2008–09 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball team

2008–09 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball
Southern Conference regular season champions
NIT, second round
ConferenceSouthern Conference
DivisionSouth
Record27–8 (18–2 SoCon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaJohn M. Belk Arena
Seasons
2009–10 →
2008–09 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
North
Western Carolina 11 9   .550 16 15   .516
Chattanooga 11 9   .550 18 17   .514
Samford 9 11   .450 16 16   .500
Appalachian State 9 11   .450 13 18   .419
Elon 7 13   .350 11 20   .355
UNC Greensboro 4 16   .200 5 25   .167
South
Davidson 18 2   .900 27 8   .771
The Citadel 15 5   .750 20 13   .606
Charleston 15 5   .750 27 9   .750
Wofford 12 8   .600 16 14   .533
Georgia Southern 5 15   .250 8 22   .267
Furman 4 16   .200 6 24   .200
SoCon Tournament winner
As of April 30, 2009
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008–09 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball team represented Davidson College in NCAA men's Division I competition. The Wildcats had emerged in recent years as a legitimate national power despite being a mid-major school with one of the smallest student bodies in the NCAA Division I. The team was given high expectations after advancing to the NCAA tournament Elite Eight in 2008.

This season was highlighted by the individual performance of Stephen Curry, who was the nation's leading scorer after switching from shooting guard to point guard. He averaged 28.6 points and 5.6 assists per game. Stephen also took the school record of career point-scorer from former All-American John Gerdy. After the season, Stephen announced his entry into the 2009 NBA Draft, ending his Davidson career.

The season ended on a disappointing note, as the Wildcats unexpectedly lost to College of Charleston in the SoCon Tournament semifinals, resulting in their omission from the NCAA basketball tournament. The Wildcats beat the South Carolina Gamecocks in the NIT before losing in the Round of 16 to Saint Mary's.

Roster

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

No. Position Player
1 United States PG Brendan McKillop
4 United States SG Aaron Bond
12 Turkey PG Can Civi
14 Canada SF Max Paulhus Gosselin
20 United States SG Will Reigel
22 Canada SF Will Archambault
23 United States PF Steve Rossiter
No. Position Player
24 United States SG Bryant Barr
25 United States SG A.J Atkinson
30 United States PG Stephen Curry
34 Nigeria PF Frank Ben-Eze
35 United States PF Dan Nelms
41 Nigeria PF Andrew Lovedale
42 England PF Ben Allison

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Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 14, 2008
No. 20 Guilford W 107–83  1–0
 29  Curry   7  Rossiter   10  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Nov 17, 2008*
No. 21 vs. James Madison W 99–64  2–0
 33  Curry   11  Lovedale   9  Curry  Lloyd Noble Center (9,625)
Norman, OK
Nov 18, 2008*
8:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 21 at No. 12 Oklahoma L 78–82[2]  2–1
 44  Curry   8  Lovedale   3  Curry  Lloyd Noble Center (10,793)
Norman, OK
Nov 21, 2008*
No. 21 Winthrop W 97–70  3–1
 30  Curry   15  Lovedale   13  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Nov 24, 2008*
No. 24 Florida Atlantic W 76–60  4–1
 39  Curry   15  Lovedale   4  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (2,179)
Davidson, NC
Nov 25, 2008*
No. 24 Loyola (MD) W 78–48  5–1
 20  Lovedale   10  Lovedale   6  Rossiter  John M. Belk Arena (2,373)
Davidson, NC
Dec 6, 2008*
No. 22 vs. NC State W 72–67  6–1
 44  Curry   10  Rossiter   3  Curry  Time Warner Cable Arena (11,599)
Charlotte, NC
Dec 9, 2008*
No. 23 vs. West Virginia W 68–65  7–1
 27  Curry   6  Rossiter   10  Curry  Madison Square Garden (14,675)
New York, NY
Dec 13, 2008*
7:00 p.m.
No. 23 Chattanooga W 100–95  8–1
(1–0)
 41  Curry   18  Lovedale   6  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Dec 20, 2008*
4:00 p.m., CBS
No. 22 vs. No. 13 Purdue
The Wooden Tradition
L 58–76[3]  8–2
 13  Curry   8  Curry   6  Curry  Conseco Fieldhouse (12,754)
Indianapolis, IN
Dec 29, 2008*
at College of Charleston W 79–75  9–2
(2–0)
 29  Curry   8  Rossiter   9  Curry  Carolina First Arena (5,368)
Charleston, SC
Jan 3, 2009*
Samford W 76–55  10–2
(3–0)
 21  Curry   8  Rossiter   8  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Jan 7, 2009*
7:00 p.m., ESPN
at No. 2 Duke L 67–79[4]  10–3
 29  Curry   10  Rossiter   6  Curry  Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)
Durham, NC
Jan 10, 2009*
at The Citadel W 84–69  11–3
(4–0)
 32  Curry   6  Tied   6  Curry  McAlister Field House (5,336)
Charleston, SC
Jan 12, 2009*
at Appalachian State W 70–52  12–3
(5–0)
 16  Curry   6  Paulhus Gosselin   6  Curry  Holmes Convocation Center (8,350)
Boone, NC
Jan 14, 2009*
Elon W 83–68  13–3
(6–0)
 39  Curry   7  Lovedale   4  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Jan 17, 2009*
at Georgia Southern W 89–68  14–3
(7–0)
 28  Curry   15  Lovedale   5  Curry  Hanner Fieldhouse (4,360)
Statesboro, GA
Jan 21, 2009*
Furman W 83–43  15–3
(8–0)
 30  Curry   7  Lovedale   5  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Jan 24, 2009*
Wofford W 79–56  16–3
(9–0)
 33  Curry   7  Curry   7  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Jan 28, 2009*
at Chattanooga W 92–70  17–3
(10–0)
 32  Curry   11  Lovedale   8  Curry  McKenzie Arena (9,234)
Chattanooga, TN
Jan 31, 2009*
at Samford W 55–52  18–3
(11–0)
 20  Curry   12  Lovedale   4  Curry  Pete Hanna Center (5,116)
Birmingham, AL
Feb 2, 2009*
7:05 p.m.
Western Carolina W 89–65  19–3
(12–0)
 26  Curry   8  Curry   8  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Feb 5, 2009*
at UNC Greensboro W 75–54  20–3
(13–0)
 29  Curry   13  Rossiter   3  Curry  Fleming Gymnasium (11,687)
Greensboro, NC
Feb 7, 2009*
6:05 p.m.
College of Charleston L 75–77  20–4
(13–1)
 25  Curry   8  Rossiter   4  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Feb 12, 2009*
at Wofford W 78–61  21–4
(14–1)
 39  Curry   9  Lovedale   3  Curry  Benjamin Johnson Arena (3,500)
Spartanburg, SC
Feb 14, 2009*
4:00 p.m.
at Furman W 75–60  22–4
(15–1)
 25  Curry   11  Rossiter   4  Rossiter  Timmons Arena (2,595)
Greenville, SC
Feb 18, 2009*
7:05 p.m.
The Citadel L 46–64  22–5
(15–2)
 16  Lovedale   11  Lovedale   2  Rossiter  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Feb 21, 2009*
12:03 p.m.
No. 21 Butler
BracketBusters
L 63–75[5]  22–6
 20  Curry   7  Tied   6  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Feb 25, 2009*
7:05 p.m.
UNC Greensboro W 70–49  23–6
(16–2)
 20  Curry   10  Curry   5  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Feb 28, 2009*
2:05 p.m.
Georgia Southern W 99–56  24–6
(17–2)
 34  Curry   12  Ben-Eze   6  Curry  John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
Mar 2, 2009*
7:00 p.m.
at Elon W 90–78  25–6
(18–2)
 26  Curry   9  Lovedale   5  Curry  Alumni Gym (1,710)
Elon, NC
SoCon Tournament
Mar 7, 2009*
2:10 p.m.
vs. Appalachian State W 84–68  26–6
 43  Curry   14  Lovedale   7  McKillop  McKenzie Arena (4,542)
Chattanooga, TN
Mar 8, 2009*
6:00 p.m.
vs. College of Charleston L 52–59[6]  26–7
 20  Curry   10  Archambault   3  Curry  McKenzie Arena (5,497)
Chattanooga, TN
National Invitation Tournament
Mar 17, 2009*
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
at South Carolina
First round
W 70–63  27–7
 32  Curry   9  Lovedale   3  Curry  Colonial Life Arena (7,251)
Columbia, SC
Mar 23, 2009*
8:40 p.m.
at Saint Mary's
Second Round
L 68–80  27–8
 26  Curry   10  Lovedale   5  Curry  McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

[7][8]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP202124222322Not released
Coaches202125242220

Awards and honors

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Team Players in the 2009 NBA draft

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 7 Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors

[9]

References

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  1. ^ "2008-09 Men's Basketball Roster". Davidson College Athletic Department. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  2. ^ "OU TOPS NO. 21 DAVIDSON, 82-78". University of Oklahoma Athletics Communications. November 18, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  3. ^ "Purdue Deals Davidson 76-58 Loss". Davidson Athletic Department. December 20, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  4. ^ "No. 2 Duke Holds Off Stephen Curry and Davidson". nytimes.com. January 7, 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  5. ^ "Remember BracketBuster? Hayward, Steph Curry meet again". Indianapolis Star. November 29, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "College of Charleston's 'Curry Stopper' rides again". The Post and Courier. March 8, 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  7. ^ "2008-09 Davidson Wildcats Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "2008-09 Davidson Men's Basketball". Davidson Athletic Department. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  9. ^ "2009 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 26, 2019.