Southern Conference Basketball

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Our friends (yes, we consider them friends) over at Rush the Court had a great article on Sunday poring over and breaking down Steph Curry's numbers over the last two-and-a-half seasons. They came up with these numbers:

The first chart shows Curry's career numbers against four different levels of competition. Notice the drop off against the BCS+Gonzaga.


This chart shows his performance against the BCS+Gonzaga in a year-by-year breakdown.


This is how they interpreted the numbers:

Although Curry is still able to get his against quality competition (25.7 PPG in BCS + Gonzaga compared to 24.2 PPG versus all other teams), he becomes significantly less efficient in doing so. His field goal percentage drops from 49.1 percent against non-BCS competition to 40.4 percent against BCS-level competition. The numbers become even more interesting when you look at Stephen’s numbers year-by-year against BCS-level competition.

While Stephen has been able to continue to increase his scoring against BCS-level teams each year, his field goal percentage has dropped precipitously this year. This could merely be the result of a couple of off shooting nights (even MJ had his bad games), but it is more likely related to the increased load being placed on Curry as the team’s new point guard with the departure of Jason Richards, who led the nation in assists per game last year. However, despite having Richards shouldering the ball-handling load last year, Curry’s shooting percentage was significantly lower in BCS games than it was in his games against non-BCS games.

What does all this mean? Aside from the obvious, that BCS teams are better than non-BCS teams, it raises the interesting (and controversial) argument that Stephen Curry may not be good as the hype suggests. He is certainly capable of putting up big numbers, but so were many other great college players who never were able to translate their game to the NBA.

Now if you read this blog, you know we enjoy stats and number crunching, but only to a certain extent. We've said this before, but at some point you need to actually watch the games and the players to see what is really happening.

Back to the point: I don't want to say the guys at RTC are wrong for questioning Curry, but, well, maybe I am. Hear me out.

Davidson is not supposed to beat the likes of a Georgetown, or a Wisconsin, or an NC State. Why? Because they simply do not get as much talent into their program as those big time schools do. Calling the Southern Conference even a mid-major conference could be a stretch. The past two years, Davidson has had at most three guys that you could make a case for as high-major talents: Jason Richards, Andrew Lovedale, and Curry. This year, it is just Lovedale and Curry.

When Davidson plays other teams on their level, the rest of the guys on their roster become a threat. Will Archambault, Bryant Barr, Steve Rossiter—these guys are good Southern Conference players. But when they are going up against a team like Purdue, the Boilermakers really don't have to worry about the rest of the roster doing much damage.

In other words, Southern Conference teams need to factor in the Wildcats' role players when they game plan against Davidson. BCS schools do not need to. They can game plan entirely around how to stop Steph, knowing that they will be able to slow down the rest of the Davidson team by putting one guy on them playing help defense.

So not only is Curry going up against better coaching, better teams, and better athletes when he faces the BCS schools, he is facing a defense that can gear entirely towards stopping him. Purdue might be the most well coached team in the country defensively, they might have the best defensive player in the country (Chris Kramer), and they had a week to prepare for Davidson, knowing they didn't play another good team for 10 days.

It shouldn't really be a huge surprise that they were able to keep Curry in check (I'd be willing to put a large sum of money that Bobby Riddell, the senior/former walk-on that has been getting minutes with Chris Kramer slowed by injury, spent at least four or five practices playing the role of Steph Curry).

To make matters worse, this year he is playing out of position. Let's get this straight: Curry is not a point guard. Plain and simple. He can play the point, but that doesn't mean he is a point guard. He is a scoring guard that is at his best when he is coming off of screens and either looking for his shot or looking to drive. He just happens to also be a very good passer.

This problem gets magnified when you consider the lack of talent around him. If you put Curry on, say, Oklahoma, he could be an effective point guard. All he would need to do is get the ball up the court (which he can do) and then get the Sooners into their offense (which he can do).

But playing for this Davidson squad without Jason Richards, he needs to be able to bring the ball up and get the Wildcats into their offense, but he is their entire offense. What Davidson does offensively is have Curry bring the ball up and then let him create, either 1-on-1 or using a ball screen, without giving the ball up. Or they have him pass to a wing and then run him off of a number of different screens.

Regardless of what they do, it is rare that Bob McKillop calls a play for someone other than Curry.

So when Davidson faces the better teams in the country, not only is Curry playing out of position, facing better players, and facing defenses that focus more on him, he is acting as the entire Wildcat offense for 40 minutes. No matter how good of shape you are in, that is going to take a toll on your legs by the end of the game, which is just about the worst thing that can happen to a shooter.

So the question remains: Is Steph Curry overrated? Actually, I believe he is. That's not to say that I don't love him or don't think that he is a first team All-American (I think he may actually be the best player in the country). But the media has been blowing him up and talking about him nonstop ever since he went on that tear in the NCAA tournament last year.

It is the Tyler Hansbrough effect—when a player becomes a media darling and spends a significant amount of time in the spotlight, the worldwide leader and other media moguls will beat it to death.

Don't get me wrong, Curry deserves all the attention he is getting. He really is a great story. The son of one of the best NBA shooters of all time gets looked over by all the high-majors, goes to a small school in North Carolina, and proceeds to torch everyone in the country from the first day he sets foot on campus. Add to that the fact that he genuinely seems like a good kid and a nice guy, and you have the worldwide leader's dream.

No matter how good of a player Curry is, at some point (and we have reached this point) his hype is going to surpass his skills as a player.

So the next logical question is, will he be a pro? I actually think he will, although I doubt he will be a star. RTC compared him to J.J. Redick, which is a fair comparison, although I believe Curry has more pro potential than everyone's favorite poet. Redick was more of a pure shooter in college than Curry. J.J. did develop a little bit of a penetration game, but he still relied heavily on coming off of screens for a catch-and-shoot three.

Curry, on the other hand, is a much better all around player than Redick was. He is more athletic, he has a better handle, he is a much better passer, and he is better at getting to the basket. He is also a better defender than J.J.

That doesn't mean, however, that Curry is going to be a great pro. He is not a point guard, and although he has grown since he's been at Davidson and is now listed at 6'3", he is still not near the ideal size for an NBA two. But the kid is a smart player, understands the game so well, and is as good of a shooter as you will ever see.

I can see him having the type of career that Jannero Pargo or Eddie House is having. He's never going to be a star, but I can absolutely see him being an instant-offense kind of guy off someone's bench.

I love watching Curry play as much as LeBron does, and I really am rooting for the kid to make it in the league, I just don't see him having the physical tools to become a star. But hey, Eddie House just won a ring with the Celtics, and Pargo is making $3.5 million a year over in Russia right now.

Not a bad life, if you ask me...

National player of the year candidate Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to play Duke, searching for their first signature win of this season.

Duke enters the game now ranked No. 2, looking to gain momentum heading into the bulk of conference play, which began Sunday with a 69-44 win at home against Virginia Tech.

Davidson, meanwhile, is looking to win its first game against a ranked team this season, as the Wildcats have already lost to then-No. 14 Oklahoma and then-No. 18 Purdue.

To Davidson’s credit, it has a solid win over West Virginia, which is a second-rate Big East team and likely to make the NCAA tournament. Note, however, that the Mountaineers were troubled with injury in the game but managed to keep it close until the end.

The Wildcats received national attention after their magical run in the NCAA tournament last season, which included wins over Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin. This season, they were “rewarded” with exposure to the national audience via a handful of prime time games against big-time programs.

But the exposure is grinding on the Wildcats because the team has less depth compared to last season and because the team lost leading assist man Jason Richards to graduation, forcing Curry to assume the point guard role.

Davidson is projected to win the Southern Conference. An undefeated conference record is likely, and an NCAA tournament at-large berth is nearly a lock for Davidson if it doesn’t manage to win the Southern Conference tournament title.

Wednesday against Duke, the Wildcats are likely to have a lot of difficulty in Cameron Indoor Stadium for three reasons.

First, Duke has one of the best defenses in the country and is capable of shutting down an entire roster of great players. Conversely, Davidson has only one great player in Stephen Curry. Expect Duke’s defense to give the Wildcats fits when they are on offense.

Second, Duke has a tremendous size advantage compared to Davidson. Duke starts 7’1” center Brian Zoubek, who is notably taller than Davidson’s starting forwards, who stand no taller than 6’8”.

Kyle Singler leads the Blue Devils in points, assists, and rebounds. The 6’8” forward is very versatile and creates matchup problems for those similar or taller in height to him. Also, expect Jon Scheyer to guard Curry. Scheyer is an inch taller and has decent length, which could pose problems for Curry.

Lastly, this game is at home for Duke. The Cameron Crazies always aid Duke in its attempt to harass opposing offenses. Therefore, the atmosphere will be too intimidating for Davidson to pull off the upset.

Despite Curry’s talent, the size and depth of Duke will overmatch Davidson. The home crowd will overwhelm the visiting Wildcats. And finally, Duke performs tremendously at home against non-conference opponents.

Davidson and Purdue will take the floor in the opening game of the Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis on Saturday with a common goal—looking for that first marquee win of the season.

Each team is in the rankings based more on what they did last year than what they have done so far this year.  Purdue, the Big Ten favorite, is 0-2 against ranked opponents so far this year, with an overtime loss to Oklahoma in the NIT Tip-Off final, and a home loss to Duke.

The Wildcats, who made a remarkable run to the Elite Eight a year ago, also lost a tight game to the Sooners in the NIT Tip-Off.

All discussion of Davidson starts with the phenomenal Stephen Curry.  Curry is averaging almost 32 points per game, nearly five points more than anyone else in the nation.  But Curry isn't just a scorer.  He also averages 6.8 assists per game, placing him among the nation's leaders in that category as well.

Defending him will be job one for Purdue, and when the Boilers need to clamp down on someone, they turn to G Chris Kramer.  Kramer's goal will be to harass and get a little physical with the slightly-built Curry.  The idea will be to wear him down, make him work for every shot and to make him shoot a low percentage.  If he gets 25, but needs to take 40 shots to make it happen, so be it.  The Boilers will be happy with that.

Purdue also needs to make sure the other guys don't get off, especially 6'7" F Andrew Lovedale, who averages a double-double.  Lovedale aside, the Boilermaker front line players, 6'11" JaJuan Johnson, 6'9" Nemanja Calasan and 6'7" Robbie Hummel should have a big advantage over the smaller Wildcats, but so far this season, Purdue has been outrebounded by about 3 boards per game.

Another big problem for Purdue that could haunt them in this game is turnovers.  The Boilers only average about 12 per game, but have had at least 19 in three of their last five outings.  Davidson forces about 8.5 more turnovers per game than they commit.  The Boilers cannot afford to give the Wildcats a lot of easy baskets.

If Purdue takes care of the ball, Hummel and G E'Twaun Moore will be difficult for Davidson to match up with defensively.  The Wildcats figure to throw their stopper, 6' 6" Max Paulhus Gosselin, at Hummel.  If Davidson decides to use Curry on Moore, Purdue could help wear Curry down by making him work on the defensive end of the floor.  They could also attack him and try to get him in foul trouble.  Bryant Barr may get the assignment instead.

Purdue is also hoping Keaton Grant's shooting touch returns.  After a breakout season last year, he is only shooting 32 percent from the floor this year.  He may still be feeling the effects of off-season knee surgery.

I will be covering this game with a live blog at CollegeRPI.com, so join in and follow along.

Jimmy Patsos is far from the conventional college basketball coach.

The combination of standing 6'3" and having a booming voice makes Patsos intimidating to his players, opponents, referees, and fans.

Patsos is college basketball's Rasheed Wallace. If he is on the floor, he is the favorite to pick up a technical foul.

During the course of most Loyola games, Patsos will sweat through his suit as the frown on his face becomes more parabolic.

Earlier in the season, the fifth-year head coach of Loyola Md. chose to sit in the stands instead of being ejected in an 82-72 loss against Cornell. The fan who sat next to Patsos must have been shocked because fans do not attend games to sit next to the head coach of one of the teams.

Fans were even more shocked when they saw Patsos' Greyhounds hold Stephen Curry to zero points last night. No, they did not hurt him—Bruce Bowen is on the Spurs. Curry only sat for eight minutes because of foul trouble, yet he could not get more than three shots—all three shots were misses.

Loyola became the first team to finish a game with the nation's leading scorer's stat line reading the same point total it read at tipoff. As big of a shock as the box score was to the college basketball world, more people were startled at the audacity that Patsos showed as he set up a triangle-and-two defense—the two man defenders were both assigned to Curry.

After a few minutes, Curry realized that the two Greyhounds were not going to let him escape for a shot, so he let his teammates take over as he watched from the corner. Davidson is deep enough that they can beat teams when they are given a four-on-three advantage, so that is what they did.

Despite trailing 39-17 at halftime, Patsos was obdurate and continued to double-team Curry.

It was clear that Patsos didn't care about winning the game, and that bothered the college basketball world. Analysts said that Patsos should have exhorted his players to back off of Curry, so the final score would be respectable.

Patsos, who was a history major at Catholic University, said after the game, "We had to play against an NBA player tonight. Anybody else ever hold him scoreless? I'm a history major. Are they going to remember we held him scoreless or lost by 30?"

Patsos must have been a successful student at Catholic, considering that he brushed up on his history of Stephen Curry enough to know that he had never been held scoreless at the college level.

That line in the quotation from Patsos tells us all about what his intentions were going into the game: Keep Curry's point total at zero.

Even though Patsos succeeded, Curry still leads the nation with 29.2 points per game.

Photo and quotation courtesy of www.sportsline.com

Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos made a bold move against the Davidson Wildcats: He double-teamed college basketball superstar Stephen Curry.

78-48 was the final score without the help of Curry. Andrew Lovedale picked Curry up by posting a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. 

"Anybody else ever hold him scoreless?" Patsos asked. "I'm a history major. (Are people) going to remember that we held him scoreless or (that) we lost by 30?" 

Well, you held Curry to three shots, coach, and zero points, but you also lost by 30 since you basically had your team play 3-on-4 the whole game. 

Tell me if I am wrong. Playing 3-on-4 is not really fair, so why put your team into that situation? Just play them 5-on-5 with your best defender face-guarding Curry. 

"It seemed to me they were willing to risk the game at the expense of locking Steph up," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. "When you put two people on somebody and you do it for 30 minutes and at the end of the game, you have to wonder what the reasons for that are."

That I do indeed wonder. 

"If Oklahoma can't stop him, how is Loyola College going to stop him?" Patsos asked.

You're right coach. There is no way your team was going to stop Curry, but then again, you still got embarrassed by 30 points. 

So I have to ask, was it a smart or dumb move by Patsos to play the triangle and two defense on Curry?

I personally think it was dumb. It took away the excitement from the fans who mostly likely just showed up to watch Curry play. Not only that, but it was really cheap at least in my opinion. 

Birthplace: Charlotte, North Carolina

Father: Dell Curry

Mother: Sonya Curry

College experience: Freshman

Wait, isn't Stephen Curry a junior?

Yes, yes he is, but his younger brother, Seth, is a freshman at Liberty University. 

After missing out on his older brother, it looks like the most prestigious college basketball programs may have missed out on Seth. 

Curry has only played two games at Liberty—only one was against a Division I opponent—but the freshman from Charlotte has already shown that he is a shooter and a scorer. 

In a blowout against Montreat, Curry debuted for Liberty with 23 points on 9-22 shooting from the field. He hit three treys in eight attempts, had seven steals, six assists, and five rebounds in 30 minutes. 

Curry played 32 minutes in his first taste of Big South basketball, but his Flames were routed by the Kenny George-less UNC-Asheville Bulldogs. He scored 18 points and had six rebounds, but only shot 6-17 from the floor and 1-5 from three. 

In the two games, Seth only turned the ball over once.

Stephen Curry had a double-double in his collegiate debut, but it was not the kind of double-double he wanted. The older Curry scored 15 points but turned the ball over 13 times. 

Stephen followed up the ugly performance with a 32-point game at Michigan, but had another poor performance—16 points and 10 turnovers—a week later at Missouri.

If you want to keep comparing the brothers' stats, Stephen was not an honorable mention to the McDonald's All-American team in high school, but his younger brother was. 

Both were named All-Conference and All-State in their final seasons at Charlotte Christian. 

Scout.com said that Seth needs to get stronger and improve his finishing skills. However, they also said that for Stephen. 

There is one evident reason why Seth rejected Bob McKillop's scholarship offer. Seth knows he is just as good as his older brother and wants to emulate what Stephen did at Davidson. However, he wants to bring a different team into the NCAA spotlight. 

It will be hard for a team comprised of seven freshmen and five starting guards to make the NCAA Tournament, but if the recruiting class develops the way that Ritchie McKay hopes it will, Liberty will be a threat next season.

According to ESPN, Curry was not the best recruit in McKay's class of 2008. Carter McMasters was rated an 88, which is 16 points higher than Curry's 72. 

Radford is the only Big South program that brought in better freshmen for this season. 

Curry's freshman campaign is only two games old, leaving a lot for him to prove, but the future looks bright for Curry and the Flames. 

Seth has an opportunity tonight against Virginia to prove that he can play against teams from the most superior conferences. 

Are the basketball hoops not 10' high in Puerto Rico? Are the courts not 94' long and 50' wide? Are the official balls not spherical?

As far as I know, the basic elements of the game are the same in Puerto Rico as they are in the United States. Which begs the question: Why is No. 12 Memphis only a 23-point favorite over winless Chattanooga this afternoon in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off?

The Tigers did play at midnight on Monday, but they have enough depth to overcome a little fatigue. In that game, against UMass, Memphis only shot 39 percent, including an abysmal 2-of-19 from behind the arc. The Tigers still won by 22, as nine different players saw at least nine minutes of action.

Chattanooga, on the other hand, is on the opposite side of two early season blowouts. The Mocs were crushed 114-75 by Tennessee in their opener and lost 103-75 to Missouri on Monday. Ten Tennessee Volunteers and 11 Missouri Tigers played double-digit minutes against Chattanooga, and Memphis figures to employ a similar strategy.

With its aggressive pressure defense, Memphis should be able to force a bunch of turnovers against the sloppy Mocs.

In my opinion, even a somewhat travel-weary, potentially sloppy Memphis team wins this game (4:30 ET, ESPN2) by at least 30.

In Other Memphis News:

It was announced yesterday that Memphis snagged another big-time player: ESPN's top-rated recruit in the country, Xavier Henry. Nothing against the shooting guard from Oklahoma State, as one obviously does not ascend to the top of one's class without being ridiculously good at basketball, but his recruiting video is lame. Really lame. Check it out here.

I'm sorry, but they could've made a video of me doing that stuff. The entire video is a compilation of wide-open threes and a couple fast-break lay-ups, mostly against the same team. Also, most of the time the defense appears to be hoping the ball will go in the hoop, just because they seem too lazy to get a rebound if it missed. The way Henry trots back on D -- which I'll call the "Henry Hobble" -- is reminiscent of Willis Reed in his twilight years, or anyone over 40 who plays pick-up at your local gym.

Calapari must have seen a different video.

Today's pick: Memphis -23; 2 units.

Season Record: 2-0 (100%), +3 units

Just my reactions to the Davidson-Oklahoma game last night.

By the way, what a Davidson-Oklahoma game last night.  My god, Blake Griffin, what a man-child—but the real reason we all tuned in was to see baby face Stephen Curry, who didn't disappoint and is putting together quite the season so far.

Some stats to note...

Game 1: 9-20, 29 points, 10 assists and only one turnover, and nine steals

Game 2: 14-19, 4-6 from three-point range, 33 points, nine assists, four TOs, and four steals

Game 3: (AT No. 14 Oklahoma!!!) 12-29, 6-15 from three-point range, 44 points, three assists, three TOs, and two steals

Now this is a guy who every team game plans for probably more than any other single player in the nation.  He is 6'3", 185 and touches the ball more than Kobe does for the Lakers.  He is the point guard and also the best scorer, shooter, you name it.  When he doesn't have the ball, he is running around more screens than Reggie Miller and Rip Hamilton combined.

Now if you have the ball that much, turnovers are expected.  His assist to turnover ratio right now is 1.875 to 1.  Actually, my mistake—that is his STEAL TO TURNOVER ratio. I want Elias to tell me the last time a college basketball player had that steal to turnover ratio after his first three games of the season. Now yes, I understand a bunch came against D-III Guilford, but give credit where credit is due. 

His real assist to turnover ratio is 2.75 to 1.  The guy has transitioned from shooting guard to point guard more smoothly than even optimists could expect.  If only they could have beaten Oklahoma.

In my mind they proved they deserved the ranking though.  They simply went into Norman and played against a top 15 team with the strongest forward in basketball this year, who just decided to turn into a combination of the Incredible Hulk and Michael Beasley and put up 20 and 20.

I recommend everyone watching as many games as you can of Curry this year, because after this he is done.  No way he is coming back for his senior year, so clear out your Tuesday, Dec. 9, because it is the next time Davidson is on ESPN.  They will be at the greatest arena on Earth, Madison Square Garden, to play the Mountaineers.

This is the first in a new series of articles that I am going to be doing throughout the college basketball season.  The series is called, “Why I Love College Basketball.”  Pretty simple, I know, but I’ll be writing every now and then about something that keeps me watching the best amateur sport on the planet.

Right now, though, Midnight Madness events at the most competitive universities are over, and here’s what I’m looking forward to: Davidson guard Stephen Curry.  I'm not just excited to see him play, because everyone is after his miraculously dominant performance in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, but I am excited to see him score at will.

In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Curry will drop at least 50 points in a game at least once this season. There, I said it. Fifty points.

Think about it for a second. He averaged over 30 points per game against some of the stiffest competition in the nation last year during March Madness, so what’s to think he can’t do it just once in an incredibly weak conference?

Davidson head coach Bob McKillop sure isn’t going to put the red light up for his frail sharpshooter.  Curry had the green light to fire from anywhere on his half of the court in last year’s tournament without consequence, so who’s to say his shot selection should be controlled after that success? Not I.

College may have implemented a longer three-point line this year, but that won’t affect the way in which Curry plays the game.  Hell, the majority of his three-point attempts are far more distant than the new line regardless, and he won’t hesitate to let them fly.

As a sophomore, he averaged nearly 26 points per game while shooting close to 16 times per game.

Here’s another reason why I think he will drop 50 on somebody: His quick release allows almost no one to guard him on the perimeter.  When they overplay him, which is often the case, he simply takes one dribble and pops a quick shot that twinkles the twine.

If anyone thought last year was just a fluke, Curry is ready to show his naysayers that he can put up big numbers on anyone, especially those in the Southern Conference.

The real reason, though, is because he has other players on his team that opponents must be worried about.  In the past, if you double or triple-teamed Curry, you were more or less shutting down the entire Wildcats’ offense, but no longer is that the case.

Andrew Lovedale, a 6’8” forward, was an integral part in the Wildcats’ win over Georgetown, and he should put up some rather large numbers this year when Curry is being chased around in a box-and-one defense.

Also expected to contribute is Bryant Barr.  The outside gunner will own opposing defenses when he is wide open behind the three-point arc.  Remember him in the NCAA Tournament?  He drained threes by the gallon and helped this team to a near-win against eventual champion Kansas.

It will be very interesting to see, but I truly think it’s possible that Curry fills the buckets for 50 this upcoming season.

Every day I will give a new reason to be pumped for the upcoming college basketball season.  We are about 74 days from the start of meaningful college basketball.  I'm a few days behind, so here's reason 77.

He stands 6'2'' and weighs a meager 185 pounds, but Davidson guard Stephen Curry uses every ounce of his slender frame to be the best pure scorer in college basketball.

And it's not even close.

Curry captured the attention of college basketball fans everywhere his freshman season, when his Davidson Wildcats challenged Maryland in the 2007 NCAA tournament.

Curry stayed in the spotlight when Davidson put together one of the most impressive non-conference schedules in the country.  They challenged the top programs in the country, most of which happened to be just down the road.

Curry took UNC, Duke, and UCLA down to the wire, losing by a combined 22 points in the three games.

After losing six games in the non-conference slate, Curry led his Wildcats to a perfect conference record and rolled through their conference tournament to another NCAA tournament berth.

That's when the magic of March Madness set in.

Curry delivered one of the most memorable performances of the last quarter century when he dropped 30-plus points in his first three tournament games.

He kept shooting and sinking.

He kept driving and finishing.

He kept coming up with steals.

But most importantly, he kept winning.

Davidson's run ended in the Elite Eight at the hands of eventual champion Kansas, but it wasn't without a fight.  Davidson repeatedly led throughout the entire game and forced Kansas into their third worst offensive efficiency rating of the year.

Stephen Curry will continue his pursuit of a championship in 2008, and he'll have help.

Davidson loses point guard Jason Richards, who was one of the best college-style point guards in the country.  He managed games, made shots when he needed to, and was a born leader.

But Curry will fill the void.

Stephen Curry has already said he'll take over the point, which is a scary thought if you're an opponent.

Picture Curry with the ball in his hands every possession, with the ability to create any kind of shot whenever he wants.

Add in the fact he's got great shooters around him in Bryant Barr and William Archambault, and a great low post presence in Andrew Lovedale, and you get a team that should improve their 14th-ranked offensive efficiency ranking, according to Ken Pomeroy's statistics website.

Reason number 77 you should be pumped for basketball season: Stephen Curry will be back, better, and ready to slay the giants of college basketball once again.