Stephen Curry on ESPN's PTI

Exclusive Chat with Kyle Whelliston

The following is the transcript of a recent email interview that Will's World had with ESPN.com's Mid-Major Expert, Kyle Whelliston. Whelliston attended Davidson's BracketBusters victory and wrote an excellent article about Wildcat point guard Jason Richards.

What impressed you the most about Jason Richards' performance on Friday night?

Definitely his poise. It's easy to forget that he has about as much experience starting games as Stephen Curry does as a sophomore. When Steph went to the bench in the first half with two fouls, he took complete control of the game and looked like a four-year starter at point.

Is this year's Davidson team comparable to last year's Winthrop team? What similarities and differences do you see?

Not really, that team was all about forwards, I think Davidson 2007's guard play is better. Last year's Winthrop team had more talented size than this Davidson team has. They had a 6-10 guy named Craig Bradshaw who was fast enough to quarterback the press and created all sorts of matchup problems when he stepped out to the perimeter.

Where does Max Paulhus Gosselin rank among defensive forwards in the mid-major ranks? In all of college basketball?

I can't say, because we haven't created stats yet to properly measure the accomplishments of a guy like Max. It seems like he's a part of every play when he's out on the floor. All I know is that every time I cover a Davidson game, I write his name down at least seven or eight times for doing something good, but then I look at the box score and he's scored three or four points.

I saw on your marathon chat that someone asked you about Steve Rossiter. After another look at him on Friday, how do you assess his contributions to this team, this year?

He's never going to be a superstar, but there will always be matchups he can exploit, like in the N.C. Central game and the first game with Wofford. I hope he develops into a good role player in his final two years.

How do you think mid-major schools will fare in the NCAA tournament this year compared to last season?

One thing we saw a lot of last year was regular season champions going to the NIT instead of winning the autobid via the league tourney, unlike in 2006. As a result, there weren't a lot of low-seed upsets. Winning both the regular-season title and tourney championship is a good measure of a team's upset chances, and the volume of upsets will likely hinge on the number of double champions.

Davidson is now just outside the AP Top 25 poll. If they are ranked going into the conference tournament and falter, do you think they will still miss out on an at-large bid?

Yes. A 3-6 record in nonconference shouldn't get you in as an at-large, no matter who was on the schedule. Remember that they were 4-7 in 2005, and the perfect regular season couldn't get them in.

Davidson vs. #1 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN

I will be live-blogging tonight's game at Bobcats Arena here on Will's World. So if you can't get to a TV, or even if you can, be sure to stop by for some in-game thoughts and analysis. I will be sitting next to John Kilgo in press row so I'll be sure to throw in a few comments about the radio broadcast. Here are a couple of pre-game notes to get you through the afternoon.

-All eyes will be on the thumb and wrist of Hansbrough and Curry tonight. Psycho T injured his thumb against Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday and missed a day of practice with it iced up. Coach Williams has said that everything is fine. Meanwhile, this will be Stephen Curry's third game with a bandage wrist which he sprained while lifting weights not too long ago.

-The Wildcats were tabbed at #27 this week in the ESPN/USA Today poll. If they win tonight, they will probably crack the Top 25 for the first time since 1970 when they were ranked 15th in the AP poll.

-Davidson sold between 1,000 and 1,100 student tickets to tonight's game. That is a remarkable number considering that the school of 1,700 students has nearly 200 studying abroad right now.

-Tonight's game will be counted in the RPI as a neutral-site game. However, the atmosphere will resemble a home game. North Carolina will not have a band or cheerleaders and Davidson staff will be handling all of the PA, Jumbotron graphics and stereo music.

-ESPN the Magazine will be sending AK Clemmons, a staff writer who is also a Davidson graduate. Lots of other regional media will also be in attendance.

-Davidson Basketball media guides are now in and are available to the public for $10. This year's version is a special issue commemorating Davidson's 100th anniversary of men's basketball. With full-length features on every current Davidson player by John Kilgo, this media guide is one of the best ever produced. Contact Marc Gignac (magignac@davidson.edu) to purchase a copy.