For a hoops fan, the month of March is the best time of the
year. Everything from filling out your brackets, to the upsets, to checking out
the ticker every five minutes – the drama of March Madness in my opinion can’t
be matched by any other sporting event.
This year is no different. With everything from Duke losing,
to Stanford getting in the Sweet 16, there have been plenty of surprises.
But none have been as big as the rise of the Davidson
program, and more specifically, the coming-out party of a star in the making:
Stephen Curry.
Those who are familiar with Davidson or have seen the last
two “upsets” over Gonzaga and Georgetown (where he put up 70 points combined)
know that Curry can straight light it up. This year he averaged 25.7 points,
while shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc.
Stephen’s perfect jump shot has unlimited range and he can
create shot both off the dribble or away from the ball. He takes it to the
basket strong and is creative when finishing.
Curry’s competitiveness and knack to hit big time shots is
reminiscent of Reggie Miller. Even though every team knows he is a
one-man-wrecking crew, they still fail to stop him from dropping 30, despite
building their defensive strategies around him.
There is just something special about him. I remember seeing
him play as a sophomore in high school when his Charlotte Christian
High School team played
in the Ragu Classic in Salt Lake City.
If you think Steph looks young now (he looks like he’s 16),
back then he looked like a nine-year-old playing with a bunch of 18-year olds.
He even shot the ball like a nine-year old would, but was still lighting people
up. You knew if he ever hit puberty, he would be a player.
It doesn’t hurt that his pops is former NBA sharpshooter,
Dell Curry, so you can see why he is so fundamentally sound. Stephen has a very
good chance of being a great player in the League himself. Right now, I’m
hearing he is a border-line first rounder mainly because he is a two guard in a
point guards body.
If I were drafting somewhere in the late lottery of middle
of the first round, I would give Stephen some serious consideration. Yeah, he’s
a little small – the school lists him at 6-3 and 185 (although I think it’s more
like 6-1, 165) – but I don’t think it should matter too much.
Look at the mistake the rest of the league made when they
let Monta Ellis and Gilbert Arenas slip to the second round with similar gripes
– and look at him now. His quick release will compensate his size and his
competitiveness can help several NBA squads.
Curry can and will be a player at the next level.