Eppps: Eckstein look ahead to NCAAs

You know, I’m really tired of reading and hearing that the NCAA selection committee should show favoritism to Davidson because Stephen Curry is polished, clean-cut, devoid of tattoos and would be great for ratings.

I would hope that if Curry sported cornrows and a huge tattoo of himself dunking over LeBron James while eating a turkey sandwich, we would ignore any perceptions and still appreciate Curry for his game. We shouldn’t care how he looks or talks. I hope we’re past that in our society.

We should admire his passing ability, his ball-handling skills, that lethal hesitation move and the mental toughness it takes to play a game where every opponent’s No. 1 priority is stopping you. Oh, and a shot so good that one Appalachian State player on the bench Saturday reacted in disgust while Curry’s ball was still in the air (it went in). I think Curry will be even better in the NBA because he won’t be the focal point of every game plan.

But not even a player with Curry’s skills should influence the NCAA selection committee. It wouldn’t be fair to the players — even the ones with tattoos — on more deserving teams. Davidson, which lost to College of Charleston 59-52 Sunday, is not an at-large team.

The Wildcats entered with an RPI of 68 — behind Auburn and Rhode Island — and they didn’t win any of their big games during an ambitious schedule outside of a beat-up West Virginia team. Not to sound like Jeff Foxworthy, but if you’re bragging about a win over N.C. State, you might not be an at-large team.

I do understand why so many people want to see Curry in the tournament. He makes shots that you couldn’t hit after 20 tries in the driveway. He possesses a nice demeanor. I think I would like to have lunch with him.

Curry still touched his heart and pointed toward the sky after the crushing loss to Charleston. After the Appalachian State game, Curry signed autographs until the Davidson officials implored him to walk toward the locker room. Curry responded to every “thank you” from an autograph seeker with a look in the eye and a “you’re welcome.” And that makes him a great guy, no matter how he looks.

***

So during the College of Charleston news conference following its upset of the Lady Mocs, Merrill Eckstein appeared from behind the curtain holding a chair above his head and had to be restrained by Southern Conference officials.

OK, not really. Actually, Eckstein — president of the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports and Events Committee — is still optimistic Chattanooga will get a favorable draw for the NCAA tournament in two weeks despite UTC’s absence.

That means two words: Lady Vols. And with UTC’s exit Sunday afternoon, the chances of Tennessee playing here for the first and second rounds increase. If the Lady Mocs had won the Southern Conference tournament, they would play here as, likely, a 14 seed. Well, the reeling Lady Vols aren’t going to earn a 3 seed, so they would not be a potential opponent for UTC. Now, the Chattanooga sub-regional is open for all teams.

“It’s really going to be interesting,” Eckstein said. “Our attendance is going to be way up if the Lady Vols are here or, if we got teams with very small fan followings, could be way down. Probably somewhere in between.”

ESPN women’s bracket expert Charlie Creme currently projects the Lady Vols as a 6 seed in San Diego.

***

I often hear people say that, after a near-death experience, they approach every day with a new passion and a heightened appreciation for each moment. So imagine being the College of Charleston’s Jade Hughes, 18 months after a 2003 Acura struck her as she crossed a Charleston street, and celebrating a stunning win over UTC on Sunday.

“A game like this,” she said after scoring a team-high 13 points, “makes me appreciate everything even more.”

Hughes suffered a fractured skull early on a September morning in 2007 (“He didn’t see me and I didn’t see him. That’s all I remember,” she said), forcing her to drop out of school for the first semester. Doctors told her to stay on the couch for six months. She struggled in her return to school in the spring.

“She worked real hard academically,” coach Nancy Wilson said, “and yet still had a difficult time because of the brain trying to adjust.

“But what I saw different from Jade this year is on days when I would try to give the team a break, when we had a day off, I’d say, ‘You’ve got the day off unless you ask for help.’ She would just have her hand up right away. She wanted this very badly. She put in the effort to do this and come back to where she is now.”

And Hughes, who led the Southern Conference in assists and led the team in scoring as a sophomore in 2006-07, is playing for a title after a year away and averaging 11.1 points per game.

“That’s one of the main reasons I’m having a pretty good year — because I go out there every night and play as hard as I can,” Hughes said. “I didn’t always do that before.”

E-mail Darren Epps at depps@timesfreepress.com