Lo and behold, the chosen one emerged this past weekend. No, this is no allusion to deity or a fantasy-filled, action-packed martial arts motion picture. The chosen one stands at a respectable 6-foot-3 and is listed at 185 lbs. (not a chance in hell). The kid who has been named Dick Vitale’s tournament MVP so far is none other than Stephen Curry.
Curry has lead the No. 10-seeded Davidson Wildcats into the Sweet 16 in the Midwest region. After tossing out perennial March force Gonzaga, Curry and his fellow Cats fried the largest fish of the tournament so far.
Davidson faced off against No. 2-seeded Georgetown, a team many experts (including me) picked to go deep into the tournament. The Hoyas play in arguably the strongest conference in all of college basketball. They were (keep in mind, were) one of the deepest teams in the tournament. Center Roy Hibbert, forward Patrick Ewing Jr. and the extremely talented backcourt of Jessie Sapp and Jonathan Wallace seemed poised to make a run into the Final Four.
They must not have foreseen the skeletal two-guard continuously lighting them up from all over the court.
Curry went off for 25 points — in the second half, that is. Down 11 at the half, Davidson responded and outscored the Hoyas 47-32 on their way to their Cinderella-type victory, 74-70.
Although Curry, son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, certified himself as the poster boy of this tournament, this Davidson team is not solely paced by its star guard.
Curry’s backcourt running mate, senior point-man Jason Richards, averages 12 points per game and an impressive eight assists. He also chipped in 20 against Georgetown.
The potential Achilles’ heel for Davidson is its distinct height disadvantage. The Wildcats rely on their three-forward format, which features Boris Meno, Thomas Sander and Andrew Lovedale — all 6-foot-8 forwards. Lovedale, by the way, grabbed an astounding 13 rebounds against a much bigger Georgetown team.
Awaiting Curry and Co. is arguably the best defensive team in the nation: Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin Badgers. This blue-collar team relies tremendously on shut-down defense throughout the entire game. Expect defensive specialist Michael Flowers to attempt to cut down on Curry’s shots. He took 21 — including 15 3-point attempts — against the Hoyas.
Can Davidson’s trio attempt to butcher Badger big man Brian Butch, who leads the team in points scored and rebounds? That remains to be seen.
But throughout this expedition of nonsense and wonder, the bigger question remains: Can the Davidson Wildcats pull off the unthinkable and make to the Final Four as a No. 10 seed? Above them waits the winner of No. 1-seed Kansas and fellow Cinderella surprise Villanova. Should Jay Wright’s bunch pull of their own version of the unthinkable, we could see Davidson facing Villanova with a right to head to the Final Four.
I’ll take the Curry, please. The super-sophomore scored 70 points (that is not a typo) in the first two rounds. Davidson should ride this magical wave of March supremacy all the way to the Elite Eight, and perhaps beyond. Whether it be Wisconsin, Villanova or Kansas, the Wildcats have the obvious poise, desire and skill to compete against anyone in the country. Just ask John Thompson III.
