To win 4 at the SCT?

Chattanooga Times Free Press: The College of Charleston came close last year only to run out of air against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the men's championship game in McKenzie Arena. Elon won three games the year before and lost in the fourth. Furman had the same fortune in 2002.

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Uch in Chattanooga: Southern Conference basketball begins a new era this year. Call it 1 A.C. -- After Curry.

Around the SoCon

Uch in Chattanooga:

Southern Conference commissioner John Iamarino flipped his satellite radio from music to ESPN in time to hear Stephen Curry announce his decision.

The last song Iamarino heard was “The end of the world as we know it,” by R.E.M.

“I really don’t know if that’s some sort of omen,” he said on his way to the SoCon tennis championships.

The conference will continue without its icon.

Curry, a junior All-America guard for Davidson, announced Thursday that he will forgo his senior season and enter the 2009 NBA draft. Early projections have him being selected in the first round, possibly as a lottery pick.

“My goal since I can remember has always been to play in the NBA, and that is now a viable opportunity for me,” Curry said. “After weighing my options, I came to the conclusion that it is in my best interest to take hold of that opportunity now.”

Curry has been the most visible, valuable and important player in the conference the last two years and possibly since Jerry West last played in 1960. He became one of the most popular players in the nation while leading the Wildcats to the 2008 Elite Eight and within one bucket of upsetting eventual national champion Kansas.

Stephen and Jerry West

There’s a column in the sports section of this morning’s Chattanooga paper, not online that I can find, only in the buck-fifty, bought-and-paid-for Sunday print product, in which a Sam Woolwine compares Stephen to Jerry West.

The headline: “Curry career is reminder of Jerry West.

West, of course, played his college ball at West Virginia, and then his pro ball for the Lakers, and then he grew up to be … the NBA logo.

Woolwine talks about West for 11 paragraphs.

Then: “I mention West today because the Southern Conference tournament is in town and one of its current players, Stephen Curry, is the most celebrated player to suit up in the conference since West.”

A Stephen story

Uch in Chattanooga:

The ramifications of Curry’s success have reverberated through the Southern Conference. UTC coach John Shulman landed Vanderbilt transfer Keegan Bell with a simple pitch, a fastball down the heart of the plate.

“We can make you the next Curry,” is how Shulman summarized his recruitment of Bell.

Vote for Stephen

Uch does.

Making the case

Wiedmer in Chattanooga:

... the NCAA tourney committee needs to make CBS the Curry Basketball Show come Selection Sunday, regardless of whether or not the Cats cut down the McKenzie nets a week from today.

The family business

Uch on the McKillop men.

Vitale at Belk

Cremins: “I’ve got a feeling he’s going there because of Davidson and Stephen Curry, not for the College of Charleston. What Davidson has done for our conference is incredible. On the other side of that coin, they’ve beat the living daylights out of all of us.”

In Chattanooga ...

Still talkin’.

Coverage

Uch for Chattanooga:

Stephen Curry proved to be worth the price of admission.

The Davidson All-American and the nation’s leading scorer helped draw 9,234 to McKenzie Arena and lived up to expectations with a dizzying array of shots, passes, ball-handling and a play destined for SportsCenter in a 92-70 Davidson victory over the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Uch for Charlotte:

It might be worth a minute to check YouTube for a new Stephen Curry highlight.

The Davidson guard swished a 3/4-court shot -- not a heave -- at the halftime buzzer and led Davidson to a 92-70 victory over Chattanooga on Wednesday.

Shulman on Stephen

On the video: “He’s not so hard to scout. He’s so hard to stop.”

Tonight in Chattanooga

Mark Wiedmer:

Shulman’s answering machines have been filled for months with people calling him for tickets for this game. Over the Christmas holidays, his wife Amy got more than one call from family and friends wondering if she or John could get their children a Stephen Curry No. 30 Davidson jersey to put under the tree.

Also: Davidson. UTC. Bleacher Report. Even more from the Chattanooga paper. Charlotte. Big crowd.

Two from Chattanooga

Here:

More than 7,000 spectators are expected to witness the SoCon matchup between UTC (9-11, 5-4) and Davidson (16-3, 9-0) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in McKenzie Arena with a subplot of the game being Stephen vs. Stephen.

And here:

“You get a chance to say later, ‘I saw him when ... I was there when ... He did such-and-such and I saw it all.’”