Best player in state not Tyler Hansbrough
NC State reserve Simon Harris defends against Davidson sophomore Stephen Curry on December 21, 2007.
Nov 19, 2008
Unless you are living on another planet, or simply have no interest in sports, (then why the heck are you reading this?) you have heard of Davidson's Stephen Curry. He led his small-town team from Davidson, NC to the elite eight last year, and came within a three-point shot at the buzzer from beating Kansas.
And if you didn't see last night's road loss to Oklahoma, he hasn't slowed down a bit. Davidson lost 82-78 on the road to a top 15 team that has Blake Griffin on it, who for my money is the only player in America I would have before Curry. No disrespect to Tyler Hansbrough over at North Carolina who I think is the third best player in the nation. But right now you are second on the MVP list in the state.
Curry has started this season with scoring performances of 29,33, and 44 in that order through three games. Not to mention Jason Richards, the outstanding guard from last year's team, isn't there anymore. Curry is having to take over point guard duties while still working in the offense without the ball at times. As you have probably seen, he has the unbelievable ability to tire down his defender while he constantly works around screens to get open.
If you guard him to close on the outside, he can cut inside and lay the ball in. He has a mid-range game if you give him room to put that shot off. He can hit the fade-away, and he can score from anywhere off the dribble. He also handles the ball and distributes, as he has 22 assists through three games.
Tyler Hansbrough is a fantastic player, but you have seen how dominant the North Carolina team is even without him in the line-up. Davidson isn't even a blip on the college basketball radar without Curry these past two years. I know Hansbrough can't help that he has great players around him. That's not his fault. But if you took Curry off of Davidson and put Hansbrough on that team, they don't even get out of the first round of the NCAA tournament last season. Are you telling me Tyler scores 40 against the Gonzaga bigs? Keep dreaming.
Heels fans, don't be upset by this assessment, for it has no meaning on the talent of your team and the hopefully guaranteed ticket to the Final Four. Considering the opposition, being second best isn't that bad.
