Curry early leader in player of year race

Posted: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 4:59 PM
Filed Under: Links roundups, Player of the Year, Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry effectively started the Player of the Year debate Tuesday. Scoring 44 points against the No. 12 team will do that.

It’s an amazing thing, too. Oklahoma keyed on Curry from the start. It didn’t matter. The guy is just good.

Bigger players like Austin Johnson (6-3) and Willie Warren (6-4) checked Davidson’s star guard with moderate success, but like any good scorer, Curry kept shooting. He needed 29 shots to get to 44, but was still awfully effective -- 1.23 PPWS and a 58.6 eFG% -- and even more so when one considers the Sooners’ defense.

Still, Davidson lost. And part of the reason Curry emerged as such a superstar last March is because the Wildcats pulled off big win after big win. Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin all went down with Curry leading the way. Davidson needs to pull off an upset against BCS schools like West Virginia, Purdue and Duke for Curry to beat out guys like Tyler Hansbrough, Luke Harangody and Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin (who’s averaging 23 and 19 in three games).

To be sure, he’ll be in the mix. He may well lean the nation in scoring. But Curry needs some marquee wins to go with his stellar shooting.

Onto the news from Wednesday.

• North Carolina lost a Tyler for the season. Freshman Tyler Zeller could be out 4 months because of a fractured wrist. Breakout time for Deon Thompson.
• Reaction to the Tar Heels’ demolition of Kentucky. Yes, there’s a long way to go, but there’s also reason to remain optimistic. A Sea of Blue agrees (to a point).
• Does anyone else think Loyola’s coach overreacted a little bit?
• Jim Calhoun is a little concerned about his guard play against a zone without A.J. Price in the lineup. Me too.
• If that’s not enough to worry the Huskies, Pitt may have a star in the making in JUCO transfer Jermaine Dixon.
• When Southern Illinois plays Duke in the Coaches vs. Cancer semis, coach Chris Lowery wants to ensure his team isn’t “in awe” of the Devils. Turns out Lowery was just that when he was part of the Salukis in a 1993 NCAA tournament loss.
• Even as a one-year player, Thad Matta says he’d recruit Greg Oden again. Duh. The Buckeyes won 35 and were national runner-ups. I’d take that bet, too.
• The NCAA announced sites for the next six NCAA tournaments, starting in 2012: New Orleans, Atlanta, Arlington, Indianapolis and Houston. For some reason, the photo on the Arlington link makes me laugh.

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