North Carolina State University Athletics
Haynes: Wolfpack Tangles with Curry, Davidson
12/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Raleigh, N.C. Stung by a disappointing 66-65 loss to NC State last December, coach Bob McKilliop and his Davidson basketball team quietly boarded a bus parked in the back loading dock of the RBC Center, not knowing at the time that they’d eventually return to the same building three months later to become the most compelling story of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
In the aftermath of the satisfying win, the Wolfpack figured it was building momentum for ACC play, not knowing that a long, difficult season was ahead.
NC State and Davidson did, in fact, go in opposite directions following that game a year ago.
Led by sharpshooter Stephen Curry, the Wildcats would go on to win 25 straight games before eventually falling to
Again when they meet on Saturday at Time Warner Cable Arena in downtown
After winning its first four games by an average of 18 points, the Wolfpack will get its first big test of the campaign against the 22nd ranked Wildcats. Similarly, Davidson has coasted through the early stages of the season, losing only once, on the road to nationally ranked
And while the Sooners won that night, Curry again stole the show, scoring 44 points.
It’s become quite obvious that a move from shooting guard to point guard hasn’t really limited Curry’s offensive production. In six games, the 6-3 junior is averaging 29 points per contest, a figure that includes a scoreless performance in Davidson’s last outing 10 days ago against Loyola of Maryland. Doubling Curry wherever he went on the court, Loyola accomplished its goal of taking him out of the game.
And oh yea, the Wildcats still won by 30 points.
And while playing the point has added a few more responsibilities to Curry’s plate, he continues to get many of the same shots he was getting last season from the two-guard spot.
“You have to give him credit because he’s good either way,” said NC State head coach Sidney Lowe. “He reads the defense well whether he’s got the ball in his hands or he’s coming off screens. He’s not really the point guard. They have him up there, but then he gives it up and he’s coming off the screens. It’s kind of a disguise there. We just have to be solid on him and make everything tough.”
NC State’s best hope of containing Curry will be senior Courtney Fells, who, in spite of playing the small forward spot this season, will likely be guarding the opposition’s best perimeter scorer in most games, even if that player happens to be playing the point guard spot.
“We just have to stay solid because they run a lot of motion,” said the 6-6 Fells. “They might be a little different with Curry running the point, but once he passes it, they’re in their motion and you have to be ready at all times.”
Throw out Curry’s goose egg against Loyola, and he’s averaging 35 points in Davidson’s other five games.
“He’s one of those guys that you’re not going to stop, but you have to make it tough for him,” Lowe said. “If he misses his first two, you can’t give him an open look on the third one. You’ve got to force him to take tough shots.”
It doesn’t appear that the new 3-point distance of 20-feet, nine inches has affected either Curry or two-guard Bryant Barr.
Curry is hitting 44 percent from behind the arc, while Barr has a 43.8 percent accuracy rate. Andrew Lovedale, an athletic 6-8, 220-pound forward, has continued to build on his strong performance in last year’s NCAA Tournament and is averaging 14.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.
“They’re not soft inside,” Lowe said. “They play tough. They play to their strengths and know what they need to do to help their team win.”
Off to a great start on both ends of the floor, Fells has hit 56 percent of his field goal tries and is averaging 16 points per game. Fresh off back-to-back double-doubles, center Ben McCauley is putting up 15.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Lowe’s early season emphasis on defense and rebounding has paid off thus far. NC State is holding its opponents to just 35 percent shooting and owns a plus-nine rebound margin through four games.
“We’re certainly more aggressive on the boards now,” Lowe said. “Ben has been unbelievable on the defensive boards, an area he thought he really needed to concentrate on. We’re taking care of the basketball and defensively we’ve been pretty good.”
On Friday, Lowe said point guard Farnold Degand returned to practice this week and would play in Saturday’s game.
Degand, who underwent knee surgery last January, missed the Pack’s last three games because of discomfort in the knee.
The Wolfpack Sports Network will have full radio coverage of Saturday’s game starting with the 11:30 a.m. pregame show.
A new season of the Sidney Lowe TV Show will begin Sunday night on stations across the state as well.
