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 60 Winthrop 47

The Wildcats will have yet another chance to shine on national television this Friday when they head to Rock Hill, S.C. to take on Winthrop in the BracketBusters game. You can check out previews for the game at Bracketography and ESPN.com.

This post will be updated throughout the game as I live blog all the Wildcat action. Be sure to send in questions via the comment feature about the game or things that you would like Kyle Whelliston to answer about the Wildcats.
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Most of Davidson's media/staff crew got here a little after five and made our way around the arena. Asst. SID Lauren Biggers used to work here so she gave a brief tour of the athletic facilities. Their baseball stadium is state of the art. The basketball gym is nice as well, but the dark maroon colors make it seem very dark as you get farther away from the court.

Kyle Whelliston is indeed here, although I didn't get to talk to him because of his marathon chat. He had his iPod on and was sitting at the far corner of the media room when I came in. Now he's hanging out with his ESPN cronies...for someone who preaches this whole "rage against big-timing, big schools" he certainly seems to act pretty big-time himself with his whole ESPN credential. We'll see how things develop...

The two student sections are literally right next to each other. Davidson's fans are in two sections behind their bench and going into the corner, while the Winthrop students are in the facing section behind the basket. They just got into a cheering match that was precipitated by the Cat in the Hat, Boxer, and Pirate/Ninja (?).

Finally, Winthrop ran out of staff/media food. They put the spread out at around 4 p.m. and all the ESPN people ate it up before Davidson people got here. I had to do a Chick-Fil-A run to fill some stomachs. Winthrop needs to get it together.
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TV Teddy is back in the building. Twice in one week. I hope we get the same type of reffing like Tuesday. That seemed to work out well for us.

Winthrop has a really nice video board over center court, but their lineup video wasn't working right. They REALLY need to get it together.
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18:20 D 6 W 0
Winthrop is known for their defense and they looked pretty much like Max on that first possession. Flailing arms, lots of intensity. Two problems though. They aren't 6'6". And um...Stephen Curry.
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17:00 D 8 W 5
Oooh...Curry cools off though with two turnovers and then gets called for a blocking foul as the guy leaped into him on the fast break. Very questionable...Steph got called for a charge for much less against Duke. And here we go...Davidson hasn't penetrated much so far...and then Lovedale gets a good look.
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15:50 D 8 W 8
Because of both student sections being in one corner, all of the noise feels very concentrated. Davidson will be shooting into it in the second half.

Winthrop's D is nothing to scoff about. They are playing physical and hustling more than Davidson right now. Three steals and a block...make that four. Five.
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14:20 D 12 W 8
Davidson has the reputation of being a very physical team around the SoCon. And right now, they are the ones looking to the refs for protection and they aren't getting it. The Wildcats need to man up a little and play to the refs as they are. Unfortunately, that led to a charge on the last possession by J-Rich. Woop, TV Teddy with an offensive foul on Winthrop at the beginning of their possession. And Sander gets to the free throw line at the other end.

The scoreboard sightlines in here are weird. Both scoreboards are in the upper corners behind fans while the main board over center court just has an Eagle logo.

Jason Richards with the outside touch tonight which is great. He has two threes.
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12:41 D 16 W 8
Wildcats are cutting well and throwing lasers into open cutters in the paint. While Winthrop is turning it over on their entry passes. Curry showing the Rock Hill crowd how effective he is at defensive rebounding and starting transition. Wildcats on a run now.
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11:08 D 20 W 8
Davidson on a 12-0 run after Stephen Curry does the impossible and comes out with the ball from two Winthrop guys who are trying to control it in the corner. Then he whips the ball to Lovedale in the paint. Davidson's crowd is pretty loud and rowdy. If we could get all of the random collections of dedicated fans that we have in these two sections and put them right on top of the court at Belk, we'd have our "energy" problem solved. Phi-delt and ninja cheering together peaceably...it's a beautiful thing.
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9:30 D 20 W 10
One Canadian causes five seconds while the other air balls a shot on the other end. Let's go Will. Winthrop fans a little chippy after another call doesn't go their way. Ooh...Lovedale now getting in on the air ball action. I wonder if there is a sight line problem on that baseline. Winthrop breaks the drought on a nice jumper. And Curry is on the bench with two fouls. This 10-point lead might evaporate quick.
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7:39 D 22 W 13
Davidson is in the bonus, however...J-Rich draws a block on an overzealous Eagle defender and gets two easy ones from the line. Archambault will need to help out with the offense, as well as Boris. The Wildcats scored over thirty in the paint against Greensboro. This team isn't much bigger...they need to look for close shots. Richards isn't a bad option either.

Thankfully, it seems that Winthrop doesn't really score in bunches. They look really athletic out there but they've only got 13 points.
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7:20 D 22 W 13
Paulhus Gosselin with a big kick of the ball right in front of me. He knocked over Martin McCann's water. And then Steve knocks the next one out of bounds. And then Max steals the third. I wouldn't want to inbound against us.
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4:40 D 25 W 17
Richards now with 3 threes. Always "interesting" to watch Davidson's offense when Curry is on the bench. Archambault misses another one. Where's that Furman effort? McCullough and Gaynor have six apiece for Winthrop.

Teddy Valentine with his patented "i'm gonna stop the game without calling anything" just to talk to you on TV. He gets away with everything.
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3:13 D 28 W 17
Richards with his fourth three and he has 14 points on the game. He gave a very fired up look to Davidson's crowd.

Will and Bryant are way off. Short on everything. That's so frustrating because we know they can shoot.

If you think that watching Max play D on TV is fun, you should try it from courtside. He always yells at himself when he can't come up with the steal and on his last steal in front of me...he uttered some sort of "Oooh (look there's a loose ball, I'm gonna get it)." It's incredible to watch someone with so much passion for defense.
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Halftime D 31 W 21
Barr finally connects. I have to say, though, that it doesn't feel as if Davidson has a 10-point lead. Without a scoreboard in here, it feels as if the game hinged on each possession. Gaynor is very quick...very quick. But there's still no reason for him to have this many steals. We have to be more careful with simple swing passes.

However, Winthrop should probably be pretty disappointed that Curry played so little time and they still trail by ten. Davidson's defense stayed strong throughout the half and their transition D did not allow too many easy points.
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18:00 D 31 W 24
So Stephen Curry isn't hurt. ESPN announcers can be boneheads sometimes. They implied that Curry saw limited time in the first half (9 min) because of an injury when it was just because of his second foul.

But, that aside, Winthrop has taken a page out of Davidson's book and come out very strong and emotional so far to start the half. The Wildcats' offense has looked anemic so far.
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15:32 D 37 W 27
Max draws yet another five-second call. He is a maniac on in-bounds plays. And then he hits a three. He seems to put a little more arc on the ball when he is confident and he is playing with a lot of it right now.

After a Winthrop three, Lovedale keeps a rebound alive and J-Rich knocks home his fifth three of the game for his 17th point. Curry is about to break out here. You can feel it.

And I try to keep things respectful on here, but Winthrop's cheerleaders/dance team is well...they are laughing out there. They know how ridiculous this thing looks. They do.
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12:05 D 40 W 31
Wow white ref. Wow. You are really bad. He just made a ridiculous out of bounds call saying that Sander lost it off his knee. And Curry continues to be cold. This place is really loud after an Eagle dunk. They realize that they have been able to do something very special. Hold Curry down. So far.

Boris Meno draws an elbow to the face which is called intentional and he hits 1 of 2. The ref who called it just took about 150 decibels from McKillop on consecutive possessions. Now the Eagles cry foul. Yet another foul away from the ball and this place is pissssssed off. I didn't see the recent foul or the intentional one too well so I can't comment on their viability, but these refs seem to be going back and forth and back and forth on questionable plays.
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9:20 D 44 W 31
Apparently the Winthrop Eagle is named Big Stuff. He isn't very big...in any way that you look at him.

This game is a real grind. Curry is so far off. I haven't seen anything like this in a long time. Maybe ever.

Davidson is having trouble tracking down rebounds and they send MPG back in. Sander picked up a pretty bogus foul as Buechert dropped the ball with Sander straight up and down.

And Curry finally hits. Finally! A little MPG and Rossiter get the rebounding going for Davidson and Winthrop is out of sorts on offense.
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6:09 D 51 W 36
Richards is having his way tonight. He gets points number 18 and 19 off that patented hesitate and roll on the baseline. Davidson's defense has made Winthrop look silly on offense. The Eagles are down 15 but their fans are still going nuts with every play. Meanwhile Davidson's fanbase is loving this. Working toward a non-conference win on the road. It feels good.
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2:49 D 51 D 42
Winthrop with a little run and this thing is a little too close for comfort. Davidson has not gotten off a good shot after several long possessions, while the basket has gotten really big on Winthrop's side of the court. And the Eagle fans are still here. The Eagles' scoring has been few and far between tonight, but 2:49 is still a good bit of time. Davidson can't just nurse this and hope Winthrop misses.

Coach might not know that Lovedale's got four fouls (he picked up three in the last few minutes). Meno has been riding the bench for a while. At this point, though, it might not matter.
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1:06 D 53 W 42
Lovedale with a huge dunk on a feed from Steph and the drought is broken. That might have been the dagger right there. Davidson has won the hustle battle tonight in the second half.
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34 sec D 57 W 44
And the students strike up an a capella Sweet Caroline tune. They did a great job tonight. And so did Jason Richards. More on him later. Davidson wins its 17th in a row. Depending on what happens tomorrow in Tennessee, that might become the longest winning streak in the country.
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Final D 60 W 47
Great statement for Davidson on the road on national television. Curry didn't have his best night but his good buddy Jason stepped up huge for 21 points. Curious to see what Whelliston will write about this one. Big Stuff and his cheerleaders sway on the court to the alma mater and we wrap things up here on press row.

Whelliston helps us think big

It is no secret around Davidson men's basketball circles that next year could be a season for the ages. Not only will the Wildcats feature an exciting lineup that returns every scholarship player from a team last year that ranked nationally in scoring, they will get the chance to play against the nation's most storied basketball programs: UCLA, UNC, Duke and NC State.

For Davidson, though, this tough schedule does not appear out of the blue as a result of last year's "miraculous season." In fact, the Wildcats have been leading the rest of the Southern Conference in the last decade in terms of OOC strength of schedule.

As Kyle Whelliston points out in his most recent feature on ESPN.com, Davidson has a real opportunity this year to not only challenge teams from the ACC, they have the opportunity to beat them and prove that last season was no fluke.

"Our players realize that what was accomplished last year is in the past," said Coach McKillop in the article. "They have responded to that by showing me a work ethic that has been extraordinary."

Throughout the article's entirety, Whelliston seems to make it very clear that he believes that Davidson's talent, schedule and pre-season buzz could have them heading for realities beyond the imagination of the "leafy" little NC town. The writer goes so far as to invoke the L-word, something that Bob McKillop has earnestly avoided in his tenure at Davidson.

"What Lefty and his players accomplished was one of the truly great stories in college basketball history," McKillop says. "There were 11,600 people every home game at the Charlotte Arena, there were NBA draft picks with Dick Snyder and Fred Hetzel. There are a significant, very significant number of steps to take before we can even be mentioned in the same breath as the glory days."

But at the risk of calling out Coach McKillop and taking Lefty off of a pedestal, the last half-decade of Davidson basketball has begun to recreate the glory years in some ways, and even surpass it in others.

With last year's NCAA tournament appearance, the Wildcats made it to the postseason for the third time in as many years. That had not happened since 1970 in Davidson history and has always been a rarity for the Southern Conference. Bob McKillop has graduated all of his players and most of the recent classes, including last year's walk-on Lamar Hull, have played professional basketball post-Davidson. It is certainly too early to start counting our eggs with Stephen Curry, but he did help Davidson set two new attendance records last season and propelled the U.S. U-19 team to the World Championship finals. And did I mention that Bob McKillop is the winningest coach in Davidson and Southern Conference history?

It is true that Driesell accomplished something very special in his day. But McKillop is accomplishing something almost equally special in this current state of college basketball where many coaches argue that the NCAA Tournament should include up to 128 teams. Driesell made Davidson into a brand back when that word had more to do with livestock and hot metal objects.

McKillop has never publicly sought out such things for Davidson as Driesell once did, but he definitely knows the type of image he is creating with the 2007-2008 schedule. If he isn't careful, he will have to deal with many more Driesell comparisons in the near future. But maybe that isn't such a bad thing after all.

Stephen Curry on ESPN.com

Although it won't remain there too long, Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats are the front page article on ESPN.com's Men's Basketball page. The article, written by Midmajority.com's Kyle Whelliston, is a testament to the success and integrity of the program. Although I'd wish that Curry's arrival at Davidson wouldn't always have to be constructed as a result of Virginia Tech's mistake, I will take the press.

See here for story.