Sofa King Embarrassed! Davidson gives the Maroon Nation a headache!

Forget our rivals on the Wildcat blogs, forget that Davidson by beating the Cougs 70-58 (on our own court) just won their 21st consecutive So-Con victory and are now 13-6, 11-0 in the conference and forget that we are now in a three game slide. Just someone please pass the Tylenol. Keep your chins up Cougs-Wofford is next and we beat them by 10 earlier this season.

(Photo credits/Mic Smith of the Post & Courier)

Ready For A Rivalry!

After last night's game, I am quite apprehensive about tomorrow's game. But even though we don't know which Cougar's team will take the court, the rivalry continues. Hopefully it isn't foreshadowing to show WB's video from the Davidson Basketball Blog getting one up on the Maroon Nation, but I did laugh out loud when I noticed yours truly in one of his candid photo shots, which, btw, the CofC Sports Fan uses as our header photo-thanks WB for being a classy nemesis.

Game time is tomorrow at 5 pm! If you can;t make the game, catch it on the tube Turner Sports South on Comcast.
Good luck tomorrow Cougs!

First Look @ Davidson and Our Loss to Arkansas

Last night we had our first look at Davidson and they look very tough, losing to the #1-ranked UNC Tarheels by just four points. And I doubt that it would be a stretch to say that Davidson if they stay healthy (read: Stephen Curry doesn’t hurt an appendage or ankle) and continue to develop from their big games against the likes of UNC, UCLA and Duke, the Wildcats could quite possibly win another SoCon Title. But let’s not anoint the Cats just yet, UT-C looked pretty good against Indiana and of course, the College will have plenty of time to watch Davidson in the SoCon before we meet on January 26, 2008. I recommend visiting WB's Davidson B-Ball Page from time to time.

I don’t have much to say about the loss to Arkansas tonight other than the point that you could tell that we have a lot of talent, but our team is quite young. Perhaps some of you might question the ‘talent’ comment when the Cougs only shot 28.6% from the field, but these comments are of course, reliant on one another because when you are down 14-points with 11-minutes on the clock, and all you throw up are three’s, and sadly, none of these shots from behind the arc are falling, then your percentage will go down.

The Cougs need to get back to basics (fundamentals) and work on getting more ball movement (without the high amount of turnovers) to get that extra pass, which usually leads to someone getting a nice open look at the basket. The Cougs just aren’t looking crisp at all. Give it to Davidson, across the board the players on their team have excellent fundamentals (both in shooting and passing). Their passes are normally crisp, designed and when you see the bounce pass from the Wildcats you will see thumbs down from the passer.

Simply put we need more aggressiveness from our big guys in the paint, better communication on the floor and fundamentals in the passing and shooting aspects of the team. I think these kids have a lot of heart and I know they will battle like hell, but we’ve seen it time and time before, show-boats can only go so far, but teams leave legacies.

Start with the basics Coach Cremins and let’s get a win down there in Puerto Rico.
The Cougars are now 0-2. Our next game will be against Temple.

CofC vs Davidson tonight at 7 pm, the final installment of the "Rivalry postings"

In recent years the Southern Conference has taken a lot of heat for not being a very savvy and competitive basketball conference. I disagree with other sports commentators’ efforts to take away from the SoCon as it seems to me that despite a few lack-luster candidates, the SoCon is every bit as competitive as the ACC, just on a smaller scale. Tonight the two darlings (the College of Charleston and Davidson) of the SoCon face each other for the 51st time. (Click here for the College of Charleston basketball game notes.)

Davidson (21-4, 12-1 SoCon) have won 5 straight games (17 of their last 18 games). The Wildcats killed UT-Chattanooga by 30-points in their last game, this just a few weeks after Coach Bob McKillop won his 300th game as head coach for the Wildcats-a 20-point win over Western Carolina. Coach McKillop’s name is even being tossed around as Coach of the Year by ESPN. With freshman guard Stephen Curry dropping an average of 20.1 buckets ppg and junior point-guard Jason Richards averaging 14 ppg and 7.6 assists per game, McKillop’s team is young and talented, meaning the College will see a lot more of these guys for the next few years.

It recently came to my attention that I put more emphasis on this game than any other-excluding Kentucky. As impartial as I try to be, there is a definite difference in the way that I approach this game in comparison to others, and here is why. The College of Charleston and Davidson basketball teams are both talented mid-majors that I believe deserve the chance to Dance in March. Both teams have a knowledgeable and devout fan base-of both the game of basketball and general manners of consideration when interacting between each other schools, which makes the banter between fans and the games that much more enjoyable.

Which brings me to my final reasoning the CofC vs. Davidson basketball gets so much hype here on the CofC Sports Fan-an apt adversary (make that two) in the blogosphere. http://www.davidsonbasketball.blogspot.com/ happens to be part of my motivation to start the CCSF. He began the blog as a way to get out information for his school and I thought what a brilliant idea-to start a forum to keep friends, fellow alums and those with "Cougar interests" informed. He and I have developed a mutual respect for one another and I will do my best to chaperone him at tonight’s game. Also in the mix is the color coordinator for the Wildcat’s Will Bryan. Between the two, they have a way of keeping me legit on my end and they add fuel to the fire of the growing rivalry between our two fine institutions. By all means, stay informed and check out their blogs for a unique approach to the Rivalry!