Old grads and new grads are dancing in the streets of Davidson.
Fifty years ago, Carolina stole a basketball recruit from Davidson coach Lefty Driesell that, to this day, Wildcat old-timers have never forgotten. And, twice, Davidson had a chance to get even and lost both times when Charlie Scott and the Tar Heels beat Driesell’s teams in NCAA Eastern Regional championship games.
It is easy to see why Davidson hasn’t had another chance ever since, as UNC grew into one of the biggest powers in college athletics and Davidson went small in all of its sports with basketball maintaining a good, but not great, program. Then came the 2017 NCAA baseball regional at Boshamer Stadium, where the second-ranked Tar Heels were heavy favorites to win the weekend and advance to the Super Regional, also to be played in Chapel Hill.
Davidson would have none of it. None as in 0-2 for Carolina against the A-10 Conference champions but not considered a serious threat to beat UNC twice at the Bosh; it turned out to be one of the most devastating defeats in the Diamond Heels’ own history. How it happened was certainly an historic accomplishment for veteran coach Dick Cooke and his team, ending a great regular season for Fox and his ball club on a bittersweet note.
While Davidson won its first A-10 title in baseball this season, Cooke earned his 500th career win against 792 losses with a stunning 8-4 win Friday night against Carolina ace J.B. Bukauskas, who carried an undefeated 9-0 record into the game but could not last four innings before departing with his team down 6-0. After lopsided losers’ bracket wins over Michigan and Florida Gulf Coast, the Heels had to beat Davidson Sunday night and again Monday to win the regional.
But their bats went silent against the Wildcats, leaving seven men on base and getting only a solo home run from Michael Busch. In the end, a 49-14 season came to halt at home before a shocked crowd. Someone called it a heart breaker. Hardly. If you lose two of two at home to Davidson, it’s more like an embarrassment that will eat at Fox and his players throughout the entire off-season.
The heartbreak was Davidson’s 50 years ago, losing Scott after he had verbally committed to Driesell, who still put together a great team without him. While this doesn’t make up for that, it does give Wildcat alumni and fans something to crow about at UNC’s expense.
(Photo: Gerry Broome, AP)
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