Curry opts to transfer out of Liberty after first season

Last November 25, the day that Seth Curry scored 26 points in his third collegiate game to help Liberty stun Virginia at John Paul Jones Arena, the natural question from the assembled press to then-Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao was this: How could the ACC miss on another Curry?

It seems an ACC school will get another shot at landing Seth Curry, who announced Tuesday he is transferring from Liberty. Curry led all Division I freshmen in scoring at 20.2 points per game and set the Liberty and Big South freshman scoring records with 707 points.

Liberty coach Ritchie McKay said Curry is transferring for one reason — the chance to play in a better league with better competition.

“I think he was frustrated by the constant schemes to stop him and felt like if he was in a conference that starts with an ‘A’ and ends with a ‘C,’ that one of those schools would have some other guys around him so he wouldn’t bear such a brunt of the scoring load,” McKay said.

And the second-year Flames coach wasn’t talking about the America East Conference or the Atlantic Sun Conference. After Curry burst out of the gates with big games against Virginia and George Mason, much of the national talk about him was about how the ACC missed out on another Curry. Older brother Stephen led the nation in scoring as a junior this season and was a last-second shot away from leading Davidson to the Final Four as a sophomore.

Curry himself was mum on the issue of where he might be heading. He released a statement through Liberty’s athletics media relations department but was otherwise unavailable to the media, per the request of his father, former Virginia Tech and NBA standout Dell Curry.

“This is a difficult decision that I have reached after close consultation with my family and others close to me,” Curry said in the statement. “And it is based on my desire to develop as an athlete to the fullest of my potential and take advantage of new opportunities that may be available to me in a higher-rated conference.”

Curry continually drew double and triple teams and other trick defenses as the season wore on. As coaches saw him for the second and third time, his production suffered. In his first 28 games, Curry shot 42.3 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from 3-point range. In his final seven games, in which Liberty went 3-4, that production dropped to 38.2 percent from the floor and 30.5 percent from 3.

He’ll have to sit out a year under NCAA transfer rules and will have three years of eligibility remaining once he chooses a school.

Curry is the third player to transfer out of the program under McKay’s watch. Brolin Floyd, who started 29 games this season as a freshman, told McKay March 13 that he would be leaving school. Last year, B.J. Jenkins, a part-time starter, left to go to Murray State.

“The hard part for us is just the perception,” McKay said. “Seth leaves. Brolin leaves. What’s going on there? B.J. left last year. But Liberty is not for everybody. It’s just not. We’ve got a great situation here, and we believe in the mission of the university.

“But some kids want different things out of their college experience. In Seth’s case, I think he’d like to play in a league like the ACC and be on TV every game, and play with the Cameron Crazies.

“We try to paint a very realistic picture of what it’s like. For all of the people who will take this and paint it as a negative, I have such a peace about it. We had a chance to add value to Seth’s experience, and we did. We honored it. And in return, our program has won as many games as it did in school history. We’re on the right track.”

Curry first broached the subject of transferring with McKay Monday morning, the coach said,, before the Flames played James Madison in the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com tournament, a game JMU won 88-65. Curry was held to single digits in points for just the third time all season, scoring eight points on 4 of 11 shooting while missing all five of his 3-point attempts.

Curry informed McKay of his decision Tuesday morning, and McKay broke the news to the team shortly thereafter.

How Curry’s departure will affect Liberty’s recruiting efforts is up for conjecture. The spring signing date for basketball is April 15, and three athletes have already given verbal commitments to the Flames — F Ovie Soko from Hampton, G Chris Perez from Oldsmar, Fla., and G Bo Barnes from Scottsdale Christian High School in Arizona.

“Sure, will other schools use it negatively against us?” McKay said. “Yeah. (They’ll say), ‘they couldn’t keep Curry.’ Our pool, though, I don’t anticipate it shrinking. People want to be a part of a winning program. We’ve got three guys verbally committed. I’ve been in this thing long enough to know to protect yourself. Our roster, you’ll see, we’re going to be OK.

“I don’t want to take away from what Seth has done from our program. He’s been a blessing.

“Seth is a great kid. I love him. I want what’s best for him. But I want what’s best for us. A player that’s both feet in is what’s best for us. If you’re kind of hoping to be in a different situation, but you’re still in the one you’re in, you have two choices. Endure it. Knock it out. Commit to it. Or change the situation. And that’s what Seth has decided to do.”