Posted by NumberTwoPencil:
Another Curry fix:
I was just watching a stream of the Davidson-Furman game. Furman's a crummy team and it's a cummy game but, once again, Stephen Curry is breathtaking. Sure it's just college ball but in a little less than 22 minutes of play, the kid has 28 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals. He's 11/15 from the field and 6/8 for 3s. (Yeah, Furman is continuously double and triple teaming him when he has the ball, not that it's doing any good.) Since Davidson is up by, oh, 20 points or so, and it looks like Curry will sit for the rest of the game. Had he played the whole game, he could have easily ended up with 50pts, 10 assists, and a half dozen steals without breaking a sweat. And when he left the game, it looked like he was just warming up, he's usually a second half guy.
I guess it's time to switch to the Wake game. (A Teague-Curry match up in the Spring would be nice...)
Teague eats Curry for breakfast in that matchup. Curry's got some skill but Jeff Teague plays ball on a whole 'nother level...
Having said that, Teague had a good game tonight but faded down the stretch - Wake loses it's first game of the season. You gotta give almost all the credit to VA Tech - that club played smart and they played together (even though they were practically giving that game away down the stretch with all the missed FTs but Wake failed to capitalize). The Deacons never led in this game, a game on their home floor in their gym. Very impressive win for the Hokies. Before Len Elmore speculated that Teague lost focus and got down on his teammates a little bit, I was actually thinking the same thing - on the play where Harvey Hale missed that little 7' bank shot late in the game that would've cut it to 2, you can clearly see Teague waiving his hands in disgust in the background. I can see what Elmore was talking about and that's something to keep an eye on. Teague needs to relax with that nonsense - his teammates played very hard tonight and that's all you can ask for, it just didn't happen for them. Teague played well overall but surprisingly didn't look to take over down the stretch when that game got close. Still, you can't blame this loss on him. He's got to keep his emotions in check, esp. with his own teammates, and cut down on the turnovers but other than that, he's one of the best prospects in America, probably the best backcourt prospect. He's the whole package - he's willing to pass the ball and is actually a very good passer (to a fault in this game as he should've looked to take over in the end when they needed him to) and can definitely play PG in the NBA. Offensively, there isn't a more complete package out there - he shoots 3s well, can hit from mid-range and can get to the rim and finish better than any guard in the college game today with an explosive step & a wide array of hesitation moves off the dribble, very reminicent of Allen Iverson. On top of that, he's got incredible athleticism that allows him to do things no other 6'2" player out there can do (unbelievable vertical lift allows him to dunk the ball on people and actually get up to block shots which he has a knack for with very good timing, almost unheard of by a player that small and he possesses incredibly quick hands on defense leading to many strips and deflections). This kid's phenomenal but obviously still needs to mature a little bit.
A couple of other things -
Out of all of their impressive players, VA Tech's A.D. Vassallo really impressed me the most. Guy played a real smart game and deserves a lot of credit. Has nice size at about 6'6", a beautiful stroke from deep and showed a good enough handle and the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. Reminds me of a poor man's Rudy Fernandez/Francisco Garcia. Had no idea who this guy was, but I know who he is now. He's a senior and definitely not a guy you'll find in the green room with the big fish come draft night, but the guy can play. Remember the name - probably goes undrafted, but he might stick in the NBA if he has a good summer league showing for some team that needs an extra shooter...
Ish Smith is a nice little PG. Overdribbles a little bit but the kid has guts and can really get in the lane and cause some havoc. Frees up Teague to do his thing - very similar backcourt attack Arizona tried to go with last year with Nic Wise and Jerryd Bayless before Wise got hurt.
Chas McFarland really killed Wake Forest tonight. Foul-plagued the entire night and then did nothing with the few mins. he did have. Total non-factor and even got chippy a few of times with a couple of Hokie players, even getting hit with a tech at one point for throwing a shoulder. Frustration more than anything else I guess. Bottom line, if he showed up tonight, they probably pull this game out.
Looks like AJ Price had a huge game for the Huskies in their win over 'Nova tonight (29 pts. on 10-13 FGs, 4-6 on 3s, 5 rebs., 5 assts.). The next time anyone out there decides to say how weak this draft is, think about how a real nice PG talent like this kid might wind up going as late as somewhere in the second round. This kid might be a better player than our own Chris Duhon right now - they're very similar...
[Edited by - finestrg on 01-22-2009 01:39 AM]
1/22/2009 7:08 AM
