Saturday, March 22, 2008

Lovedale thrives as starter for Davidson

Davidson forward Andrew Lovedale sat in a deep corner of the Davidson locker room Saturday, calmly talking into the microphones and cameras thrust in front of him.

Lovedale has been overlooked for most of this season, but he came up huge in Davidson's win against Gonzaga Friday. His offensive rebound set up Stephen Curry's winning shot, and Lovedale also had a pivotal defensive rebound when he outjumped two Gonzazga players for the ball in the final two minutes.

He also hit two free throws and finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds. It was another step forward for the junior - who has been a big reason for Davidson's late surge. Davidson hasn't lost since he became a starter after Christmas, and he's thrived in his new role.

Lovedale is listed at 6-foot-8, but he's closer to 6-foot-5. Yet, he makes up for that with quickness and powerful jumping ability that allows him to get to the ball faster than other post players. He's also improved his free-throw shooting with long hours of practice.

Last season, his motion resembled a batting practice machine flinging a baseball, but he's much more fluid now.

Lovedale has only played basketball for seven years, but he might have to get used to those cameras more often. He could become a pivotal player for Davidson Sunday and especially next season, when two other post players graduate.

- Kevin Kevin

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If dook had a Lovedale, they'd still be playing.

JAT

Anonymous said...

All you need is Love...DALE!

The man is also just an overwhemingly nice guy. Davidson students like to tell this story:

As a favor to a good friend, Andrew showed up at the 13th birthday party of a young fan named David. David, having just watched the Davidson-Furman game in which Lovedale starred, freaked out! "Its ANDREW LOVEDALE! Can you believe it? Andrew Lovedale is at my party!", he screamed. Andrew took pictures with the young fan and all of his friends, giving them hi-fives and basketball pointers to the group of boys.

A few weeks later, when thanked by the friend, Andrew said,"I'm glad David had a good time. I hope I get to go next year, it was fun."

I can assure you that David will be cheering for Andrew Lovedale and the Davidson Wildcats on Sunday.