Stephen Curry

It's been awhile since I did a sports oriented blog. The local teams have scuffled a bit, so not much to write about. But I have been following the rookie season of the Warriors' Stephen Curry. Of course a couple of years ago he lead Davidson to a dream run in the NCAA's. And his father, Dell, was a longtime NBA player. I was amazed when he fell to the Warriors with the 7th pick of the 2009 NBA draft. Predictably on a very chaotic team he had a very mixed and somewhat slow start. But he has finished the season with a couple of stellar months and deserves to be mentioned in the Rookie of the Year balloting. Will he win? I have a feeling, but I'm not banking anything on it.

He represents the type of athlete I really like to follow. Chris Mullin was one. Not outwardly gifted athletically. But creative, with an athleticism that was subtle. Yes you would and should choose Michael Jordan over him everytime. But fun to watch. Quirky. In his slow slow way had a way of getting to the hoop and finishing with style. Earl Monroe didn't have great speed, but he had a street flair to his game and a mesmerizing spin move. Curry is beginning to remind me a bit of EArl Monroe.

I am putting some of his highlights here. You'll notice that even though they say he is not exceptional athletically, he finishes difficult moves with style. From his passing you get the feeling he sees the whole court and senses what is going to happen before it does. And he is a great great shooter who will probably get even better as he plays. He shoots the deep deep three about as good as anyone. He has the knack of knowing when the defender shifts his weight back to defend against a drive, then he stops and shoots. In addition to a great shooting range and an ability to finish at the hoop, he also has the mid-range game some great athletes never develop. So here are his top 10 rookie season highlights: Stephen Curry rookie highlights

So I am looking forward to following what I hope will be a long and entertaininly successful run with the Warriors. It has been a while since Warrior fans have had anything sustained to cheer about. Obviously the playoff from a few years ago is a notable exception, but it was not sustainable. I think Steph Curry will be here awhile. In case you don't want to go through 10 highlights, here is the real eye opener from youtube: