Davidson Preview- A Special Season?

Each day from October 23-November 3, there will be a blogger/fan previewing their team in this space. For previous previews and the future schedule, click here.

First, many thanks to Chattanooga Mocs fan John Roberts for hosting the Scanning the SoCon feature again. I'll be representing the Davidson angle again this season.

RETURNING PLAYERS

 

Davidson returns nearly 95% of the minutes played from last year. We say goodbye to AJ Atkinson, Frank Ben-Eze, and Will Reigel. Everyone else is back. The five starters last year (Brooks, Cohen, Cochran, Kuhlman, and Czerapowicz) averaged between 23 and 32 mpg, between 10.1 and 15.7 ppg, and they all shot at least 34% on 3-pointers. De'Mon Brooks earned one of the POY awards in the conference last year. He led the Wildcats in points, rebounds, and steals. He did that in just 22.8 mpg. As a junior this season, he'll probably be able to focus his enthusiasm a bit better and avoid some of the foul trouble that limited him last year. The other POY award went to Jake Cohen. He barely trailed Brooks in points and rebounds. He was the Southern Conference leader in blocked shots with 55. Jake played 24.8 mpg as a junior. Kuhlman and Cochran are senior guards. They led the Wildcats in mpg. Cochran played just under 30 mpg, had 10.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.6 apg, shot almost 89% at the line, and had an assist/TO ration over 2.1. Kuhlman played 31.9 mpg, scored 10.8 ppg, had 3.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, and had an assist/TO ratio of 1.86. The fifth starter last year was Chris Czerapowicz. He played 25.1 mpg, scored 10.1 ppg, and had 4.9 rpg. He had some surgery in the off-season and is expected to be at full strength soon. Clint Mann played in 31 games last year. He played his best basketball at the end of the season and is poised for a strong senior season. Tom Droney has often started for the Wildcats. He averaged 21.2 mpg last season. He is a large guard who handles the ball and rebounds well. He worked hard to improve his shooting this summer and looked very good at Davidson's recent scrimmage. Tyler Kalinoski had a solid freshman season. He played 17.4 mpg and scored 155 points. He's a well-rounded guard, posting impressive numbers of rebounds, assists, and steals. He'll give Cochran and Kuhlman another very capable backup. The other four returners are Mason Archie, Clay Tormey, Ali Mackay, and Youssef Mejri. They combined for just 77 minutes last year, but all are capable players. Ali Mackay is particularly intriguing to Davidson fans. He's 6'11, has played a good bit of international ball for Scotland and Great Britain, and has added significant muscle in his time on campus.

NEW PLAYERS

 

Davidson brings in 3 freshmen. Connor Perkey is a forward from Atlanta and son of former Wildcat Rich Perkey '80. Jake Belford is a 6'9 forward from Washington state. Jordan Barham is a 6'4 guard from Cleveland, OH. I haven't seen Belford play. We hear that he is battling tendonitis right now. I saw the other two in summer games and at the recent intrasquad scrimmage. Both will contribute. Barham looks like a potentially outstanding player. The other new player is transfer Brian Sullivan. He'll sit this season and have 3 years left. There are two other new faces on the bench. Ryan Mee has replaced Landry Kosmalski on the coaching staff. The Wildcats also have a new trainer after miracle worker Ray Beltz left to take a new job.

 

SCHEDULE

 

Last season's schedule was the 6th best in the country by non-conference strength of schedule according to Ken Pomeroy. This year looks similar. We have road games at UWM, New Mexico, Drexel, and Richmond. OOC home games are Emory, Charlotte, UNCW, a BracketBuster, and a Charlotte game hosting Duke. The Wildcats have 3 games in an early tournament in Orlando and have drawn Vanderbilt as the opening opponent. Next would be Marist or West Virginia. Gonzaga is the top team in the other bracket. There are excellent opportunities for the team to get better by the start of conference play.

 

3 QUESTIONS

 

How good can this team be? The Wildcats were 25-8 last season and 19-2 against conference opponents. Beat the #4 team in the Pomeroy, lost to the #271 team. Rolled in the quarters and semis in Asheville, needed 2 OTs to seal the final. The Wildcats were #1 in the conference in scoring offense, scoring margin, FT% (and were #9 in the nation), FG%, and rebound margin. They were #3 in blocked shots and #2 in assist/turnover ratio. One guy mentions the possibility of a National Title game appearance. http://www.midmajormadness.com/college-basketball-season-preview-2012-2013/2012/10/2/3441874/mid-major-top-20-preview-davidson-wildcats That is clearly some irrational exuberance. Several national publications mention the possibility of a deep run in the Big Dance. There are whispers of an at-large bid and discussions of whether or not this team is better than the 2007-08 Wildcats. Wildcat fans need to be patient and let this team develop. They are deep, experienced, and talented. We also need to remember that the '07-08 Cats didn't win a single OOC road game until a BracketBuster throttling of Winthrop and needed two near miracles to get past Gonzaga and Georgetown. A post-season bid is expected. The Wildcats played in the NIT in 2005 and 2009, the NCAA in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2012, and the CBI in 2011. That's six real tournaments, and seven total, in the last 8 years. Every freshman who has entered Davidson since 1994 has seen the team go to the Big Dance at least once.

 

How will the Wildcats be in the post? Lindy's preseason mag says Cohen is the #8 center in the country and Brooks is the #18 power forward. They played 24.8 and 22.8 mpg respectively. Jake was #52 in the nation in fouls drawn/40 minutes. De'Mon was #89. Those are amazing numbers for guys who spend a fair amount of time on the perimeter. Jake made 87.6% of his free throws, De'Mon made 72.1% If these two guys are a little better at avoiding foul trouble and continue to shoot like that at the line, the Wildcats could be dominant in the paint. Clint Mann played his best basketball late in the season. If he continues that into his senior year, we could be special. Czerapowicz has enough size to play very effectively in the paint. Mackay, Belford, and Perkey can all contribute as well.

 

How about the backcourt? The returning players look bigger and stronger. Cochran and Kuhlman seem ready for big senior seasons. Droney and Czerapowicz are juniors now and have already developed as solid contributors. Kalinoski had a good freshman season and could see more court time, especially if his shot starts falling. Mason Archie didn't play much as a freshman. There are a number of experienced players ahead of him. But he's a talented guy who can step in to the game and play well. Freshman Jordan Barham looks like a special player. He'll find his way into the lineup. This much depth should mean fresher players and more options for the coaches.

FINAL ANALYSIS

 

 Here's what David Scott wrote in the Charlotte Observer--- “We’re very experienced, very deep – not just in playing time, but in winning and having been teammates together for a few years,” said McKillop, whose team begins practice Friday and opens the season Nov. 9 against Emory at Belk Arena. “But we’re not taking anything for granted. There are no assumptions about what we will accomplish this season.”

 

That sounds right. Barring injury, this could be a special season for Davidson. It'll definitely be interesting. And it all starts next week.

By David Sink, DavidsonCats.com

For a complete list of the bloggers/fans that participate in Scanning the SoCon, click here.