Wins, not stats, mean more to West Virginia guard Malik Curry

MORGANTOWN — It was supposed to be a crowning achievement, yet Malik Curry takes no joy in his recent stats, impressive as they may be.

Going up against the best was what Curry had in mind when he entered the transfer portal in 2021, having already established himself as an all-Conference USA player in his two seasons at Old Dominion.

“I had a good career at ODU, but given the extra year, I wanted to come back to school at the highest level,” Curry said back in October. “I wanted to see how that would go for me.”

WVU STATS

In the span of three days, Curry’s basketball resume now includes a 23-point game against No. 7 Kansas at storied Allen Fieldhouse, as well as 19 points against No. 5 Baylor in consecutive games.

In a selfish world, Curry’s play against the best two schools in the Big 12 would be something to scream from the mountaintops, but there appears to be no selfishness in West Virginia’s back-up point guard.

“My confidence is definitely high and I’ve been playing really well,” Curry said after Tuesday’s loss against Baylor. “As a team, we lost two games, so I’m not doing enough in my mind. We’re not winning. If I play well, then I play well, but at the end of the day, I just want to win. Individual stats are cool, but if you’re not winning, it really doesn’t matter.”

The Mountaineers (13-4, 2-3 Big 12) travel to No. 18 Texas Tech on Saturday, in what will be their third-consecutive game against a nationally ranked team.

The Red Raiders (14-4, 4-2) are likely to be just as much an obstacle as Kansas and Baylor were for WVU. Texas Tech already owns wins this season against both Kansas and Baylor and are a perfect 11-0 at United Supermarkets Arena.

“We’ve got to do a good job of defending them,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said. “They do a great job of spreading you and then penetrating.”

That’s exactly the type of game Curry has brought to WVU this season.

Of his 51 baskets, only three have come from 3-point range, and he’s second on the team with 54 free-throw attempts.

“Since I’ve been playing basketball, I’ve always been around the rim,” Curry said. “I’ve always been fast, so getting to the rim was never a problem. Earlier on, finishing was a problem over bigger guys, but once I got comfortable around the rim, it was over after that.”

Another challenge is now in front of Curry and the Mountaineers.

Under first-year head coach Mark Adams, who took over after Chris Beard bolted for Texas, the Red Raiders went heavily into the transfer portal to build their roster.

Bryson Williams is a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward who was a standout at UTEP the last two seasons and Kevin Obanor is another 6-8 forward, who was a star in the 2021 NCAA tournament at Oral Roberts, which went to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed last year.

Combined, the two forwards average 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Raiders, who are second in the Big 12 in points allowed.

Opponents are averaging just 58.7 points and Texas Tech has allowed more than 70 in just one game this season, and that was in the season opener against North Florida.

“It’s pretty much what Mark has done his whole career,” Huggins said. “He’s been a top-level junior college coach that is kind of used to going out and getting guys and bringing guys who have no experience in his system. He’s been able to coach those guys up extremely well.

“I think he’s probably, in this new age of doing things, he’s probably better prepared than anybody.”

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