Associated Press
RALEIGH ó Seth Curry is joining Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils.
Curry’s father, Dell, told The Associated Press on Sunday night that his son will transfer to Duke next season.
The younger brother of Davidson star Stephen Curry was the Big South freshman of the year at Liberty after leading the nation’s first-year players with a 20.2-point average.
He announced plans last week to transfer so that he could play a higher level of competition, and Dell Curry said his son was impressed by the level of interest Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff had in the young shooting guard.
Seth Curry will sit out next season, and the Charlotte native will have three seasons of eligibility remaining beginning in 2010-11, when the Blue Devils will need another scoring guard. Gerald Henderson and Jon Scheyer were juniors this season.
“Coach K kept telling him the timing couldn’t be better,” said Curry’s father, who spent most of his 16 NBA seasons with the Charlotte Hornets. “There’ll be plenty of opportunities to contribute.”
A Duke spokesman, citing NCAA rules, said the school can not comment on whether a player has transferred into the program until his paperwork is received.
Seth Curry scored 23 and 18 points in his first two college games, and he scored a season-high 35 at VMI in January. Now he’s set to become the first member of his famous family to play in the ACC.
Dell Curry starred at Virginia Tech in the 1980s ó well before the Hokies joined the conference. Stephen Curry was virtually ignored by the ACC’s schools coming out of high school three years ago and instead wound up at Davidson, where he blossomed into one of the biggest draws in the sport after leading the Wildcats to within a missed 3-pointer of last year’s Final Four.
ELON
ELON ó Elon turned to the Southern Conference’s most prominent program to find its next basketball coach.
The Phoenix hired longtime Davidson assistant Matt Matheny on Sunday. Matheny spent 16 seasons on Bob McKillop’s staff and helped the Wildcats claim five NCAA tournament berths ó including last year’s Stephen Curry-led run to the Elite Eight.
“We were looking for a leader with integrity, character and enthusiasm, someone that had demonstrated the ability to lead and win,” said Dave Blank, Elon’s director of athletics. “We were looking for someone that is committed to the importance of the co-existence of athletic and academic excellence, who has been in that environment and would understand what we need to do here at Elon University to maintain integrity in both areas.”
Matheny replaces 62-year-old Ernie Nestor, who was fired three weeks ago after going 67-117 in six seasons.
Matheny, who was born in Shelby and grew up in Statesville, was a three-sport standout at North Iredell High School. He lettered four years as a wide receiver for Davidson’s football team and two years as a point guard for the Wildcats’ men’s basketball squad before graduating in 1992.
ALABAMA
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ó Anthony Grant said taking over the Alabama program presents a chance to make a difference ó and to accomplish some things the Crimson Tide has never done.
Grant was formally introduced as Alabama’s coach after three successful seasons at Virginia Commonwealth. He said he appreciated the “overwhelming magnitude” of Alabama’s tradition-rich football program but believes there is a commitment to success in other sports, too.
He also said he didn’t take lightly being the school’s first black head basketball coach.
NCAA WOMEN
Connecticut 77, California 53
TRENTON, N.J. ó When Connecticut found itself down eight points ó its biggest deficit of the year ó the Huskies didn’t panic.
Freshman Tiffany Hayes scored a career-high 28 points as undefeated UConn beat fourth-seeded California 77-53. The Huskies will face Arizona State on Tuesday with a trip to the Final Four at stake.
Trailing by eight late in the first half, UConn (36-0) went on a 40-12 run over the next 20 minutes.
Arizona State 84, Texas A&M 69
TRENTON, N.J. ó Arizona State (26-8) upset the second-seeded Aggies (27-8) and advanced to the second regional final in school history.
ASU shot a season-high 62 percent.
Purdue 67, Rutgers 61
OKLAHOMA CITY ó Lakisha Freeman scored 18 points, and sixth-seeded Purdue (25-10) held off a late rally to beat Rutgers (21-13) and reach the Elite Eight.