Seth Curry on Duke's Grayson Allen: "I like his fight"

Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Tucked in a quiet corner of a road locker room, he's the foil for his sharpshooting superstar brother.

Soft-spoken but pointed, Seth Curry's words are precise like his jump shot. On Thursday, after his Dallas Mavericks fell 99-95 to the Miami Heat, Curry spoke about some fellow Blue Devils and polarizing guard Grayson Allen.

"They have all the talent in the world, it's just about putting it together," Curry said. "Obviously, similar to us, they are still battling a lot of injuries and that's a tough thing to overcome. I'm sure they can get right for the tournament and hopefully they have all the bodies."

The Mavericks [14-28] were on a three-game winning streak before falling to the Heat. The Blue Devils [14-4] have lost two consecutive games, slipping down in the college basketball rankings.

But Allen has been drawing more national attention than Duke's wins and losses. He has even been getting more play than the back injury plaguing legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. That injury has forced Coach K to miss the entire month to recover from surgery, as his team limps into conference play.

The junior All-American is averaging 15.7 points 4.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. His field-goal percentage is down from 46 percent in 2015 to 40 percent this season. Allen, 21, is in the crosshairs of critics around the country for his bush-league actions on the court, which have already led to an indefinite suspension. The suspension lasted just one game, drawing even more ire. Many have called for a longer ban and harsher plans for discipline.

But Curry, who played for Krzyzewski from 2010 to 2012, said he likes the fire he sees in Allen.

"He's playing well," said Curry, who averaged 13.2 points per game in three seasons with the Blue Devils. "I think some of that stuff is overblown."

"He's out there playing hard, made some mistakes," Curry said. "But you known, I like his fight, for the most part."

Last year Allen tripped Louisville's Ray Spaling and also Florida State's Xavier Rathan-Mayes. On Dec. 21 Allen drew a technical foul after tripping Elon's Steven Santa Ana. He was stripped of his captaincy on Jan. 2. He later got away with a shoe scuffle on Boston College's Connor Tava. A few weeks ago, he appeared to push a Florida State coach when he dove for a loose ball onto the Seminoles' bench.

Allen is ranked as the No. 41 prospect in the 2017 draft class by DraftExpress. He is ranked No. 24 by CBS Sports.

While Curry backs Allen, he said he doesn't really talk to former Duke teammate Kyrie Irving. The two were together for Duke's 2010 squad. Since then, Irving has developed into one of his brother's biggest rivals. Irving hit a stone cold 3-pointer in Stephen Curry's face to put the Cleveland Cavaliers ahead of the Golden State Warriors 92-89 with 53 second remaining in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The shot led the Cavaliers to its first championship.

"If I see him I'll say what's up and things like that," Curry said. "We were teammates at Duke. We don't talk really a lot, but if I see him ill say what's up."

Curry scored 15 points, going 3-of-5 from 3-point range in the Mavericks' loss at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Mavericks host the Cavaliers on Jan. 30 and host the Golden State Warriors on March 21.