Thoughts from Saturday's games against WCU

-Davidson women's basketball team is inching closer and closer to joining the elite squads of the Southern Conference. Although Western was playing without their star forward, sharpshooter Lauren Powell put forth another fantastic performance (7-12 FG). Davidson led the Catamounts throughout most of the first half and did not let WCU pull away when they went on a second half run. If Halbersleben's last second shot would have fallen, the Cats would have had five more minutes to pull out a victory and get a huge conference victory against a top team.

-Although she only played limited minutes, Katie Hamilton showed why she was such a dominant SoCon player for her first few years. She plays with great balance and patience, taking good shots when they are there and setting up her teammates perfectly. The Wildcat offense had more flow when she was in the game.

-Davidson guards Kelly Gassie and Alex Thompson were thrown off a little bit by Western's second half press. The Wildcats struggled to score throughout most of the half and a lot of that had to do with the Catamount press throwing off their offensive timing and making them race against the shot clock on every possession.

-Mercedes Robinson is easily the most consistent and talented scorer on Davidson's squad (at least until Hamilton gets back to full strength). Robinson rarely misses close shots and she has an uncanny ability to control the ball in traffic and get off an accurate shot. While I used to think that she was one of those quiet scorers who made double figures without you noticing, I now believe that she is just flat out one of the top players in this program in recent years.

-In the Belk Arena nightcap, Western Carolina laid down the plan for how to beat Davidson in conference play: don't let Davidson beat you from outside, bump the Wildcats to keep them off-rhythm, shoot a high percentage from the field. Unfortunately for Western, the referees decided to call the game close and Davidson set a new season high with 31 free throw attempts.

-Boris Meno had a really nice performance as he came off the bench for the second night in a row. Meno scored nine points and three boards, including an impressive thunder jam on a fastbreak. The forward from Paris seemed to be more intent on limiting his turnovers and converting touches into points or opportunities for his teammates. With Sander reemerging as a potent force inside (he had nine points and 10 boards tonight), Meno has the opportunity to shore up a veteran frontcourt that was exposed in non-conference play.

-For the second straight game, Max Paulhus Gosselin had a huge game full of energy and offensive production. The junior forward scored nine points including an impressive steal and slam with a foul. He had several defensive plays where his presence altered shots threw the Catamounts out of rhythm. I was really happy to see coach put MPG and Will Archambault in the game together at the two and three. As both players have regained some effectiveness with their offensive production, they become less of a confidence liability on both ends of the court.

-Stephen Curry is so good that he can suffer through the worst shooting game that he has had all season and still contribute 19 points. He and Richards combined for a problematic 10 turnovers and 3-18 shooting night from the perimeter. Yet both players got their points elsewhere integrated the rest of the team into the gameplan.

Davidson faces off against two very different Catamounts

Today will be a full day of basketball up here in Davidson, N.C. I will not be available to host a live blog or post an original story directly after either game, but I will try to get some thoughts online by Sunday.

Annette Watts' women's team will kick off the action at 2 p.m. against Western Carolina. Although the Catamounts come into this matchup with a seemingly harmless 8-5, 0-1 record, they continue to be every bit the team that fought Chattanooga to the bitter end in last year's conference title game. This year, Western Carolina has won at Clemson, at Louisville, at Oregon State and Hawaii. Their losses have come at the hands of Minnesota, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Chattanooga, and, most recently, UNC Wilmington. The Davidson men's team might know a little something about how a record doesn't really reflect the true quality of a basketball squad.

The Catamounts have been led by a high-scoring trio of upperclassmen: Monique Dawson, Brooke Johnson, and Ashley Pellom. All three players have averaged in double figures this season, while the 6-4 Johnson has averaged 6.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks a game. Unfortunately for the Catamounts, however, Johnson was seriously injured in last week's loss to Chattanooga. Reports are that she won't be returning this season.

The Wildcats will be bolstered by the return of Katie Hamilton who saw limited minutes in her first game back against College of Charleston last week. Although she is still not at full speed, Davidson hopes that Hamilton can give them another scoring threat on the perimeter to take the defense's attention away from Alex Thompson and Honna Housley.

The most important matchup in this game will be Mercedes Robinson and Julia Paquette against forward Kendra Eaton. Davidson completely floundered against this same group of forwards last year, and they were unable to stop the easy layups in the paint. The top six scorers for the Catamounts are all upperclassmen which means that they will be highly disciplined and difficult to rattle. The Wildcats will need to shoot a high percentage from the field and limit turnovers in order to have a chance to pull out the victory. If they can take advantage of Johnson's absence and learn to play well in the matinee timeslot, the Wildcats could be rewarded with a signature conference victory.

In the nightcap, the Davidson men's team will take on a similarly clad, yet totally different Western Carolina basketball team. While the female Catamounts have enjoyed immense success over the past few years, the men have struggled mightily in the Southern Conference and look to be going down that road again after stud sophomore Nick Aldridge was asked to leave the team.

The Catamounts have very little identity as a basketball squad right now, and that showed as they dropped an embarrassing conference loss to lowly 2-11 Furman on Thursday night. Conversely, the Wildcats are coming off a commanding victory over conference leader Georgia Southern where they had three players score in double figures, and led by a score of 21-3 at one point.

Things to watch for:

-Katie Hamilton might be back, but she won't be at full speed. Watts will be walking the fine line of giving Hamilton valuable playing time versus keeping her fifth-year star healthy. In the past, this team has fallen into bad habits of letting Hamilton do all the scoring for them. If they do not integrate her back into the offense effectively and efficiently, they might not be as successful as hoped for in conference play.

-In Davidson's last home game against High Point, star forward Julia Paquette went 2-12 from the field, missing open layups left and right. She cannot afford to lose her calm in the next two home games against WCU and Chattanooga.

-Although Will Archambault did hit a three-pointer in Davidson's blowout victory over Georgia Southern, he played the game at a slower pace than normal. I wondered if the ankle injury that he sustained at N.C. State had anything to do with it. If Paulhus-Gosselin replicates his effort from Thursday and stays out of foul trouble, Archambault might be given plenty of time to think about his ankle and his intensity.

-Although Kyle Hines and his UNC-G Spartans still lurk on the horizon, the Southern Conference does not offer much in terms of overpowering frontcourts. GSU's Louis Graham was supposed to be an all-conference player, but he could not stop Thomas Sander in the ways that the ACC teams could. Andrew Lovedale almost seemed surprised that he was able to elevate and get his hands on so many tipped balls around the basket. Ultimately, the effectiveness and consistency of Davidson's frontcourt will determine just how successful this 08 campaign will be.

SoCon North Division

Chattanooga

While Davidson likes to flaunt its rich tradition of basketball, no Southern Conference school can hold a candle to the basketball history of UT-Chattanooga. The Mocs' men's and women's teams have each won 24 conference titles and have been in the title game in most other years. Two years ago, the Mocs took a young team, after graduating a conference championship class the year before, and returned to the title game as a five seed. And we won't talk about how dominant the Chattanooga women's team has been over the years.

But last year, the Mocs fell on hard times. They finished 6-12 in the conference and were bounced by Davidson as an 8 seed in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. They finished eighth in the league in scoring offense, and their top scorer, Keddric Mays, finished just 11th overall in the conference in points per game.

With Mays and Casey Long lost to graduation, fans in Chattanooga had little to look forward to in 2007-2008. The Mocs were picked to finish fourth in the preseason polls while most of the outside attention of the Conference went to Davidson and UNC-Greensboro. But now, at the end of December, the Mocs sit with the conference's best record of 3-0 (7-4 overall). They have knocked off the College of Charleston and handed Elon its own conference loss of the season. They also came within six points of knocking off regional rival Tennessee.

This year, little known Stephen McDowell has stepped into the scoring role and has averaged over 15 points a game. He has been joined by fellow junior Nicchaeus Doaks who has averaged over 12 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. As a team, the Mocs have shot 48% from the field and averaged 81 points a game. Only five of Chattanooga's fourteen players have hit less than half of their shots taken (compare that to nine players for Davidson).

Davidson has struggled to play well in Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena over the years, sporting just a 2-5 record in that building since 2000 (that includes Davidson's 1-1 record in the 2005 SoCon tournament in McKenzie Arena). The Mocs have averaged nearly 40 rebounds a game this year. Combine that number with their high shooting percentage and it shows that most of those rebounds must be coming on the defensive end. Davidson will have to play very crisp basketball in order to sweep the season series with the Mocs this year. Chattanooga looks to be back to defend their basketball tradition.

Elon

When the Elon Phoenix joined the Southern Conference several years ago, most conference fans complained about adding another basketball cupcake. The tiny school from Burlington, NC has a gym that doesn't even seat 1,500 people and a basketball program with little notable history. But two years ago, Elon found themselves at the top of the North division and playing in the SoCon tournament semifinal game against Davidson. The Wildcats bested the Phoenix and sent them back down to the road of mediocrity as they put together an atrocious 7-23 record while going 5-13 in the conference last year.

Little more was expected from Elon this year, but they have been a pleasant surprise so far, putting together a 3-1 conference record with their only loss coming at Chattanooga. The Phoenix have been led by returning starter Ola Atoyebi who has averaged seven rebounds and fourteen points per game. He has been helped by senior guard Montell Watson who has averaged just over 10 points a game.

While Elon was one of only a handful of teams to beat Appalachian State last season, they dropped an embarrassing loss to Davidson in front of a home crowd that was louder for the Wildcats than the Phoenix. Davidson's first matchup comes next week when they travel up to Burlington for a late 9 p.m. tip.

Western Carolina

The Western Carolina Catamounts were counting on this year to be one in which they moved out of the basement of the Southern Conference. The Catamounts have not won a conference title since 1996, but they looked to compete in a weakened North Division because of returning star forward, Nick Aldridge. Aldridge would have been a shoo-in for Conference Freshman of the Year in 2007 had it not been for some guy named Curry.

But less than a month into the season, word came out of Cullowhee that Aldridge was gone. Personal issues between him and the staff and players led the school to cut ties. All of a sudden, the Catamounts did not have an identity. Role players were forced to produce and they were unsuccessful. After starting 2-2 with a two-point loss to Cincinnati, the Catamounts have gone 2-6 with their only wins coming against first-year D-I programs N.C. Central and Presbyterian.

Stepping in to fill Aldridge's shoes has been 6-6 sophomore Brandon Giles and 6-2 freshman guard Michael Porrini. Both have averaged double digits in scoring while Giles scored 46 points in Western's two conference losses against College of Charleston and Elon.

Appalachian State

Through the middle of last January, App State thought that they had become the most dominant sports program in the Southern Conference. The school had wrapped up back-to-back football national championships, and had rolled through their basketball season picking up wins against Virginia, Vanderbilt, VCU, and defending SoCon champion Davidson.

But then, they lost...to Elon...at home. Then, in the SoCon semifinal, star Virginia transfer Donte Minter had the chance to send the Mounties to a finals rematch with Davidson. But he missed the free throw. App State lost to CofC, went on to the NIT and got blown out in the first round. D.J. Thompson graduated and then everyone started watching football again. Not that football was ever questioned as the premiere sport up in Boone, but after a stunning upset of Michigan and a third straight national title, fans could care less about a Mountaineer basketball program trying to find an identity.

So far this season, it has seemed as if the players don't care much either. App State now sits 0-2 in the conference and 5-6 overall after dropping games to Davidson, San Jose State, Georgia Southern, and East Tennessee State. Against the Wildcats, App gave up 39 points to sophomore sensation Stephen Curry while star forwards Jeremy Clayton and Donte Minter struggled to produce offensively.

But then Appalachian State went and messed up all the trends. They went out on the road and beat SEC power Arkansas on the Razorbacks' home court. Donald Sims, a young point guard who had pretty much averaged the same amount of points as he had turnovers, went off for 24 points including 4 threes. He only turned the ball over once and managed the game perfectly for Houston Fancher's squad. Minter, a player who had underachieved ever since he arrived in Boone, scored 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds.

The Mountaineers have shown that they have the talent to make noise in the North Division. But only time will tell if they can play well consistently, and draw enough fan support to create a menacing home court environment.

Thoughts from WCU-Davidson game

Here are some quick observations and pictures from Davidson's romp over Western Carolina in league play.

-These Wildcats could very well be some of the most prolific scorers at Davidson in a long time. Stephen Curry scored 25 points, hit 5 threes and now holds the record for most three-pointers in a game. But even beyond Curry, the Wildcats had a total of four players score in double figures, they hit 16 shots from the beyond the arc, and they cracked 90 points for the seventh time this season. These guys can really score.

-Bryant Barr likes to shoot. The freshman came in for 10 minutes in the second half and jacked nine field goal attempts, including six from behind the arc. Thankfully, Barr hit three of those shots to finish with seven points.


-Be glad that Davidson isn't worrying about average road attendance. The official attendance was marked at over 1,000 but most of those were people who worked at the stadium in the concession stand or at the media bench. Western Carolina did try to motivate their small fanbase by throwing out shirts after every three-pointer and by having a grand dance show on the floor immediately after the game. Although nearly everyone had left by that point, I think that Kilgo probably enjoyed the post-game festivities.

-Davidson seems to have gotten much better with their "mittens." Throughout nearly all of last year and some of this year, the Wildcats have had trouble securing loose balls and rebounds. It almost seems as if they had slippery mittens on their hand which made the ball just bounce away. I felt like our forwards really secured the ball well on a number of occasions despite the pressure that WCU constantly applied to getting rebounds (they always knew there would be a rebound since the Catamounts only shot 1-15 from 3-point range in the first half).

-Davidson really seems to be peaking at the right time. At this point last year, the Wildcats were struggling on the road against teams like Wofford, The Citadel and Georgia Southern. This year it looks like they are really gaining confidence in their offensive system and don't get frustrated when teams put on the pressure. Hopefully this will bode as a sign for things to come in Charleston for the tourney.

The J-Rich Game

"There's just something about J-Rich."

My mom repeated this line over and over when she called me on Tuesday night to talk about Davidson's come-from-behind 101-92 win over Georgia Southern. Jason Richards had just recorded a career-high 32 points, 20 of which had come in the first half. At the nine minute mark in the first half, Jason hit a layup. He would go on to score every single basket (14 points) that the Wildcats produced in the next 5 minutes as Georgia Southern attempted to pull away.

For a point guard who is second in the nation in assists (7.9 apg), the ability to consistently put up double digits in points means that the Wildcats are imposing their gameplan on their opponents. Or at least scoring a whole lot of points.

Coming into this season, Richards knew that this Wildcat team was his to lead. He still had a sour taste in his mouth after last year's loss against Ohio State, a loss in which several of his turnovers sparked the Buckeyes' second half run to victory.

This year, Jason has shown himself to be both the sparkplug and the engine on a team that is full of hype. Whether it's Stephen Curry putting up soft jumpers, Max Paulhus Gosselin rejecting shots on the fast break or Will Archambault hitting threes from out-of-bounds, this team has a lot of highlight reel players. Sometimes Jason Richards would rather you not always look at his replays.

Against Appalachian State, Richards kept pushing to the Mountaineers to the brink of their mental patience. Whether it was driving the ball to the lane and drawing the foul or constantly being physical with the man he was guarding, Richards knows each step of the dramatic performance that he weaves on the basketball court.

Some of his opponents think Richards plays cheap. Opposing fans might call him dirty. Richards knows that there are 13 players out on the court at any one time. He doesn't see the referees as agents of evil, but only what they are: regular people that are trying to call the game right. At the end of the day, Richards takes what they give him (and sometimes even what they don't) and it is really beginning to fluster his opponents. Richards' ability to distribute the ball, put himself on the free throw line, and hit clutch shots from nearly anywhere on the court, has led to one of the best seasons in recent memories for a Davidson point guard.

Maybe there is just something about J-Rich.

Notes:
When the Wildcats face Western Carolina on Saturday, they will be looking for their ninth conference win of the season and for Bob McKillop's 300th win of his career. The Wildcats only home loss last year came at the hands of the Catamounts and they are hoping to exact some revenge. Western will be playing without the services of Kyle Greathouse who was seriously injured in an accident earlier this week.

In Tuesday's win over Georgia Southern, Davidson forward Thomas Sander had a breakout game with 19 points and eight rebounds. The junior from Cincinnati had been struggling of late, averaging only 7.5 points and 3 fouls in the last two games.

The Wildcats overcame a halftime deficit of nine points and a first half hole of 14 points en route to their victory over the Eagles. The only comeback from a larger deficit this season came in the opener against Eastern Michigan when the Wildcats came back from 16 down to win it.

The last time that the Wildcats lost to any sort of animal mascot was back in November against the Missouri Tigers. Since then, they have beaten the Phoenix, the Bobcats, the Broncos, the Cougars, the Terriers, the Bulldogs, and the Eagles. Davidson hopes to keep it going against the Catamounts.

**photo by Richard Shayegan (davidson.smugmug.com)**