Ja Morant has been one of the stars of March Madness so far.
The sophomore from No. 12 seeded Murray State dominated Thursday against No. 5 seeded Marquette, dropping 17 points, 16 assists, and 11 rebounds. He’s widely considered a lock for a top-five pick in June’s NBA draft.
Oh, and he loves Steph Curry too. Turns out, the admiration is mutual.
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“What he did on Thursday, it shows you he’s ready for whatever,” Curry told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes. “That transition to the NBA isn’t going to be difficult at all for him.”
Curry understands exactly what Morant is going through. Curry, like Morant, went to a mid-major school and was considered an underdog in the NCAA tournament. Curry infamously took Davidson to the Elite Eight in 2008, whereas Morant’s Murray State Racers are looking to make a similar Cinderella run in this year's tournament.
“I’m sure the tournament is the first time most people get to see Ja," Curry told Haynes. "There’s no preparation for it because in the tournament, everybody wants to play in it, but it hits you in the face with the attention and the adrenaline rush.
“It’s a small window where everybody’s eyeballs are all on you and you can surprise a lot of people. But the biggest thing for me is I had the confidence going in and it sets you up to be ready for that moment.”
Golden State Warriors
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Morant and the No. 12 seeded Racers take on No. 4 Florida State at 3:10 p.m. PT on Saturday afternoon.
With the Warriors game not tipping off until 5:30 p.m. PT -- and Curry is sitting out, anyway -- you can bet Steph will have one eye on Morant and Murray State.