(Note: I’ll be throwing in plenty of quotes and such from the movie Hoosiers. So if you haven’t seen it then A. See it, it’s the best hoops movie ever made, or B. Roll with it and read along. It may still work for you…..)

Scene: Coach Norman Dale driving his beat up automobile down rural highways and byways to get to Hickory High School and begin his tenure as basketball coach.

On our way back to Charlotte from Norfolk we had the opportunity to make a pit stop at the home of this year’s bracket busting Cinderella. Located just a half hour or so north of Charlotte, Davidson College is a tiny institution of under 2000 students (smallest in the field of 65) whose basketball team has defied the odds and the power structure of college hoops to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Davidson is an upscale and bucolic suburb, and wraps around the beautiful Davidson College campus. As we drove into town this afternoon, we could see that something was different… signs, banners and bedsheets proclaiming support for the Wildcats hung from nearly every house and business. On campus people were stopping by to check out the arena, and take photos of the Wildcat statue outside. In the mouth are stuffed animals of the three schools vanquished so far… Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin.

Belk Arena blew us away… modern, elegant, architecturally stunning. The other schools in the Elite 8 have their shrines back home… Dean Dome (UNC), Freedom Hall (Louisville), Pauley Pavilion (UCLA), Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas). But as for nice buildings amidst pleasant surroundings, Davidson’s venue can’t be beat!

Scene: Principal Cleatus’ farm outside of town:

Coach Dale: I don’t know why people keep going on and on about Jimmy, because in my book no one is irreplaceable.

Coach Dale: Really? What’s that?

Cleatus: In the forty years of watching basketball and seeing all this state’s ever seen. I have never seen a player like Jimmy Chitwood. Never!!

Yes, Davidson has its own Jimmy Chitwood in Stephen Curry. While no one would put him in the category of greatest player ever (not now anyhow), he certainly has been THE player of the tournament in scoring over one hundred points in the Wildcats’ first three tournament games in single handedly carrying Davidson to its first Elite Eight since Lefty Driesell roamed the sidelines back in 1969.

Curry is the son of long time NBA standout Dell Curry and despite the bloodlines never got a shot to play at an ACC school coming out of college. Hey Virginia Tech, I’m thinking that if you had given the son of your most well known basketball alum a scholarship that maybe you wouldn’t have had to cry about not getting an at large bid. Ya think???

Scene: The Hickory team bus being leading a long caravan of cars heading to its next road game.

The Wildcats earned a berth in the Midwest Regional after a tight win over Gonzaga and a thrilling come from behind win over Georgetown. Seeing that the school may not be well represented in the Motor City, the college made a stunning offer to the students of their tiny school. Game tickets, transportation to and from, and lodging in Detroit would be provided free of charge to any student wishing to attend. Nearly three hundred students, nearly twenty percent of the enrollment replied. So rest assured Davidson would be represented at massive Ford Field and its capacity of over seventy thousand.

If you’ve seen the movie, you know what scene I’m going to next……

Scene: The Huskers enter the Butler Fieldhouse prior to the championship game. The enormity of the venue clearly overwhelms them upon first glance. Then Coach Dale has a few words.

Coach Dale: Jimmy, Ray….measure the distance from the backboard to the foul line. (they measure)

Ollie: Ten feet.

Coach Dale: I believe these are the exact same dimensions that you’ll find back at our gym in Hickory. (Players somewhat bewildered) C’mon. Let’s get ready for practice.

So tomorrow the Wildcats take on the top seeded Kansas Jayhawks for the right to go to the Final Four. Bigger, taller, and deeper this looks like the club that may end the fairytale short of a happy ending.

I’d imagine the pre game pep talk may go something like this:

Player: Let’s win this one for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here.

Player (Curry?): I’d like to win this one for my Dad.

Player: Let’s win for coach. Who got us here.

Chaplain: And David slung a stone that struck Goliath in squarely in the forehead, killing him.

Be watching tomorrow for us, we’ll be driving back to Buffalo listening on the radio.

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