11/17/2024
Davidson vs. The Doubters- Round One
Just a short 20 minutes from the young and vibrant city of Charlotte, North Carolina lies Davidson College. Its storied history and rich traditions can be felt all around campus, especially in the hallowed halls of John Belk Arena. Although it may shock you that they even are a Division One school, Davidson has a legacy of being small but mighty. The college has a population of merely 1900, almost a thousand smaller than Hough High School which is just down the road. Despite this, it has seen three Elite Eights, including one since the creation of the iphone.
Oh, and Steph Curry went there. Figured I should mention that.
Curry and countless other players competed under famed coach Bob Mckillop. Known for being one of the first coaches to heavily incorporate stats into the game, he made Davidson a flame throwing, shot-chucking, and all-around entertaining squad. However, he isn’t central to this story nor is Steph. Both meant the world to the fans, but no longer have any effect on the team. The name Mckillop will still appear throughout the season as his son Matt is the current head coach of the men. In his third year with the group, he bravely leads the Wildcats into the fearsome Atlantic 10 conference.
The A-10 is stacked this year, and many believe the Davidson men will finish near the bottom, if not dead last. This column will follow not only the wins and losses versus opponents on the court, but also the battle between Davidson and the critics’ prophesying their downfall. As a fan, it is my duty to hope for the best; it is also my instinct to complain when they do anything slightly wrong. Any criticism, however harsh, is simply the ranting of a delusional cheerleader who thinks he should be the coach.
Whether Davidson goes undefeated, or winless, or Birnan Wood comes to Dunsinane, I will be here to tell you about it. Week one saw the men defeat William Peace University by a scoreline of 88-47. Although William Peace is Division III and the matchup arguably felt like a violation of the 8th Amendment, a win is a win. The boys followed that up with a strong win over Bowling Green, 91-85. Three Wildcats ended with 20 points or more, including junior Reed Bailey leading with 24.
On Saturday, November 16th, the squad faced off against East Tennessee State in a rematch from last year. ETSU pulled out a 70-68 win in the previous matchup. Once again, it was a tight matchup. However, this is a different Davidson team. They scraped out a 76-70 victory led by Reed Bailey. He has taken a serious jump up from last season. He finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Senior guard Zach Laput had a huge game off the bench, he dropped 14 while shooting 85.6% from the field. No bucket of his was more important than his "and one" layup following his offensive rebound with 0:45 left in the game. His big play put Davidson up 71-67.
Maybe my fandom of Detroit sports has made this word too ingrained in my brain, but I can’t think of a better descriptor for this group than gritty. They work. They hustle. They scored merely three three-pointers and still won, a feat that seems impossible in the current basketball world. They out-rebounded ETSU by 12 rebounds.
Three games down, undefeated. Take that, critics.
Davidson-3 Doubters-0
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