James has no regrets about missing out on Madness

By Steve Keating

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Reuters) - Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James is a huge fan of the NCAA Tournament but does not regret never getting the opportunity to be part of "March Madness".

James, who bypassed college and jumped directly from high school to the NBA, was spotted soaking up the March Madness atmosphere at Ford Field on Friday, cheering as the underdog Davidson Wildcats toppled Wisconsin to reach the Elite Eight.

But James, the first overall pick in the 2003 draft, maintained he would have no interest in swapping any of his NBA all-star games, an appearance in the NBA finals, an Olympics or the world championships for a taste of March Madness.

"Not at all," smiled James, when asked by reporters if he ever regretted not going to college and playing in the tournament. "It's fun, I've always watched it, things happen in March Madness that you would never see happen in a regular season game, buzzer beaters, Cinderella teams winning all the time.

"It's fun to watch. It was good, really good."

James also admitted to being a big fan of Davidson's Stephen Curry, who has lit up the NCAA tournament with his spectacular shooting, scoring 103 points to lead the 10th-ranked Wildcats to three upset wins.

The son of former-NBAer Dell Curry, the Davidson sophomore has been the tournament's offensive sensation and will lead the Wildcats against the Midwest Region top seed Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.

"He's a very good basketball player, he's probably the best player in the tournament that I've seen," praised James, the NBA's leading scorer. "If you can shoot the ball as well as he can he definitely has a spot in this league.