October seems a long time ago. Davidson began basketball practice in unchartered waters. After years of competing and winning championships in the Southern Conference, where venues and coaching strategies were familiar, predictable and comfortable, the Wildcats were about to embark on a new trail.
It would take them to arenas and cities and onto campuses that were for the most part unfamiliar. They would play against athletes they had not seen before, in gyms they had not visited, in front of crowds they had not experienced, and against coaches and styles that would be new to them.
Davidson basketball was stepping up. It left the cozy Southern Conference to accept the challenge of playing in the Atlantic 10, a league that the year before sent six teams to the NCAA tournament. In addition to earning their first-ever NCAA Tournament at-large bid, the Wildcats set a new school record for 3-pointers in a single season with 343.This was going to be a different deal. Not everyone was impressed. In the preseason poll predicting the order of finish in the A-10, newcomer Davidson was picked 12 among 14 teams.
The message was clear: the neighborhood's new team was going to find its maiden voyage rocky and rude and not all that much fun. At least, that was the original storyline.
Welcome to your new home, Davidson, and thanks for coming. Of course, the Wildcats had different ideas. They never bought into the 12th place prediction in the first place, but they knew if they wanted the respect of their new partners, they would have to earn it. That's okay. That's fair. It's the thing that sets competitive athletics apart.
Interesting journey, with ebbs and flows. After losing at home by a point to St. Bonaventure on Feb. 4, Davidson's A-10 record was 5-4. Inconclusive. The story was far from finished. How it would turn out was still anybody's guess.
But after that home loss, the Wildcats found new life. They followed up two lopsided home wins over Duquesne and George Mason with close road wins at LaSalle and George Washington. They won a squeaker at Rhode Island, routed VCU in Davidson, and roared into the A-10 tournament in Brooklyn on a nine-game win streak.
Not only that, those 12th-place Wildcats (remember them?) arrived in Flatbush as regular-season champions of the A-10 and the number one seed in the tournament.
My, oh, my! Davidson ended the regular A-10 season with a record of 14-4. It defeated LaSalle by a point in the opening game of the league tournament before losing to VCU in the semi-finals.
The regular season championship earned Davidson, 24-8 overall, an at large bid to the NCAA tournament where it lost to Iowa in Seattle.
Individual accolades followed. Bob McKillop was named A-10 Coach of the Year and a finalist for Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year. Brian Sullivan and Jack Gibbs were voted to the A-10 second team and Peyton Aldridge was selected to the league's All-Rookie team.
Davidson set a school record for 3-pointers with 343 made and finished sixth in the nation in scoring at 79 points a game.
For the first time in a tough new league, not bad. Not bad at all.
One of the most talented and versatile players in Bob McKillop's reign at Davidson, Kalinoski saved his best for last.
He was named A-10 Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-America by the AP. He was A-10 Player of the Week three times during his senior season. He was a two-time All-Conference selection. He's third all time on Davidson's 3-point shooting list with 243 made and fourth in career games played at 132.
He's the first player in Davidson history to score 1,000 points, grab 500 rebounds, record 300 assists and make more than 200 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, he took the A-10 by storm. He averaged 16.7 points a game as a senior, 5.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and led the league with 91 made 3-pointers while shooting 42.3 percent from beyond the arc.
During Kalinoski's four-year Davidson career, the Wildcats were 95-37, 62-8 in conference play, won four regular-season titles, two conference tournament championships, and played in the postseason all four years, three of them in the NCAA tournament.
Not a bad scrapbook for Tyler to take with him when he graduates from Davidson next month.
Ali Mackay It takes a lot of moving parts to build a winning basketball program. Most of it happens away from the grand stage where the bright lights burn and cheering fans fill the seats.
The media aren't there to record the work in the steamy days of summer, when players train to get bigger, stronger, faster – and better.
No crowds or TV cameras on weekday afternoons when coaches push the players to build good habits, to learn to play together as one – to become a team. Hard work and a lot of sweat. Multiple peaks and valleys in most every practice. It takes dedication and determination.
Mackay's career at Davidson has spanned five years. Nobody worked harder in practice to make Davidson's starters better. No team member gave more to the overall objective of winning.
All of the good things about college basketball are part of Mackay's DNA: unselfish, team first, great teammate, relentless Scout Team player – and a winner.
He has been a part of one of Davidson's best basketball runs. A major player, a key factor. Ask any of his teammates.
