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Curry big factor in UNC rise

Ronald Curry came to North Carolina three years ago trumpeted as one of the nation's top playmakers.

By BRIAN LANDMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 10, 2001

But as a freshman, he played sparingly behind star point guard Ed Cota, then spent all of last season on his behind, recovering from a ruptured Achilles' tendon. Now, he's firmly behind the Tar Heels' rise to No. 1 in the polls.

"I've had an opportunity and my role has changed this year," he said with a modest shrug of his muscular shoulders. "That's a big plus."

Since the end of the football season, Curry, 21, who's also UNC's starting quarterback, has provided savvy, unflappable floor leadership (3.8 assists) that neither freshmen Adam Boone nor Brian Morrison was ready to deliver, especially against the top-shelf competition that UNC faces both in and out of Atlantic Coast Conference play.

"His maturity, his settling effect on the offensive end is the thing I've been impressed with," UNC coach Matt Doherty said. "I remember seeing Ronald as a freshman and a lot of people said that as a freshman he was a great athlete but just a little bit out of control. Ronald has really played under control and added a maturity to this team that's really helped us."

Just as important, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Curry uses his strength and quickness to disrupt, if not neutralize, the opposing point guard. That's one reason UNC is holding teams to 37.9 percent shooting.

"He can stay in front of guys," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "He's not going to get pushed around. He's not going to get run off screens that easily. He's going to make your point guard work to get into the paint or get good looks."

It's no coincidence that since he rejoined the team, the Tar Heels are 17-0 entering today's home game against No. 13 Maryland. They were 3-2 without him.

Although he's not known for scoring (5.2 points), he's dramatically improved his shooting (44.3 percent from the floor to 24.5 percent as a freshman). He's even making the occasional three-pointer (14-for-34, up from 6-for-42), which keeps defenses honest.

"I had a disappointing freshman year," Curry said. "I was highly recruited and I want to let people know I can play."

TIP-INS: Utah junior forward/center Chris Burgess, once part of Duke's Fab Four recruiting class that included Elton Brand, Shane Battier and William Avery, is a fast healer. He fractured his right ankle on Jan. 15 and was supposed to be out for 6-8 weeks. Instead, he returned Monday against New Mexico and contributed 4 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 16 minutes. ... Since Bowling Green coach Dan Dakich walked onto the court with his jacket on backward, his team has turned things around. The Falcons won at Miami in overtime Saturday and ended Ohio's 13-game home winning streak on Wednesday. Talk about making a (fashion) statement. ... It seems appropriate that the nation's steals leader is named Greedy -- Texas Christian's Greedy Daniels, who is averaging an 4.4. ... Providence senior center Karim Shabazz, the former FSU star, is averaging 7.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks entering today's game against Georgetown. He averaged 10.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocks a year ago. To think he contemplated leaving early.

-- Brian Landman covers men's college basketball. He can be reached at (813) 226-3347 or by e-mail at landman@sptimes.com.

By the numbers

0: Undefeated teams in Division I.

1: Undefeated team in the nation, Division II power Adelphi (21-0), which plays at Mercy tonight.

4: Teams that spent time at No. 1 in the AP poll last season (Connecticut, Cincinnati, Stanford and Duke).

5: Teams that have spent time at No. 1 in the AP poll this season (Arizona, Duke, Michigan State, Stanford and North Carolina.)

24: Consecutive ACC road wins by Duke, a league record.

420: Career blocks by Ohio State senior center Ken Johnson entering today's game against Wisconsin, eight shy of tying the Big Ten record held by Penn State's Calvin Booth.

Revising perception

Conference USA teams have just five wins against ranked non-conference opponents, including USF's win against then No. 25 Texas, and that record is reflective of its national image. It's the ninth-rated league and has no team in the weekly AP poll. But C-USA can get a shot Saturday if DePaul can upset UCLA. Although unranked, the Bruins beat previously undefeated and No. 1 Stanford last weekend and then beat No. 22 Southern California on Thursday. Said DePaul coach Pat Kennedy: "We're here at home and . . . they're very much up and down if you look at their Cal (a 92-63 loss) and Stanford (a 79-73 win) games. It would be a very good win for our conference, but more importantly it would be a good win for us."

Ranked non-conference wins

(Date,C-USA,Rank/opponent)

Nov. 17Southern Miss 65,No. 15 Arkansas 54

Nov. 29Cincinnati 82,No. 24 Dayton 75

Dec. 9USF 87,No. 25 Texas69

Dec. 22Cincinnati 77,No. 17 Alabama74

Jan. 27Cincinnati 78,No. 8 Wake Forest 72 (OT)

Out of the woods?

Arizona star center Loren Woods hasn't exactly performed like a Player of the Year. He missed the Wildcats first six games of the season due to an NCAA suspension and was suspended by coach Lute Olson for last Saturday's game at Oregon State for what was called a "personal situation." His stats (13.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks) are solid but hardly all-American caliber. The hometown fans even booed him during Thursday's win against Washington. Woods admitted his play has been an "embarrassment" to himself, his family and the Arizona program, but added that "the cream always rises to the top. I've got eight games left and the tournament to prove myself." Olson chastized the fans and told folks not to worry. "I think you're going to see more of the Loren Woods that we saw a year ago," he said. "Last year, it was maybe the first eight games or so before he really started becoming as effective as he needed to be and right now, he's had enough games to be ready and we're counting on that in the second round of the league, that he's going to get better and better and move on as he did a year ago from a good player in the beginning to a really outstanding player prior to his injury." -- Compiled by Brian Landman

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