There are not many scenarios in which one can easily imagine Davidson beating Duke in college basketball, but Stephen Curry is the perfect example of how even the Blue Devils can make costly mistakes.
The four-time NBA champion has established himself as one of the best players in league history, however he wasn’t always everyone’s first choice. In an interview on The Rex Chapman Show last year, his father, Dell Curry, said Steph wanted to play for Duke coming out of high school but the Blue Devils didn’t even want him as a walk-on.
Dell Curry and Chapman — who played together for the Charlotte Hornets — spent some time talking about how coach Mike Krzyzewski, now retired, made a huge mistake. Curry proved his worth during his freshman year at Davidson, averaging 21.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 threes, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Chapman says several schools reached out to him to see if he could put them in touch with Dell Curry to see if Stephen wanted to transfer, but the future Hall of Famer elected to stay put at Davidson.
“I called you [Dell] and I said, ‘Hey, there are two or three schools that are really interested in having Stephen.’ And you said, ‘Let me get back with you. A day went by … You called me and you said, ‘He told me, ‘Dad, if they didn’t want me then, I don’t want them now, f–k ’em. I’m staying at Davidson.’ I got goosebumps, and I almost started to cry! That’s exactly the answer I hoped I would get!”
You can check out the full clip here (warning NSFW language).
Curry played for the Wildcats from 2006 to 2009 before being selected 7th overall by the Golden State Warriors during the 2009 NBA Draft. His time at Davidson gave a small preview of the professional player he would become. Curry is the school’s all-time leading scorer with a total of 2,635 points, and registered the NCAA single-season 3-point record with 162 3-pointers through his 2007-08 campaign. Curry also played a key role in Davidson’s 2008 Elite Eight run. The school has not forgotten any of this.
His No. 30 jersey and number will be inducted into the Davidson Athletics Hall of Fame in August. Per Davidson, his will be the first number the program has ever retired. It has been 13 years since Curry left for the NBA, but his jersey couldn’t be retired until after he graduated, something he did this past May by earning his Bachelor of Arts degree with a sociology major.
Davison coach Bob McKillop announced his retirement on June 17, just a day after Curry was named the 2022 NBA Finals MVP. It’s been a while since the Golden State star played for him, but Curry hasn’t forgotten about the opportunity McKillop gave him.
“Love you Coach!” Curry wrote. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, my family, Davidson and every person you’ve impacted along the way.”
While Steph went on to become a Davidson — and NBA — legend, Duke did eventually coax a Curry to Durham. Seth Curry jumped ship from Liberty to Duke after his freshman season and played three years under Mike Krzyzewski.
