Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Seth Curry to Transfer

An article came out yesterday about Seth Curry seeking to transfer from Liberty University to a college that plays in a more highly-touted conference. Hey wait a sec... Virginia Tech is a college that plays in a more highly-touted conference! Now it might be a little too early for us VT fans to get our hopes up. Seth's father Dell did play for Virginia Tech for four years before he left to play in the NBA, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we are a favorite to land Seth Curry. Seth Greenberg failed to make a scholarship offer to either Stephen Curry or Seth Curry as they were coming out of high school, and it's possible that this decision didn't sit well with Dell or his wife (who tends to get just as many television closeups as Stephen gets). We will just have to wait and see what happens. Oh and by the way, Seth Curry was the top-scoring freshman in the nation this year. Yowza!

Virginia Tech has commitments from 5 players (4 written, 1 verbal) and technically we only have 3 scholarships opening up next season. Two scholarships are from graduating seniors AD Vassallo and Cheick Diakite. One scholarship was unused this year. Another scholarship is expected to be gained from Terrance Vinson, who may graduate this summer as a redshirt junior. That's still only 4 scholarships for 5 players, so something would have to give for us to land Seth Curry.

One consideration is that verbal commitment Lamont "Momo" Jones may have reopened his recruitment (which he is allowed to do since he hasn't signed anything yet). It's considered a powerfully uncool move in the NCAA ranks, but it's allowable. Momo is a pure scorer and could be an excellent college basketball player, so this probably isn't the news we are hoping for nor is it a scholarship we want to lose. Another option is that one of the incoming freshman could play a year of prep school. I would think Manny Atkins would be the most likely to be asked to do that.

Yet another option is that Greenberg could tell Hank Thorns to peddle his wares elsewhere. Thorns is a lovable player and a fan favorite, but if we are being honest with one another, he is not an ACC Caliber player. He would be better off taking a scholarship from a smaller D-1 school (like a George Mason, University of Nevada, or Gardner-Webb), where he would get to be a starter and could really grow as a player.

No matter how the scholarship situation works out, I do believe that Greenberg would make it happen if Seth Curry were looking to transfer from Liberty to Virginia Tech, so let's keep our fingers crossed and pray for it to happen. Seth Greenberg can teach his players to play defense, protect the basketball, and position themselves correctly. What he can't do is teach them to score the ball, and that's what Curry would bring.

6 comments:

Rob said...

Great post! I was confused about the whole Seth Curry thing. This clears it all up.

Keep doing what you do.

Unknown said...

Thanks Rob!

shartig said...

Do we really want to go after famous VT athletes family members (sort of joking)?

H Kent said...

Am I wrong, or wouldn't Curry have to sit out a season because he is transferring? Would he be eligible for a scholarship this year, or could he wait until the next year when we will have more to give? Or would he just have to sit out until December, when the first semester is over? These are my questions, and I demand answers. VT needs another Curry in its family.

Unknown said...

You are right about that, H Kent... the NCAA would have to grant Seth Curry a waiver so that he can play immediately. I am not sure what credentials they use to evaluate whether a player is worthy, but I think he is likely to be granted the waiver since he was given the coach's blessing to leave the program at Liberty. Honestly though, that's mostly a gut feeling and I don't have much to support it.

H Kent said...

Dissapointing:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4026095