Duke Blue Devils' Seth Curry Considered for Wooden Award

One would expect to see Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith on a preseason award list, or Kyrie Irving, but Seth Curry?

ESPN’s well-respected Andy Katz has compiled a list of players that are likely to be included in the Wooden Award preseason watch list. Singler and Smith were included along with other notables such as Butler Bulldog’s Shelvin Mack and BYU’s Jimmer Freddette.

As freshmen and transfers are not eligible for the preseason list, Katz went on to name several players of the aforementioned categories that could be included in the midseason or final list, and Duke redshirt guard Seth Curry is included.

It was widely expected that Curry would be playing more of a support role this season as Duke welcomes top freshman point guard Kyrie Irving (also on Katz’s freshman list) with senior Nolan Smith back to partner him in the backcourt.

Andy Katz’s list might be considered a tad bit ambitious, but Curry is accustomed to adversity in his short career. Coming out of high school at 6'0" and 155 pounds and rated a 2-star recruit, not many scholarships were offered.

He played one year at Liberty averaging 20.2 points per game before transferring to Duke and witnessing their championship run as a redshirt last season. Speaking to Sporting News earlier in the summer about his hopes for the coming season he said:

"He [coach Krzyzewski] hasn’t really talked about the rotation, but I’m just gonna try and go in and get as much playing time, earn a starting spot, and stuff like that. I’m just gonna go in and do what I do. Be aggressive on the offensive end, put points on the board, and defensively put pressure on the ball like all his guards do."

The last thing anyone who is a friend of the program wants is for Curry to turn up accepting he will be cheering until Irving and Smith leave next season. Obtaining a starting spot might be an uphill battle, but if he proves his worth, a three-guard lineup with Singler playing power forward might not be out of the question.

“Yeah. So excited,” Curry said when asked about his hopes for the season. “Everything has built up inside of me from this year. Hopefully the first game comes around and I can calm myself down a little bit and actually play well.”

After sitting out a whole year, he is understandably enthusiastic about playing for Duke, a sentiment shared by Nolan Smith:

"We’re going to be able to attack people offensively and defensively, and we’re really excited about doing that...Seth is obviously a great three-point shooter—that runs in his family. He was part of what made our team so great last year, but as a player and a competitor, it’s always tough sitting out."

Funny enough his older brother Stephen Curry who made a name for himself at Davidson has an interesting spin on this:

"He was with us during the NCAA Tournament, when I was at Davidson and we had our run. And, this year, he was with Duke during their run. I told him he’s never played in an NCAA Tournament game, but he already has more tournament experience than just about anybody."

Let's hope that counts for something.

Andy Katz's full list can be seen here.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/5625816/lack-star-power-plenty-talent