Curry's competitive nature makes him a good fit at Duke

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Minutes before Virginia and Duke tipped off last week at John Paul Jones Arena, Cavaliers assistant coach Ritchie McKay interrupted Blue Devils guard Seth Curry as he was going through his pre-game shooting routine. The two exchanged a quick hug, and Curry shook hands with UVa director of basketball operations Brad Soucie before getting back to business.

UVa fans with a long memory (or a sadistic streak) will remember the first time Curry stepped on the JPJA floor. With McKay as his head coach and Soucie as the lead assistant, Curry teamed with Kyle Ohman to lead Liberty to an upset win at Virginia in November 2008. Curry scored 26 points, and a win on the home floor of an ACC team is just what Curry needed to put him and Flames basketball on the national map.

"It’s good to be back in Virginia," Curry said last week after helping then fifth-ranked Duke to a 56-41 win over the Cavaliers last Wednesday. "To come back here and get a win on the same floor that I got my first big win at Liberty, it’s great. It feels like home on this court."

Of course, by the end of the year, Curry was on the national map for reasons other than his on-floor exploits. As Liberty’s season wound down with a trip to the inaugural CollegeInsider.com tournament, rumors began to circulate that he was looking to transfer. Despite the fact that his older brother, Stephen, had starred at a mid-major school (Davidson), Curry still flew under the recruiting radar as a senior at Charlotte Christian High School.

A hamstring injury robbed him of his explosiveness as a prep senior, and some college coaches took the diminished speed as a sign that Curry wasn’t playing hard. McKay knew better and stayed on Curry until he signed. He led all Division I freshmen in scoring in his one year at Liberty. Curry was no longer an unknown. His play garnered so much interest that the Flames media relations staff began to limit Curry’s interview opportunities, a rare measure at a school that infrequently draws a big media presence to its games.

Curry (and his father Dell) understood there was a market for his services, and he wanted to explore them. He’s an intense competitor, and he understood that he’d have little chance to compete for a national championship at Liberty. Once he declared his intentions to transfer on March 24, 2009, the process moved quickly. Five days later, he announced he was transferring to Duke.

Curry remains a polarizing figure to Liberty’s fan base. A quick perusal of the message board at FlameFans.com shows that some consider Curry a traitor. Others still follow his exploits at Duke and wish him the best. Curry remained on campus for the rest of the spring semester after announcing his transfer. Some of his classmates shunned him. Others understood the decision. Curry’s lone reason for transferring was to play at the highest level of Division I basketball.

"People who understood my situation and really knew what was going on, they really understood where I was coming from," said Curry, who still keeps in touch with former Liberty teammate David Minaya. "From the outside looking in, I got a lot of heat for it. I tried not to pay attention to it. … I can understand the people who really didn’t like the decision. Liberty fans, I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me. It was a fun time being there.

"But it’s great for my career to play for an all-time great coach in Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), and being able to make a run to the tournament every year, that’s big."

Curry has adapted to new roles in Durham. Most notably, he’s no longer the focal point of a team’s offense. At best, he’s the third scoring option behind Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler. When star point guard Kyrie Irving was healthy, Curry was even deeper on the depth chart.

But Irving’s severe toe injury has opened playing time for Curry, who early in the season played fewer than 15 minutes whenever the Blue Devils faced a quality opponent. He played just seven minutes against Michigan State on Dec. 1 and 14 against Butler three days later. Irving hasn’t played since that Butler game, and Curry’s minutes and responsibilities have increased. He hit a season-high five 3-pointers in an 84-68 win over Boston College on Jan. 27, and on Feb. 9 against North Carolina — with the national spotlight at its brightest — Curry scored 22 points to lead Duke’s comeback victory.

"It was kind of surreal," Curry said. "I’ve been watching those type of games my whole life. Actually being in it, and seeing the people in the crowd like the old Duke-UNC games, that’s a big deal to me. It was great to get a chance to go out there and put on a good performance and play well in a game that’s going to be remembered for a long time."

Scoring was never Curry’s issue at Liberty. The biggest question once he transferred was if he could compete defensively in a league with bigger, more physical guards. Curry understood that criticism and worked feverishly during his redshirt year to build strength and learn how to be a better one-on-one defender. It’s still a work in progress, as the Virginia game showed.

Curry nabbed three steals, using his long arms to poke balls away from opponents. But on one occasion, Cavaliers guard Jontel Evans hit Curry with an ankle-breaking move, leading to a wide-open layup. Krzyzewski has seen vast improvement in Curry’s overall defense since he arrived in Durham.

"He wants to play it," Krzyzewski said. "He takes pride in it and he wants to get better at it. He’s pretty quick and he’s a very smart player with good hands. A number of my guys are really smart players, like Ryan (Kelly) and he are really smart players. They use their physical abilities better. Others might be better athletes, but they go in the wrong direction. (Curry and Kelly) might be slower, but they go in the right direction. They’re kind of like that."

Curry leads the team with 42 steals in 28 games. In 35 games at Liberty, he nabbed 48 steals. As his defense improves and his playing time increases, Curry is getting more and more comfortable in his new environs. He’s quickly gained the trust of his new teammates, and figures to be a key player down the stretch as Duke aims to repeat as national champion.

Said Smith: "Sometimes, the difference between a big conference and a little conference is the competitiveness. Seth is a competitor, which is why his game translates to the ACC."