Davidson thoughts

So as it probably has become clear during my blogging, I've sort of adopted Davidson as my unofficial team. For those who are unaware, this is primarily because my brother is a Davidson grad, and because I've run naked around the Davidson track while heavily intoxicated. So I felt like I "knew" about Davidson before they broke onto the national scene last year.

As such, I wanted to offer my thoughts on Davidson's 82-78 set-back to Oklahoma.

There has been a lot of talk this season about how the loss of point guard Jason Richards from last year's team is going to impact the team, specifically Stephen Curry. After tonight it seems clear to me that the loss of Richards isn't really going to hurt Curry, but rather is going to hurt the rest of the team. Curry is good enough to create space and get (and make) shots against anyone. But against the top-level teams that Davidson is now playing in the non-conference there isn't anyone else on the roster, at least as far as I can tell, who is capable of creating his own offense. And that was the role Richards played, not only creating shots for himself, but also creating easy shots for the non-Curry members of the team. And while Curry is capable of playing the point in the sense that he can handle the ball and initiate the offense, it doesn't seem like he really wants to, or is being asked to create easy opportunities for others. That means if the other Wildcats are hitting open threes, the rest of the team is going to struggle to score against top-level foes.

As for Curry, here's my best attempt to explain why I think I enjoy watching him so much. Obviously much of it is the obvious stuff--he's incredibly talented, plays very smart, seems to genuinely be a good teammate, etc. But I think what has amazed me is that, and granted the sample size is pretty small, is that he rises to the occasion and seems to have that "it" that superstar players have in the big moment that actually makes you EXPECT them to come through in big spots. And while that certainly doesn't make him unique, I can't ever remember seeing a college athlete who reached that level where I genuinely expect them to step up and make the big shots in big moments. He seems to have that, and I really think it's a unique trait in a college athlete...and it's absolutely a blast to watch. This was on display again against Oklahoma when he drained that absurdly long three after the steal with about eight minutes to go to cut the lead to seven, and then the nuts step-back three late over Griffin. Yes, he didn't make every play (how is it possible he scored 42 and had a bad night?) but the fact remains that he seems to have that sense of the moment that the great ones have. And he has it as a college junior. Remarkable.