Getting Stephen’s autograph

This strangeness popped up in a Google Alert: I sent a letter of request, piece of basketball paper, and self addressed stamped envelope, on November, 20, 2008. I received basketball paper signed along with #30 on July, 26, 2009, for a total of 248 days in the mail, but worth the wait.

Not hoops but Davidson

Ukrop: “Any time you coach a team, you try to judge them based on how well they work together, and these guys are as good as I’ve had.” Lawrence Cann, too, doing this.

Lobster on Twitter

Bryant on the news on Ortiz: really big papi? really?

His new role

Burlington:

It was role reversal for new Elon University men’s basketball coach Matt Matheny last week.

That’s because it wasn’t long ago that he was one of the pupils in the annual Villa 7 Consortium, which is a program set up to benefit assistant basketball coaches on the college level.

With the sixth installment of the program last week in Las Vegas, Matheny was tabbed as one of the speakers. The program is designed to help selected assistant coaches be prepared for head coaching jobs.

Blue Moon

William makes a good point in an e-mail: The Cambridge cop, given his choice of beer, is by definition a friend to this blog. (Related.)

Friedman on Watson

Here:

This wonderful but cruel game never stops testing or teaching you. “The only comment I can make,” Watson told me after, “is one that the immortal Bobby Jones related: ‘One learns from defeat, not from victory.’ I may never have the chance again to beat the kids, but I took one thing from the last hole: hitting both the tee shot and the approach shots exactly the way I meant to wasn’t good enough. ... I had to finish.”

So Tom Watson got a brutal lesson in golf that he’ll never forget, but he gave us all an incredible lesson in possibilities -- one we’ll never forget.

Andrew in Manchester

At the Amaechi Centre: “To do something for someone is to do something for yourself.”

Stephen in Vegas

The Curry boys

Seth on Stephen: “When you have an older brother who is better than you and doing great things, that’s what you reach for -- to be better than him, to accomplish more. So that gives me goals to set for myself, and to get into the gym and get better.”

Shoe money

SportsBusiness Daily via the Sporting News: Nike is close to shoe deals with top-10 draft picks Clippers F Blake Griffin, Thunder G James Harden and Warriors G Stephen Curry.

Notable entry

J-Lab:

DavidsonNews.net is a community news website covering Davidson, N.C. They combine volunteer reporting by veteran journalists with citizen contributions and links to other sites. The site helps build community by providing a common frame of reference, shared stories, and a forum for discussion. DavidsonNews.net covers Town Hall, community events, schools, churches, and other institutions, including the town’s major employer, Davidson College.

No. 4 on a funny list

Dime puts Stephen with the ... shooting guards. Did this guy watch a Davidson game this year?

His hometown paper

Droney: “I’ve always gone to a smaller school. Davidson only has 1,700 students, so it’s similar to Sewickley Academy. It has a pretty big campus for the enrollment, but visiting there, it really resembles the Academy.”

A note on odd

Been going through a bunch of material for a new project -- details to come on that -- and came across this fun bit from last November from Will:

As writers like Scoop Jackson try to come up with new angles and names for this whole Davidson/Curry thing, it seems like one adjective has been glaringly omitted.

Odd.

I mean we’ve danced around it with terms like unique and special and one-of-a-kind, but frankly Davidson basketball can be downright odd.

Case in point: As we were watching highlights of Kansas’ elaborate banner-raising ceremony last night, I was told of the story of Davidson’s own Elite 8 banner-raising ceremony.

It consisted of a guy on a ladder and three Sports Info staffers standing in an empty gym clapping.

Upon hearing the clapping from the hallway, a skinny kid wearing a hoodie bounded onto the court and started yelling.

“Steph, stop yelling at the guy on the leader. You’ll make him fall off.”

So the NCAA’s current points leader, first team All-American and now-leading candidate for National Player of the Year runs into the Sports Info office and turns up Queen’s “We Are the Champions” and sings it a little off-key.

We are odd.

Which means ... something

Charleston:

Hall played at Charlotte Christian, where he averaged 15.6 points and 7.8 rebounds. He shot 59.8 percent from the field and scored 1,545 career points, breaking the school record previously held by Stephen Curry, a first-round NBA draft pick out of Davidson.

A last word on Vegas

Sporting News Today: Curry shot just 32.5 percent in summer league -- which wrapped up Sunday -- though scouts were impressed by his shooting form and leadership.

Says the Davidson Journal

The current issue:

Applications to Davidson are at an all-time high, perhaps due to basketball success and The Davidson Trust, which meets full demonstrated need with no loans.

Still asking for Stephen

Tim Kawakami: If the Warriors ever talk serious trade, the other team always asks for Randolph or Curry or both.

A man and a car

John Syme: So as I passed Topeka for the last 15 miles into Lawrence and saw the big, green, federally funded interstate reminder of the KU men’s basketball Jayhawks’ successful 2008 run, I gritted my teeth and resolved to dig my dirty Davidson T-shirt out of the trunk for my the duration of my stay here.

Stephen in the Journal

As told to Meg Kimmel on page 20 of the Summer issue:

It’s interesting. Going in, I didn’t see Davidson as the best fit for me. You could say I was basketball motivated. I mean, I was excited, but a little hesitant. I could not imagine what it would be like. So I guess one of of the best lessons from Davidson is not to go into a situation judging what it will be like. Being open to things. Because you never know.

Also this:

When I was making this NBA decision, I wasn't worried about missing basketball -- I knew I would have basketball. But giving up being a student -- I just loved all of that, the social aspect. Giving that up before I had to, that was the hardest part. ... I loved being a Davidson student. I loved every bit of it.

Washington

The Stephen effect

QC Sports Blog on the Droney commitment: So, why is this important? No knock on Davidson, but players didn’t choose Davidson over Big East and ACC schools in the past. There may be an exception or two, but let’s be honest with ourselves. Players with an 89 ESPN rating used to look elsewhere. Curry and the recent success have changed that.

Davidson guys in the biz

NBA.com: D-league director of player personnel Chris Alpert was the architect behind the Select team, putting together a squad with the NBA and the careers of the players in mind. Alpert categorized it as a reward for those players who excelled and finished the season on D-League rosters.

Seattle’s Pike Place Market

In a story on Buzz

Katz: Davidson will still be one of the top teams in the league, even sans Curry.

More on this week’s commitment

Droney: “Coach McKillop sees me as a kid who is comparable to Steph and I just think I could have a great career in that system.” Observer brief.

End of summer league

The Warriors are done in Vegas. They won four of five. So-so stats from Stephen.

Also this:

At the conclusion of the Warriors/Hornets game, a crowd of kids gathers to try and get an autograph from Morrow. Morrow finishes with media and throws his jersey into the throng of kids, only to have them lunge at it and break the security barricade fighting for it. A younger fan desperately clutches the jersey while another fan struggles to rip it away from him.

While this scene is unfolding, I am interviewing Steph Curry and the two of us stop to watch what’s going on. We are both a little unsure of what to do to comfort the boy who is about to cry. Curry then stops the interview, goes over and gives the boy who lost out on the jersey his game-worn shoe.

(Thanks Austin.)

Wrong, and wrong

Rich Walcoff: Stephen, (pronounced STEPH-on, because his mom called him that) ... See (still?): STEFF-in.

Droney in the papers in Pittsburgh

Post-Gazette:

Tom Droney doesn’t believe he’s the next Stephen Curry. But what Davidson College did for Curry’s basketball career intrigues Droney.

That’s one of the reasons Droney made a verbal commitment to Davidson yesterday. Droney is a 6-foot-6, 197-pound guard at Sewickley Academy and the Post-Gazette Player of the Year.

Curry was a first-round NBA draft pick last month. Another former Davidson guard, Jason Richards, was on the Miami Heat roster last season until a knee injury ended his season.

“I can see the path Steph Curry took and I can see what coach [Bob] McKillop did with him and Jason Richards,” Droney said. “I’m not going to say I’m going in the NBA draft, but maybe I could have a somewhat similar college career. That definitely is an intriguing aspect about Davidson.”

In the Tribune-Review: “I like scoring, but I love getting guys their open shots and getting the assists.”

Chemistry

Anthony Randolph: “I love Stephen. He’s a great player and shooter as you can see he’s handled himself well.”

Something about him

SI’s Chris Mannix:

Two years ago, Gilbert Arenas told me he could tell if a player was going to be a superstar just by saying his name.

“Look at some of [the] names,” Arenas said. “Kobe Bryant. Tiger Woods. Anything with Michael in it. It’s like if you have a name like that, you’re automatically a star. O.J. Mayo, the kid hasn’t played one minute [in the NBA], but you already know he's going to be great.”

As I watched Warriors rookie Stephen Curry play here over the last few days at the NBA Summer League, Arenas’ words came back to me. Curry’s name isn’t exactly melodic, and it doesn’t tell me he’s going to be great -- but everything else about him does.

Now in the Post-Gazette

Droney: “I played pretty well at the Reebok All-American Camp recently and I got a decent amount of interest from colleges after that. Schools like Marquette, Stanford and Miami all started showing interest. But Davidson has been there all along. Coach McKillop was at every single one of my games at that camp. I just think Davidson is the best place for me.”

More from Orcas Island

Meanwhile in Miami

Jason: “I’m 100 percent right now. I’m fully cleared for anything. It feels great. The Heat has done a great job of rehabbing me.”

Scout.com says ...

Telep on the BlackBerry: Good pick up for them. Got their top target.

A 6-foot-6 all-state point guard

Jerry DiPaola in Pittsburgh:

Sewickley Academy guard Tom Droney, whose 40-point effort led Sewickley Academy to a victory against Serra Catholic in the WPIAL Class A championship this year, said today he has made a verbal commitment to Davidson.

Droney, who will be a senior this year, said he also considered Harvard, Boston College and Virginia, but he chose Davidson because of his relationship with coach Bob McKillop.

“He is a tremendous coach and proven winner. It is also a place where I think I can step in and play right away,” Droney said.

His high school coach: “No. 1 is his court vision. No. 2, he is a tremendous passer, both off the dribble and off the catch. No. 3 is his shooting ability. He has improved himself so much as a shooter. No. 4 is his work ethic. He wants to be the best and he is going to work as hard as he needs to and then he is going to work after that.”

Scout. Rivals. Post-Gazette profile. Worth revisiting. Also this.

This is a big deal

Tom Droney: future Wildcat.

Still shooting

Matt Watson at FanHouse:

No one disputes that Stephen Curry was the best shooter taken in last month’s draft, but after four games, no one can make the claim that he’s the most consistent. He’s enjoyed a few hot streaks, but after a 3-for-15 performance from the field on Tuesday, he’s shooting just 31.4% from the field.

Despite the rough introduction to the NBA, Curry doesn’t seem to be losing confidence. He’s usually running the point when he’s in the game, and the Warriors have encouraged him to continue being aggressive looking for his shot, and he’s followed orders.

Thompson’s notebook. Thorpe: disappointing.

The schedule maker

The Burlington paper: The Elon/Charlotte matchup has special meaning to Matheny, who came to Elon in the spring after 16 years as a Davidson assistant coach. Charlotte and Davidson formed a regional non-conference rivalry, but that series was suspended last season when the teams couldn’t work out a mutual playing date.

Rookie Radar

Art Garcia on NBA.com: The quick release brings to mind Ray Allen. Stephen Curry's father, Dell, wouldn’t be a bad comparison, either.

Orcas Island, Wash.

He’s a name drop now

On the recruiting trail: Head coaches such as Josh Pastner (Memphis), Paul Hewitt (Georgia Tech) and Bob McKillop (Davidson) have been spotted.

Our man Alpert

Talking D-League: “The more than 100 players on Summer League rosters are a true testament to the successes the NBA D-League has seen over the last eight years. It is extremely encouraging to look at these rosters and see players who took advantage of the NBA D-League to further their professional basketball careers.”

Sports Guy’s mailbag

Simmons on Stephen: “... an undersized guard with 28-foot range who could get off a 3-pointer if he were trapped in a phone booth. He’s electric. You will love him.”

Stephen in Vegas

Game 3: not bad. Chron. Freep.

I’d watch that backcourt

Larry Riley: “He’s going to play a lot for us next year. He could play some two as well. We see him and Monta complementing each other quite well. ... I expect they’ll both be on the floor quite a bit together.”

The way recruits think

Jack Isenbarger: “I got to talk to him a little bit, so that was cool.” (Thanks Bro.)

Davidson on Endeavor

Van Beck on Tom Marshburn: “It’s maybe not quite like Stephen Curry or Bob McKillop but it’s certainly bringing some notoriety to Davidson in a way we're not used to in a small town and a small school like this.”

Jason in Miami

On the roster at Heat camp.

That’s a good list

Droney: Notre Dame, Boston College, Virginia, Davidson and Harvard.

Denver

I’m glad I grew up in Charlotte because ...

Stephen: “I would have never known where Davidson was.”

We’ve seen this before

Tripp took this picture. Ann Arbor. First weekend of Stephen’s college career. Everyone who cares to know probably knows something about the circumstances: 13 turnovers against Eastern Michigan one night, 32 points against Michigan the next. Who knows what exactly McKillop is saying to his freshman shooting guard here but Tripp and Bro like to think it went something like this:

“Keep shooting.”

Thus beginneth and whatnot.

Anyway, right now is the first time I’ve opened my laptop since flying from Tampa to Denver Friday night, but I’ve been half-following the action in Vegas on the BlackBerry via Google Alerts and the occasional e-mail and text. I scanned the stats and the coverage off his first game with the Warriors and thought to myself: Interesting, but his second game will be more telling, because if I know Stephen ...

Here: 29 points, 27 after halftime, and quotes like this: “But he never dropped his head ...”

It’s hard not to think about Gonzaga, Georgetown, West Virginia, etc., etc., etc.

Claire sent an e-mail last night with a link, and also some words from the past, spoken on CBS on March 23, 2008:

“He’s not gonna stop shooting, I can assure you that, Jim.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t look like, he’s not hangin’ his head … Shots definitely not anywhere close to droppin’ like they were on Friday -- but he can still light it up with half the half to go…”

It’s the story

The kid gets it: “I think me playing three years in college and really making a story there opened the doors for me being welcomed a lot of places. People like to latch on to that story we made at Davidson ... ” Chron: “... the fervor around him stretches nationwide.” Standing O.

Where Blue Moon comes from

Out here visiting my brother and his girlfriend. We did the “short tour” yesterday. Three free beers.

Stephen’s pro debut

Rockets-Warriors this afternoon in Vegas.

Watching the stories spread

A few thoughts after reading this in the Chronicle this morning:

1. Of all the things that can be said about Stephen, and are said, and presumably will be said, this I think is the absolute key:

From Staying Stephen:

When Stephen got to Davidson, the fall of his freshman year, he was bigger, stronger, faster, and taller than he had been at Charlotte Christian. All of that, though, was not what struck the Davidson coaches the most.

Stephen was able to take the information given to him and correct mistakes almost immediately. It wasn’t that he never made mistakes. He made a lot of them. He just usually didn’t make any of them a second time. McKillop has been coaching for three and a half decades, and he says he has never had a player like that. It was as if Stephen listened to what he was told, painted a picture of the movements in his head, then channeled those movements onto the court, at full speed, the very next play.

McKillop in this morning’s story:

“I was flabbergasted how quickly he took to coaching, how smart he was and how he was able to put coaching into action. He could make something a habit after hearing how we wanted it done one time.”

Somewhere in there is the intangible why and how of what by now is Stephen’s proven pattern of exceeding expectations.

2. Good answer from Dell: “He was drafted higher than me, took a college team further than me and is better than me at golf, so if he felt like he had to live up to something, I’d say he’s done pretty well.”

3. Most of the “Steven” and “Stephon” stuff seems to have gone away, which was overdue, so now I look forward to the day I never have to see or hear Davidson “University” again. Perhaps that’s a pipe dream.

Brings to mind what Jason said at one of those press conferences in Detroit, and I’m paraphrasing here: It’s a college, actually. Davidson College. A lot of people get that wrong.

It was quick, almost inside spoken parentheses, and I don’t think it totally registered with the guy who had asked the question about the “university,” or anyone else in the room, either, but I heard it, and loved it.

Missed this one

Steve on Steph: “Stephen’s even better than most people think he is.”

Sunshine State chic

Not parting with him

Thompson: I forgot to add the Amare trade is still possible. A team source said the reports of the deal overstated how close the sides were, meaning no deal was ever official, also meaning the Warriors never reneged on sending the No. 7. But I am told the deal is still possible. Yes, Curry is still off the table.

He’s doing okay

Stephen: all signed up.

Simmons: The NBA rookie pay scale slots the seventh pick’s salary at about $2.26 million, but teams may pay 120 percent of that requirement making the first year worth $2.71 million. There is a bump each year with the possible fourth season at about $3.96 million.

Thompson: The amount of a contract is based on the NBA rookie salary scale. The No. 7 pick is scheduled to make $2.26 million. But teams are allowed to pay up to 120 percent of the preset salary, which Curry received, according to a team source. So Curry will make $2.7 million in his first year and $2.9 million in his second season. The Warriors have a team option for $3.1 million in 2011-12 and $3.96 million in 2013-14.

The recruiting trail

McKillop in Philly.

On Buzz being back

AP: So he decided to return to the Southern Conference, which rose out of obscurity thanks to Davidson star Stephen Curry, but is still known for small gyms, long bus rides, limited budgets and being a long way from the SEC.

Translating couch potato

Someone named Ed Weiland:

I’m having some trouble warming up to Curry, but unlike with Flynn I really can’t say for sure that he’s overrated. He’s like Westbrook last year. There was nothing in Westbrook’s numbers that suggested he’d be as good as he was, but there was also nothing that indicated he wouldn’t. Curry is the same way. I still see a 6’1” gunner who was a great scorer at the small college level. I still have my doubts about whether he can play the point or not, which will be necessary if he’s going to be a special player. But there’s no one stat I can point that says he can’t. The fact that several NBA teams seem to love this guy is probably a good sign. It’s also good that he’s going to the Warriors where his offense will be valued and put to good use.

In other words: I don’t know much, or anything, really, but I’ll just keep typing.

Heard this ...

Over the weekend when I was up in Charlotte for some work for the mag. Here: DavidsonNews.net on WFAE.

An A from SI

Scott Howard-Cooper of SI.com gives the Warriors a good grade in the back of the mag this week: “Got the perfect fit in Stephen Curry (No. 7) -- he can pick apart a defense, and this offense will get him a lot of shots.” (On SI.com: “Let it rain.”)

Claire last week

From her journal to my inbox:

It’s cool. It’s so cool. I’m really excited for him, and proud.

But about thirty minutes ago I watched his press conference in Oakland (he’s already THERE. Wow.) and I just burst into tears. I don’t really remember why, what triggered it. Maybe the whole thing, the weirdness of seeing him so professionalized. Because it’s strange knowing he’s so far away, so separate. Because sometimes, even though I was there and have watched it all happen, sometimes I can’t actually comprehend how he went from Steph Curry December 1 2006 to Steph Curry June 26 2009. How he did things to make this happen. Even though I was there the whole time. I switched back and forth between today’s presser and his post-Gonzaga interview in the locker room, listening to his voice and his tone, trying to make it from that moment to this moment in my mind.

And then I cried harder. Because this little boy said “I got to meet Stephen Curry for the first time today and I’m very excited!” And then he went up and asked Steph why he wears #30. And Stephen smiled down at him and went on about Dell and how it’s a family number and he looked this little boy straight in the eyes and said, “And I started wearing it my freshman year at Davidson College --” and he was smiling and I was sobbing. And then, as the little boy turned to leave, Steph grinned and said, “Thanks for your question, man.” THIS MAN IS GOING TO DO SO MUCH GOOD.

I have no doubt in my mind, and I can’t get over that. I can’t get over being tied to him as part of our collective community and seeing him up there now ...

I just lost it. Because I don’t know if I will ever find the right words to explain. I WATCHED him become this and it’s still unfathomable. I witnessed children (and adults) begin wearing #30 jerseys because they love Davidson, they know him, he’s one of our own, he’s damn good. And now (suddenly? Not suddenly, but it feels like it) it has exploded so far beyond Belk Arena -- 3000 miles -- and I just can’t quite wrap my head or my hands or my heart around that. It almost doesn’t feel real.

His new golfing buddies

The Rocky Mount Telegram: For this year’s tournament, organization officials confirmed attendance of former UNC-Chapel Hill coach Dean Smith, former Davidson College basketball All-American Stephen Curry and NBA Hall of Famer James Worthy.

Golden State of Mind

Looking to Vegas: For the first time in a long time I’m actually pretty excited about the Warriors Summer League team.

Coach Will

Roberson: “I feel that my familiarity with Coach Matheny and with the Southern Conference will allow me to hit the ground running. Elon is the rare kind of place where the more you learn about it, the better it gets.”

These things keep coming

Left over from last week

Gary Parrish:

That’s why Davidson worked for Curry.

He immediately got on the court.

He immediately showed he’s a special talent.

And it didn’t matter that he was barely on TV through his first two years of college (except for the NCAA tournament) or that he didn’t “do it every night” in the Big 12 or Pac-10. All that mattered was that he performed when placed on a stage, at which point the NBA found him and made him a rich man.

McKillop: “A lot’s to be said for the role you play. You can be in the chorus or you can be the lead singer. You can be one of the dancers or you can be the dancer.”

Kuhlman

First-team all-state.

Jason Richardson

Via Twitter: Jus got done working out with Steph Curry n Brendan Haywood. GS fans he going to b realy good. (Thanks.)