Preparing for a rigorous non-conference schedule that includes games with NCAA tournament regulars Richmond and Vanderbilt and powerhouse programs Duke and Kansas presents plenty of challenges before the season's first whistle.
But depth is one aspect that doesn't concern coach Bob McKillop as the 2011-12 season opens.
In fact, he's downright delighted with it. And so are his players, who have been busy competing for court time.
"There are so many guys that can score, play defense, just do things to help our team," says junior Jake Cohen. "You don't know who is going to score 15 points each night because that's just how many good players we have."
Davidson, which opens the season Friday at home against Guilford and is picked to win the Southern Conference South Division title, returns four starters from last year's 18-15 (10-8 SoCon) team, including Clint Mann, Tom Droney and preseason all-conference selections Cohen and JP Kuhlman.
But the Wildcats also return their leading free throw and three-point shooter (Nik Cochran), a promising post player with local ties (De'Mon Brooks), a Swedish sharpshooter (Chris Czerapowicz) and consistent senior role players Frank Ben-Eze and Will Reigel.
Assemble a group of intelligent basketball minds to evaluate the Davidson roster, and chances are they would all come up with different, yet effective, lineups.
"The difference between players one and 10 is not that dramatic," says McKillop, who enters his 23rd season as Wildcats coach. "It's a great position to be in."
McKillop typically prefers to set a starting lineup early on and stay with it. Last year, for instance, Cohen, Kuhlman and Droney started all 33 Wildcat games, while Mann and the now-graduated Brendan McKillop started 32 each.
But McKillop is projecting to have more of a rotation than a lineup this season.
"The starting lineup will be constantly fluid," he says. "It's going to change, and it's a question of production and more importantly, an understanding of who will help us win."
In last week's scrimmage, Cohen, Kuhlman and Droney were joined by Cochran and Brooks in the starting five. But Brooks, the former Hopewell High standout, is battling for the starting position in the post with Mann, who missed the scrimmage because of injury. Regardless of who starts, McKillop sees both 6-foot-7 post players playing about equal minutes and has liked their fierce competition in practice.
"What a joy it is because they don't let it intrude on their relationship," says McKillop.
A year ago, juniors Cohen and Kuhlman led Davidson in scoring from the forward and guard position, respectively. Kuhlman averaged team-highs of 12.8 points and 3.1 assists per game, while the 6-10 Cohen added 12.2 points and led the Wildcats with 6.2 rebounds per outing.
Cochran, who scored a career-high 29 against Elon late in the year, averaged 9.1 points and shot a SoCon-best 88 percent from the foul line and a red hot 45 percent from three-point range in a 19-game span. Brooks added nine points and 5.1 boards per game. Mann averaged 7.4 points and 4.5 rebounds. Droney, when running the point at 6-6, caused matchup problems.
While the Wildcats return much experience and talent, McKillop also expects freshman guard Tyler Kalinoski to contribute immediately.
"He's got an IQ far more mature than his years," says McKillop. "And he's got a level of talent that's so consistent."
That word, consistent, is what the Wildcats coach, who last year surpassed the 400-win mark, wants to see from everyone. Davidson lost seven of eight games in one stretch last season, beginning with a demoralizing 28-point loss at Vanderbilt, only to follow it by winning nine of 10, after an emotional home win against College of Charleston.
"We'd be really good some nights, and we could beat anybody," says Cohen. "Then other nights, we wouldn't be. Trying to find that consistency is very difficult, but that's something we're going to try to do right away this year."
The Wildcats are hopeful depth is the key to making that happen.
"We're just so much further ahead than we were at this time last year," says Cochran. "A lot of guys have played significant roles in the past, and that experience, I think, is gonna be pretty huge for us this year."
