Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Clay's Corner - Episode 1


Three. Point. Dell. Cinderella is Born.
By: Clay




I recently posed a question to a good friend of mine. My buddy didn’t respond with an answer, but rather, “WOW.” I had asked him, “What are your top three favorite 'Curry moments?'"
Initially, some people might ask, “What is a ‘Curry moment’?” However, in my circle of friends, if you don’t know what I am talking about, there is a good chance you are no longer my friend.
I asked the question without really thinking of my own answer, which I thought would be a fun entry for the great blog that is “Neutral Spite.”
After a lot of thought and inner struggle, I came up with my top three Curry moments:

(More than) Honorable Mention:

Rainbow three in Buffalo over Maryland big.

And 1 vs Wisconsin. LeBron goes nuts.

35 foot 3 vs NC State with LeBron in atandance. 44 points. Win.

#3: Three, Steal, Stepback, Three
This explosion of excellence happened in Belk Arena against UNC Greensboro in 2007-2008 season. The people in Belk and Davidson knew about the ‘Legend of Steph’ well before the rest of the nation got to know him later that year in March. The cult superhero was more than a basketball player to the fans in Davidson, he was the new face of the program. Hell, he was the face of the program after lighting up Maryland for 30 points in Buffalo the previous March. But on this day, Davidson faced SoCon ‘power’ UNCG. The game was a classic, with Davidson keeping a slim margin ahead throughout the day. This all changed though with about 10 minutes or so left in the game. Then PG Jason Richards brought the ball up, found ‘The Kid’ in the corner for a three. The crowd went nuts. The next thing you know, long pass down the court. Somehow, #30 was already down the other end of the court. Steal Curry. The place is a madhouse. Push the ball, cross up defender (possible break ankles), step back, put up a rainbow three. Buckets. 6 points, 12 second. Utopia. Zombie nation hits hard. This was an unreal moment that several people kept on their TiVo's for months to come. PS: great rally towel design, props to whoever designed that (me).

#2: Steal, Set, Pump, Flyby, Splash
This was tough to decide. My number two moment had to be from the tourney, and I went with this play over the miracle slice and dice through the Georgetown D and the 4 point play vs. the Hoyas. If you don’t know what “flyby” is, then you probably shouldn’t be reading this blog. Seriously. With LeBron James in the crowd, Steph officially embraced being a superstar and seemingly started to entertain even more (if that is possible). After 2 amazing wins in Raleigh, the ‘Cats found themselves facing the best defensive team (Wisconsin) and player (Flowers) in the tournament, or so we heard leading up to the game at Ford Field. Not so fast my friend. Steph blew up again, but this one moment had even the true ‘Witnesses’ shaking their heads in disbelief. I’m not going to get into it, but just take a look, hard to argue with this one.

#1: Three. Point. Dell. Cinderella is Born.
I don’t know if I even need to describe this. Making the journey down to Raleigh became a memory of a lifetime after this “shining moment.” After the Big Cat tracks down a long rebound on the baseline, he find Curry for a three off the left elbow. The shot was magical in itself, but the aftershot was even better. A kid with a passion for the game, taught to him by his father, was acknowledged in this moment. Shot. Point. Dell. Cinderella. All of us have dreamed of making a play that will last through time, Steph had his moment. For those of us in the upper deck, not knowing that the point happened until we got home and watched the game again, only strengthened what was at that point, the greatest Davidson Basketball memory of all time. Sure he was pointing at Dell, but I think every Davidson fan took that as saying “that one was for us.” He had his moment, but it certainly wasn’t his last…
What are your top three Curry moments?

4 comments:

  1. "#3: Three, Steal, Stepback, Three"

    That was actually the 2006-2007 season, when Steph was a freshman.

    Incredible moment.

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  2. NASTY COMMENTARY... I love STEAL SET FLYBY BUCKETS!!!!

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  3. This Stephen Curry blog does not disappoint

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  4. comment approvals are stupid

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