading the Wildcats to three tournament wins.

But he's had help. Davidson has been strong with the ball, giving up fewer than nine turnovers a game, and the Wildcats can draw from experience of playing against other top teams. Davidson lost to two other No. 1 seeds early in the season, losing to North Carolina by four and UCLA by 12 after losing an 18-point lead.

Davidson coach Bob McKillop believes in his team.

"Sometimes you have to brainwash yourself to be confident in your team," McKillop said. "But I'm not brainwashed anymore. These guys have faced every obstacle and they have earned my confidence."

Davidson players also don't call it a fairy tale. But they can't help but envision a happy ending.

"You know you'll get butterflies when you get out on the court," guard Bryant Barr said. "But just thinking about it, you realize this could be a dream come true."