March Madness memory lane: Davidson’s Stephen Curry becomes a household name

Everyone knows who Stephen Curry is now but 12 years ago, no one outside North Carolina knew who the diminutive guard was. That all changed after he put on a show in the NCAA Tournament.

On this day in March Madness history, Stephen Curry scored 40 points to lead Davidson to a first-round upset over Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament.

That game served as the coming-out-party for Curry who would lead Davidson on a Cinderella Run that March to the Elite Eight before falling to eventual national champion Kansas.

Unless you were a student or alumnus of Davidson, chances are you didn’t know who Curry was before that game, but everyone remembered the name, after that game.

Curry poured in 40 points against Jannero Pargo and the Gonzaga Bulldogs when he showed off his unlimited range, hitting on eight-of-10 3-point field goal attempts that day in 2008.

That type of long-range shooting is what made Curry a two-time MVP and three-time champion in the NBA, but at the time, there were questions about whether Curry was even an NBA player.

At 6-foot-3 and 185-pounds, Curry isn’t built like the prototypical NBA player and there were doubts about his ability to body up in the NBA and withstand the rigors of an 82-game schedule.

That has proven to be incredibly silly 12 years later as he’s well on his way to the Hall of Fame. His success in the NBA has opened up doors to other lethal shooters who may be undersized. Take for example, former Oklahoma sharp-shooter and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young. He’s not much bigger than Curry but his ability to shoot from 40-feet out makes that inconsequential.

Knowing what we know now about Curry, it’s wild to think he even returned for his junior season after his memorable March run in 2008. Curry averaged 32 points per game in that tournament against Gonzaga, Georgetown, Wisconsin and Kansas. It’s unheard of today to see a player with his success return but it’s what Curry did.

It worked out for him and the Golden State Warriors who saw him fall into their laps with the No. 7 pick after the Minnesota Timberwolves passed on him twice in favor of point guards Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn with back-to-back picks.

It’s clear the Timberwolves weren’t watching him at Davidson like the rest of us when we saw the coming-of-age moment for one of the best basketball players anyone will ever see again.

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