I can still remember that final minute at Ford Field. It was March 2008 and Kansas was squaring off against Cinderella story Davidson in the Elite Eight; Stephen Curry was having the tournament run of his life. I was in the stands that day in Motown sitting among the Davidson fans, wearing the one purple shirt in a sea of red. With Curry hitting that big three with 54 seconds left to cut Kansas’ lead to two, it seemed like the momentum had shifted in Davidson’s favor. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the game ended on a desperation heave from Jason Richards in the final seconds after Curry was double-teamed and was forced to pass it off.
For a player with a rich tapestry of NCAA tournament experience, and a brother playing in his first tourney on a top-ranked Duke squad, the Warriors’ Stephen Curry has a lot invested in this year’s March Madness. We caught up with Steph to talk Davidson’s chances, March Madness predictions and his brother Seth Curry following in his footsteps.
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Dime: What are the chances Davidson makes the tournament?
Stephen Curry: Not good. We lost in the first round of the conference tournament so I have to see how the NIT works out and then go from there. They’re a good team but just fell short a little bit.
Dime: Are there any teams that you’re looking forward to watching this year in the tourney?
SC: For me watching Duke is great because I can watch my brother play and see how he does and how he handles his first NCAA Tournament. So I’ll be glued to the TV whenever they’re playing. I also want to see Jimmer [Fredette] and see how BYU does. They remind me a lot of Davidson when I played a couple years ago so maybe they can have a huge run. But they’re going to be a single digit seed – a one or a two – so it’s a little different situation than us.
Dime: Any there pointers you can give to your brother going into his first March Madness?
SC: Just to stick to the system that has gotten you to that point. I mean, you don’t have to do anything special or out of the ordinary to win those games. What you have done to succeed up until that point will continue to make it happen. So there may be a lot of pressure because it’s one and done but you can’t let that change how you play.
Dime: Is there any pressure on him following in the footsteps of a big brother who had successful tournament runs?
SC: He’s with Duke, so they have so many different talented players. You can’t really take one guy away, but for him, he just wants to play well and win regardless of what his stats look like or anything. As long as they win and keep moving he’ll be happy.
Dime: Have any good sleeper picks?
Hmmm, I don’t know. I think when you get to the Big East you’re probably going to have double-digit teams in there, so probably even one of those teams that just slip in is going to be pretty competitive going into the tournament – since they play such a tough schedule all year. Like Villanova right now. They kind of slipped off a little bit but they might sneak in the tournament and make a run in the postseason.
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