Twenty and Oh Is It Sweet!
Saturday’s 89-69 whipping of Georgia Southern was the ideal way to cap off Davidson’s regular season conference schedule. The ‘Cats fired on all cylinders, turning a game that was tight for 17 or so minutes into a rout that left many an Eagle fan in a fit (see, e.g., head coach Jeff Price’s mealy-mouthed excuses to one Savannah reporter, supra). What follows are a few observations about the game and the Wildcats’ perfect season.
**Curry. There always has to be a bullet point about him. In the preview of this game, I used the word illest to describe Steph for the ease with which he does the improbable. Nearly every play he was a part of (and boy, there were a lot of ‘em) conjured the spirit of illness. He split GSU’s tallest timbers like Paul Bunyan, hit a fade-away three from the corner over Matt Fields’s extended arm that screamed Kobe, and levitated like David Blaine to catch an outlet pass before stopping on a dime to drain a three in a transition like no one else. My favorite Curry moment, however, came on the 25-foot bullet he shot to a streaking Max Paulhus Gosselin for the hoop and the harm. Man, I hope someone caught that on tape. As expressed by my compatriot, this play, and the small celebration that ensued thereafter, were effectively the wounded Eagles’ euthanasia.
**Boris Meno showed up in a big way in Statesboro. With Thomas Sander in foul trouble (whine as they did about Louis Graham’s five fouls in 11 minutes, the GSU fans seemed oblivious to Thomas’s five in a mere eight minutes as they cast aspersions at the refs) and Andrew Lovedale slow to get going, Boris filled out the middle for the Wildcats, netting 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 30 minutes. The big man was particularly great on the offensive glass, skying above the competition to give Davidson five extra opportunities.
**20-0. In the first season of the SoCon’s newly imposed Death (of) March (Madness hopes for, generally, all but one conference team), Davidson has done it. I dare say it’ll be a long time before any team does it again. The perfect conference record is a testament to Davidson’s resourcefulness: through off-nights, unlucky calls, and injuries, these Wildcats have always found a way to win. (Though I suppose there haven’t been too many of those off-nights, seeing as how the ‘Cats’ average margin of victory over conference opponents is a staggering 16.9 points.) Although everyone’s attention is now focused on the coming weekend in Charleston, we ought not overlook this feat.
**Statesboro is kind of a scary place. I fully expect college games these days to be contentious environments with rowdy fans whose tact is at times muddled by their face paint. My mettle is tested, however, by fans like the ones behind me at this most recent game. The sort of nativist, homophobic drivel dribbling out of the beer-stained lips of one 40-or-so gent was totally embarrassing, maddening, and inexcusable. The constant barking of one suspenders-clad student and his chum, empowered by the throng of GSU fans to their rears, also got under my skin, if only because they were a couple of feet from the players. The comments of the athletic support staff toward the refs resulted in an official warning to the bench. The hat and cheerleading cone tossed on court after a J. Rich steal and fast break provided another reason to worry. The 19-year old who saw fit to flex the muscles engineered by a GSU education by taunting Davidson fans with something to the effect of “you’re not a university because your academic standards aren’t high enough” after the game represented both his lack of sportsmanship and GSU’s lack of rhetoric classes. It’s important to note that these were the incendiary exceptions. There were plenty of gracious folks who understood that certain basic rules of social decency don’t abate when in the fieldhouse. I just don’t like going to games where I worry whether my windows will be intact when I return to my car. Having seen some truly ugly stuff in high school (including a post-game assault of my assistant coach by an opposing team’s player), I am always aware of the threat. Lastly, the disconcerting words of a few GSU fans, who’ve had a day to cool down, on a message board legitimize my fear. Quoth the posters:
I still think Price should have brought in Big Poland just to get one hard foul on Curry to shake him up a little, but that’s just me.
and by the way, i think a hard foul on curry early in the game wouldn’t hurt. that kid is Cocky as hell. yes, he’s good, but i wouldn’t mind seeing how he reacts to getting knocked around a bit. take the flagrant foul, give him his free throws, and move on. just do it in the first few minutes. message sent.
at that point, i would have put pearson or poland in to just absolutely put him on his back. there was no need to put him back in and continue scoring when we were already emptying our bench.
Getting put on his butt when he came back in, up 25 points with 5 minutes to go, is exactly what he needed.
If we play them again, we need a leader of the team to take a very hard foul on him early. The guy bench presses the bar, so see if knocking the hell out of him will shake him up.
A program’s fans do not speak for the program, but they speak for themselves … and that’s kind of scary.
It’s unfair to let a few morons detract from Davidson’s achievement. These ‘Cats showed on Saturday that they are primed for SoCon and NCAA Tournament success. The possibility of certain achievements in the near future makes it too easy to be forward-looking. Let us revel in what we’ve done to date.
Image provided by Dorsett Clark.
Base Rich
