With his gear changing speed, deft handle, and ability to dole out nifty no-look bounce passes, poise and swagger were traits synonymous with Palm Beach State point guard Malik Curry's performance at this weekend's Hoop Exchange All American Jamboree in Apopka, Fla.
The generously listed 6-foot-1 guard's distinctive style of showmanship and vivacious confidence bolstered a team adamant about turning to a deep youth movement to regain national prosperity.
This young core will have to grow up fast. Curry's role entails speeding up their maturation process as a de facto assistant coach out there.
"I thought he exemplified improvement in all of the areas you want from a point guard," said Palm Beach State head coach Martin McCann, who tapped into the local South Florida market in bringing in nine freshmen.
"He led them in huddles. He led them on the floor. He was able to thwart the opponent's runs. When the other team rattled off a run he basically told our young guys, 'hey, I got this. I'll go out and weather this storm.'
The school's investment in a shooting gun this summer has paid dividends, as the crafty left-handed guard has now flashed a 3-point game.
On the full arsenal of pull-up jumpers, floaters, thorough drives, and outside shots, Curry scored 59 points (20-of-34 FG) through three games to lead them throughout the event.
By paying special devotion to his shot selection and subscribing to a new day to day shooting work load, Curry has accelerated his evolution as a shot maker. Curry shot 34 percent from 3-point territory last season, averaging 1.3 treys per game. Working consistently at his release while simultaneosly tuning up his shot selection have been integral in the improvement.
Curry catalyzed last year's Palm Beach State team, averaging 19.6 PPG en route to an NJCAA Region 8 berth. The Delaware native enters his sophomore campaign flanked by more perilous surrounding pieces, including several thunderous finishing forwards.
One newcomer who has generated mid to high major interest is 6-foot-9 David Didenko, a Boca Raton product who hails from Russia originally.
Though still getting acclimated to the breakneck style of play and ramped up competition of this level, Didenko showed flashes as a multi-positional shot-maker capable of crashing and putting it on the floor. Georgia Tech has now inquired about Didenko, who did not play high school basketball these final two seasons.