Stephen Curry Portrait
Davidson Scorer With Deep NBA Bloodlines
Davidson's junior scoring machine Stephen Curry has the mid-level college once again thinking about going deep into the NCAA Tournament while Curry thinks of heading to the NBA.
High School, No Big College Offers
Wardell Stephen Curry II was born on March 14, 1988 in Charlotte, North Carolina. His father Dell Curry was a veteran sharpshooter in the NBA. The younger Curry attended Charlotte Christian School in Charlotte and is the high school's all-time leading scorer with more than 1,700 points. Despite his high school success and NBA bloodlines, Curry - then 6 feet tall and 160 pounds - did not receive any scholarships from big time schools, thinking he could not handle the game physically. Curry wanted to play at his father's alma mater Virginia Tech but was only offered a chance to walk on. Scholarship offers came in from Davidson, Virginia Commonwealth and Winthrop and the shooting ace chose Davidson.
Record-Setting Freshman Campaign
Curry seemed on a mission to prove all those big colleges wrong. In his second game as a collegiate, he collected 32 points, 4 assists and 9 rebounds against Michigan. His 21.5 points a game led the Southern Conference and were the second best among all freshmen in the country behind Texas's Kevin Durant. And Davidson finished with a 29-5 record and the Southern Conference regular season title. Curry also eclipsed the NCAA freshman season record for three-pointers with 122 and he holds the school freshman mark with 730 points in the season - the final 30 coming in Davidson's NCAA Tournament loss as a No. 13 seed to Maryland.
Playing For Team U.S.A.
The Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and First Team All-SoCon player was then selected after the season to represent the United States at the 2007 U19 World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia. He averaged 9.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in just 18 minutes a game.
Encore As Sophomore
Curry came back to Davidson and topped his freshman campaign, again leading the Southern Conference in scoring with 25.5 points to go along with 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game to earn Second Team All-American honors. The Wildcats went 26-6 during the regular season - including non-conference losses against North Carolina, Duke, NC State and UCLA - and were perfect 20-0 in the conference. That earned Davidson their third consecutive NCAA bid - this time as a Number 10 seed.
Majestic Run To Elite Eight
Curry scored 40 points against Gonzaga in Davidson's first round win, including 8 of 10 on three-pointers, for the school's first NCAA win since 1969. He then scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half as Davidson knocked off second-seeded Georgetown in the second round. Third-seeded Wisconsin had no answer for Curry either, as he poured in 33 points, joining Clyde Lovellette of Kansas, Utah's Jerry Chambers and Purdue's Glenn Robinson as the only players to score 30 points or more in their first four NCAA Tournament games. Curry would score 25 points against Kansas in the Elite Eight but the eventual tourney winners would go on to win 59-57 - despite Curry breaking the NCAA single season mark for three-pointers with 162.
Returning To Davidson For Junior Season
Curry decided to return to Davidson knowing he would be taking over the playmaking duties. Still he set a career high with 44 points against fellow pre-season All-American candidate Blake Griffin and Oklahoma. Curry then had 30 points and a career high 13 assists against Winthrop. Loyola constantly double-teamed Curry on November 25, 2008 and held him scoreless in a 78-48 loss. Curry's next game out saw him match his career-high with 44 points against NC State. And Curry has Davidson poised to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
Lottery Pick Despite Size
Despite being mainly a shooting guard but listed at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, most experts have Curry being selected in the lottery in 2009. He is a pure shooter who can score in bunches - also from long range - and has great basketball instincts. Main question marks have to deal with his size - or lack there of - and somewhat limited athleticism.
Younger Brother At Liberty
Curry's younger brother Seth is a freshman scoring machine at Liberty, making the 16-year NBA veteran father Dell a happy father of two likely NBA sons.
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