Curry nation
Suddenly, Dell Curry is the second most-famous basketball player in his family.
A former first-round draft pick of the Utah Jazz and a 15-year NBA veteran, Curry spent last weekend watching his son, Stephen, lead little Davidson College to NCAA Tournament victories over Gonzaga and Georgetown.
Stephen Curry scored 40 points against Gonzaga, including the go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute. In the win over Georgetown, he scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half, when Davidson rallied from an 17-point deficit to stun a team many considered capable of winning the national championship.
During those games, Dell Curry and his wife received plenty of air time on TV, sitting among other Davidson fans, cheering their son and his teammates to a couple of improbable victories.
Crusty Bob Knight, the legendary coach-turned-ESPN tournament analyst, even called a shot of teary-eyed Sonya Curry in the final seconds of the Davidson-Gonzaga game his favorite moment of the first round.
Seeing Stephen Curry shoot the lights out in the NCAA Tournament rekindled memories of his father, because Dell Curry's quick-release jump shot was one of the smoothest I have ever seen.
The Jazz took Curry with the 15th pick of the infamous 1986 draft. I say "infamous" because of the impact drugs had on the lives and careers of top picks Len Bias (No. 2), Chris Washburn (No. 6), William Bedford (No. 7) and Roy Tarpley (No. 7).
On the other hand, some of the players taken in Curry's draft enjoyed storybook-type careers. The group includes second-rounders Mark Price, Dennis Rodman and Jeff Hornacek, as well as future players/coaches Scott Skiles (No. 22), Larry Krystkowiak (No. 28), Nate McMillan (No. 30) and third-rounder Jim Les.
I met Dell Curry for the first time during training camp in 1986. I was just starting my first year as the Jazz beat writer for the Tribune, and Curry had just flown into town after ending a short holdout and agreeing to sign his first contract.
I met him at airport -- I think Deresert News beat writer Kurt Kragthorpe was also there -- and he was wide-eyed with excitement. I liked him immediately. So did his teammates, who during the season called him by his given first name, "Wardell."
The Jazz drafted Curry as insurance because Darrell Griffith had missed the 1985-86 season with a broken foot. But Griffith played 76 games in '86-87 and, with Bobby Hansen also established as an NBA-caliber shooting guard, Curry's role was limited. As a rookie, he played in 67 games and averaged 4.9 points on 42-percent shooting. He made 17 of 60 three-pointers.
Curry did not play as well as the Jazz had hoped in the new Rocky Mountain Revue summer league. On Oct. 8, 1987, they traded Curry and Kent Benson for Mel Turpin and Darryl Dawkins as part of a three-team deal involving Utah, Cleveland and New Jersey.
It turned out to be a bad deal by Utah.
Curry ended up averaging 11.7 points in a career that lasted until 2002. He was the 1993-94 Sixth Man award winner and finished as the 17th most prolific three-point shooter in league history.
Turpin? He averaged 5.9 points and three rebounds in his only season with the Jazz, who waived him the following year.
Dawkins? He lasted six weeks in Utah, which in November traded "Chocolate Thunder" to Detroit for two second-round picks and cash.
(An aside: I still remember Dawkins' first practice with the Jazz. About 20 minutes into it, then-assistant coach Jerry Sloan stopped the workout and shouted at Dawkins to quit messing around and pay attention).
Dell Curry is now employed by the Charlotte Bobcats. He works in community and player relations and on special projects. He was named an assistant coach last summer but, before the season started, Curry decided the job would take away too much time from his family.
Given Davidson's run in the NCAA Tournament, his son's brilliant performances and the fact Curry has been able to attend those games instead of having to work with the lottery-bound Bobcats, I'd say that was a good call.
-- Steve Luhm
A former first-round draft pick of the Utah Jazz and a 15-year NBA veteran, Curry spent last weekend watching his son, Stephen, lead little Davidson College to NCAA Tournament victories over Gonzaga and Georgetown.
Stephen Curry scored 40 points against Gonzaga, including the go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute. In the win over Georgetown, he scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half, when Davidson rallied from an 17-point deficit to stun a team many considered capable of winning the national championship.
During those games, Dell Curry and his wife received plenty of air time on TV, sitting among other Davidson fans, cheering their son and his teammates to a couple of improbable victories.
Crusty Bob Knight, the legendary coach-turned-ESPN tournament analyst, even called a shot of teary-eyed Sonya Curry in the final seconds of the Davidson-Gonzaga game his favorite moment of the first round.
Seeing Stephen Curry shoot the lights out in the NCAA Tournament rekindled memories of his father, because Dell Curry's quick-release jump shot was one of the smoothest I have ever seen.
The Jazz took Curry with the 15th pick of the infamous 1986 draft. I say "infamous" because of the impact drugs had on the lives and careers of top picks Len Bias (No. 2), Chris Washburn (No. 6), William Bedford (No. 7) and Roy Tarpley (No. 7).
On the other hand, some of the players taken in Curry's draft enjoyed storybook-type careers. The group includes second-rounders Mark Price, Dennis Rodman and Jeff Hornacek, as well as future players/coaches Scott Skiles (No. 22), Larry Krystkowiak (No. 28), Nate McMillan (No. 30) and third-rounder Jim Les.
I met Dell Curry for the first time during training camp in 1986. I was just starting my first year as the Jazz beat writer for the Tribune, and Curry had just flown into town after ending a short holdout and agreeing to sign his first contract.
I met him at airport -- I think Deresert News beat writer Kurt Kragthorpe was also there -- and he was wide-eyed with excitement. I liked him immediately. So did his teammates, who during the season called him by his given first name, "Wardell."
The Jazz drafted Curry as insurance because Darrell Griffith had missed the 1985-86 season with a broken foot. But Griffith played 76 games in '86-87 and, with Bobby Hansen also established as an NBA-caliber shooting guard, Curry's role was limited. As a rookie, he played in 67 games and averaged 4.9 points on 42-percent shooting. He made 17 of 60 three-pointers.
Curry did not play as well as the Jazz had hoped in the new Rocky Mountain Revue summer league. On Oct. 8, 1987, they traded Curry and Kent Benson for Mel Turpin and Darryl Dawkins as part of a three-team deal involving Utah, Cleveland and New Jersey.
It turned out to be a bad deal by Utah.
Curry ended up averaging 11.7 points in a career that lasted until 2002. He was the 1993-94 Sixth Man award winner and finished as the 17th most prolific three-point shooter in league history.
Turpin? He averaged 5.9 points and three rebounds in his only season with the Jazz, who waived him the following year.
Dawkins? He lasted six weeks in Utah, which in November traded "Chocolate Thunder" to Detroit for two second-round picks and cash.
(An aside: I still remember Dawkins' first practice with the Jazz. About 20 minutes into it, then-assistant coach Jerry Sloan stopped the workout and shouted at Dawkins to quit messing around and pay attention).
Dell Curry is now employed by the Charlotte Bobcats. He works in community and player relations and on special projects. He was named an assistant coach last summer but, before the season started, Curry decided the job would take away too much time from his family.
Given Davidson's run in the NCAA Tournament, his son's brilliant performances and the fact Curry has been able to attend those games instead of having to work with the lottery-bound Bobcats, I'd say that was a good call.
-- Steve Luhm
3:07 PM
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6 Comments:
What the hell? Curry who?
You're a hack Luhm. Your Kobe column on Sunday was a mean and unfair attack. I don't even know how it got past your editors. In fact, I don't understand why the tribune pays you for the majority of your writing; which is usually just terrible. I wish the tribune would can you. I don't like paying for the print edition just to see your crusty columns in every Sunday NBA special. Get a clue Hack.
And don't erase my comments this time either.
haha...nice comments...some people are apparently very angry with Steve Luhm. And how do you not know who Stephen Curry is after watching the tournament so far...are you retarded?
yes,brooke, tj and cambreigh. I am retarded. I am a mentally handicapped middle aged woman. Why do I care to read about Curry in a Jazz blog?
Oh, and I have an idea for a career with a degree in humanities. How about being poor?
Here's why I'm angry with Steve Luhm:
On Sunday he wrote a column in which he opened his first sentence by comparing Kobe Bryant to Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmero and other steroid users. He said in terms of disrespect towards fans and the game, you could add Kobe Bryant to that list of guys.
The reason: After the Lakers beat us recently, and a fan who was later arrested and charged chucked a beer on the court, Kobe popped the front of his jersey towards the crowd. In an interview later he said that over the years he had lost respect for our fan base and now considered us classless. This was also motivated by our senseless booing of Derek Fisher.
Make no mistake, because of this incident Steve Luhm outright compared Kobe Bryant to guys who injected illegal, performance-enhancing drugs into their bodies, lied about it to the public, congress and federal prosecutors, broke hallowed records, extended their careers and made millions of dollars in the process.
Kobe calling out Utah fans and the worst of the steroids era is one and the same insult in the eyes of Steve Luhm. His opening statement was a direct plea to the public; that they should treat a minute Kobe dustup like it were comparable to the worst offence of public trust in the history of sports. Yeah, great writing Luhm. Great editing Trib.
He then called Kobe a rapist, threw him under the bus in relation to Shaq and LA while relying on very little actual fact and pretty much trashed Kobe for anything he could think of for the rest of the column.
Particularly mention of the rape charge was disturbing. Even if Kobe was found guilty, I don't see what it had to do with Jazz vs. Lakers, the crowd or a popping of the jersey afterwards. To bring it up smacks of tabloid ferocity and shallow straw grabbing on the part of the author. Great writing Luhm! Great editing trib!
What I find most disturbing is that this issue probably could have catalyzed a much better column had it been crafted by the hands and head of a much better writer.
This could have been an insightful piece touching on Kobe's behavior and comments in relation to the incident, while managing not to low blow the guy as much as possible for anything the writer could remember. It could have been interesting to read an unbiased take on fan behavior featuring coach or player comments on the issue.
Instead we got the usual from Luhm, an unfair, mean, ugly and ultimately worthless column that did little more than make laughable and paranoid comparisons to steroid users while reminding us that Kobe was once charged with a rape. Yeah, great writing Luhm... Great editing Trib…
c-well,
Wow, good one! Being poor! You kill me. You are so clever. You really got me on that one!
You sound real friendly. You sound like you have a real exciting life too, spending so much time commenting on Steve Luhm's blogs...oh wait, you also have time to read my personal profile and blog as well...wow, you are really pathetic.
You may not care about Stephen Curry, but a lot of Jazz fans are basketball fans first, and follow college basketball as well. I think that is why Steve Luhm wrote about it. If you didn't want to read it, then why did you? Here is some advice; skip over it if you don't care to read it. Oh, and by the way, it's not like he wrote this on the front page of the sport's section, it is just in his little blog that sports fans like to read now and again. And most Jazz fans would find it interesting, since Stephen Curry is Dell Curry's son (Dell Curry being a former Jazzman).
Oh, and by the way, I have to laugh at your last comment because it truly shows how ignorant you are. All I have to say is I am very blessed to be able to have a lot of choices for my future. I have had multiple job offers in finance, making a very good amount of money by most people's standards, and have also been accepted to law school, if I choose that route.
I guess you didn't realize that a large number of lawyers did their undergrads in humanities, and last time I checked, lawyers make pretty good money...I guess I was right, you really are retarded, or just very uninformed...keep trying though.
It is so easy to argue with people like you, who prefer to put people down by making assumptions rather than basing their comments off of facts. I guess maybe you should have looked up possible schooling and job opportunities for people with humanities degrees, and then maybe you wouldn't have looked like such an idiot. Keep trying though, I'm sure you'll get it right one of these times.
The best part about it is that I am young and have my whole life ahead of me and can mold my future the way that I want to, while you are middle-aged and have your same daily routine to look forward to until you die (a day of celebration for many, I'm sure).
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