Saturday, March 22, 2008

Davidson's Curry or UNC's Ellington?

Davidson's Stephen Curry is coming off a 40-point game against Gonzaga that's one of the greatest performances a player from North Carolina has ever had in the NCAA tournament.

North Carolina's Wayne Ellington is the premier shooter on the tournament's No. 1 seed.

They will play in back-to-back second-round games Sunday at the RBC Center.

So here's a question. If you had to pick one sophomore shooting guard to lead your college basketball team, would you choose Curry? Or Ellington?

I'm not sure I want to choose. My e-mail inbox will be flooded by angry fans of one team or another if I pick one over the other.

Curry's shooting stroke is more pure. He can pivot to either shoulder with equal skill to fire an accurate jumper. His scoring average of 25.5 points per game is almost nine points higher than Ellington's.

Ellington is physically stronger and a better penetrator. He doesn't score as much because North Carolina has a center in Tyler Hansbrough who already has claimed two national player of the year awards.

There's no telling what Ellington what do if he were overwhelmingly the top option in a college offense as Curry is. But we know what Curry can do in that situation.

He scored 30 second-half points in the biggest game of his life. Ellington might be a better athlete and a better NBA player some day.

But Curry has shown he can carry a team. If I had to choose between them, I'd pick him.

Be gentle with my inbox. -- KEN TYSIAC

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Put Ellington on Duke, and he is exactly like Gerald Henderson. Put Curry on Duke, and they win the ACC. Curry is a player with heart, and a chip on his shoulders. He is surrounded by what other teams use as their backup players.

Anonymous said...

It's harder for Curry to score for Davidson because he's the only scoring option they have, so he gets doubled and triples team and still scores. Im not sure Ellington could do the same.

Anonymous said...

Plain and simple....Curry is the choice. He not only is the better player in this deabte, he might be the best college player, period!

Anonymous said...

I'd go Curry. Ellington will be an NBA player but has room to grow. Curry is ready to shouldner a college team on his back right now.

UNCDubb said...

Ellington is the best player. Curry is unknown to the majority of the country, so his talent surprises people. Put him in the ACC and teams would figure him out quickly and shut him down. Ellington at Clemson proved he is the best player of the two. Not to mention the Southern Conference is no ACC.

DrFrankLives said...

Curry can penetrate just fine. Wait til next year. That's not his role this year.

DrFrankLives said...

"Put him in the ACC and teams would figure him out quickly and shut him down.."


HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Where do you think he plays? Egypt?

He's been on TV all season. Coaches know about him. And there isn't a better coach in the ACC than Mark Few, and he was helpless yesterday. Roy Williams couldn't stop him. K couldn't stop him.

For crying out loud, take off the big conference blinders. He's a second team all American for a reason, and he just might win the Naismith before his career is over.

Anonymous said...

"Put him in the ACC and teams would figure him out quickly and shut him down"

really? thats strange because he scored 24 on UNC, 20 on Duke, and 29 on State...

UNCDubb said...

I know he doesn't play in Egypt, he plays in the Southern Conference which is about the same as Division II
(They couldn't beat NCS, last place in ACC). Davidson couldn't win the CAA. Stop drinking the Curry cool aid. I love the kid as a player but Ellington is at a different level. Brett Blizzard was a great player for UNCW (honorary All-American), played excellent games against USC in 2002 and Maryland in 2003 in the tournaments, and dominated the CAA. As a UNCW fan and alum. I wouldn't say he was better than McCants, because that would be crazy. Blizzard had better stats than McCants, but played against a different level of competition throughout the year. Same comparison can be made between Curry and Ellington. Lastly, I wouldn't say shooting 35% against UNC and 30% against UCLA a stellar performance.

Anonymous said...

jeff said:
There hard to compare, more scoring is expected of curry, he often gets alot of defensive attention as does ellington The ACC overall offers a higher level of competition. The Wildcats played well against top competition UNC, Duke, NCSU and UCLA. They may play in a weaker conference but they have game! I don't think you could lose with either kid although curry is probably the sentimental favorite now. ellington has a great chance of playing on the team that may win it all! flip a coin. is that gentle enough!