In this day and age, making the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team and returning to your school the following year sets high expectations for a young player. Jaylen Curry was put in this spot for the Massachusetts basketball team after the 2023-24 season, and through four games, he seems to be growing just as expected.
On Saturday night against Hofstra, Curry showcased his development at all levels, finishing with a career-high in points and tying his career-high in rebounds. Even outside of the stats, Curry utilized his experience to facilitate the Minutemen (1-3) offense and play stout on-ball defense.
When it came to scoring, Curry finished with 22 points–four more than his previous career high–while being trusted to take multiple shots in the clutch.
Down one with time ticking down in regulation, Curry drove left to put up a layup. The sophomore drew a foul on the play with three seconds left, putting him at the line where he eventually made the game-tying free throw to force overtime.
“That’s who he’s been his whole life,” head coach Frank Martin said. “… That’s him. He [isn’t] scared. The bigger the moment, the more confident he gets… He’s fearless of the moment.”
Three-point shooting has been a major development in Curry’s game to this point, and he hit five times from deep against the Pride (4-0). He finished 5-of-10 from beyond the arc on Saturday, setting career-highs in both three-point attempts and makes.
In 2023-24, Curry struggled to the tune of making just under 25 percent of his threes. Hitting at a 50 percent clip on Saturday could be the start of an increase in confidence and success from deep.
Even when attempting the most threes of his career, Curry didn’t force many bad shots. He kept his head on a swivel, facilitating the offense and taking what the Hofstra defense was giving him.
“Jaylen Curry can shoot the basketball,” Martin said. “I’ve been on Jaylen Curry about playing like a point guard, not just coming down and shooting.”
Playing more like a point guard led to six assists on the night for the young guard, including a behind the head pass off a stolen inbound and a few nice feeds off inbound plays.
On the glass, Curry positioned himself in the right place to pick up six rebounds against the Pride, two coming on offense and the other four on defense. At a flat six feet tall, the guard isn’t expected to rack up boards on a nightly basis, but on Saturday he co-led UMass in the stat.
Curry could be seen communicating with his teammates throughout the contest on both ends of the floor. With a year in Martin’s system under his belt, the Charlotte native is one of a few players on the roster who have experience following the coach’s direction.
On defense, Curry had a solid night, grabbing a steal and creating havoc with his on-ball aggressiveness. Curry finished with the highest plus-minus (plus six) of all UMass players in the loss while playing 37 minutes.
Up next for Curry and the Minutemen is a two-game stretch at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT against Temple and Florida State. The sophomore will continue to be an x-factor down the stretch, with the team needing him to string together consistent success.
“Curry can play. Curry gets better every game,” senior guard Rahsool Diggins said. “He gets more comfortable with the ball, more comfortable making reads and he just likes to compete.”
Mike Maynard can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @mikecmaynard.
