Small Campus is Big on Basketball

The following was published in Thursday's Charlotte Observer, written by Davidson beat writer Kevin Cary.

The Davidson men's basketball team will play for a chance at the NCAA tournament starting Saturday, and the Wildcats expect some of their extended "family" to be there.

That family is the rest of the Davidson student body, which has embraced the nationally ranked Wildcats and given the team a boost throughout this season.

More than 70 percent of the student body bought tickets for games against Duke and North Carolina at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, and Davidson has had two of its five biggest crowds ever at Belk Arena this season.

It's a continuing trend over the past two seasons. Two years ago, Davidson averaged 3,000 fans a game to home games. This season, that number has jumped to almost 6,300. Take away the two home games at Bobcats Arena, and the Wildcats still average almost 4,300 fans.

Student interest has also soared. Fans camped out overnight for tickets to some games, and sections such as the "D-Block" -- a group of students who sit and cheer together at every game -- are constants.

"What you've seen is a love affair between our fans and our players," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. "It has really grown over the last few years too. With our students, they don't sign up for a permanent seat license to show how they feel. They sign up with their heart."

Students are known for singing the song "Sweet Caroline" late in Davidson victories. But senior Will Bryan, the former sports editor of the Davidsonian student newspaper, said his classmates don't come just for winning basketball.

"Some of the students are fanatics who just love the game," Bryan said. "But that's just in the front. All of those rows behind them aren't like that. They are here because they have a class with (Davidson star Stephen Curry) and want to support him. It's not just about basketball."

Davidson students aren't in class this week, but many are expected to attend the tournament. Sophomore Wes Calton didn't miss a home game this semester (he was overseas in the fall), and he'll be at the tournament even if the Wildcats reach the championship game at 9 p.m. Monday.

He's not alone. Dozens of students from the small college -- Davidson has only 1,700 students -- have booked hotel rooms in preparation for the three-day tournament.

Calton and classmate Ahad Khan come to every Davidson game dressed as boxers, replete with gloves and a robe.

But they said the players don't walk around like they have championship belts.

"They are just like everybody else here," Kahn said. "The place you see them, just like the rest of us, is in the library studying."

But that doesn't mean players can't be involved in other things. Curry and fellow guard Bryant Barr are among more than 100 students playing the campus game "Assassins," where students are eliminated when they are sprayed by a water gun by a designated person. Point guard Jason Richards and forward Thomas Sander are among several players who have attended other sports events on campus.

"You just get to know a lot of people on campus," Richards said. "You see the same people walking around everyday; it's not like a bigger school. It's really nice. It makes this so much fun."

That fun will continue starting Saturday, when Davidson will be a huge favorite to win its third straight conference tournament championship. The Wildcats have the nation's longest winning streak (19 games) and have won 44 of their last 45 games against conference opponents.

Calton will return to Davidson for class Monday and then drive back to Charleston for the Monday night championship.

"I'm not missing that game," said Calton, who listened to Davidson games online from Peru in the fall. "We have something special here."

Will In Turn: Substance over Style

Danielle Hemerka is not a flashy player. In fact, if you look in your library’s thesaurus, Hemerka’s name comes up as item one as the antonym of flashy.

So while Stephen “cocked hand/sliding across midcourt/making everyone buy his jersey” Curry was continuing to assault the record books with a 29 point performance at Western Carolina, Hemerka did some assaulting of her own down I-40 in Elon.
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Read the rest of my post on Danielle Hemerka and her 1,000 points over on the Wildcats' Roar blog page.

A Battle of "Will"s: College vs. Professional Sports

Will Roberson is a 2002 graduate of Davidson College and former member of basketball staffs at Davidson College and Clemson University. He now resides in Charlotte, N.C., and is a constant reader and "critic" of the blog. In the following interchange, he and I square off on an age-old question: which is better, college or professional sports?

Will Bryan: College athletics are superior to professional athletes because they represent the highest level of sports. I define sport as organized competition between individuals or teams that is played for the fun and enjoyment of the players and the spectators. Professional athletics is paid entertainment. The players have a job to do and their work is not designed for their own personal fulfillment, but solely for the entertainment of the spectators. In this sense, college athletics is the highest level of volunteer sport. Many of its participants have nothing more to gain than some free sweatshirts and the enjoyment of competition. It does not constitute an occupation and because of that distinction, its participants are free to enjoy college athletics for what sports truly are: fun and games.

Will Roberson: First of all, I'm honored to be the latest (and clearly least talented) guest contributor to Will's World.

I'm afraid that you have been duped by the NCAA into believing that college athletics is pure and wholesome fun and games. College athletics is a business, just like professional sports. The difference is that professional sports are more transparent and don't operate under false pretenses.

Money drives every decision in college athletics just as it does in the pros. You want evidence? Check the 9 PM start time for the Davidson-Elon game on Wednesday night. You think it was in the student-athletes' best interests to play a game that didn't end until after 11:00?

And there's plenty of money to be had. According to Forbes, Notre Dame's football team profited $46 million last year!

At the highest level in football and basketball, college athletics are merely a minor league that the NFL and NBA don't have to pay for. Most players are placed in the easiest majors like Parks & Tourism Management in an attempt to ensure their continued eligibility. Graduation rates are so low that the NCAA was forced to pass a rule that takes away scholarships from teams with low academic performances.

But what about the other sports, you might ask? Money doesn't rule the day in olympic sports, right? A lot of the decisions that are made regarding the cash cows (football and men's basketball) have trickle-down effects. Ask the Saint John's women's soccer team if their trip to Tampa to take on South Florida in a CONFERENCE MATCH made sense to them. Why are they in the same conference? Football and basketball. BIG East, indeed.

WB: My esteemed colleague has brought forth very compelling arguments that showcase the hypocrisy of the NCAA and the identity crisis that college sports have faced over the last few decades. Like the professional leagues and their battles with steroids, cheating and the criminal activity of their players, the college sports environment is not without its problems.

As Will pointed out, donors, sponsorship, corporations...money...all play a major role in the ways that college athletes partake in their sports and in the ways that spectators view them. One of the greatest wrongs of college sports is that so many athletes are often put through the ringer of the big time program as their plays make millions for the University and the marketers and whoever else, and at the end of the day, they are thrown out with a substandard education and no compensation of their complete worth to the institution.

But, the college game is fighting back. Schools like Clemson have raised the academic standards for recruited football players, meaning that these high school football studs cannot skip high school classes in lieu of their 40 time. The NCAA's punishments for substandard graduation rates are finally beginning to have some bite as major athletic programs lose donors and interests as their image becomes sullied.

College sports have been criticized for being hypocritical. Yet, at their best, in schools like Davidson, Presbyterian College, Williams and Amherst, they remain fully a function of the institution's goal of educating the mind and the body. At their worst, college athletics are nothing worse than a minor professional league with an identity crisis, not unlike major professional leagues who continue to battle with the moral issues of steroids, gambling, and high-stakes contract disputes. Just because college athletics can often sink to the level of professional sports does not mean that pro sports are any better.

Finally, college athletics have the potential for a particular fan-to-sport relationship that professional teams can never match. While individuals can certainly form very strong bonds to their local or regional pro sports team, no form of fan affiliation can ever trump the experience of being a student in a college or university.

You can "be" a Washington Redskin by living in or around D.C. You can take that fandom with you by purchasing merchandise, satellite plans and knowing the rosters. But that sort of fan relationship does not compare to the level of affinity and bond that one builds by pulling for the school which you attend or attended. Those athletes represent you not by your own choosing but by something more organic. Your relationship with them is tied up with more than just the brand of that particular team. They become your face to a wider community and you become their heartbeat within your own community. Professional sports cannot ever reproduce that same feeling, now matter how many sweatshirts one has or however long someone's family has pulled for a team.

WR: OK, so we'll admit that both levels have their issues. My problem with college athletics is how the business side hides behind the facade of academics. What was the fans' response when your beloved Clemson increased the academic standards for football players? Complete outrage. Many threatened to pull back their IPTAY contributions. To them, winning the ACC is more of a priority than preserving the integrity of the academics. (See this website for more information.)

I think your feeling on fandom is more a product of your upbringing than anything. If you were born in Boston (a pro sports town), you might feel differently. But, you were born in a state with no pro sports teams. And you currently live in a town with really bad NBA and NFL teams that are hard to cheer for. Would you feel as devoted to your college team had you gone to Western Carolina?

A couple more comments...professional leagues, by their nature, have better players. Why would you not want to see the best of the best compete?

Also, many of the major champions in college sports are chosen by subjective measures. Most NCAA tournament participants are chosen and seeded by a committee, not by their record. And don't get me started on the ridiculousness of the BCS.

WB: Since we're on the subject of the Southeast and its relationship with pro sports teams, let's examine that a little more closely. You argue that I like college sports better because a) I'm not in close proximity with a successful pro franchise and b) I have been around some reasonably successful college programs, the alma mater of my Dad (Clemson) and my own school (Davidson).

But growing up, I was always a huge fan of the Atlanta Braves and the Carolina Panthers. Those franchises were pretty successful in their own right, and yet the Braves always had the reputation of having lack-luster fanbases. Between 1992 and 2004, Atlanta was just as successful and had as many stars as anyone in MLB outside of the Yankees, and yet they never had much of a rabid fanbase (compared to teams like the Cubs or Red Sox). Southerners could not wrap themselves around professional sports, even when the teams won. Yet I loved College Baseball growing up. I loved watching the Citadel and College of Charleston and their magical runs to the Super Regional. Colleges in the South had great baseball teams with loyal fanbases. Why did that not translate to a feverish following of the Braves?

And what about the Panthers? Even during their runs to the Super Bowl and NFC championship game, there was always something missing at those games. They needed a pep band...the fans needed some chants...the cheerleaders needed to look a little bit less like strippers. When the Panthers went back to being a .500 team, Southerners had no problem with it. They always liked their Georgia Bulldogs or South Carolina Gamecocks or Clemson Tigers better anyway.

Now that I reflect on it, I believe that Will is right...my upbringing has influenced my love of college sports. I have had the privilege of growing up in a part of the country where college sports first originated. I have been immersed in some of the oldest traditions and legacies of success in all of America's college sports. We don't need that pro stuff down here. And when we've gotten it, and even when it was successful, we realized that we like the college stuff better. And for good reason.

WR: It's clear we value different things. While I definitely appreciate watching a game in a great atmosphere, I've never been one to participate so it probably doesn't carry as much weight with me. I'd much rather watch a game sitting down so I can pay attention to what's going on in the field/court. To me, the reasons you like college sports more (a pep band, etc) are smoke and mirrors to cover up a mediocre product.

It's been a great four years to be a Wildcat

This article was published in the 10/12 edition of the Davidsonian. That issue was my last as editor. I had been writing for the Davidsonian since January of my freshman year.

I have been dreading this article ever since I was selected to be a sports editor two years ago. I knew that eventually I would have to write my last column for The Davidsonian, but somehow the actual assignment just snuck up on me like Exit 30 flying up on I-77.

In the past, sports editors’ last columns have included lists of things that Davidson needs to change, lists of people to thank or even apologies to all of the teams and people whom they didn’t cover adequately.

In that light, I will quickly say thank you to every coach and every player who has taken time out of his or her busy schedules to give us a quotation or two for an article. Thank you to all of the people at Sports Information who have given us pictures on the fly and kept us updated on late Tuesday night games. Thank you to all of the writers who have put up with me over the years. Thank you to all of the editors here at The Davidsonian, especially Suzie and Patrick. You guys have had to hear me talk about the immense importance of sports for too long now. Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who has ever enjoyed reading the articles in the sports section over the years. Your encouragement and feedback has been invaluable to me.

So here’s to the last four years of sports at Davidson. When our senior class walks across the stage in May 2008, it may be one of the most successful athletic classes in decades. The trio of seniors from the women’s soccer team finished as the all-time winningest class in the program’s history. The football team put together consecutive winning seasons for just the second time this decade. Athletes from the cross country, track and swimming teams have etched their names in the record books for years to come. If the men’s and women’s basketball teams continue their winning ways in the Southern Conference this year, both groups of seniors could smash through records both for individual and team performances.

But when all of us are long gone, and the players, coaches, uniforms and facilities morph into something that we hardly recognize, and the records are broken by Davidson athletes with more talent than we’d ever thought possible, we will still have our memories. We will still have those stories of what it was like from the fall of 2004 until the spring of 2008. Here are a few of the stories that I will always remember from my time here.

During my four years here, I have never won an intramural game. During my freshman year, our flickerball team was the only one to go winless. Later that year, I broke my ankle in just the second game of the intramural volleyball season. The team went on to win every game without me. During my sophomore and junior years, I coached women’s flickerball teams that struggled when I showed up to coach (once again, they were a collective 4-0 when I couldn’t make it).

Last winter, my B-league intramural basketball team did not win when I showed to play. In the first round of the playoffs, we trailed 20-1 at halftime, but went on a 20-2 run while I sat on the sideline. I came back into the game in the final minute, and we missed the game-winning shot. The only thing that I could barely claim as victory came this year in open-league flickerball when our opponent didn’t have enough people to field a team.

In the last four years, I have traveled with the men’s basketball team around the eastern seaboard. I have watched the team win close games, lose close games and evolve into the high-powered program that we all know and love today.

However, the best part about these trips wasn’t just the games; it was the experience and the stories. After Davidson lost in the semifinals of the Southern Conference tournament in 2005, I joined six random Davidson students in a barbeque spot in downtown Chattanooga and drowned my sorrow with soda. (We were all underage at the time.)

The next year, I drove Jackie Pitzer and Joseph B. Adams through the farms of Ohio en route to the site of Davidson’s NCAA tournament game. I still don’t really know how Davidson’s mail lady, the head of the College Republicans and the sports editor all ended up in the same car.

Immediately after crossing the state’s border, a cop appeared and flagged us down for speeding. Right when it seemed that we would get off with a warning, I mentioned that we were going to cheer for Davidson in the NCAA tournament. He looked up and tersely said, “Ohio State is going to kill you guys. Here’s a ticket.”

I have watched Davidson football tie an NCAA record with three safeties in a game. I have watched the men’s soccer team force a tie with under five seconds remaining in a game. I have watched the women’s soccer team knock off the SEC in one weekend. I have watched the women’s basketball team advance to the postseason for the first time ever, and I’ve seen more game-winning shots from the men’s basketball team than I can count on my hands. I have sat next to Michael Wilbon at the NCAA Tournament and told him where Davidson is. I have asked Tyler Hansbrough whether Davidson students had anything to do with him not scoring a field goal in the second half of the Nov. 14 game.

Most importantly, I have been able to spend the last four years with some great friends getting to do what I love.

Thank you.

The Davidson Show: Will Bryan's Sports

This is the sports segment from this week's Davidson Show (produced by Austin Bell). I narrated the Sports segment as you can see. These highlights were filmed by Austin Bell.