(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
If you turn on the television tonight at 6 p.m. and tune into Sportscenter, you will most likely be listening to NCAA picks for the sweet sixteen games from a number of analysts (or possibly President Barack Obama.)
You will also hear chatter about players like Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet, DeJuan Blair, and Tyler Hansbrough, who have been nominated as the the four Naismith award candidates.
Now flashback to last year.
Last year the Cinderella story of the Davidson Wildcats attracted everyone to watch the team shine all the way to the elite eight before falling to Kansas in a heart-breaker 59-57.
That tournament run had everyone pulling for the underdog (or undercat) Davidson. It also had everyone watching Stephen Curry.
Curry was one of the players that people were talking about as a candidate for the Naismith award, not Griffin, Thabeet, or Blair.
In those four tournament games last year Curry had games of 40, 30, 33 and 25 points, respectively.
He came to Davidson as an immediate scorer, averaging more than 21 points per game and becoming the all-time freshman points leader at Davidson with 730.
As a sophomore he led Davidson to that run in the tournament along with averaging more than 25 points per game, fourth in the NCAA. He also hit the 20-point plateau 27 times and the 30-point plateau 11 times last year.
Coming into this season Curry was highly regarded as one of the sure favorites for player-of-the-year, and was on the preseason All-American first team.
There was only one problem, Curry lost his point guard Jason Richards, who led the NCAA with roughly 12 assists per game.
This loss forced Curry to take matters into his own hands and take over the point guard position.
So would he produce with his new role?
Curry has stepped up undoubtedly, averaging more than 28 points, nearly six assists, and more than four rebounds per game, but his team failed to make the NCAA tournament this year, despite their 26-7 record.
With his team's limited success and birth in the NIT tournament, many people forgot all about Curry.
Wake up call.
The Junior phenom has hit the 20-point plateau 30 times this season, the 30-point plateau 15 times and the 40-point plateau four times.
If Curry decides to forgo his senior season and enter the NBA draft, hypothetically speaking, where would he land?
His play in the 2007-2008 NCAA tournament had the whole world watching him, but did his improved stats and declined team success hurt his draft stock?
"I don't think it affects him," said an Eastern Conference NBA scout. "He's a guy who went back to school instead of the NBA last year, and if you didn't know him now, you weren't doing your job. People know what he can do.
He's a first-round talent and an excellent shooter. At his position, there aren't a lot of bona-fide shooters. He'll give himself a chance because he can make shots. People say he's not quick and athletic, but he has a skill."
Scouts such as this one and others still believe that the 6'3" 185 lb. guard will still be picked in the first-round.
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