# 2008–09 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball team

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

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
| No. | Position | Player |
| 1 | PG | Brendan McKillop |
| 4 | SG | Aaron Bond |
| 12 | PG | Can Civi |
| 14 | SF | Max Paulhus Gosselin |
| 20 | SG | Will Reigel |
| 22 | SF | Will Archambault |
| 23 | PF | Steve Rossiter |
| No. | Position | Player |
| 24 | SG | Bryant Barr |
| 25 | SG | A.J Atkinson |
| 30 | PG | Stephen Curry |
| 34 | PF | Frank Ben-Eze |
| 35 | PF | Dan Nelms |
| 41 | PF | Andrew Lovedale |
| 42 | PF | Ben Allison |

## Schedule and results

| 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 | 2–1 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 20 | 21 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | 20 | 21 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and honors

* Stephen Curry – National Scoring Leader, Consensus First-team All-American, SoCon Player of the Year

## Team Players in the 2009 NBA draft

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