Men’s Basketball Press
Press and Highlights from Davidson Basketball
Please choose from one of the following articles:
“Sports Illustrated Scouting Reports – Davidson Ranked #1” – Sport Illustrated, 1963
“Men’s Hoops go to the Big Dance” – Campus Chronicle, 1998
“Vitale: If Davidson’s out, baby, it’s an absolute shame” – Charlotte Observer, 1996
“Bypassed by NCAA, Davidson to face USC in NIT” – Charlotte Observer, 1996
“Snyder one of Cats’ Best Athletes” – Mecklenburg Gazette, 1995
“Hetzel helped lead Davidson to spotlight” – Mecklenburg Gazette, 1995
“In hard time for program, Gerdy set record for scoring” – Mecklenburg Gazette, 1995
“Wildcats Nearly Pull Off Upset Win in NCAA Tournament” – Davidson Press Release 2002
“Wildcats Fall to Ohio State 70-62 in First Round of NCAA Tournament” – Davidson Press Release 2006
Davidson in NCAA and NIT Tournaments
For decades, the end product at quiet, leafy old Davidson College has been a species called the Davidson Gentlemen – hand-polished southerners of good manners and great learning. The ivy on Davidson’s walls is the real stuff; the Rhodes people come there looking for scholars (they have found 14, a remarkable figure for a 1000-man student body); 70% of the faculty members are doctors of something or other, and it is the last place one would expect to find the best basketball team in the country. But there it is: the fastest, fairest brand of ruffians around, Charles G. (Lefty) Driesell. Davidson once settled for moral victories (having playing the game, after all, like gentlemen), but Lefty will have none of it. “A moral victory,” he has scrawled over a raggedy poster over the dressing room door, “is like kissing your sister.”
Vitale: If Davidson’s out, baby, it’s an absolute shame – by David Poole, Charlotte Observer
(Partial Typescript of article)
Davidson’s hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament drew strong support Thursday from one of the loudest voices in college basketball, ESPN analyst Dick Vitale.
“A team that goes undefeated in its conference, if there’s no reward for what they did all year long, that is absolutely a shame,” Vitale said during an ESPN teleconference. “…I know that if I were going into that room and had a vote on who would get in, Davidson would be part of this tournament.”
The Wildcats, 25-4 overall, went 14-0 in Southern Conference regular season games, but lost in the league tournament final to Western Carolina, giving the Catamounts (17-12) the automatic NCAA bid. No Southern Conference team has ever received an NCAA at-large bid.
“I hope the committee does not decide to mediocrity over excellence,” Vitale said. “There’s no way Davidson should be denied. Those kids deserve to be part of this tournament.
Wildcats Nearly Pull Off Upset Win in NCAA Tournament – March 14, 2002 Press Release
(Partial Typescript of article)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A three-pointer by junior Peter Anderer with 35.7 seconds left in Davidson’s first-round game of the NCAA Tournament put the Wildcats within a point of the Ohio State Buckeyes, giving the majority of the 13,661 fans in attendance at The Pit hope that Davidson could pull off the upset.
But the Wildcats (21-10) missed their final three field-goal attempts, while Ohio State (24-7) netted all four of its foul shots to hold off the Southern Conference champs, 69-64.
Wildcats Fall to Ohio State 70-62 in First Round of NCAA Tournament – March 17, 2006 Press Release
DAYTON, Ohio — Ian Johnson tied a career-high with 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but the 15th-seeded Davidson Wildcats could not overcome an Ohio State second half run as the second-seeded Buckeyes escaped the upset with a 70-62 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the University of Dayton Arena. The Wildcats conclude the 2005-06 campaign 20-11 overall, while Ohio State improves to 26-5 and awaits the Georgetown/Northern Iowa winner in the second round Sunday.
With his 26 points, Johnson moved into 10th place on Davidson’s all-time scoring list with 1,511 points, surpassing former NBA player Brandon Williams ‘ 96. Grant finished the game with nine assists, giving him 208 on the season to set a new school record. Winters was the Wildcat besides Johnson in double figures, and he finished his career with 1,892 points, fourth most at Davidson.