Curry brothers making marks at mid-majors

"I could shoot myself."

That's what Winthrop coach Randy Peele said last week about his failure to seriously recruit Seth Curry out of high school.

Peele should put away the rhetorical gun. A lot of sheepish college basketball coaches are feeling the same way about the Curry brothers, Davidson superstar Stephen and Liberty freshman Seth.

Despite superior basketball bloodlines from father Dell Curry, a former NBA standout, both brothers were passed over by major programs only to wind up as mid-major stars.

Stephen (pronounced STEFF-in) rocketed to stardom by carrying Davidson to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament last year, and counts LeBron James among his biggest fans. He merely leads the nation in scoring this year with 29.2 points per game.

Seth, younger than Stephen by two years and just as slender, is the top-scoring freshman in the nation, averaging 19.9 points, and has helped Liberty to a 10-6 start.

The Curry brothers will lead their teams against the Lowcountry today. Davidson puts its 33-game Southern Conference winning streak on the line at The Citadel, where about 1,000 tickets remain for the 7 p.m. game at 6,000-seat McAlister Field House. Meanwhile, Charleston Southern visits Liberty for a Big South Conference game at 7 p.m. in Lynchburg, Va.

Citadel coach Ed Conroy said the saga of the Curry brothers demonstrates what an inexact science recruiting can be.

"We tell our guys all the time, it's about development," Conroy said. "It doesn't matter how good you are coming in, it's about development. When I look at the Currys, that's what I see.

"Both those guys are driven to become good players, and that's why they are making coaches look bad for not recruiting them."

When Stephen grabbed national attention last March by scoring 128 points in four NCAA Tournament games, many wondered how such a terrific player wound up at Davidson and not at an ACC power. Now, they are saying the same thing about Seth, who used to battle his brother in driveway games outside their Charlotte home.

"They missed the boat again," Stephen told the New York Times. "I thought (Seth) would get more looks because of people passing up on me."

Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg is most often the fall guy in these stories, the coach who might have had both Curry brothers, because father Dell was a college star for the Hokies. But Virginia Tech wanted Stephen to walk-on, and extended what Seth Curry has called "a token offer" to the younger brother.

That left Seth, who like his brother played high school ball at Charlotte Christian, with offers from Liberty, Davidson and William & Mary. And wanting to avoid his brother's considerable shadow, Seth chose Liberty, a school that has made only two appearances in the NCAA Tournament and has had only two players make it to the NBA, each very briefly.

Conroy credits Dell and Sonya Curry for not blindly chasing major programs, but finding places where their sons could thrive.

"I've enjoyed watching Stephen go to a place where he seems really happy and can make his mark," Conroy said. "And we tried to recruit Seth and would have loved to have had him. I think the family is refreshing and committed to getting their sons in the right place for them.

"A lot is made of the fact that schools missed on them, but I think there was a lot of decision-making by the parents, as well."

Needless to say, Davidson coach Bob McKillop is thrilled that he went 1 for 2 on Curry brothers.

"We tried to get Seth here, and Stephen really tried to use his influence there," McKillop said. "But Seth has a wonderful opportunity at Liberty to use his capabilities, much like Steph has at Davidson.

"You look at some of the major programs with rosters filled with high school All-Americans, and you don't get that playing time you need to get experience and have great performances.

"That's what led Stephen to being who he is, and that's what Seth has as a freshman at Liberty."