NCAA Player to Watch - Stephen Curry
March 20, 2008
Stephen can shoot like his dad Dell, but can he carry Davidson into the Elite 8? (UPDATE: Yes he can!)
That’s right folks.
I advanced the #10 seed Davidson Wildcats into the Elite 8 on my March Madness bracket.
I have them pegged to upset Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin before the clock strikes midnight and they fall to Kansas.
And I know they can do it. The first college hoops game I saw this season was Davidson vs. North Carolina on Nov. 14th. The Wildcats lost to UNC by 4 points, but they were in the game till the very end. I knew then that Stephen (pronounced “Steffen”) Curry could BALL and that Davidson was going to be my top tournament sleeper pick.
Now that it’s March, let’s see what they’ve got. They’re on a nice roll (22 straight wins, the longest streak in the nation) and they’re experienced (3 seniors and 2 juniors in their top 6). Their “other” guy is just a sophomore, but he’s a pretty damn good one.
Last year, he finished 2nd among all freshman in scoring with 21.5 points in just 30.9 minutes per game. Who was 1st? Some skinny kid named Kevin Durant, the #2 pick in the ‘07 NBA draft and possible Rookie of the Year this season. So where’s the love for Stephen Curry? Right here baby!
Check out his season stats:
32.5 mpg, 25.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists
1.9 steals (!), .44 blocks (!!), 4.34 threes (!!!)
48.6% FG (!), 89.8% FT (!!), 43.8% 3P (!!!)
Stephen wears #30 in honor of Dell and he can stroke it from the outside oh so nicely just like his sharpshooting father: after making 3.59 threes per game on 40.8% 3P shooting as a freshman, he’s making a whopping 4.34 treys (2nd in the nation) on 43.8% 3P shooting as a sophomore!
But Stephen can score in a multitude of ways. Despite his small size (listed at 6-3, 185 but probably smaller), he’s fearless when he drives into the paint and he’s also deceptively quick. Curry is a fierce competitor and his game is pure smoothness, which makes him a lot of fun to watch.
So why isn’t he being talked about as a top prospect? Well, he’s basically an undersized shooting guard. I’m telling you tho, this kid can ball. Does a scrawny chump shooter (JJ Redick?) average .44 blocks per game? I don’t think so. Right now I would compare him to Juan Dixon, but I think he can be even better. He’s still just a sophomore, but if I were GM for a team that needs a shooter and Curry declares for the NBA draft, I wouldn’t hesitate to use a 2nd round pick on him.
It’s going to be a tough road. Gonzaga is the best “mid-major” college hoops program in the country and a tough 1st round opponent for ANYBODY. If they can get past the Zags, they’ll likely face #2 seed Georgetown in the 2nd round. The Hoyas made it to the Final Four last year and feature surefire 1st round pick Roy Hibbert, a 7-foot-2, 275 pound imposing force. If they can pull off the upset there, they may have to face a rock-solid Wisconsin team.
It might not happen, but Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats are going to give a valiant effort, guaranteed. That makes Curry one of my top players to watch in this tournament. If it happens, you heard it here first…
I’m from North Carolina, so I’ve followed Davidson pretty closely this year. No CHANCE they get by Georgetown. They have nothing in the post at all to stop Hibbert.
Well well well….
Look who just dropped 30 second half points (40 overall) to lead his team to the 2nd round? I told you Stephen Curry was the man and he just proved it. WOW. That guy is ridiculous.
As for Davidson’s frontline, Andrew Lovedale played like a BEAST (12 pts, 13 boards, 1 block, stellar defense). The Nigerian is listed at just 6-8. 215, but he looks like a chiseled 230 to me.
However, Boris Meno (15 minutes, 3 turnovers) is a CHUMP! If they had +/- stats for the game, his would be at LEAST -10. That guy looked lost out there. I saw at least 3 passes go thru his hands, and he just swatted at rebounds rather than pulling them down. Eff that Frenchman! Ronny Turiaf would laugh at his game.
Sander is decent size at 6-8, 230. He hurt his hand and was clearly limited offensively when he came back in, but Davidson played much better when he was in the game. Their next biggest rotation guys are Gosselin and Archambault, both 6-6, 210.
Davidson is certainly undersized, but Roy Hibbert doesn’t always dominate smaller frontlines like he should if he’s going to be a solid NBA starting center. Look what he did against Villanova last week:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=280730046
14 minutes, fouled out, 0-2, 0 points, 4 rebounds, 0 blocks.
Villanova’s biggest player was 6-8, 230 A. Pena. Their next two biggest guys were 6-7, 205 and 6-6, 215. Granted, Villanova still lost by 19 points, but they don’t have Stephen Curry and Jason Richards. There’s no doubt about it, Davidson is the underdog, but to say they have no chance is silly.
Who wants to hop on the Stephen Curry bandwagon?
Does Curry have a nickname yet? I looked around the net and all I could find was:
“Curry in a Hurry”
….I’m not too fond of that because it makes him sound like he’s getting ahead of himself…frantic. From looking at his numbers and watching some youtube videos he seems calm and confident….I kind of like Stephen “Sweeter than Panang” Curry…because his shot is so sweet!
However, against the Hoyas he might have be Stephen “Shot Flurry” Curry because man-for-man he has a lot of compensating to do.
lol. I’m feelin that nickname. But is panang the sweetest type of curry?
After beating Georgetown, I’m a believer.
Yeah Claude. I hope the rest of the basketball world is paying attention!
I don’t know anyone that called Davidson over G’Town with any more analysis than, “F&*% it…I’m taking Davidson.” So kudos to you. And to Curry, who is ridiculous…
Now How Bout That CurryCane That Blew Thru The Tourney.I Always Heard There’s Always One Player Capable Of Carrying A Whole Team On His Back But Who Really Saw This Guy Coming?U Think Old Man Del Could Of Even Dreamt It Any Better?My Original Championship Squad looked Like The Clips In The Last 3 Minutes Of The Game As Curry &Co. Ran The Hoyas Out The Building.And Anybody Like To Comment On All Those Sorry Ass Predictions By All Those Washed Up Basketball Minds On ESPN.Please Do.I Laugh.Well Let’s Go Texas And I’m Sure Jumping On The”O.J.”Curry Bandwagon.Although It’s Probably Making It’s Last Stop Next Round…Laters
Davidson vs. Kansas….game-time!
I put a decent chunk of change on Kansas to win it all before the tourney started, so Davidson is going to have their hands full, but no matter what happens, Steph Curry and company have proven what they’re made of…
Great game…
If it wasn’t for Sasha Kaun coming up BIG, Davidson would have done the unthinkable and advanced to the Final Four. It’s too bad Curry didn’t get the last shot to try and win it, but Kansas did a decent job of hounding him for most of the game (altho I thought Brandon Rush was going to play more stifling D).
Props to Stephen Curry and the rest of the Davidson Wildcats for shining like the stars that I knew they were back in November. If you want to discover more hidden gems (in all walks of life), just keep checkin out my site!