Commentary:

Davidson deserves its due
By Steve Behr, sports editor
sports@wataugademocrat.com

The rest of the nation is starting to learn what we in Boone have known the last two years — Stephen Curry can play a decent game of basketball.

His performance, 30 points in Davidson’s 74-70 upset of Georgetown — 25 in the second half — didn’t surprise me that much. Curry stuck 38 on Appalachian State last November by making five straight shots, four being 3-pointers, at the beginning of the game.

Though Appalachian State was the last team to beat Davidson in a Southern Conference game, back in the spring of 2007, Georgetown was supposed to slap the Wildcats back into their mid-major reality.

It didn’t work that way. The Wildcat who still looks like a freshman in high school is playing like a graduating senior in college. Curry, who is just a sophomore, showed the Hoyas and a country that loves an underdog which has the capability to win the big one, that Wisconsin better take the Wildcats seriously, or else the Badgers will end up watching the rest of the tournament on television.

Curry, who is 6-foot-3, is more than just a scorer. He can also play defense, rebound and run the floor.

Davidson is also more than just Curry. Point guard Jason Richards was second in the nation in assists going into the tournament. Their supporting cast can rebound, execute on offense and never stop hustling on the court.

It feels good, at least to me, to see a Southern Conference team do well in anything nationally. If College of Charleston reaches the finals of the College World Series in baseball, many kudos from me. If UNC Greensboro’s soccer teams make the final four and get a national ranking, more power to them and good luck from me.

We know all about being a media darling here in the High Country. Head football coach Jerry Moore just had his team run a few sprints the Monday following the Mountaineers’ 34-32 win over Michigan.

It seemed media outlets that could not spell Appalachian State were were falling over themselves to talk to anybody from Boone. Moore gave his team Monday to deal with all the media requests and the sports information office got very little sleep that week.

Southern Conference people were pulling for the Mountaineers to beat Michigan. Now they’re pulling for Davidson.

Curry was interviewed on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption,” and he was discussed by the panel of “Around the Horn.” Davidson coach Bob McKillop canceled a trip overseas because of the tournament, and the Wildcats won over North Carolina fans in Raleigh during their game with Georgetown.

It’s all deserved. While some would like to elimiate automatic bids — code for dumping mid-majors so more power conference teams can get in — from the tournament, the upsets this year have been a breath of fresh air.

Davidson has two more upsets to go before reaching the Final Four.