I'd like to begin by first wishing Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry both a speedy recovery from the sprained ankle that has kept him sidelined for the last three games, and a happy birthday. The greatest shooter in the history of basketball may have been brought into this world 36 years ago today, but the birth of the legend of Stephen Curry didn't come about for another 20 years, when the Davidson College guard had the sports world in the palm of his hands during a March Madness run for the ages.
Freshman Year
Curry made his collegiate debut on November 10th, 2006, and it wasn't the kind of performance that you'd expect from a guy who would go on to become one of the best dozen or so basketball players in the sport's history. Curry did go 3-for-7 from three-point range in Davidson's win over Eastern Michigan, but his 13 turnovers were the primary takeaway from the game. This was the M.O. on Curry as he was a North Carolina high school prospect that was NOT getting much Division I love. He was undersized, turnover prone, but my God could he shoot the lights out. By his second game, a road loss at Michigan, Curry already notched his first 30-point game, a feat he'd accomplish 29 more times during his college career.
Davidson finished the regular season with just one loss in conference play, and would go on to win the Southern Conference Tournament. Curry was not only named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, but also the MVP of the Southern Conference Tournament. Davidson's NCAA Tournament run would be short-lived… the Wildcats were bounced by Maryland in a 1st Round matchup (a game that I happened to be in attendance for), but Stephen Curry had just enough time and spotlight to announce to the world that he had arrived, scoring 30 points in Davidson's 82-70 loss.
Sophomore Year
Heading into the 2007-08 season, Davidson was pegged as one of the best mid-majors in the country. Their early season non-conference schedule reflected as much. Davidson suffered hard-fought defeats at the hands of North Carolina (72-68), Duke (79-73), UCLA (75-63), and North Carolina State (66-65), prepping the Wildcats for what would turn out to be an unforgettable March Madness run.
After cruising to a perfect record in Southern Conference play, Davidson entered the 2008 NCAA Tournament as a #10 seed, facing the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Round 1. Curry, a year older, stronger, more skilled and more experienced, looked back at his 30-point opening round performance against Maryland in 2007 and said “Hold my beer.” Steph scored 40 points against Gonzaga, leading the Wildcats to an upset win, and then in Round 2, Curry shook off a disappointing 1st half (5 points) and scored 25 points in the 2nd half alone to upset #2 seed Georgetown. A star had been born, and it was made official in the Sweet 16, when in the midst of shooting Davidson to a blowout win over Wisconsin, the immortal Gus Johnson excitedly proclaimed, “Folks, we got a star!” after Curry hit one of his six triples in the game.
Davidson's miracle run came to an end in the Elite Eight, when the eventual National Champions, the Kansas Jayhawks, squeaked by Davidson by the final score of 59-57. On the last possession of the game, Curry had the ball but was hounded by two Kansas defenders who were hell-bent on making sure that anybody besides Curry took the final shot. It was point guard — and the nation's leader in assists — Jason Richards whose three at the buzzer was wide left and off the backboard. Curry finished with 25 points on 9-for-25 shooting in the Elite Eight loss.
Junior Year
Tiny Davidson college came into the year with oversized expectations. They had high profile non-conference games against Blake Griffin and the Oklahoma Sooners, Duke, NC State, West Virginia, and Purdue, but perhaps the most noteworthy non-conference game came when Davidson played Loyola Maryland. Davidson won big, but Curry was held scoreless on the night because the Greyhounds opted to play a Triangle-and-Two defense with both defenders in the “Two” guarding Curry all game long. Loyola's coach even admitted after the game that history would not remember that his team got blown out, only that they held Curry scoreless.
Davidson had lost plenty of contributors from the previous season's team, and Curry was not yet the refined point guard he would come to be in the NBA. Davidson struggled in conference play and Curry was hampered by ankle injuries all year long. In the end, Davidson came up short in the Southern Conference Tournament and failed to receive an At-Large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Of course, as time has gone by, most fans have forgotten all of Curry's freshman and junior seasons, and aside from four games in March 2008, not much is talked about from his sophomore year either. That's the power of March Madness. And no matter what Curry has and will accomplish in the NBA, hoops fans will forever remember when Dell's son became a March Madness legend in 2008.
Follow Us
Subscribe