Curry up to No. 2 in Davidson scoring

Now only John Gerdy awaits.

Almost lost in Davidson's 79-67 loss at Duke Wednesday night was Wildcats guard Stephen Curry's continued climb up the Davidson career scoring ladder. Curry's 29 points pushed him to 2,040 in his 2 1/2- year career, and he slipped past Fred Hetzel (2,032), the former No. 2 man on the list.

Now Curry trails only John Gerdy (Class of 1979), who has 2,483 points.

With Curry averaging just under 30 points a game and trailing Gerdy by 443 points, he could possibly catch the leader this season. Should he average 30 points during the remainder of his chase, he would run Gerdy down 15 games from now, against an as-yet unscheduled opponent in one of ESPN's Bracket Busters games Feb. 20-21.

--Stan Olson

Curry SoCon player of month -- for 10th time

My guess is this comes as no surprise to anyone, but Davidson guard Stephen Curry has been named the Southern Conference's Player of the Month for December.

Curry, whose Wildcats play at Duke tonight at 7 on ESPN, has been the league's choice for a ridiculous seven straight months.

He averaged 30.8 points, 6.8 assists, five rebounds and 2.8 steals a game in Davidson's five games, including a career-high 44 in his team's Dec. 6 win over N.C. State. The Wildcats won four of those.

Curry, a junior, has won the award 10 times in his career.

--Stan Olson

Zoubek gives Singler break from post

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski appears to be committed to keeping sophomore forward Kyle Singler from having to take a lot of punishment in the post this season.

Singler got worn down and became less effective in the late stages of last season because he had to play center. This season, Brian Zoubek is in the starting lineup at center after being limited by injuries in 2007-08.

That allows Singler to play facing the basket on offense and defend away from the low post on defense.

“There’s no question about that, (Zoubek) is something we really missed last year,” Krzyzewski said during Monday’s ACC teleconference.

Lance Thomas also is getting playing time off the bench in the post for Duke, and freshman Miles Plumlee played three minutes in the ACC opener against Virginia Tech.

“I do believe that Lance and Miles Plumlee also can help us,” Krzyzewski said. Miles as a freshman is just learning the physicality of the college game. We do have some guys there this year, and that’s a big help for us.”

– Ken Tysiac

Pack's Lowe says Yow on his mind

Since he was a player at N.C. State in the early 1980s, Wolfpack men’s basketball coach Sidney Lowe has admired Kay Yow, the team’s women’s coach.

Yow, a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, is battling cancer and has missed four straight games. N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said Yow is resting with the intention of returning.

During Monday’s ACC coaches’ teleconference, Lowe said he is keeping up with Yow’s status as much as possible:

“When I played here, she and I had a relationship where we talked and I just always admired her as a coach. And obviously being back here and what she’s accomplished in her career and for the university is to be admired. I keep up with what’s going on with her, pretty much not daily but pretty often.

“One of the reasons is the Wolfpack family around here. Everyone, we get information and we inquire how she’s doing and what’s going on. Not into the full detail, though. I knew she wasn’t doing well the first day that it happened.

“This group is so tight, there are people who will let us know. Whether it’s an e-mail. Whether it’s a coach letting you know. We really communicate that.”

– Ken Tysiac

UNC coach: I'm 'concerned' about Ginyard

One of the biggest elements missing from North Carolina during its 85-78 loss to Boston College on Sunday night: the impact of Marcus Ginyard.

The senior, who finally returned late last month after left foot surgery, played 14 minutes off the bench Sunday night, but he still wasn’t moving well enough to help slow the Eagles' Tyrese Rice (25 points) or Rakim Sanders (22).

He was also sporting a sleeve on his right leg. Coach Roy Williams’
explanation on Monday: "He took whack on his knee the day before the BC game in practice. I don’t have any idea whether that was (the reason for the sleeve) or it was Marcus making a fashion statement."

What North Carolina is missing is Ginyard’s healthy defensive statements.

Williams said he is "concerned" about the player because he’s still not moving as well as he would like to.

"You look there (at the box score) and he plays 14 minutes and doesn’t take a shot,’’ Williams said Sunday. "There’s no question that he’s not 100 percent. And when he came back, I said that it’s going to take us two or three weeks to get him there… And I think he’s concerned. I’m concerned."

— Robbi Pickeral

Pack's Ferguson returns, might play at Clemson

Guard Trevor Ferguson, who has missed the past three games with a broken left hand, is returning to practice today and might play in N.C. State’s next game Saturday at Clemson, Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe said Monday.

The left hand is Ferguson’s non-shooting hand, and he will wear a pad to protect it.

“We’ll have to see how it feels tomorrow and then how comfortable he is with that pad in terms of handling the ball, shooting the ball,” Lowe said during Monday’s ACC coaches teleconference.

Despite the three-game absence, Ferguson remains tied for N.C. State’s lead in 3-pointers made with 17. He is averaging 7.9 points per game.

Lowe said having a week between Saturday’s loss at Florida and the Clemson game will help his banged-up team get healthy. Point guard Javi Gonzalez didn’t play at Florida because Lowe didn’t think he was ready after practicing just once since returning from an ankle injury.

Wing Courtney Fells also has been struggling with an ankle injury. He played at Florida, but was listed as a game-day decision before the game.

“We need all of our pieces,” Lowe said. “We need all of our guys. We need Trevor back. We need Javi back, and certainly the teams we’re playing against and the way we would like to play, we need to keep fresh bodies. Having those guys in there certainly would help us.”

Fells will move from shooting guard back to small forward when Ferguson is ready to rejoin the starting lineup, Lowe said. During Ferguson’s absence Fells has played in the backcourt, with Dennis Horner replacing him at small forward.

– Ken Tysiac

Curry turns attention toward Duke

So now Davidson guard Stephen Curry is the third player in school history to score 2,000 points. His 21 in Saturday's 76-55 victory against Samford at Belk Arena pushed him to a career total of 2,011. He trails only John Gerdy (2,483) and Fred Hetzel (2,032).

"It's really pretty crazy," Curry said afterward in a soft voice, sitting at a table in the team's media center. "I didn't really know coming into the game, and didn't let it be a distraction. But it's really big for me personally to be up there on that list. I think I'll be able to cherish it a little more after the season's over with and really realize what I've done."

Curry is still just halfway through his junior season.

"We've got more of the season left, and more business to take care of," he said.

That starts Wednesday night at Duke.

- Stan Olson

Future Davidson big man leads team to title

Future Davidson big man Jake Cohen led Conestoga High (Berwyn, Pa.) to the championship of the Surf 'N Slam basketball tournament over the holidays.

Cohen, a 6-foot-10 center, had 23 points in his team's 53-44 victory over Woodcreek (Roseville, Cal.) in the title game Tuesday night.

Cohen has an excellent shooting touch for a big man, with three-point range. Conestoga, traditionally a power in the Philadelphia area, is undefeated. --Stan Olson

No.1 Heels remain focused on defense

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina has blown out its first 13 opponents by an average of 26.4 points. Its "closest" victory was by 15. And it leads the ACC in scoring offense, scoring margin, assists, steals, turnover margin and assist-to-turnover ratio.

So what’s left for the top-ranked team in the nation to work on, as it begins conference play against Boston College on Sunday?

"Just our focus defensively — of making teams take a bad shot and limiting them to one bad shot,’’ said senior wing Danny Green.

Coach Roy Williams said his team has played better defense since a three-game letdown around semester finals, when Evansville, Valparaiso and Rutgers each shot 50 percent or better for one half against the Tar Heels, albeit in North Carolina blowouts.

But even at Nevada, when the Wolf Pack shot 28.6 percent in the second half, Williams wasn’t happy.

"Most of the time, when you give up 14 points on offensive rebounds in the second half, … [and you] put a team on the line and let them shoot 20 free throws, you’re going to lose,’’ he said. "I was not pleased, and yet everybody’s going to say, ‘Gosh, you can’t have everything, they shot 28 percent in the second half.’ But I think it’s my job to try to get everything."

UNDEFEATED TALK: North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough has never played on an undefeated team, but he’d like to — even though he’s trying not to think too much about it. No. 1 North Carolina is 13-0.

"We’ll see what happens," he said. "I want to take it game by game, but I think if you ask every team I’ve every played on, it would be great to go undefeated."

— Robbi Pickeral

Pack unsure if Fells will play at Florida

N.C. State is listing wing Courtney Fells as a game-day decision for Saturday’s game at Florida as he continues to be bothered by an ankle injury.

“We’re hoping he’s going to be able to play,” coach Sidney Lowe said.

Lowe said Fells, who ranks third on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game, may not be fully healthy until he gets time to rest and undergo lots of treatment.

N.C. State has a week off after the Florida game to prepare for its Jan. 10 ACC opener at Clemson.

Although he has played N.C. State’s last four games, Fells has been hampered by the injury he suffered Dec. 6 against Davidson, which caused him to miss two games.

Fells did not practice Friday, but Lowe said point guard Javi Gonzalez is back in practice after missing two games with an ankle injury.

– Ken Tysiac