16.8

Lagos, Nigeria

Worthwhile reads

Mike Giglio ‘06 on the Cult of Curry:Each morning over breakfast or inside cubicles, people boot up their computers and religiously check his box scores. In driveways late at night, they sit in cars to listen to his games live via satellite radio. Many who have never paid the NBA any mind at all fork over for expensive TV packages just to watch him. And they flock to away games to cheer for him, and him alone.Simmons: I just thought Curry had a higher degree of difficulty: crazy coaching situation, crazy ownership/front-office situation, super-crazy roster. He played with Ellis and Corey Maggette (two of the ultimate me-first guys), and a rotating cast of promoted D-Leaguers and bench guys. He didn’t have a decent low-post player or rebounder; you knew things were bad when someone said the words, “We really miss Ronny Turiaf right now.” And yet, he got better every month and became the first rookie ever to average 17 points and two 3s per game and top 85 percent free throw shooting and 40 percent 3-point shooting (nobody even came close before). FanHouse: Curry was just a freshman, and was still annoyingly known as Dell's son. “Hold on to that,” he told me, to which I scoffed. “Seriously, it’ll be worth a lot someday.”

Team USA invite

For Stephen.

‘My momma won’t let me’

Marcus on Stephen:But quietly, Curry experiences a tiny bit of reservation. The love he receives, the hype that follows him, comes with a price.Curry doesn’t want to inconvenience his loved ones. He doesn’t want to upstage his teammates. He doesn’t want to come off as a glutton for glory.“He doesn’t take anything for granted, and he doesn’t think he’s entitled to anything,” said Steve Rossiter, one of Curry’s closest teammates at Davidson. “That’s not who he is.”Curry said his parents, his high school coach, his girlfriend -- whom he first met six years ago in their church youth group -- and a couple Davidson teammates serve as his escape. They allow him a welcome relief from life on the pedestal.Curry said he’s confident he won’t fall off, nor does he want off his high place. In his mind, it’s his calling to be humble while exalted.“It’s possible to keep that forever,” Curry said of his pristine image. “It can’t be just for show. It’s got to be who you are. I’ve thought about this. I think it’s just who I am, who I was made to be.”

42, 9 and 8: a parting shot

Don Nelson: “If Stephen Curry isn’t the rookie of the year, there’s something wrong.” Mercury News: The last rookie with such a line was Oscar Robertson.

The tourney, excellence, and us

McKillop: “There is a constant attempt in our society to diminish the value of excellence. Making the NCAA Tournament is a mark of excellence, and excellence should never be diminished.”

Northside San Francisco

Michael Murphy with a cover story:On the evening of the first game of his professional career in the NBA as a Golden State Warrior, Stephen Curry’s 10-minute drive from his Lake Merritt apartment to the Oakland Coliseum was delayed by a traffic jam. It would be one of the few times all season the rookie would be stressed.Read to the end where Murphy talks to John Kuykendall. Oh wait. No he didn’t. He just stole it from Staying Stephen.

Roundball Classic on Saturday

Droney’s in it.

Rookie of the Year?

Marcus Thompson tonight on Twitter: More ROY fodder @DIMEMag @StephenCurry30 just broke the record for most made treys in a season for an NBA rookie (159). Kawakami: Here’s how. Bleacher Report after the other night in Minnesota: Curry fell two rebounds and three steals short of accomplishing a very rare quadruple-double. Wizards coach Flip Saunders: “He’s going to be a very good player in this league for a long time.”

The week’s big recruiting news

Add another local kid to the list:Hopewell High basketball player DeMon Brooks, the I-MECK 4A player of the year, has committed to Davidson and will sign next week.Brooks is a 6-foot-8 center who averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds last season. In college, he’ll play with his high school teammate, Hopewell 6-6 senior guard Jordan Downing.Telep in an e-mail: Undersized power forward. Worker. Big motor. Solid pickup.