NBA: The best team doctor in history

Chapter 180: James cheers for Curry

"You mean Stephen Curry, the son of former NBA player Dell Curry?"

"Yeah, isn't he quite famous in recent years?"

斯蒂芬·库里的父亲戴尔·库里曾是20世纪八九十年代NBA著名的神射手，1993-94赛季荣膺年度“最佳第六人”，1998-99赛季以47.6%的命中率成为常规赛“三分王”。

It was at that time that Jiang Ming came into contact with the NBA, so he was quite impressed. After all, there were very few players who could shoot accurately from three-point range in that era, and once they were accurate, it was easy to leave an impression on the fans.

Now that his son is about to play in the NBA, Stephen Curry probably has always regarded his father as his idol, as he is a traditional shooter. So compared to more traditional players like Rubio, Jiang Ming prefers to watch point guards who can shoot three-pointers.

"He is very famous, but looking at his playing style and physique, he always feels a bit like an internet celebrity player."

"You mean, once you get to the NBA, your true colors might be exposed?"

"It's possible. Director, you will know if you watch his game live. He really needs you to take a look at his physical attributes and see if he really has a glass body."

"And I recommend you to take a look at who I think is the most powerful point guard in this class: Brandon Jennings. You can also go and take a look." The senior scout also suggested.

"Okay, we have plenty of time now anyway, but we have to watch North Carolina. I heard that North Carolina has seven or eight rookies who may be selected this year."

Jiang Ming smiled and nodded. Anyway, he had figured it out in the past few years. In fact, every scout would have his own "favorite" players every year, and the rookies that everyone liked would not be too similar, unless they were a must-choice like Oden.

Scouts are basically not the ones who make the final draft decision, so they can only "brainwash" the top management to recommend their favorite players.

But actually the management will consider more, not just the degree of lineup fit, but also, for example, they hired me last year to see the glass attribute of the players. The Trail Blazers can't afford any more injuries and don't want to have any more.
For example, Jennings is Italian. If we can select him, wouldn’t we be able to capture the Italian fan market?
It also seems like if he makes an appointment with Rubio in advance, he may not go to other teams for tryouts in advance, and hide himself just to reunite with his old teammate Rudy?
But this is obviously unrealistic. There are more than one Spanish player playing in the NBA, Rudy Fernandez, and big brother Gasol hasn't spoken yet.

Moreover, information is becoming more and more developed now. There is no longer the information gap caused by the international scouts led by the Spurs and the Mavericks. In addition, Rubio has already shined in last year's Olympics. It is difficult for international players to be picked up with low picks like Parker and Manu.

However, when taking the car to the rest residence, Jiang Ming still asked the scout for Stephen Curry's scouting report.

"OK, this is it."

The scout also took out Curry's report from a stack of documents in a minute.

After all, as he said, Curry, as a descendant of a famous family, has long been an Internet celebrity. From high school to his current junior season, not only the Trail Blazers, but all teams have probably made a lot of scouting reports on him.

"Well, let me take a look."

The reason why he watched him first was, firstly, because he had a deep memory of his father, and secondly, he had heard the news a long time ago that Curry was the most accurate shooter among this year's rookies. It could even be said that he heard the news about this little guy three years ago that he inherited his father's shooting ability.

The Trail Blazers' three-point shooting has not been very good, so Jiang Ming also wanted to take a closer look at this guy who looks like an elementary school student.

Because looking at things for too long in the car would make you dizzy, Jiang Ming went straight to the conclusion first.

Trail Blazers scouts commented on Curry's advantages: In the third year of his college career, Curry successfully transformed from a shooting guard to a point guard, but his style is closer to a combo guard.

In the NCAA arena, he became a very threatening scorer with his excellent scoring ability and swift speed.

He showed fearlessness in his play while remaining calm and in control.

Curry can shoot from anywhere on the court and his shooting efficiency is amazing.

Although he faces close defense from opponents in every game, he can always make difficult shots under high pressure.

He is an extremely confident shooter, especially in the crucial moments of the game, his performance is even more eye-catching.

Then some of Curry's shortcomings were pointed out:
Curry's explosiveness and athleticism are a little lacking by NBA standards.

His height-to-weight ratio is poor, which may limit his defensive abilities to a certain extent.

Although Curry assumed the point guard role as a junior in college, it was thought that he might have difficulty leading a team at the NBA level because he is not a natural point guard.

Additionally, on the defensive end, he may face some challenges when facing pick-and-roll tactics.

"This scout report is quite pertinent. Indeed, this type of player seems to be a natural scoring machine. Is he more suitable as a shooting guard?"

Jiang Ming smiled and turned the document back to the front page.

"He should have no problem getting into the lottery because he's so accurate in three-point shooting. But several coaches thought he had a fragile physique and would get injured easily, so when he graduated from high school he wanted to go to Duke but was rejected by K.

"Oh? Is that true? Tell me about it."

In fact, Jiang Ming had already noted down Stephen Curry's physical test data. Those data did not seem to be something a glass man could have.

"Then I'm very talkative."

Obviously, since Curry is known as an internet celebrity player, scouts will naturally be familiar with his resume.

As the son of NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, physical fitness has never been Curry's strong point.

As a teenager, he was short, thin and inconspicuous.

When he graduated from high school, Curry weighed only 63 kilograms.

“That’s really too thin.”

You have to know that Curry was 1.90 meters tall when he graduated from high school, so his weight was indeed very skinny at that time.

"How can you play basketball like this?"

"His shooting is purely due to his father's teaching him how to shoot."

Curry made another transformation in his sophomore year of high school. With the help of his father Dell Curry, he reformed his shooting style because he was used to pushing the ball from his chest. This shooting style could easily be blocked by tall defensive players.

Seeing that his son was determined to pursue a career in basketball, Dell Curry felt it necessary to correct his son's shooting method.

Fortunately, Curry is very talented and quickly adapted to the new shooting movements and became an excellent shooter.

"And he's gained weight, hasn't he?"

"Yes! Now that you mention it, he is very motivated and hardworking." The scout touched his head and said.

Jiang Ming also stared at the hustle and bustle outside the window, so Curry was discriminated against but still developed the strongest core strength?
Jiang Ming remembered his physical test results. Stephen Curry bench-pressed 10 times! This is much stronger than the baby-faced picture shows.

The vertical leap is also the same as Blake Griffin!
站立摸高为246厘米。底线折返跑11.7秒，3/4场冲刺3.28秒，185磅卧推数10次。

In comparison, Westbrook, who had the best physical fitness among the rookies last season, only ran a shuttle run in 10.98 seconds (Rose's was 11.6 seconds), a 3/4 court sprint in 3.08 seconds, and bench pressed 12 times.

"So Curry thinks it might be in the top 10."

"He has to be in the top 10. You haven't seen his NCAA statistics!"

In his freshman season, Stephen Curry became the SEC's best newcomer and scoring champion with an average of 21.5 points per game.

In his second game in college, he contributed 32 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists;
Break the freshman three-point record in the 2007 Southland Championships.

In his sophomore season, Stephen Curry led dark horse Davidson College to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

In March 2008, Davidson College defeated the seventh-ranked Gonzaga University, the second-seeded Georgetown University in the NCAA, and the third-ranked University of Wisconsin in succession. Stephen Curry became one of the four players in history to score 3 points in the first four games of the NCAA knockout tournament.

Against Kansas, Curry made his 159th three-pointer of the season, setting an NCAA single-season record for three-pointers.

"Fuck, this is much more exciting than Rubio. Why is ESPN's ranking lower than Rubio's?"

"Because Coach K has always looked down on Curry, but has praised Rubio."

"Isn't that a high school graduation thing?"

Jiang Ming remembered that the scout said when he was watching Harden just now that Curry went to Duke University for an inspection after graduating from high school. He was very eager to join this famous basketball school, but was rejected by Coach K.

Even Coach K said that Curry was too thin, which would make it difficult for him to adapt to the higher intensity of the NCAA, so they gave up on Curry.

Curry also visited Virginia Tech, the alma mater of his father Dell Curry. The university was unwilling to offer a scholarship, but to give Curry old face, it was willing to let Curry join the team at his own expense through a tryout.

"Dale, don't waste your energy. With your son's conditions, it's really hard for him to gain a foothold in the NCAA." Virginia Tech's head coach Berlinger gave Curry Sr. this earnest advice.

This is a humiliation for Curry, who is proud of himself.

"Curry was very unpopular, and no one even looked up to him." Curry's sister Sydel said. At that time, Curry seemed very far away from the NBA, let alone becoming an MVP-level player in the future.

The scout also said:

"Yeah, he's been saying Curry isn't good enough in high school and now. In a recent interview, he praised his own North Carolina players, but he still thinks Curry can't adapt to the NBA. That's why I said he might be an internet celebrity. After all, what K says is true."

"If everyone just listens to other people's blind orders and nonsense, what's the point of us scouts? I only believe in seeing is believing. Let's go and watch his game."

"Okay, then I'll book a flight to Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina. The next game happens to be between Davidson College and North Carolina. We definitely need to check out North Carolina. North Carolina has too many stars this year. Five of them are predicted to be in the first round."

"Okay, that's all. Driver, please wait for us downstairs. We'll go straight down to the airport after we pack our luggage."

"ok, sir."

On the plane to North Carolina.

Jiang Ming was reading Curry's NCAA article in a basketball magazine. He liked reading such comeback stories. Especially after hearing that Curry was looked down upon by Coach K because of his physique, he wanted to know more about this college student who had changed his destiny against all odds.

In fact, except Duke University, other universities were not interested in Curry. They did not recruit Curry because he was not advantageous in all aspects in the NCAA.

After that, Curry had no choice but to join Davis College.

It is worth mentioning that this university has not made it to the top 39 in the NCAA for nearly 32 years.

The team hadn't won an NCAA tournament in 40 years before Curry joined.

Through hard training, Curry became one of the best shooters in the NCAA in his freshman year, and he had no problem entering the NBA.

However, at that time, no one associated Curry with MVP-level players, and people thought that Curry's ceiling was at most Redick.

In his freshman season, Curry averaged 21.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. With his help, Davidson University achieved an excellent record of 29 wins and 5 losses and successfully won the regular season championship of the Southern Division.

Curry's outstanding performance made him deservedly elected as the best rookie of the Southern Division, and won the title of MVP of the Southern Division Championship. He was also selected to the Southern Division Best Team and the Best Rookie Team.

After his freshman season, Curry was called up by the United States team to compete in the 2007 FIBA ​​U19 Men's Basketball World Championship. In an average of 19.4 minutes per game, Curry was able to contribute 9.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists, winning the silver medal for the US team.

In his sophomore season, Curry led Davidson College to defeat the seventh-ranked Gonzaga University, the second-seeded Georgetown University, and the third-ranked University of Wisconsin, and entered the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship.

Curry also became the fourth player in history to score 4 points in the first four games of the NCAA playoffs.

Against Kansas, Curry made his 159th three-pointer of the season, setting an NCAA single-season record for three-pointers.

In his junior season, Curry completed the transition from shooting guard to point guard, leading the nation with an average of 28.6 points per game, while also contributing 4.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.5 steals.

He also scored 44 points against Oklahoma City, which had Blake Griffin, setting his own NCAA single-game scoring record.

If nothing unexpected happens, at the end of this March Madness, Curry will be the leading scorer in Davidson College's history, and will be first in three-pointers, free throws, field goals made, and steals.

So Jiang Ming felt that this was a super shooter who could do anything.

In his opinion, with such shooting skills, he can survive in the NBA even if he is shorter and slower.

Anyway, if this guy is next to Oden and Roy, he just needs to ambush in the bottom corner. With this shooting percentage, wouldn't it be awesome?
So no matter what, we have to call him to the Trail Blazers for a tryout!

The basketball stadium of the prestigious NCAA University of North Carolina.

Their home game against Davidson College is about to begin.

Jiang Ming and the Trail Blazers scouts could only sit in the last row of the stands because the small venue was packed with people and the aisles were filled with students.

The front row was full of the players' families, local fans, and college students. It was full of youth. Curry's parents and the other team's relatives and friends were bickering with each other.
On the contrary, the middle part is filled with celebrities and managers, such as Putin, Mo Dog, Ainge, Riley, etc. They are all there, which shows how much attention this game has attracted.

Michael Jordan, a famous North Carolina alumnus, was often captured by the camera in the box stands, and the current active player Carter was also there.

Not only Carter came, but also LeBron James and other players who did not play today came to watch the game. After seeing Curry's superb three-pointer, James even showed a surprised expression on the spot and cheered with Curry. (Picture)

So he came here to cheer for Curry?
PS: Is this meeting a symphony of fate?
In reality, James did go to see Curry. See the picture for details. He probably never thought that Curry would be the man who made him lose the championship three times, haha.

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(End of this chapter)