Curry blossoms under mid-major nurturing
Being overlooked by big-time schools likely was best for Davidson star
 Mel Evans / AP Davidson's Stephen Curry was overlooked by bigger basketball programs, but used the past few years to grow his game, and his slight frame. |
 | College basketball |
 Love in 2008 NBA draft April 18: Kevin Love and his coach Ben Howland talk about Love's decision to join the NBA draft. |
 | March Madness |
 | NCAA men's tournament bracket Get game stories, scores, stats, rosters, more from our special feature. NBCSports.com |
|
The essential question of the 2008 NCAA Tournament is not, "Who's your Final Four?" or "How's your bracket doing?" It is not even, "What happened to Duke?"
No, the question regards Stephen Curry of the Davidson Wildcats, who averaged 35 points in his team's victories over established powers Gonzaga and Georgetown.
It seems the question is, "How did the big-timers all miss a talent like Stephen Curry?"
And the correct answer is: Maybe they didn't miss.
Perhaps Curry did not fall through the cracks in the recruiting process. It's more likely he blossomed through them after landing at Davidson. The notion that big-time schools whiffed in his recruitment suggests he also would have been an immediate smash at a major school — and that assumption demeans two sets of coaches at once.
One of the things mid-major programs do best, given the chance, is nurture exceptional talents overlooked by elite schools for one reason or another: size, skill, sometimes academic issues.
Wally Szczerbiak grew from a skinny 6-foot-6 shooter into a muscular 6-8 All-American with the Miami RedHawks. Kevin Martin's exceptional scoring ability was put on full, immediate display at Western Carolina. Had he gone to a high major, he would not have been able to flourish immediately — he would have had to fight for playing time
Getting the opportunity to play for an elite coach such as Bob McKillop in a program where Curry would be considered a rare talent, rather than another body competing for minutes, played a huge role in his rapid development.
It's fairly well established that Curry wanted to play at Virginia Tech, where his father, Dell, was one of the program's greatest players. Tech was interested but wanted him to pay his own way as a freshman because of scholarship availability, and also to redshirt that season and take extra time to develop his lean frame.
But let's say Curry had gone to Tech and was a freshman last season. Even if he hadn't redshirted — and even as gifted as he is — it's doubtful he would have beaten out Zabian Dowdell or Jamon Gordon, seniors who were career double-figure scorers, for a starting position. So there would have been significant obstacles to Curry's immediate development.
When Curry signed at Davidson, Scout.com analyst Dave Telep predicted he "should have a major impact" and that he was "likely to blossom into a higher level player over the next few seasons." But Telep rated Curry as a point guard, and listed him 36th at the position among players in the class of 2006. As a prospect, Curry's slight build was an issue.
"I understood that he did not have the body that most ACC programs, SEC programs are looking for," Wildcats coach Bob McKillop said. "He did look a little frail. He did look very young for his age ... I understood what their thinking was."
|
Thus Curry gradually can grow into his body while still flourishing as a productive player. He is asked to be as inventive and creative a scorer as possible for Davidson because he's the best the team has; at a big-time school, his minutes would be fewer and his shots would be more restricted.
The lesson that should be learned from Stephen Curry is not that big-time programs must offer scholarships to every pee-wee prospect with an NBA dad. The lesson should be that prospects wondering if they should choose to become the last signee for a program in a big football conference or the star recruit for an elite mid-major might find there's ultimately more glamour in the less glamorous choice.
| Rate this story | Low | High |
MORE FROM COLLEGE BASKETBALL |
 College basketball Section Front |
| Add College basketball headlines to your news reader: |
Sponsored links