Coach McKillop has continued his streak of recruiting top talent by getting a verbal commitment from Sean Grennan for the 2011 season.

Grennan is a 6′1″ point guard from Monsignor Donovan High School in Toms River New Jersey. ESPN has rated Grennan a recruit score of 84 out of 100 (for comparison, Davidson starting point guard J.P. Kuhlman was rated an 85). Grennan chose Davidson despite interest from big conference programs such as Notre Dame, Boston College, and Michigan.

In bringing in Grennan, the Wildcats add a point guard who is adept at handeling the ball, passes with flare, and has a sweet long range touch. He will also be an asset on defense being one of the leaders in steals per game in the state of New Jersey.

Video highlights of Davidson’s new commitment:

MacKay continues the tradition of Wildcat big men coming across the pond. Recent predecessors have been Ben Alison (England), Andrew Lovedale (England), and Boris Meno (France).

MacKay has been training this summer with the Great Britain U20 team in Essex and will be ready to prove himself in a deep Davidson frontcourt which includes returning co-freshman of the year, Jake Cohen, transfer, Clint Mann, Juniors Frank Ben-Eze and Ben Alison, and local recruit, DeMon Brooks.

MacKay comes to Davidson having already gained leadership experience captaining the Scotland U18 team in last year’s European Championships averaging 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds over 8 games.

Pictures of former Davidson star and current Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry in a cap and gown made rounds on all of the social networking sites today sparking speculation that Curry graduated with his class of 2010.

While Curry plans to get a Davidson degree, the photos were of Curry donning his former roommate, Bryant Barr’s cap and gown at a picnic held at coach Bob McKillop’s house and were just in good fun.

Some important notes about Brooks:

> 6′7″ 215 lb. power forward from Hopewell High School in nearby Huntersville, N.C.

> During his senior year averaged 17.5 points and 10.2 rebounds and recorded 15 double doubles.

> The I-Meck 4A player of the year.

> Over the last two seasons, helped lead the Hopewell Titans to a 52-4 record and back to back conference championships.

> Nicknamed ‘Bootz’: “The fans are not booing, they are yelling ‘Boooooooootz!’”

> Will join friend and teammate Jordan Downing as the first pair of Titan Players to join the Davidson team.

Quotes from Hopewell Coach, Ed Davis on Brooks’ commitment:

> “This is a very special situation for Jordan, DeMon and everyone in the Hopewell basketball (family). It speaks so highly of their character and work ethic. Davidson won’t just let anybody into their school or on their basketball team. To take two guys from one team says a lot about the players.”

> “He really wanted to stay closer to home and Davidson had a really good freshman class last year and a really good one this year. (Brooks) is really excited about playing for (Davidson) coach (Bob) McKillop, and to play basically in your back yard is exciting to him, too.”

Video of Demon Brooks:

Below is video of Demon Brooks and his Hopewell basketball team beating rival Lake Norman on December 17. Brooks is #24 in blue. Basketball highlights begin at the 2:45 mark.
(Note: Fellow Davidson recruit Jordan Downing is #21 in blue)

ESPN recently called the game one of the best college basketball upsets of the decade, a true David vs. Goliath story.

For the bulk of the game, The Hoyas fully enjoyed their Goliath status. Over the course of the first 24 minutes, they took every chance they could find to assert their strength. Whether it was a tongue hanging out while Patrick Ewing Jr. drove to the rim for a dunk and one, or Vernon Macklin letting out a howl while throwing down a two handed jam, Georgetown’s message was clear: “We can get to your basket any time we want, in fact, your basket is our basket.”

The Hoyas were so clear in their ownership of the Davidson basket that even during dead balls, they would take the opportunity to drive and put the ball in as if to reinforce their message.

Things were looking bleak for the Wildcats. Billy Packer mentioned that it was “all Georgetown underneath”, and it “spells well for Georgetown in future games”. CBS had turned to a different game as they often do when producers sense a rout brewing, and the RBC Center was waiting out the game in slience hoping to see the Tar Heels come onto the court soon.

Then, with 16:42 left to play, everything changed. Paulhus Gosselin had just laid a ball in on a feed from Steph Curry, but the defecit was still a seemingly insurmountable 14 points to a dominant Georgetown team. Jonathan Wallace had the ball for the Hoyas and was fouled outside the arch on a hedge move from Thomas Sander. The play was dead, but Wallace decided to take the opportunity to reinforce the Hoya mental edge by driving and dunking on Davidson, not to score points, but to make a point. However, he never got to the rim.

Max pushed him.

It was a subtle push, and didn’t warrent a call, but the statement was clear. Billy Packer noticed what had happened and noted that Wallace “didn’t appreciate it”, but Max did not back down. He shot an icy stare straight at Wallace as if to let him know “I’m not letting you get to the rim again”.

From that moment on, the game become one of pride for the Wildcats. The team picked up on the statement Max had made and decided that, as a group, they would reclaim both baskets.

The following sequence of events describes the battle over control of the rims initiated by Max’s actions:

16:42 - Max pushes Wallace - Wildcats down by 14.

16:31 - Austin Freeman pushes Jason Richards trying to get position down low - Hoya turnover.

16:15 - After a miss by Curry, Summers travels trying to push through a double team and get to the rim - Hoya turnover.

15:22 - After a shot clock violation, Chris Wright squeezes his way down low - Davidson down by 16.

14:59 - Andrew Lovedale fouled attempting a dunk, makes 1/2 - Davidson down by 15.

14:32 - Andrew Lovedale blocks Vernon Macklin’s dunk - Rebound Davidson.

14:24 - Jeremiah Rivers fouls Stephen Curry on a mde three, Curry converts the 4 point play - Davidson down by 11.

14:02 - Ewing carries the ball trying to get around Lovedale and get to the rim - Turnover Hoyas.

13:38 - Richards turns the ball over but fouls Macklin hard going to the basket. - Macklin misses both free throws.

13:03 - Davidson presses, Freeman throws the ball upcourt and out of bounds - Turnover Hoyas.

12:12 - Sander finds an offensive rebound and lays the ball in. Billy Packer mentions the fans getting “back into the action” - Davidson down by 9.

11:58 - Roy Hibbert gets inside and scores over Lovedale - Lead back to 11.

11:37 - After a miss by Davidson, Hibbert elbows Sander in the post - Georgetown gets a bench warning for arguing - Turnover Hoyas.

11:24 - Richards drives the baseline and lays it in - Davidson down by 9.

10:42 - After outside misses on both ends, Summers drives on Max. Max picks his pocket and the ball moves ahead to Lovedale who runs the court and lays it in - Davidson down by 7.

10:26 - Wright gets a step on Max, who fouls Wright to prevent him from getting to the rim - CBS brings their coverage back to the game.

10:25 - Ewing fouls Steve Rossiter as both forwards go for a ball inbounded underneath - Turnover Hoyas.

9:27 - After a miss by Stephen Curry, Wright comes right back at Curry on a drive to the basket. Curry strips the ball and ends up with an open look on the offensive end - Davidson down 4.

9:18 - Georgetown is forced to take a timeout. Jim Nantz mentions Davidson is “back from the dead”.

8:47 - After an outside miss from Georgetown, Curry finds Lovedale underneath who goes over Summers to lay it in - Davidson down by 2.

The battle for the rims, initiated by Max Paulhus Gosselin had been decided. The Wildcats had climbed from a 17 point deficit to a 2 point deficit and had laid claim to the rims that had previously belonged to Georgetown. The rest of the game is history. Curry showed why he was one of the greatest to ever put on a Davidson uniform by scoring 25 points in the second half and David downed Goliath.

Davidson head coach Bob McKillop has always preached a team mentality, and the victory was a team victory. Yes, Richards ran the team like a true floor leader, and yes, Curry was unstoppable, even by what could have been argued was one of the best defensive teams in the country…

But it was Max Paulhus Gosselin who changed the course of the game and created one of the greatest college basketball upsets of the decade.

The Wildcats (14-13, 9-8 Southern Conference) led 57-55 with 1:24 to go, and the Paladins missed a shot and had another blocked by Cohen with 9 seconds left. Cohen was quickly fouled and made both free throws for a 59-55 advantage.

Justin Dehm then hit a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left to pull the Paladins (12-15, 6-10) within 59-58. They then fouled Cohen again, who made both shots for the final margin.

Davidson led 53-41 with 5:50 remaining, but Furman went on a 16-2 run to pull within 57-55 on Bryan Barnes’ 3 with 1:24 left.

Cohen was half of a strong showing from Davidson’s star freshmen. Fellow classmate J.P. Kuhlman scored 10 points and pulled down 7 boards.

Davidson started the game with a strong inside presense scoring 9 of their first 11 from the paint and blanking Furman in that same period.

Will Archambault scored 12 points, and the Wildcats scored 22 points off 19 turnovers.

Davidson’s depth was demonstrated through contributions from Will Reigel, who scored a couple of points and dished out two assits, and Dan Nelms who came up with a rejection.

Dehm finished with 22 points for Furman, and leading scorer Amu Saaka (16.4 points per game), was held to nine. The Paladins lost their second straight and fourth in five games.

Game Highlights:

Go Wildcats!

Davidson Wildcats (2-5, 1-0 SoCon) vs. College of Charleston (3-2, 1-0 SoCon)

Team Matchup

Davidson                                            Charleston
66.3              Scoring Average              67.2
65.1               Scoring Defense             69.8
+1.1           Avg. Scoring Margin         -2.6
.422                        FG %                     .432
.423                     Opp. FG %                .433
.392                        3-PT %                  .361
.331                   Opp. 3-PT %               .255
.684                         FT %                     .708
10.6              Off. Rebounds Avg.           7.8
34.9               Total Rebound Avg.          32.4
33.1          Opp. Total Rebound Avg.      43.0
+1.7         Avg. Rebounding Margin      -10.6
15.1                    Assists Avg.               12.0
4.9                      Steals Avg.                 6.0
14.1                 Turnovers Avg.             15.4
2.9                      Blocks Avg.                 4.6

Team Leaders

Cohen 13.7                  Points          Goudelock 18.0

2 tied at 5.0              Rebounds           Simmons 9.5

McKillop 3.9               Assists            Goudelock 3.2

Davidson arrived with a new starting lineup which paid huge early returns for head coach Bob McKillop. Freshmen, Cohen and J.P. Kuhlman started the first games of their careers and combined for 39 points against The Citadel.

The visiting team was hitting shots from everywhere in the gym.

Archambault connected on six 3-pointers and Cohen hit four for the Wildcats (2-5, 1-0), who finished 15-for-27 from beyond the arc. Kuhlman sank three from long range. 

The Citadel (5-4, 0-1) finished 6-for-25 from 3-point range. 

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a layup and a free throw from Cameron Wells. 

But Archambault got the 3-point parade going early for the Wildcats, hitting a pair from beyond the arc to put Davidson up 6-3 3 minutes into the game. They led the rest of the way. 

Zach Urbanus and Wells scored 23 apiece to lead the Bulldogs. 

Davidson has won two of three since dropping the season’s first four games. When asked about the new additions the Wildcats have made, Citadel coach Ed Conroy called the pair of starting freshmen “sensational”.

Site:

The Wildcats travel to Charleston, S.C., to open a three-game stretch in the Charleston Classic at Carolina First Arena. Their tournament begins Thursday against South Florida at 7 p.m. The ‘Cats have played one game in Carolina First Arena, which opened last year, a 79-75 Davidson victory over College of Charleston before a capacity crowd. Tonight’s contest starts a stretch in which the Wildcats play five games in 10 days. Davidson will meet either La Salle or South Carolina in its second game of the tournament Friday, Nov. 20, at either 7 p.m. or 9:30 p.m.

Davidson Team Statistics:

                                          Davidson                     Opponents

SCORING                                 62                                73

Points per game                   62.0                             73.0

Scoring margin                    -11.0

FIELD GOALS-ATT                 24-51                           22-53

Field goal pct                        .471                             .415

3 POINT FG-ATT                    6-17                             9-24

3-point FG pct                       .353                             .375

3-pt FG made per game         6.0                               9.0

FREE THROWS-ATT                 8-9                             20-25

Free throw pct                       .889                             .800

F-Throws made per game     8.0                              20.0

REBOUNDS                               31                                27

Rebounds per game              31.0                             27.0

Rebounding margin              +4.0

ASSISTS                                     17                                13

Assists per game                   17.0                             13.0

TURNOVERS                             16                                10

Turnovers per game             16.0                             10.0

Turnover margin                   -6.0

Assist/turnover ratio            1.1                               1.3

STEALS                                        2                                  9

Steals per game                     2.0                               9.0

BLOCKS                                      1                                  4

Blocks per game                     1.0                               4.0

Team Leaders:

Points:                   Allison, Ben         13.0

Rebounds:             Allison, Ben          7.0

Assists:                  Kuhlman, JP         6.0

Steals:                    Two tied at          1.0

Blocks:                   Cohen, Jake         1.0