Casual fans viewed Stephen as Dell’s clone, but NBA execs knew better. As good a shooter as Stephen was, he might have been the best passer in college basketball last season.
That’s what former Indiana coach Bob Knight said ...
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.
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.
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).
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.
The way I hear it from someone who should know, New York’s eighth pick might come down to a bake-off between Davidson’s Stephen Curry and North Carolina’s Ty Lawson.
I can’t believe Lawson is the eighth pick in this draft, but let’s play this out because it’s an interesting exercise: Lawson is dramatically superior as an athlete. Curry is dramatically superior as a basketball player. Do you want the triple-jump champ or the kid from the movie Hoosiers?
My gut: Curry will be a better pro over the entire course of his career.
I’ve been hanging around NBA pre-draft camps for 20 years. The interviews all blend together. Players typically come in two flavors -- the nervous and coy (their agents telling them not to screw anything up with the wrong remark) and the recklessly cocky. Curry was neither.
