|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Eddy is ready Shaq-like Curry makes it clear: NBA only year away
By Albert Lin, CNNSI.com
The 17-year-old is a 6-foot-11, 290-pound behemoth from Thornwood High in South Holland, Ill. With his man-amongst-boys physique, he has been compared to Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft after three years of college; Curry could be the top selection next year. Skilled, true centers are a rare breed in the roundball world, and Curry is both. He is a space-eating, back-to-the-basket force. He clogs the lane, swipes rebounds, blocks shots. He has a variety of nimble moves in the paint and can also power to the goal. And he is surprisingly mobile, betraying none of the struggles to get up and down the court shown by some people his size. All of which means the NBA is calling. Representatives from every team were in attendance at the adidas ABCD camp over the weekend, and Curry certainly was the featured dish on the menu. He has been told he projects in the top five picks of the 2001 draft, and if that holds true then he will bypass college. The possibility of going? "It's very real," he says. Take a brief glimpse of a game Curry played Sunday, and it's easy to see why pro scouts are drooling. In one three-play sequence he: rebounded his own missed alley-oop and put in a jump hook; pivoted into the lane and was fouled on an up-and-under move; flushed a follow jam as the trailer on a fast break. Other highlights: hitting a jump hook over three men; dunking a missed shot over a cowering opponent (he was whistled for a foul); making a quick baseline move by four defenders for a layup; taking one power dribble and swooping into the lane for a jump hook. Curry is still a little soft around the middle, to be expected of someone who doesn't turn 18 until December. But make no mistake, his offensive repertoire is already more polished than O'Neal's. "[The comparison] is not really a burden," Curry says. "Any time you're a good basketball player, you're always compared to other basketball players. Shaq is the best player in the NBA, so for me to be compared to him is an honor." Four years ago you would not have found Curry in the same sentence with even Chris Dudley, because he did not play basketball or any sport. Instead, he used to accompany his father to the local gym to jump on the trampoline. But once he hit 6-9 (though the tallest member of his family is 6-5), the court became his best option. So the summer before entering eighth grade, Curry joined an AAU team. It was a struggle for the better part of a year. "Going into ninth grade, that's when I started feeling comfortable with my body and everything," he says. Now he has a shot at making history. Curry had dinner with Darius Miles a couple weeks before the 2000 draft, and Miles' selection third overall further opened Curry's eyes. In the month before the draft, Miles kept insisting that he wanted to attend college; Curry makes no such comments. Unlike other high school athletes, he appears easily frustrated by the constant demands on his time, the lack of competition, and being a target on and off the court. "My only reason for going to school would be to get stronger for the next level," he says. "I also want to get an education, but I plan on getting my education anyway. I think I would go to get stronger and more mentally prepared for the next level." Hardly a ringing endorsement of the college experience. Curry feels his skills and his mindset are already of NBA caliber, though he also acknowledges, "Nothing in my game is close to being perfect," and, "You can never have too much maturity." Both those things, however, come simply with experience -- at whatever level. DePaul and Cincinnati are his favorite schools, along with UConn and UCLA. But as with Tyson Chandler, there seems to be a consensus among coaches that spending too many resources recruiting Curry is a waste of time. When O'Neal gave up his final year of college eligibility he cited a fear of being injured by aggressive defenders. Why does Curry feel the need to move on so quickly? He is blunt: "The money, and I want to play against better talent." Tattooed on Curry's left arm is a menacing gargoyle sitting atop a basketball, with the phrase: BEAST AMONG MEN. We'll likely find out just how much of a beast next year.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
