Charlotte Observer basketball blog

Charlotte.com has a basketball blog, where Kevin Cary posts additional columns about Davidson. Here are a couple of recent entries:

20-game conference schedule shackles Davidson

Southern Conference teams will be seeing more of each other next season.

Davidson athletic director Jim Murphy said Tuesday night that the conference has approved a 20-game conference schedule for next season, up from 18 games this season. Murphy said the move will be done on a one-year basis, and will be revisited after the 2007-08 season.

Davidson opposed the increase. The move will mean Davidson will have only nine nonconference games next season. The Wildcats are already scheduled to play Duke and North Carolina at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, along with games at Charlotte and Western Michigan. That leaves Davidson with five other spots, and Murphy said the school will schedule at least two, and possibly three, Division III opponents.

A 20-game conference schedule is unusual, but not unheard of. The SEC, ACC and Big 10 all play 16-game conference schedules, but the Ohio Valley and Atlantic Sun currently have 20-game schedules.

The move will guarantee two games against every other conference opponent in the 11-team Southern Conference. That will create a balanced schedule, instead of the current format where teams rotate from one to two games against teams outside their division. Davidson and Appalachian State lead their respective divisions, but only played once this season because of the rotation.

-- Kevin Cary

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Davidson's Curry a pro prospect?

Could Davidson freshman Stephen Curry be a future NBA prospect? UNC Greensboro coach Mike Dement thinks so.

“We were talking about it at halftime (Saturday) – if he can put on some more weight, he’s got a shot,” Dement said.

Curry is already on the NBA radar, albeit faintly. ESPN.com NBA analyst Chad Ford lists Curry as the No.110 current NBA prospect, but has said Curry could be a future NBA first-round pick.

Curry scored 29 points in Davidson’s 75-65 win against UNC Greensboro Saturday, and is second in the nation among freshman in scoring (19.9 ppg). Texas star Kevin Durant is first, but Curry has a long way to go to become that kind of prospect. He’s too lean to take pro pounding (Curry weighs less than 170 pounds), and he’s not a good enough ballhandler to play point guard in the NBA. Curry has already had two games with at least 10 turnovers this season.

But he can still grow into the role – literally. Curry stands 6-foot-2 now, but has grown six inches in the past three years. His father Dell, a standout with the Charlotte Hornets, also grew two inches in college, so Curry might inch up to 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4.

-- Kevin Cary