Posted on Fri, Mar. 28, 2008

IN MY OPINION

Dreams, reality meet in Detroit

TOM SORENSEN

DETROIT --

If you're a Davidson fan, here's what you need to know about tonight's game against Wisconsin.

The Wildcats are America's underdog, the choice of the unaligned. They are the small farm fighting not to be swallowed by the corporate land grabbers, the ma and pa store resisting the big-box chains, the independent trying to win an election.

But there comes a point where the warm and fuzzy accolades must stop.

How about now?

"We really don't want the title of Cinderella," Davidson point guard Jason Richards says Thursday. "We're just a good basketball team making a run in the NCAA tournament."

Nobody ever made the Sweet 16 by being sweet. As if to prove it, Davidson coach Bob McKillop drives the Wildcats in their public practice at Ford Field. Glasses perched on his nose and skinny legs moving him around the court, he admonishes players, ending many of his sentences with the word "butt." These sentences tend not to be complimentary.

I randomly track 20 of Stephen Curry's field goal attempts, almost all of them 3-pointers. Six go in.

"Depth perception with the rims, on the field, it's kind of hard to get used to," Curry says. "But that's what this practice is for, just to get us used to the arena and the atmosphere. I'm actually looking forward to playing here. I've never played in this kind of arena before. It should be fun."

Ford Field is where the Detroit Lions play, or don't. It will accommodate 72,818 fans tonight. Asked to compare it to Belk Arena, Davidson's home court, Richards says, "I think it's 12, 13 times bigger."

Did Richards figure that out on the fly? No wonder he's a point guard.

"That tells you the Davidson intellect," says McKillop, smiling.

To reach the gym's top row, you have to pass through Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The benches, 15 padded black folding chairs, are 30 inches beneath the court. To reach the surface, you walk up 3 1/2 steps.

There's nothing new about playing an NCAA tournament game in a domed stadium. But the court is historically placed in one end zone, perpendicular to the field. This provides a background for shooters such as Curry and enables fans to sit courtside.

But the NCAA has stuck this court in the middle of the field. It's an experiment that will provide the NCAA with more tickets to sell. Should Curry shoot 6-of-20, it also will provide Davidson fans with a bad guy to blame.

The Badgers, however, will play better defense than anybody the Wildcats have played, Georgetown included. Wisconsin emphasized transition defense in its first practice of the season and hasn't stopped. Teams almost never run on the Badgers. Opponents might go a game or a week without getting a fast-break basket.

And the Badgers don't play zone. They didn't even play zone against Kansas State star Michael Beasley in their 17-point victory last week. Coach Bo Ryan has not used a zone all season. He might not have used a zone in his career. And he's been a head coach 23 years.

McKillop recruits players from across the world. Ryan recruits players from across the upper Midwest. The Badgers come to Madison from as far as South Dakota. The rest are from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

They're showing off with dunks during their open practice Thursday. One by one they mock gravity. I don't want to embellish their work, but some go so high they clear the rim.

Yet, do not underestimate them. They do not conform to the Big Ten slug stereotype. They are athletic. They just practice their athleticism closer to the ground.

If you come to the Motor City, and want to find other Wildcats with whom to become impossibly excited, go to the school's unofficial headquarters at Detroit Brewing Company. It's at 1529 Broadway, two blocks from Ford Field. You'll hear the Davidson fans before you see them.

Lastly, let's be realistic about tonight.

Can a team from the little Southern Conference go all the way to Michigan and beat one of the best teams in the Big Ten?

Ask Appalachian State.