MELISSA BLOCK, host:
The leading scorer in college basketball had another big night last night. Stephen Curry scored 29 points, although his team still lost to Duke. Curry is an unlikely star, and he plays for the tiny North Carolina school, Davidson. From member station WFA, Scott Graf has this profile.
SCOTT GRAF: After Davidson's latest win this past weekend, a few dozen people waited near the Wildcats' locker room to get autographs. Among them was eight-year-old Johnson Crujesky(ph). Stephen Curry is his favorite player, but for a different reason than most.
Mr. JOHNSON CRUJESKY: I like him because he goes to our church.
GRAF: In the last 10 months, Curry's fame has landed him on late night talk shows and the covers of numerous magazines. But at Davidson, he's still one of 1,700 students.
Mr. STEPHEN CURRY (Shooting Guard, Davidson Wildcats): I don't do anything differently. I handle myself the same way. And people are kind of surprised when, I guess, they can approach me and I'm still, I guess, a guy you can talk to. I think nothing has changed since the tournament and with the success we've had.
GRAF: During last year's NCAA tournament, Curry's flashy skills made him the darling of March Madness. The 6'3" guard caught fire and led Davidson on one of the most improbable tournament runs ever. The school was one shot away from the final four. The excitement has carried over this season.
(Soundbite of basketball game)
Unidentified Man #1: Here come the Wildcats. Curry stops, pops two.
(Soundbite of audience cheering)
Unidentified Man #2: Basket by Stephen Curry.
Unidentified Man #1: The quickest jump shot release in America, Stephen Curry.
GRAF: Sporting News Magazine just named Curry its college athlete of the year. He's so big, NBA superstar LeBron James comes to his games. Curry has a textbook jump shot and can make just about any play, anywhere on the court. This year, the junior leads the country in scoring despite playing a new position, point guard, one that normally doesn't score a lot of points. The man who recruited him to Davidson, Coach Bob McKillop, says Curry doesn't surprise him much anymore, but there was a time when he did.
Mr. BOB MCKILLOP (Coach, Davidson Wildcats): I was absolutely shocked how good he was. I thought he was very good. I thought he was going to start as a freshman, be a very good player for us. After a month of watching him in individual workouts, I went publicly and told a lot of our alums, this is a special young man.
GRAF: Curry ended up at Davidson because the bigger schools he wanted to play for didn't want him. Curry was scrawny, and other coaches overlooked his athletic lineage. Stephen's mom was a standout volleyball player at Virginia Tech and his father, Dell, spent 16 seasons in the NBA. Though Curry settled for Davidson, it quickly became home.
Mr. CURRY: I knew that when I made that decision that it was the right one to come here, and never had any doubts either when I got here or since then. So, I actually like being on the other side, beating those teams instead of maybe having a different experience, instead of playing for them.
GRAF: Before Curry came along, Davidson was best-known for its academic rigors. There's a joke here that Woodrow Wilson transferred from Davidson to Princeton because Davidson was too tough. College President Tom Ross says Curry is superb in the classroom and the sociology major hasn't changed since he became a star basketball player.
Dr. THOMAS ROSS (President, Davidson College): On campus he's the same kid. You know, this is, I think, in some ways his escape because he comes back here and he's treated by other students as Steph Curry just like he was before last March, which is great for him because I think it gives him a place where he can be himself.
GRAF: Curry will have to decide if he wants to continue being an athlete and a student. His play has caught the attention of the NBA, and soon he'll have to choose whether to stay at Davidson for his senior year or turn pro. For NPR News, I'm Scott Graf in Charlotte.