The Air Force football coach

Troy Calhoun: “If Davidson’s got a chance at basketball when they have a really good team and be able to make a run all the way to the final eight or George Mason’s got a really good basketball team and they’re able to pursue a championship and make it to the Final Four in basketball, or if Rice is able to make it to the College World Series in baseball. Those are opportunities that are available and I think it’s OK to allow everybody to go pursue a national championship.”

Huntersville, N.C.

Why that trade won’t happen

David Aldridge: No one expected that pick to be Stephen Curry, the Davidson guard who was the top player on Golden State’s board. Everyone figured that Curry would be long gone by then, either to Minnesota or a team that traded up to take him with one of the Wolves’ picks. But Curry slipped to the Warriors, who know what a perfect fit he’ll be in Don Nelson’s system and have no intention of including him in any trade with Phoenix.

Summer league

Roster made official.

‘When I grow up …’

Deadspin: Before he became BFF with LeBron James, before he was ignored by college coaches, before he even entered kindergarten, Curry’s exuberant presence merited the watchful gaze of Don Nelson at the 1992 NBA All-Star Game. Also: Yahoo! Sports' Ball Don't Lie. NBA.com's John Schuhmann on Twitter. NBC Bay Area.

Davidson’s NBDL VP

Alpert: “Over the last four years, NBA teams have embraced the affiliation system and it has flourished -- more than 100 NBA players have been assigned to their NBA D-League affiliate, including five who played in the 2009 NBA Finals.”

Roger McGuinn/Davidson basketball

Tyler Cowen:

It’s a common complaint that the Web makes us more impatient, but most of us use it to track (or create) long-running stories and debates. I’ve been following the career of folk-rock star Roger McGuinn for more than 30 years, and now I use the Web for that. If anything, the essence of Web life is that we are impatient to discover the next installment in our planned programs of very patient long-term interest. That’s a kind of impatience we can be proud of, just as a mother might be impatient to receive a call from her teenage daughter away at college. It’s a sign of caring and commitment, not superficiality.

Tim Kawakami blogging

Here: I think Curry’s camp also played this classily. They were going to accept the Warriors’ selection and not go all Ricky Rubio on the process. The Warriors front office LOVED that about Curry.

Not really, dude

Eric Dorval at NESN:

Curry’s departure will almost certainly spell doom for Davidson’s chances of making a NCAA tournament any time soon. How much will it hurt, you ask? Well, when Larry Bird left mid-major Indiana State after leading them to the 1979 NCAA finals, the Sycamores did not even make the Big Dance again until 2000, 21 years later. We’re not talking about Kansas or Duke. At Davidson, you don’t reload, you unload. That’s just the way it is.

Wrong.

Jip is Johnny on the spot:

Davidson is nothing like Indiana State. Indiana State had never reached a Division 1 NCAA Tournament prior to 1979 (Bird’s senior season). Davidson had 8 NCAA Tournament appearences prior to the Steph Curry era, including two Elite Eights, and a tournament bid the year before Steph arrived. Davidson also has one of the best coaches in the country. After the 2005-2006 season, Davidson lost 7 seniors and over 70% of their scoring, they “RELOADED” and made two straight NCAA Tournaments. The Wildcat recruiting is getting better every year, returning players are waiting to step up and prove Davidson is more than just Stephen Curry. Curry’s departure will not spell doom for Davidson’s chances of making a NCAA tournament any time soon.

From last week

Jaletta Albright Desmond: I trust he’ll continue to be the admirable young man he’s been to this point, and serve as a role model of modesty, graciousness, discipline, and determination for tens of thousands of potential young fans, rather than the smaller hometown crowd. You can bet that wherever he goes, I’ll be cheering him on as he chases his dreams and encourages other kids to dream, work hard, and make their own good decisions along the way. Also here.

Next up: Vegas

NBA Summer League: Houston vs. Golden State on July 10. Schedule. Thompson blog.

‘Of’-ness, continued

Claire:

This kid that we’ve literally, point A to point B to point C to point D, watched grow into this ... thing bigger than himself and yet all the while remain himself -- will always be Stephen of Davidson. That’s our choice -- the facebook statuses, the text messages, the emails and phone calls back and forth in the summertime because we’re watching the same thing on the screen and we’re not together but we want to be because this is important, dammit (think Easter 2008), this is OUR BOY -- but it’s also his choice. And in the midst of his dream coming true, we are still his. He is still ours. Through signs and smiles and Dell curved into his chair just like he curves in his mid-court seat and Sonya biting her lip and their son’s pure quiet excitement that makes me think of the 18-year-old he was, who beamed and stuck out his tongue because the crowd was roaring and that was just so much fun (oh man, we had no idea) ... through the shared memories and everpresent acknowledgment, spoken and unspoken, of ten days when we were suddenly on top of the world (and only he, and we, can really know how that felt, only) ... Through all of these, and through that welling up feeling, that heart-in-throat feeling when I heard his name for the what number? time (not in a classroom, not in a starting lineup, not on Kilgo, not on The Davidson Show) and saw him duck his head and stand up and smile -- he kept being ours. He re-became ours. Different but the same. Hell, we’re all ________ of Davidson. Your name there. My name there. His name there.

That’s what it is.

Taking the Shot at the Trop

Unfazed

Marcus Thompson:

The Currys, who hail from Charlotte, N.C., are the typical Southern family -- massive and down-to-earth. Curry has no shortage of aunties and uncles, cousins and family friends to keep him grounded.

To them, he isn’t the baby-faced Davidson rock star, or the answer to the Warriors’ troubles. He’s just Wardell Stephen Curry II.

“He ain’t changed one bit,” said Warriors second-year guard Anthony Morrow, who has been friends with Curry since the two played against each other while at rival Charlotte high schools. “Not even exaggerating. He is the same Steph from when he was in high school. Great kid.”

Also of note: The game that sold Larry Riley on Stephen Curry? Purdue.

The company you keep

Scott: Roy Williams, Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Bob McKillop, Jeff Capel -- you could have held quite a college coaching clinic in a 20-yard radius in that NBA green room.

Looks like gratitude

The columnists out there

Purdy:

From watching Curry as a college player, it’s clear that he has an idea of where the basketball should go but needs to develop the mechanics to execute those decisions at the NBA level. Ellis, by contrast, has all the talented mechanics in the world but frequently seems to have no idea where the ball ought to go.

I think that is also what Nelson sees. And I think that’s why Ellis would be smart to start acting his age. Before the younger guy shows him how.

Ratto: In other words, there isn’t a lot that Curry lets get past him. He knows more about the Warriors than he has a right to ...

His new place

Don Nelson: “I should be clear about that. He wasn’t drafted for somebody else. He is not going to be traded. He was drafted because we think he is going to be a terrific player, and he’s going to be right here. So he can unpack his bags, he can relax, go buy a house because he ain’t goin’ anyplace.”

The word in the Bay Area

Bruce Jenkins: The Warriors just acquired a 21-year-old player who will be a star in the NBA for years to come. DavidsonNews.net.

The first day ...

“Hello, Stephen, my name is ... ”

The Sports Guy

From Bill Simmons’ draft diary:

A disappointed Stern announces that the Warriors picked Curry -- really, it was like the opposite of the Rubio announcement -- followed by New York’s crowd reacting like offices in Wall Street after the O.J. verdict. Too bad. “D’Antoni Ball + Curry = magic.” We’ll never know.

Also: There is no bigger Curry fan than I am. He’s going to be a star. I have no doubt.

What he’ll make

Next year: $2.26 million. Goes up from there.

How long will he be a Warrior?

Stephen on the trade talks: “I hope I go to sleep a Warrior. So right now I see myself as a Warrior.” More from the Merc. Chron. And Ratto. Also Scott.

Congratulations Stephen

McKillop

On 850 the Buzz: Stephen as Jeter? Harvard of the South? People know Stephen and Davidson in Belfast and Dublin.

Where it started

Claire:

Curry, a quick three --” Before the sentence that he can’t hear is finished, the kid arcs it with no fanfare, like he made a split second decision, oh, this might be good, and the ball flies over the massive Maryland player’s outstretched arm, ending with a near-silent whistle through the net that sets us screaming once more. 41-39! That’s us on top, US! 41-39!!

“OH! Right over the 7-foot Bowers of Maryland!”

“Are you kidding me?”

Ozone’s NBA title

Brandon: “I was always chasing a dream that other people felt wouldn’t happen. Maybe there was some vindication in winning the championship, because not only did I make it, I was at least for some portion of time a part of one of the best teams in the world.”

Stephen Curry of Davidson College

Scott:

The Curry family had a sign at their table that read “Hi, Davidson” that attempted to get in front of ESPN’s cameras several times.

“That was just our way of saying hi to the community back there,” Curry said. “Just showing that I’m still wearing Davidson on my heart even though I have a Golden State hat on now.”

Destination: Golden State

Okay. Back from the Old Northeast Tavern.

So.

The seventh pick of the 2009 NBA draft.

Merc: Curry can shoot, score, pass, defend. He can smile, talk, make for a nice (baby)face of the franchise.

Chron: Whatever you may think about the Warriors’ limitations up front, they just acquired the best shooter in the draft.

Ratto: What does this mean for Monta Ellis?

Meanwhile ... in New York. News. Star-Ledger.

D’Antoni: disappointed. NYT.

O’C: Stephen Curry, whose father Dell played in the league for 16 seasons, was taken with the seventh pick by Golden State. The nation’s leading scorer last season as a junior at Davidson with a 28.6 average, Curry led the Wildcats within a game of the Final Four as a sophomore.

Wetzel: ... will immediately be one of the team’s most popular players. And on Knicks pick Jordan Hill: Knicks fans booed him for not being a skinny 6-3 guy from Davidson.

Howard-Cooper: ... an explosive scorer like Curry in Nellie’s up-tempo system will put up huge numbers.

Jip Richards’ status on Facebook: Can’t wait to get a “The City” Steph jersey!

Text from Claire: I am so proud of him.

Scott: Curry walked down a back hallway at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night following the draft, saying “Golden State, Golden State” softly.

Where to?

Howard Beck of the NYT says OKC.

Three things

1. People were surprised when he did what he did as a freshman. People were surprised when he did what he did as a sophomore. People were surprised when he did what he did as a junior.

When will people stop being surprised?

2. Here’s what I wrote the week after he decided to leave school and go pro:

Stephen made the logical decision. He made the prudent decision. He made a serious decision, and he made it in a serious way.

Some people were bothered by it. Some people thought it was the wrong decision.

Does anybody still think that?

He made the smart decision.

Over these last couple months, though, at the combine in Chicago, then in his workouts in Charlotte, New York, Washington and Sacramento, the better he played, the smarter that decision became.

3. I think part of why I’m so looking forward to tonight is that it’s not at all an end to Stephen Curry’s Davidson story. It’s like everything else: a continuation.

The way I see Davidson College’s ongoing basketball narrative, it starts at Exit 30, always has, always will, at Belk, at the Brick House, on DavidsonCats.com, but then it radiates out from there, to the alums playing in Belgium or Germany or France, to the folks watching games on the video feed on laptop screens in Boston or San Francisco or Corpus Christi, to that red-lettered string of engaged, interested observers on the top of the message board.

Next year, there presumably will be a night or two or three when there’s a game at Belk, and Matt’s got a game up in Elon, and Stephen’s got a game in Chicago or Miami or Minneapolis, and any number of the fistfuls of the program’s pros are playing games overseas.

And there will be a group of people, maybe relatively small but certainly with purpose, who will care about all of those things.

It speaks, I think, to what’s been built over the last 20 years.

San Fran take

Bruce Jenkins: Taking Curry would create a fascinating, if dissonant, backcourt, leaving forever in question who’s running the team.

Thoughts at this moment

E-mail to some Davidson friends today:

Back when he was making his decision, then still to some extent when he made it, I figured I’d have some mixed emotions come draft day: happy for him, but wondering what might have been, or something like that. No. None of that. I’m looking forward to tonight, unconditionally, really happy that our guy has gone out over this last month or so and done so well in workouts and moved himself into a very fine and deserved position heading into this evening. And I’m also totally looking forward to next year, games at Belk, Blue Moons at the Brick House, a new team still playing what we’ve come to know over so many years as Davidson basketball.

44 years ago

DavidsonNews.net: ... the first Davidson College player to do so since 1965, when Fred Hetzel was drafted first overall by the San Francisco Warriors.

Davidson and Gonzaga

Linked. Now scheduled to meet again next year. Cool. P-I.

Still (always?)

Scott in New York:

Unbidden, the desk clerk at my New York hotel offered his opinion upon check-in when he realized I was from North Carolina.

“I hope the Knicks don’t take Stephen Curry in the draft,” the desk clerk said in a thick Noo Yawk accent. “I’m not a scout or nothing, but I just don’t think he’s NBA material.”

Then again, he wasn’t ACC material, either.

His night tonight

The Knicks

They still want Stephen. The feeling is mutual. Post. But he might not last that long.

Throwin’ it out there

Rick Bonnell: A stab in the dark: Stephen Curry is a Golden State Warrior come draft night.

Rookie of the Year

Vitale says Stephen. “I see star, star, and star.”

USA Today’s preview

Chris Colston: Want a pure shooter with NBA bloodlines? Stephen Curry is lights out.

In the sports lexicon

George Vecsey:

This shocking match in the Confederations Cup in Bloemfontein was the equivalent of those one-off thrillers, like Gonzaga or Davidson beating one of the giants of American college basketball.

ESPN.com chat

Stephen: “I went to a small school growing up, so it wasn’t too much of a change. But it’s great to know everyone on campus. It made my sophomore season that much more special. Everyone on campus made the trip to Detroit (for the NCAA Tournament). When I came in as a freshman, I knew everyone personally before I ever put a jersey on. It makes it special.”

Been a while

Scott:

How unusual will it be to see a Davidson player selected in the Top 10 of Thursday’s draft? Consider this: The last Davidson player picked was Cliff Tribus, who was selected in the eighth round by the Denver Nuggets. In 1983!

Andrew in Dime

On Blake Griffin: “What I like the most about him is that he tries to play the game the right way. He goes through a lot and keeps playing basketball. He doesn’t go to get retribution. He just plays on like nothing happened, like whatever you just saw didn’t actually take place. Even when he got mad, he wasn’t taking it out on me. He was just trying to do his absolute best.”

David Aldridge

Here:

I think he will be much like his father, a very good role player for a long time in the NBA. He’s smart and knows how to play. I think he’s going to be a pretty solid point guard. ... I don’t expect spectacular from him, but I think he’s going to be a guy that is going to play for a long time in this league. A great demeanor and great character guy, a guy that’s willing to take big shots and make big shots. Whether he’s starting for you or he’s your sixth man, it doesn’t really matter; he’s going to wind up helping you win basketball games. I think he’s going to be an excellent role player. If he winds up on a good team somehow, he could really make a huge impact next year. But if not, more likely he ends up with a struggling team, it might take him a few years to really break in.

Also: Whoever gets to that 5th pick is going to take Curry.

Me and Vince

Vince used to work down here at the SPT. Sat in fact in the cubicle right next to mine. Dropped him an e-mail this morning:

Wondering if you might want to do for the blog a little e-mail back and forth off your story on NBA.com. Starting with this interesting observation: People WANT him to succeed. It’s something I’ve thought about since I started watching him -- more than that: since I started watching others watch him -- but it’s true. Fans seem to want him to do well. Not just fans. CBS has sold him a ton. ESPN has sold him a ton. The predictable and inevitable backlash has been there but really kind of minimal. He’s been the attention king of pre-draft coverage. The NBA, the league itself, I think, wouldn’t mind if he does well, and sooner rather than later. Why? Is it because of March 2008 (STILL)? Is it because of his dad? Is it because of his mom? Is it because he’s an -- ahem -- “acceptable” color? Is it because he’s reasonably well-spoken? Is it because he’s basically un-inked? Or is it because of how he plays? Can it be only because of that? Probably not.

Vince’s e-mail back:

Like I said in the column, fans seem to be devoted to this dude. And I think it’s all image/aura based. Now, granted, if homeboy couldn’t ball, then no one would care about him. That needs to be said. But, when you look at the composite reasons for the Curry-worship, I think his style of play and skill are somewhat secondary. It IS a composite-thing, though.

I look at it this way. American sports fans -- even the most casual of the casual -- love March Madness. Within March Madness, they adore Cinderellas. There hasn’t been a Cinderella, in recent years, that featured a player the caliber of Curry. So he was quite a phenomenon. Most Cinderellas feature a group of players that, together, knock off some big boys. But, while they’re knocking off big boys, the talent discrepancy is always apparent. That’s why the fans pull for them. Curry is one of the most unique stories in NCAA history because, while fans were pulling for this little squad from NC, they were watching this player -- who seemed like he might be the best player in the country -- carry his squad deep into the tourney in an unprecedented way. You probably have go all the way back to Danny Manning and The Miracles and that was KANSAS. Curry and the Wildcats didn’t upset one or two teams. They got all the way to the Elite 8 and Curry was UNSTOPPABLE. This scrawny little guard was proving himself to be unguardable. He was shooting 27 foot jumpers off the dribble. He was nailing 24-footers with two defenders in his face. He was breaking box-in-ones. He was hitting clutch shots when the whole opposing team challenged him. It was astonishing stuff. And the little dude doing it looked like he probably got his lunch money stolen everyday.

That’s compelling and dramatic stuff. Sports fans ate it up. Basketball fans loved the way he played. Tourney fans loved that he was carrying a Cinderella. Grandmas found him endearing. America wanted to celebrate and protect him.

I think his father gave him a little more notoriety. Had his father not been a former pro there might have been SLIGHTLY less pub. Then again, maybe if he came from an ordinary athletic background, his story would be even more fabled.

Race is not a huge factor, but it plays into it in this way: If he were white, America wouldn’t just be devoted to him, he’d be worshipped like a 1980s Michael Jackson. And, if he looked like, say, Jonny Flynn -- and by that I mean darker-skinned and muscle-bound -- he wouldn’t have elicited as much devotion and protectionism from America at-large. I'm sure of both of those premises. Dark skin still intimidates much of America, makes them feel a little uneasy. And, if nothing else, dark skin is associated with athletic prowess. “Well, of course he’s this good, he’s a young black kid.” When you couple Curry’s light skin with his unimposing physique, there’s this notion of overachievement that's heightened by the fact that he plays in a mid-major. Americans eat that kind of stuff up. Now, if he were white -- understanding that white America would have inevitably went bat-sh!t crazy over this kid like we would have never seen -- race would have muddied up his story. In fact, the white-worship may have even turned him off to minority fans. His whole mystique/story would just be tainted with more sinister questions.

Ultimately, he looks and plays the perfect part. I understand why America is in love with him. And that’s cool when it comes to college basketball. People’s love for NCAA can typically be about more than just basketball. That’s why a lot of people will say they love the NCAA, but hate the NBA. If you love basketball, then you undoubtedly love the NBA, because that is where the best basketball is played. But people love NCAA because they like watching kids compete, they like rooting for alma maters, etc. So, yeah, it’s cool to fall in love with Curry while he plays college ball. But now he’s entering the NBA and it’s time to look at his game within a pro context and I’m not sure it translates the way folks WANT it to.

More to come.

Dateline Davidson

Will Bryan: ... a fresh enthusiasm in the air.

Could go 2

Mike Cranston:

Curry has shot to the top of draft boards partly due to squashing erroneous scouting reports, a savvy pre-draft plan with the help of his ex-NBA player dad, a hot-shooting month, and a personality and knowledge of the game that wins over a room.

Money quote from Dell: “He played so well he’s actually moved himself ahead of where he’d like to be. It’s a good problem to have.”

Not sold yet

Vince Thomas:

For Curry to succeed at the NBA’s most challenging position, he’s going to have to to rewire the way he thinks the game, reconfigure his basketball DNA. I’m suspicious.

The Knicks boss

Donnie Walsh: “I think you have to have a system for all these players, and to me, a guy like Curry is smart enough to figure it out and learn how to play in the NBA defensively.”

An NBA scout

In the Palm Beach Post: “If you defend him at 22 feet he moves out to 24. If you defend him at 24 feet he moves out to 28.”

Interesting

Some stats from Synergy Sports via ESPN.com: Isolation plays accounted for 27% of Curry’s offense -- more than any other category. Pro point guards who share this distinction include Chauncey Billups and Deron Williams. Curry’s 0.95 points per possession in isolation is very strong. As the report points out, “This bodes well for Stephen ... Point guards have the ball most of the time anyway and so a strong isolation point guard is a real plus.”

Elon at 2:34

Hoping up north

Minnesota blogger: If Curry is on the board at #6, you take him and don’t let go.

You could call him a fan

What he wrote in March 2008:

Unlike so much of college basketball, Curry is more appealing the closer you get.

What he wrote today:

He is exceptional at coming off screens, has a knack for finding seams in a defense, has a quick enough release and can shoot from a variety of angles. That is what makes him so compelling: like a great soccer midfielder, he seems to have an endless supply of ideas of how to out-wit the defense.

If you don’t like watching Stephen Curry play, you don’t like watching basketball. You should just watch dunk contests on YouTube and leave it at that.

Holiday Festival

Next year’s field at Madison Square Garden: Cornell, Hofstra, St. John’s, Davidson. AP. Schedule: coming together.

Players know players

Caron Butler: “If Stephen Curry is there, you saw what he did at the workout, you saw what he did this season. I think besides Blake Griffin, he’s probably one of the two or three best players in college basketball. It’s kind of simple, I think.”

Is it Thursday yet?

Scott Howard-Cooper:

Stephen Curry said he is ready for the transition. The instant-offense machine from Davidson with the quick release, experience and maturity has been working to convince NBA teams that he is capable of being a point guard who gets others involved rather than merely a scoring star. Only the entire lottery depends on the outcome ...

Current Knick pick

Quentin Richardson on who he wants for his newest teammate: “Curry led the nation in scoring. He’s smart and fits perfectly in our system. He may be a bit small but the dude is a giant on the court. He played with his pops, Dell, when he was a kid and really learned from him. Dell was a killer from outside.”

Not knowing things

Bulls Confidential:

The level of talent around Stephen Curry of both his teammates and his competition often makes it difficult to gauge how well he’s really playing.

Especially if you haven’t watched him, or watched him enough, or watched him close enough.

It’s highly unlikely that Curry could be a PG at the next level. His ratios may partially be due to the quality of his teammates, but he’s certainly not actively looking for guys over his own shot.

Wrong.

While Curry does drive to the basket quite a bit, he never blows past opponents.

Wrong.

Curry’s simply not that athletic, and that lack of athleticism is what will stop him from being an elite player.

See: combine. See: this.

Green room

The list for Thursday night.

Basketball, and everything else

McKillop: “Five percent of the game is played with the ball in your hands. The other 95% is played without the ball in your hands.” Yahoo.

Who knows?

San Jose Mercury News: ... the Warriors are likely to draft a point guard or a power forward, with the discussion centering mostly on Davidson guard Stephen Curry and Arizona big man Jordan Hill. San Francisco Chronicle. Golden State of Mind.

Draft’s best shooter

Commercial Appeal:

There are NBA scouts and executives that argue Curry’s pedigree could make him the closest to a sure thing in this draft. Curry is thought to be on track to produce better offensive numbers than the 11.7 points his dad averaged in his notable career.

Footwork at 0:32

Not an unreasonable thought

J.A. Adande: Curry might have moved up a little too much for his own good. I’d like to see him begin as a 6th man on a good team, not be the supposed savior for a raggedy bunch.

The day before?

Transformers 2.

Impact player

Ian Thomsen: He may not be ready to take on full-time responsibilities at the point, but as a combo guard he’ll provide deep shooting and smart passing. He’ll know how to play as a rookie.

Knicks talking trade?

Newsday:

The bold move by the Knicks, however, would not be to target Thabeet or even Spanish guard Ricky Rubio. It appears more likely that Davidson’s Stephen Curry or Memphis’ Tyreke Evans are the more coveted prospects.

Daily News. Washington Post.

What will Presti do?

Chad Ford: The scuttle is that Curry is the hot name in the Thunder’s draft war room. Loud City. The Oklahoman. Presti.

We want Steph

Washington: ... fans here want Ernie Grunfeld to take Davidson point guard Stephen Curry with the fifth pick on Thursday.

The question

Stephen:

“I feel I’m a true point and I can manage an NBA team at that position. But my scoring ability and the fact that I can shoot definitely offers different options for my team. I feel like I can spread the court for guys to make plays.”

Some ask: Is he a point? Others ask: Is he a two? I ask: Why does it matter?

Awesome

Workout in Sacramento

The Bee:

Curry’s father, former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, said his son was disappointed by his performance and the format. In other words, he thought the group featured too many point guards -- in fact, all were point guards or combo guards -- and too few big men to chase down assists.

“I thought the Kings would have had a couple big men out there so Stephen could show his point guard skills,” the elder Curry said from his home in Charlotte, N.C. “But they played him on the wings. We were a little surprised at that. What he wanted to do is show that he’s a pass-first guy and an extremely good ballhandler who can lead a team. He can slide over and play some two (shooting guard), but we hope that whichever team takes him realizes that he is a point guard. We have always stressed that with him.”

Stephen: “I definitely see myself as a point guard first.” Interview. Workout.

The widespread perception

Dave D’Alessandro: He averaged nearly 29 points last year, and half his shots came from the international waters. So, is he a point? Maybe not. But he has an aura -- instinct, style, mentality, ability to rise to the moment -- that great ones have.

Davidson’s NBA champ

Brandon, 10 years ago, with the Spurs.

Back in New York ...

Frank Isola:

Curry is emerging as the most obvious choice because of his shooting ability. The fact that he has expressed a desire to play in New York hasn’t hurt either. But the Knicks are also resigned to the fact the Curry could be taken anywhere from four to seven.

Post: The Knicks love UCLA freshman Jrue Holiday, but they didn't like his pre-draft workout June 10, when he got outplayed by Stephen Curry.

Sonya

The Sacramento Bee: She’s the debt collector. Blog.

Pre-draft Sunday

Scott:

Curry averaged 28.6 points his junior season at Davidson and was a first-team All-American while making a successful shift from shooting to point guard. Still, in a point-guard heavy draft, his stock has skyrocketed.

How did this happen?

The key moments occurred at the NBA draft combine in late May, where Curry measured 6-31/4 in basketball shoes, shot the ball as beautifully as he always does and impressed everyone with his general Opie Taylor goodness.

“A lot of NBA general managers and executives had thought he was just a 6-1 scrawny kid who could shoot,” Dell Curry said. “They got to that combine and realized he was more than that.”

Bonnell: A safe pick in a dicey draft because he’s such a reliable jump-shooter and smart passer.

Nod from Oklahoma

Who was the toughest guy to play against? Willie Warren: “Stephen Curry. I have to say hands down, it’s Stephen Curry.”

June 20, 2008

Eileen Keeley at Summit: “The disappointment wasn’t so much that we lost. It was that it was over.”

Thursday night site

Wizards Insider

Michael Lee: The 6-3 junior is an awesome shooter, a prolific scorer and arguably the most NBA-ready guard ...

Keeping dreams afloat

Max: The goal is to help people as we travel around the world. The goal is to show that helping is not harder than not helping. The goal is to inspire others to help as well. The goal is far from being reached. But the process is what we are seeking not the results. Peter Wagner: He’s absolutely kinetic.

Up up up

NBADraft.net: As impossible as it sounds, there are rumors that Stephen Curry could go as high as 2 overall ... DavidsonNews.net.

A Jason update

From Stephen (the last 30 seconds or so): “I think they’re going to give him a training camp spot this year and try it again.” And on the Davidson backcourt in ’08: “Our chemistry was awesome. I think we both helped each other get where we are.”

Voices on Stephen

David Aldridge on NBA.com:

Coming up fast is Davidson’s Curry, who played the point last season to show NBA types that he could after he spent two years mainly off the ball. His shot has never been in question; he has Reggie Miller-type range and he is Dell’s kid, after all.

Central Division scout:

“I was reading something where some guy said that Curry isn’t going to be as good as J.J. Redick. I’m thinking, has this guy seen Stephen Curry play? I haven’t seen that. I think he’s much more complete than J.J. Is he big time? I don’t know about that. But I think he’s going to be a real good player.”

College assistant:

“Redick is a little bit better shooter in college. Not much, but better. But Steph is a far better player. You take the rest of the game, it’s not even close. He defends. He lurks, like we used to accuse [Larry] Bird of doing, and he’d get three steals a game. His savvy defensively is far better than Redick. His ability to pass and create is far better. And Steph hasn’t seen single coverage in a long time. I saw some Devin Harris in him. He’s not Devin, but he’s not Chris Quinn, either. He can see. He’s not going to blow by you but he can get you on his hip, and he’s strong.”

Oklahoma City?

Seems like every morning I get a Stephen update in my inbox from Sporting News Today. Here’s this morning’s: The latest mock draft has him going No. 3 to the Thunder. “The consensus seems to be that the Thunder will take SG James Harden. But the Thunder almost never do what the consensus indicates. Curry would give OKC a sweet-shooting combo guard to pair with PG Russell Westbrook.” Stephen on Dan Patrick.

June 18, 2008

Ben Ebong at Belk: “Coach McKillop is a changed man. The ’08 team, how they played, to me represented that change. They were still really disciplined but they weren’t as afraid to make mistakes.”

Jason Richards at Belk: “I didn’t want to be watching. You want to help.”

Andrew and Frank

A week from tonight

Green room.

Brandon

The NBA’s director of basketball operations: “This is not just a showcase; this is a route to get into the league. We’ll have all our D-League teams represented and many of our NBA teams. No one wants to take a chance that there will not be some very good players there. This is important to the NBA.”

Workout this weekend

In Sacramento: ... a Sunday session including Davidson guard Stephen Curry in his first Kings workout.

Stephen a Knick?

False, says Sporting News Today: Forget the notion of a New York promise -- chances are, unless the Knicks trade up, Curry will be gone by the time the Knicks pick. Curry could go fifth if the Wizards (as expected) trade their pick, or sixth to Minnesota.

Jason in Miami

Sun Sentinel:

Following the draft workout for McClinton, Price, UCLA forward Alfred Aboya and LSU forward Chris Johnson, Heat veterans Mario Chalmers, James Jones, Udonis Haslem, Daequan Cook and Joel Anthony took the court for drills. Jason Richards, the undrafted point guard out of Davidson who injured his left knee during last year’s summer camp, also worked with the veterans.

Jonny Flynn

On Stephen: “[He] can just shoot so well. But you know, he’s just not ... a shooter. He can create for others; he can create for [himself] as good as anybody in the country. Just trying to defend a guy like that -- where you can’t close out on him too hard because he can go past you, but if you don’t close out he’s going to hit the shot in [your] face. It’s almost unguardable.”

After the Wizards workout

Stephen: “I’m a point guard first, but I can spread the floor without the ball. I’ve developed my game a lot. My game has evolved.”

Sports in the Carolinas

My contribution about Davidson and March 2008 is in here, pages 21 to 34, along with essays about Dale Earnhardt, Michael Jordan, Big House Gaines, Kay Yow and many others, from writers like Tom Sorensen, Lenox Rawlings, Will Blythe and Ron Green Sr.

Washington

Michael Lee:

When the Wizards met Curry in Chicago, he wowed them in the interview from what I hear. Curry is probably the most NBA ready of the three point guards at Verizon Center that are expected to go in the lottery. He seems grounded and has a great basketball IQ (At one point, Wizards Coach Flip Saunders shouted up toward Grunfeld and tapped his right temple, which I assumed was a signal that Curry was pretty smart. After all, the guy is still studying for his college degree at Davidson).

Dan Steinberg:

Curry has just one tattoo: the letters TCC and “-30-” on his wrist. TCC is a Davidson motto that stands for “Trust Commitment Care,” while 30 is Curry’s number. Of course, -30- also means the end of a newspaper story, which I guess Curry wasn’t referring to. He also said he would never become a tatted-up NBA star.

“I’d go home, my mom would slap me around,” he said. “Can’t do that.”

New York

Alan Hahn:

The Knicks, who pick eighth, are already preparing for alternative scenarios as interest in Curry has grown since he worked out in New York. And while Curry continues to say his preference would be to land with the Knicks, it doesn’t make financial sense for him to dissuade teams ahead of the Knicks to pass on him. For instance, the NBA rookie scale for the eighth overall pick is $2.06 million in the first year. The scale at fourth overall, where the Kings select, is almost $1 million more.

Northern California

Warriors:

According to one source, the Warriors have tried to get Curry to visit and told him they’d guarantee picking him 7th if he impressed them on a visit. But no visit, so far.

Kings:

Following a workout with the Washington Wizards (picking fifth) Tuesday, Curry told Washington reporters he’ll head to Sacramento this weeked to audition for the Kings (picking fourth). Steph’s dad, Dell, indicated previously that Steph would likely cut off workouts after the Washington session, in hopes he’d last to the Knicks at No. 8.

The reality is Curry’s just too valuable in this draft to last that long. He could go as high as No. 3 (Oklahoma City).

June 16, 2008

Chris Gruber in Davidson: “The story got told about this place.”

One league source

Via The Examiner of Washington: “It’s surprising when Stephen Curry hits the rim. That kid did nothing in my mind to get himself below eight.”

Andrew at home

Staying Stephen

Got word tonight: It won for Feature Writing in the Green Eyeshades in the print non-daily division. (Also: This was second place in Enterprise Business Reporting in the print daily division.) In the SPT.

June 15, 2008

Chris Clunie on the phone from New York: “Matt didn’t want to disappoint his dad, and his dad didn’t want to disappoint Matt, and I think that permeated throughout the team.”

Brendan Winters on the phone from Denver: “He was harder on Matt than anybody else. He rode Matt. So it was okay when he did it to the rest of us.”

Tomorrow in Washington

Michael Lee: Of course, most people locally remember how he single handily shot down Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament in 2008.

My teammate

Stephen: “I met up with my teammate Steve Rossiter, who is from Staten Island. He came by and we watched the game. Then I got some rest because the next day was a big day.”

June 14, 2008

William Robertson at Summit: “The theology of the cross: You meet God in the desert. The moment of brokennness can be the moment of enlightenment. The moment of confusion can be the moment of enlightenment. So perhaps we are attracted to stories that contain that truth -- the ones that include both the light and the dark.”

Davidson’s NBA ring

San Antonio:

Starting Monday and continuing for 10 days, the San Antonio Spurs will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first NBA championship with exclusive programming on their Web site, spurs.com.

The digital footage will include clips from the regular season and the playoffs as well as a “where-are-they-now” section and interviews with former Spurs players Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson and the team’s 14th man, Brandon Williams.

Spurs.com.

Playing the game

Tommy Dee: Having taking a class or two on marketing and advertising, here’s what my marketing brain tells me: Stephen Curry, had he not been an outstanding basketball prospect, would have made a Fortune 500 executive. The kid has done a great job selling himself as a means to land in a Knicks uniform.

Please pick me

Alan Hahn:

It is hardly a secret he wants to be on the board for the Knicks. Though a player cannot force teams to not select him, the decision to shut down with a little less than two weeks before the draft sends a clear message that Curry would prefer that other teams pass on him.

NYC

FanNation: ... the NBA Draft’s version of USC quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Smart move

Bonnell:

After wowing Knicks management Wednesday, Stephen Curry isn’t planning any more pre-draft workouts beyond one previously scheduled with the Washington Wizards, his father, Dell, said at a Bobcats workout Friday.

June 12, 2008

Rick Barnes on the phone from Texas: “They don’t back down. They do their deal. They don’t care who they’re playing.”

From Nigeria

Andrew: The reward for stepping out of our comfort zone to say here I am, use me ...

Chat on ESPN

Jeremy from Rochester: In your opinion, who is the best player besides yourself in the draft?

Blake Griffin: Stephen Curry.

(Dime: Clearly BG hasn’t forgotten the 44-point outing that Curry had against Oklahoma when those two teams met up during the regular season.)

June 11, 2008

Sonya Curry in Charlotte: “Starting in March, and that whole experience, for me it was like he passed more into manhood. Watching how he handled that, on the court, off the court, I thought: I can let him go. He’s going to be okay.”

Does he like the hype?

Stephen: “I do. Coming into Davidson, where nobody knew about us my freshman year, to my junior year where we established ourselves on the national stage. I’ve seen the process and how we got there, and I really like being on the stage ... ”

Reading between the lines

Frank Isola:

There is no question that Curry leads all draft prospects in confidence and hype, much of it generated by himself. When asked Wednesday what type of NBA player he expects to be, Curry answered, “A great one.”

Despite what Curry says about himself, he won’t be the top pick in the June 25 NBA draft.

Has he nudged too far against some sort of line? Is it time to be perhaps a little more circumspect? Or is he playing this just right?

It’s a tough line to toe.

Also this

After the workout in New York: “He said, 'Because Allan Houston said he doesn’t want to be the second-best shooter in Knicks’ history.” Newsday.

In New York

Stephen: “There’s not that much of a difference between three and eight moneywise. That’s only for the first three years. You’ve got to go to a spot where you can really flourish as a player and a situation that Coach is going to get the best out of you and you won’t disappear in that system.”

Coming to Main Street ...

A Wildcat “spirit shop.” Suppose it can’t hurt. Davidson.edu.

After the workout

NBC’s Bruce Beck: What kind of NBA player do you think you can be?

Stephen: “A great one.”

Some (LeBron) speculating

Adam Zagoria:

If the Knicks pick Stephen Curry in the upcoming NBA, his sweet shooting touch could certainly help the team.

But it’s Curry’s new buddy who could radically transform the Knicks’ fortunes.

You may have heard of him. He has a puppet named after him and he goes by the name of LeBron.

“I got him on the text message contact list, so I’ll be dropping lines if I’m here trying to get him to come here next year,” Curry said of James after his workout Wednesday at the Knicks’ practice facility.

Some speculating

Alan Hahn: There have been whispers that teams may make a jump to snatch Stephen Curry before he reaches the Knicks at No. 8 and perhaps even a few teams already sitting somewhere between the third to seventh overall slots may grab the Davidson sniper.

Panting from the stands

Kid on Bleacher Report: The announcer is like, you have to get out on him, I looked at my brother and said, “Is this announcer high, I know Steph is a great shooter, but he was like 40 feet from the basket, and the announcer is criticizing the defense, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

No. 4 to Sacramento?

That’s what Ian Thomsen says: If he can turn into a point guard, all the better. If not, the Kings will still embrace this fearless scorer with an innate feel for the game. He will help create a new identity for the franchise (unless, of course, Sacramento moves up to choose Rubio).

The Sporting Blog

Dan Shanoff:

As predicted here a month ago, Stephen Curry is rising into the Top 5 -- I suspect the Wizards will draft him at No. 5, either to play him alongside Gilbert Arenas or to trade him to a team high on Curry’s shooting ability (hmm ... see below); Curry has the most NBA-ready skill-set in the draft.

Speaking of Curry, he will work out for the Knicks today. Too bad he won’t be around at No. 8, so either the Knicks are going to trade up -- perhaps eating one or more of the Wizards’ bad contracts to get to No. 5 -- or they are thinking Curry may slip? (Not going to happen.)

Ty Lawson

On Stephen: “It’s tough to make a two-guard into a point guard sometimes. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But he’ll be a good player no matter where he goes.”

Today in New York

Newsday:

The Davidson star has been expressing his desire to be a Knick since before the draft lottery and Wednesday he will get his chance to leave Walsh and D’Antoni equally smitten when he comes in for his workout at MSG’s Westchester campus.

Post. Daily News.

June 9, 2008

Bobby Vagt in Pittsburgh: “Did you watch the way they interacted with each other? Bob McKillop preaches teamwork, and a piece of teamwork is: I care about you. What was amazing is that you didn’t have to be steeped in that to pick it up. You felt it.”

End of the clip

Stephen: “That last shot against Kansas ...”

Word from Milwaukee

Bucks player personnel director Dave Babcock: “The NBA is all about projection and upside. You just have to project: Is Jrue Holiday another Chauncey Billups? Stephen Curry? I don’t think you have to project with him, the guy is so skilled and can shoot it so well.”

Chatter

DraftExpress: The talk is that the Washington Wizards’ 5th pick could very well end up being claimed by Stephen Curry (whether for them or another team trading up) ... Post.

3/30/08

And more Claire:

It ended SO FAST. I know I felt that in the stands, but the last seconds on TV seemed SO much faster than the last seconds in real life, easy-fast, like time didn’t care fast (well, it didn’t). But for me, a blurry vision of Jason standing at midcourt -- with the ball, without the ball, moving, not moving, clock or no clock, I have no clue -- is burned into my brain forever. And on TV, he just went for it, so fast because it had to be. And I had never seen him fall before, because I don’t think I really “saw” anything after that point. And they went back and showed the bench watching him shoot it (Rachel and I screamed in agony, WE DON'T WANT TO SEE THAT PAIN!) -- but I want to rewind and pause the tape before it missed because I wonder what their faces looked like then. I really wonder what MY face looked like then. I could barely tell watching it because their expressions changed so fast when it was done. And it was weird yesterday to think that up in the stands, 20-year-old me was standing there stunned and speechless and disbelieving and absolutely exhausted. About to get on a bus and drive for 14 hours, stopping at a gas station in Kentucky at 3 AM, getting back to campus 10 minutes before my class started. About to begin the rest of my life, and never a day done without thinking of 3/30/08 and what made 3/30/08 and what 3/30/08 made.

Chesapeake Bay

OKC fan site

Hello, my name is ... Stephen Curry. Loud Links (scroll to the bottom).

Wednesday

Alan Hahn:

The Davidson star, who has been quite open about his interest in becoming a Knick, has seen his stock rise to the point where he could wind up being taken by a team that jumps ahead of the Knicks in a trade-up scenario. The Trail Blazers and Bobcats are both said to be enamored by what Curry can bring at the NBA level.

The Knicks will get a close-up look at Curry on Wednesday when he comes to the MSG Training Center in Greenburgh for his predraft workout.

Blog.

With the 8th pick ...

NBA.com: Also, Stephen Curry is one of the most marketable players in the draft ...

Chincoteague Island, Va.

View from Nigeria

Andrew: I am really delighted and feel blessed about a rare opportunity to venture in Nigerian Terrain on a mission that is beyond me.

Tension and energy

More Claire:

I remembered 2 moments that were especially electric but I didn’t remember exactly when they happened, so I need to go back and watch them again. When Andrew scored to put us up 6, and when Bryant kept hitting the 3s. I didn't remember the point when Thomas scored (I think) and then almost immediately after took a charge. Hearing our crowd at those moments, and watching the camera pan over us, and watching the boys’ determination spill onto their faces -- it reminded me that they really were playing the game of their lives, and it brought back the INCREDIBLE tension and energy that was in the stands for that entire two hours -- something that I don’t think I can ever replicate in any other situation in my life. That noise from the TV, even dulled by the announcers and by the year between this day and that day, just pulled at something in my heart that has been there since that day.

UMass again?

Note from up in Amherst: In other UMass basketball news, associate athletic director Tim Kenney said the school is close to signing a home-and-home deal with Davidson. UMass would play at Davidson, N.C., in the 2009-10 season, Kenney said.

Pocomoke City, Md.

June 6, 2008

Mark McGuire in Montreal: “I dug out some old Davidson jerseys.”

In Greenville

Terry: “As long as I’m effective, I have no desire to fish more than I do, which is not much, and certainly have no desire to be on the golf course.”

On Stephen

Cremins: “I really thought he would stay. But I think the injury he had last season had something to do with his decision. That was a tough period for him and for his team. I think he was looking for another challenge.”

June 5, 2008

Mike Aresco on the phone from New York: “Davidson was the story of the tournament. You kind of thought of them as an Amherst or a Williams -- with a chance to win the national championship.”

The Stephen buzz

Portland chatter: If the Blazers hone in on Curry, they might have to move up to No. 6, or higher. Oklahoma City, which owns the third pick, evidently likes the son of ex-NBA marksman Dell Curry a lot.

‘Higher and higher peaks’

On Tuesday Claire Asbury and a friend watched the DVD of the Kansas game for the first time. On Wednesday I was lucky enough to have her thoughts show up in my inbox. Here, with her permission, is a piece:

When we watched the other games (yeah, we did a marathon -- mainly the 2nd halves of the other 3 and then the whole Kansas), esp. G and G, we kept saying “HOW did we win this game? HOW did we pull it out?” We saw the plays and we saw the clock count down and we even saw the mistakes but I think we still kind of have this haze of miracle, and how does that shot fit together with the next possession, and how did we make it from possession to possession, time out to time out, and make it turn out the way it did? That’s what hits me always when I’m starting the 2nd half of Gtown -- we were down by 11 and at the end of those 20 minutes, we’d won by 4. And those boys walking onto the court didn’t plan it that way. They played to win, yes, but they had to do it all within that span of time -- and they didn’t know it yet. And it’s so different when you know you’re going to lose -- we moaned and groaned so much more over the mistakes, “if we had just done THAT differently ...” It was harder to completely appreciate the great plays and shots we DID make because we knew the end (although Bryant’s 3s sent chills up my spine because I remember how pumped up we were, and you can hear us screaming). BUT -- it also reminded me of the several times that I dipped into despair during the game, when we were down six, or when they kept hitting (although they missed a good amount too, it seemed), and I just came to this resigned acceptance (“I was happy just beating the Zags, I CANNOT complain about losing to Kansas”) that we would probably have to deal with being 10 down by the end and we would know it was over before it was over -- I expected that, to a point. Or I prepared myself for it at least. But the boys kept un-preparing me, cutting me loose from that, making us hit higher and higher peaks of ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

Ripples

Worth noting: The Citadel’s share of NCAA money for Davidson’s run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA basketball tournament in 2007-08 will be about $45,000 a year for five years, Leckonby said.

The Preston story

Ashton: “It’s the most amazing thing. The human spirit’s not so bad after all.”

New York New York

Everybody’s linking you to the Knicks. What’s the lure? That was one of the questions in an interview in the Sporting News Today e-mail in my inbox this morning. Blah, blah, blah.

Stephen always has answered this question by talking about the system and the Garden and the history.

I would also throw in another very important consideration. Stephen probably wouldn’t talk about it in public, because it might be a little too honest, but he’s been around the league and he’s no dumb-dumb: New York, obviously, is the biggest big city we’ve got, and it’s the media capital and it’s the advertising capital and it’s the attention capital, and Wardell Stephen Curry II, 21 years old, is a good-looking about-to-be lottery pick who mostly speaks in complete sentences. He has unprecedented crossover appeal in this draft and would in any draft -- read into that whatever you want to read into that -- and he’s going to make a ton of money off the court wherever he goes but he’ll make even more in Manhattan.

The Knicks?

Yes please.

Still ...

Sorensen: ... tough to watch anybody else.

Larry Brown

On Stephen after today’s workout: I heard people rave about the way he shoots the ball. The most impressive thing to me is how he passes the ball. He’s a great passer.” Video. Pictures. Gastonia. AP. Dunk. Arnott: Watch Curry in the video. You won’t see him miss a shot, because he didn’t miss any.

Today in Charlotte

Nigeria

The trip starts tomorrow. Follow along here.

On Matheny’s transition

Dana O’Neil:

The boxes were packed, the house was empty and the car was pointed down the highway. Matt Matheny finally, officially, could get to the business at hand: being Eva’s full-time daddy.

His little girl was born 11 weeks ago -- or two weeks BE (Before Elon) in Matheny family parlance.

March was a busy month for Matheny. He helped Davidson reach the NIT’s second round, welcomed his first daughter and second child into the world, and was named the new head coach at Elon University.

June 3, 2008

Susan Barr in Falmouth, Maine: “Bryant’s got labeled crates, I’ve got first-aid kits, an ironing board -- and Stephen shows up with a duffel, a pillow and a blanket his grandmother made for him.”

Little things

Reid Cherner:

All rumors are just that. But it seems that Davidson superstar Stephen Curry may be a factor in how the upcoming NBA draft unfolds.

McKillop on Stephen

In the Daily News: “Mike plays a full-court game -- he’s constantly in attack mode. That system is a very good fit for Stephen’s talents. I think he’ll be very effective because of his physical talent as a shooter and ... the unselfish nature of the way he plays the game.”

Back at home

To work out for the Bobcats with five others.

Big enough

David Aldridge: Curry measured out at 6-foot-3, with a 6-foot-3 wingspan, which is already more than tall enough to be an effective NBA point guard. But he has size 14 feet, and doctors think he might have one more growth spurt in him.

Chad Ford

ESPN draft guru on Stephen: I think his window starts at OKC at No. 3, the Wizards take a look at him at No. 5, Wolves at 6 and Warriors at 7. The most likely scenario is that he goes 8 to the Knicks. But yes, he was impressive and I just got the combine results and he looked good. He had an impressive 35.5 inch vertical and surprisingly benched the 185 pound bar 10 times. He's stronger and more explosive than you think.

League tourney

News.

Workouts

Coming up.

Better than you think

Scott:

Curry was somewhat of a surprise as the second-place finisher, which speaks to how well he was received at the combine, where he shot the lights out, measured a little bigger than expected and looked like he fit in with the other point guards on the floor. He also was a pro in the interviews, and many of the older GMs feel the fact that he grew up around the NBA game will help him make a quick transition to the pros. Three GMs had him ranked as the top point guard in the draft, and he received seven second-place votes, too. One GM had him ranked sixth. This coincides with a number of things I heard at the camp that had the Thunder, Wizards and Warriors all looking at possibly selecting Curry before the Knicks draft at No. 8.

More here: He could easily find himself in the top five when the Draft rolls around.

June 2, 2008

Brandon Williams in Manhattan: “There was no shame. There was no shame. When I left, I was sad, but I was so happy. I wore my WITNESS shirt over my clothes all the way home.”

Chris Alpert in Manhattan: “I had to run to an airplane, but I wanted to go down there and tell them, to a man, how proud I was. I rode the entire way to the airport with a big smile on my face.”

Peter Anderer in Manhattan: “I’d still probably do a suicide for him.”

Possibilities

Portland? Dime.

‘Larry Bird, maybe’

McKillop on Stephen.

Don’t say stupid things

Mitch Lawrence:

Oklahoma City has a Stephen Curry fixation. The Thunder attended all of Curry’s home games at Davidson this past season and is looking at him as a potential shooting guard. But they’ll almost certainly move down from the No. 3 pick if they decide to take him. Scouts are not only high on Curry’s shooting, but also think he can make players better around him. “When you look at that Davidson team, they barely had any other Division I players,” said one scout.

Barely had any other Division I players? It’s just wrong. The team maybe had only one NBA player, maybe had only one ACC-type player, maybe -- but come on. The pool of talent that fills the rosters of the more than 300 Division I basketball-playing colleges and universities is wide and varied.