Wildcats Pride

After weeks of deliberating, Davidson superstar Stephen Curry has decided to declare for the NBA draft. He has not hired an agent, but he plans to do so.

His decision was announced live from Davidson College Thursday morning.

Curry has vaulted Davidson into the national spotlight by leading the team to the elite eight in the 2008 NCAA tournament, and leading the nation in scoring in 2009.

Curry says that the decision comes “After much personal reflection” and that his “dream was to always play in the NBA and that dream has now become a viable option”.

All season, Davidson star Stephen Curry has been turning heads and building a following everywhere he goes. The Chattanooga Press has hopped on the Curry bandwagon.

On Thursday, the Chattanooga Free Press expressed their excitement in having Curry come to their city for the Southern Conference tournament this weekend. While the Free Press is the local paper for Davidson’s SoCon rival the UT Chattanooga Mocs, you wouldn’t know it by reading the articles.

Free Press columnist David Uchiyama spoke about Curry as somewhat of a living legend claiming that “Curry plays basketball better than most, the equivalent of Wynton Marsalis on the trumpet or Yo-Yo Ma on the cello. He’s a finalist for a handful of national player of the year awards, including the Oscar Robertson Trophy.”

“In the same moment he can be an artist and an assassin,” claimed Uchiyama. “With a picturesque shooting stroke, his long-range swishes can be daggers to opponents.”

There is no doubt that the Free Press caught notice of the attention that Curry absorbs and is riding the wave along with so many others. According to the paper “Cher, Bruce Pearl, Kenny Chesney and the Atlanta Hawks have had an easier time avoiding adoring fans and exiting stage right in McKenzie Arena than Curry did getting to his dressing room on Jan. 28.” (The last time the Wildcats were in town).

The paper has been interviewing coaches, players and fans in order to paint a complete picture of the superstar, however the picture will not be fully complete until we see him in action this weekend.

With March Madness beginning there is the usual buzz all over the country in anticipation of the event, but it would be hard to argue that Curry can turn that buzz into a fireworks show.

The Southern Conference has released their year-end awards and it’s no surprise that the Davidson Wildcats have made an impression this season.

Davidson sharpshooter, Stephen Curry, was the odds on favorite to win the player of the year at the beginning of the season and followed through by leading the nation in scoring, running away with that award.

Joining Stephen on the all-conference team is senior Andrew Lovedale. The Wildcats forward was a double-double machine this year turning heads throughout the conference.

While both Curry and Lovedale have earned every acclaim, it is Max Paulhus Gosselin who earned arguably the most important award this year.

Paulhus Gosselin won the first ever “Defensive Player of the Year”. The senior was among the league leaders in steals and earned his nickname of “The Pest” by driving opposing guards crazy while possessing the ball and on inbound plays.

We would like to congratulate Stephen, Andrew and Max as well as the rest of the SoCon award winners (All of which listed below)

2008-09 All-Conference
Kellen Brand, Appalachian State
Stephen Curry, Davidson
Noah Dahlman, Wofford
Nicchaeus Doaks, Chattanooga
Andrew Goudelock, College of Charleston
Andrew Lovedale, Davidson
Stephen McDowell, Chattanooga
Harouna Mutombo, Western Carolina
Demetrius Nelson, The Citade
Cameron Wells, The Citadel

All-Freshman Team
John Brown, The Citadel
Ben Drayton III, Georgia Southern
Damian Eargle, UNC Greensboro
Harouna Mutombo, Western Carolina
Brad Loesing, Wofford

Freshman of the Year
Harouna Mutombo, Western Carolina

Defensive Player of the Year
Max Paulhus Gosselin, Davidson

Player of the Year
Stephen Curry, Davidson

Coach of the Year
Ed Conroy, The Citadel

Davidson guard Stephen Curry has been named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for his performance in three Wildcat conference wins last week, the league announced today.

It is the seventh time this season he has won the award, which is voted on by the conference’s sports information directors, and the most times a player has earned the honor in a season. Curry has now earned the accolade 15 times in his career.

Curry helped the Wildcats earn victories over Chattanooga (92-70), Samford (55-52) and Western Carolina (89-65) last week by averaging 26 points, 6.7 assists, five rebounds and 2.3 steals.

He leads nation in scoring (28.9 ppg) and leads the SoCon in assists (6.5 apg) and steals (2.9 spg). Curry has moved into 14th place on the NCAA’s Division I career made three-pointers list (369) and into ninth on the SoCon all-time scoring chart.

Davidson (19-3, 12-0 SoCon) visits UNC Greensboro Thursday night.  Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum.

As many of you may know, Wildcats Pride is a one man operation.

And while there are not many things that would stop me from reporting on the Davidson Wildcats, there is one particular event that will force me to go on a break.

I am getting married this weekend and spending the next two weeks away on my honeymoon. So, there will be no new postings until February, even though the season is in full swing.

I have truly appreciated everyone’s support so far and hope you will check back with the website again at the end of January.

Just to illustrate my dedication to the Wildcats, I want to introduce the future Mrs. Wildcats Pride…

Thank you for your understanding and enjoy the basketball.

Tuesday on ESPN, legendary coach Bob Knight sat down to talk about the best aspect of Stephen Curry’s game… his passing.

While most people would agree that Curry has become a superstar due to his uncanny ability to put up points, that is not what impresses Knight the most.

According to Knight, Curry is “the best passer in college basketball”.

In analyzing film from this season, the former coach gives Curry high marks for running the teams set offense. He “knows where the cuts going to be… and delivers the cross court pass perfectly.”

However, it is in transition that Knight has even higher praise for Curry. After breaking down a fast break initiated by Curry and finished off with a Ben Allison dunk, Knight comments that “there are very few players who have ever played the game that can make that pass”.

“He’s as good a passer as has ever played college basketball.”

Watch the complete segment below…

Former Davidson forward Boris Meno looks to have made the correct decision in playing professional ball in Europe after Davidson.

Meno is a member of the class of ‘08 and along with Thomas Sander and Jason Richards was a member of the winningest class in Davidson College basketball history.

He is now dominating the court for Liberec in the Czech Republic.

In a game on Jan. 10th, Meno scored 27 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Unfortunately it was not enough to pull of the win, but an impressive performance none-the-less.

Over the first 3 games of the season, Boris is averaging 14 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest.

We at Wildcats Pride, wish Boris luck with the rest of the season and in his career.

Davidson junior guard Stephen Curry has been named the Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Month for December, the league announced today. He has earned Athlete of the Month accolades a total of 10 times in his career, including the last seven.

Curry averaged 30.8 points, 6.8 assists, five rebounds and 2.8 steals a game in leading the Wildcats to a 4-1 record. He topped the 40-point mark twice, both of which resulted in Davidson wins, and matched his career high with 44 points in a win over NC State at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte.

Curry netted a Belk Arena record 41 points as Davidson opened its SoCon schedule with a 100-95 win over Chattanooga. He scored all 12 points in a decisive run as Davidson defeated West Virginia in Madison Square Garden and capped the month with 29 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals to lead the ‘Cats to a 79-75 victory at College of Charleston. He earned SoCon Player of the Week honors twice during the month.

Everyone now knows Stephen Curry the superstar. Preseason all-american, potential player of the year, the lights have never shone brighter on a Davidson athlete.

However, in recent comments made to WFAE NPR radio in Charlotte, the community describes Stephen in the way that made America fall in love with him in the first place, a humble local kid.

Davidson College President, Tom Ross, speaks of Curry as another student at the small private college. “On campus he’s the same kid,” Ross says. “I think in some ways this is his escape. Because he comes back here and he’s treated by other students as Steph… which is great for him because I think it gives him a place where he can be himself.”

According to Davidson coach Bob McKillop, Curry’s presence on the team was not solely to provide 30 points per game. “I’ve known him since he was 10 years old,” said McKillop. “His presence in our program, whether he scores a point or doesn’t score a point, was going to have a significant impact because of the kind of person he is.”

All of this praise placed upon such slim shoulders could very reasonably boost any ego, but speaking to Curry, you would never know he was even aware of his stardom.

“This game is a blessing,” Curry says. “And, we’re all given gifts to play it and be able to come to school… with scholarship and play basketball for our lives now. It’s really, definitely a blessing and we’re not gonna take it for granted.”

The combination of humility and talent is what makes the average basketball fan a die-hard Steph Curry fan. However, some Curry fans have their own reasons.

When eight-year-old Johnson Krajewski of Charlotte was asked why Stephen Curry is his favorite basketball player, he replied “I like him ’cause he goes to our church.”

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE NPR SEGMENT

Thanks to a week of upsets among the top teams in college basketball, the Davidson Wildcats are once again ranked in the top 25 according to Gary Parrish’s rankings on CBS Sports in the 25th spot.

The Wildcats are coming off of a 76-55 win over conference foe, Samford.

Most of the movement, however, was due to one of the biggest weeks for upsets so far this year in the NCAA as many top teams, including the #1 North Carolina Tar Heels, fell to lower ranked competition.

The Wildcats will return to the court Wednesday Jan. 7th to prove that they belong in the upper tier of basketball as they take on the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor.

The game will be shown nationally on ESPN at 7PM Eastern time.