Facing a seven-point deficit early in the second half, Jaylen Curry had the ball at the top of the key for the Massachusetts men’s basketball team. A ghost screen was set by Josh Cohen, which led Curry and his defender, Braden Norris, to the right wing. It was there where Curry pumped the brakes, aborting his drive and setting his feet behind the perimeter.
The guard’s stop was so quick that Norris didn’t stop with him. Instead, the veteran Loyola-Chicago player got caught, and his attempt to go back and contest the freshman’s three only resulted in a slight stumble. Curry’s shot was pure, and it brought the UMass deficit down to four.
With three minutes to play and the Minutemen now down two, Curry again found himself with the ball at the top of the key. A ghost screen was set, and this time, the Ramblers decided to go under the screen. On paper, it makes sense to give Curry that much space. Entering Wednesday, the guard was shooting just over 21 percent from behind the arc.
This is a new Jaylen Curry, though, one that looks much different from the version that played in UMass games just a couple months ago. This time, the result’s the same as it was a few minutes ago: a made triple.
Despite the Minutemen (11-6, 2-3 Atlantic 10) picking up another loss to Loyola-Chicago (12-6, 4-1 A-10) on Wednesday night, Curry’s offensive abilities kept a depleted UMass team from letting the game get out of hand on the road. In a career-high 27 minutes played, the freshman finished with a career-high 18 points, making four of seven attempted threes.
“He’s starting to figure out college basketball,” head coach Frank Martin said postgame. “His courage, his discipline, his desire is not lacking. And he’s definitely not scared of the moment…he’s growing, he’s accepting structure and you’re seeing some of his confidence and his will to compete.”
After finishing up his high school days at Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Curry had a long list of suitors that wanted his services on their basketball rosters. Of the Charlotte native’s 16 Division I offers, quite a few came from the sport’s heavy hitters, like Memphis, Pittsburgh, Florida State and Texas A&M.
Regardless, Curry chose Frank Martin and UMass over the others, becoming the program’s biggest commit of the 2023 class. While the freshman had a rocky start in non-conference play, taking questionable shots and only scoring in double-digits once, the opening four conference games have solidified Curry as a reliable guard in the Minutemen rotation.
Notably, Curry’s speed and athleticism have brought a new dimension to UMass’ offense. In incumbent guards Rahsool Diggins and Keon Thompson, the Minutemen have a smooth perimeter threat (Diggins) and a hard-nosed finisher (Thompson). At this point in his career, Curry is primarily a finisher as well, but whereas Thompson finishes through defenders, the freshman is more likely to use his quickness to finish around them.
When he’s not taking a shot, Curry has become a more reliable offensive option on the ball for UMass than he was at the start of the season. After spending non-conference play speeding up offensive possessions that could’ve have been slowed down, the freshman is letting the game come to him over the past two weeks.
As a result, more plays have been ran through Curry’s hands, and from there, he’s often made the correct reads that have led to Minutemen baskets. Even when facilitating, the freshman’s athletic traits stand out: a quick first step in Wednesday’s game led to a defensive hand check and a Ramblers foul.
While the freshman’s defense is more of a work in progress, Curry has still made his fair share of good plays on that end. The guard’s hands have stood out the most against opposition, as his quick reflexes have led to multiple runouts for UMass.
The freshman isn’t without his flaws. Notably, Martin has said that Curry needs to stop playing like he’s back in AAU tournaments and distribute the ball more to teammates. The guard still has his moments of rushed shot selection and over-aggressiveness, both of which remain on display every night. But as a whole, Curry’s scoring instincts and reliability have taken a sizable jump since the start of the season. If the freshman can continue to improve his shot and cut down on his mistakes, an already-potent Minutemen offense might have its newest weapon.
Dean Wendel can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @DeanWende1.
