Seth Curry Transfers to Duke: Family Gets the Stage It Deserves

Three years ago now, a short, skinny kid named Stephen Curry was getting ready to finish up at his private high school in Charlotte and pack his bags for Davidson College and a career of mid-major basketball.

His little brother, Seth, was just finishing up his sophomore year in high school and seemed destined for a similar lack of options.

Even after his older brother had led the nation in three-pointers among freshman, Seth didn't have the big schools knocking down his door.

Stephen tried to get him to come to Davidson. Seth Greenberg gave him the same unattractive offer that he gave Stephen at Virginia Tech. William & Mary's recruitment was ho-hum. So he went to Liberty.

From the outside, Liberty seems to be a case study in contrasts. On the one hand, you have this conservative Christianity that demands strict behavioral conduct during the exact four years when kids are supposed to let loose.

You also have an athletic program that seems to have an intense desire to win and excel within a very secular national sports climate.

Liberty fans scream at the refs and talk trash with the best of them. Yet the team prays with the other team after every game at center court (this actually only happens in lesser known sports like women's basketball, the men's team didn't do it after they lost to VMI in the Big South tournament).

Enter Seth Curry.

While Stephen has been getting press all over the country, for three years about his unique shot release, his under-recruitment, and his commitment to a small school that he has elevated into recognition, Seth has become a much more intriguing story.

Stephen readily admits that Seth has more potential than him. Like his brother, Seth led the nation in scoring among freshmen, and led Liberty to wins over Virginia and George Mason. Seth avoided Davidson because he wanted to blaze his own trail.

And now he is transferring to Duke University.

Because of transfer rules, Seth will have to sit out a season and wouldn't be able to face Stephen even if the Davidson guard decides to return for his senior year.

However, in 2010, the entire country will set their eyes on Duke to provide a misguided answer to an over-asked question: How would Stephen have fared at a real school?

While the pressure that will be placed on Seth as a result of his brother's success is both unfair and irresponsible, the younger Curry will have a unique opportunity to do exactly what he set out to do: blaze his own trail.

One overarching lesson of this transfer, however, is the discouragement of the notion that the Currys are a quaint set of brothers content to excel in small ponds.

No matter what Stephen decides about his senior year, the fact that he has seriously considered the NBA seems ludicrous to many Davidson fans who understand Stephen more for his humility than for his competitiveness and desire for the big stage.

This holds true for Seth as well. After his accomplishments and the press of his brother, Seth was given the opportunity to capitalize on his talent and he took it.

I would venture that if Seth had been the older and proved himself first, Stephen might have transferred after his freshman year at Davidson after star performance against Maryland in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

Many people now think that Seth will just fade into the background at an ACC powerhouse where beating Virginia is just a common occurrence on a Tuesday night in January. These are the same people who remain sure that Stephen would not have cracked Virginia Tech or UNC's starting lineup and become the new J.J. Redick of the NBA.

The best part about Seth transferring is that he will no longer have to face speculation. He won't have to fight comparisons.

All he has to do is take the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium, slap the floor, and show the world how good these Currys really are.