Rex Chapman recently took to X (formerly “Twitter”) and revealed a story about Stephen Curry that wasn’t added in his memoir “It’s Hard for Me to Live with Me”. Chapman discloses how the top college programs from across the nation were interested in adding Curry to their roster after the latter’s impressive freshman season. But, after being rejected by Duke a year prior, Steph decided to stick with the team who trusted him from the beginning – the Davidson Wildcats.
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Stephen Curry had a phenomenal freshman season for the Davidson Wildcats. The lanky 6ft 3” guard started 33 out of the 34 games in the season and concluded the 2006-2007 season with 21.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting 46.3% FG and 40.8% 3FG per game, per Sports Reference.
Following the terrific performance that he displayed, all the powerhouses of college basketball were interested in acquiring the sharpshooter. Rex Chapman, a great friend of Dell Curry, was receiving calls from numerous esteemed programs to try and convince the youngster to transfer to their programs.
Duke was one of the many schools that showed keen interest in adding the 185 lb shifty guard to their roster. However, merely a year ago, the same North Carolina-based university rejected adding Curry to their team even as a walk-on.
After asking for 24 hours to consider the Blue Devil’s offer, Steph told his father that he didn’t want to play for the team that denied him a spot on their roster merely a year ago. To Dell’s surprise, Steph even let out a cuss word as his son decided to stick with Davidson.
“Rex, you know Stephen doesn’t cuss much but this morning he said, “Dad – eff them. They didn’t want me then and I don’t want them now,” Dell Curry said, per Chapman.
Turning down an offer from Duke seems like a crazy act. However, continuing to play for Davidson ended up being one of the best decisions the now two-time NBA MVP ever made.
Stephen Curry eventually became the best player in the college basketball circuit
Stephen Curry was not a highly-ranked prospect in high school. Mainly due to his size, the 3-star recruit didn’t receive offers from many D1 college teams. The Virginia Tech Hokies did offer him a walk-on spot as an obligation to Dell, who played for them for all four years. Hence, Curry even turned down the offer, ultimately committing to play for Davidson College – a program that showed keen interest in having him since the beginning.
Steph would defy all odds and put the basketball world on notice merely a few games into his first season. While he became well-known in the basketball community in the freshman year itself, it was his sophomore season that popularized Curry.
The 2008 NCAA March Madness, specifically, made Steph a household name across the nation. Averaging a staggering 34.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, Curry led the No.10 Davidson Wildcats to an Elite Eight appearance. During their Cinderella run, Davidson upset the likes of Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin, ultimately losing by 2 points to the Kansas Jayhawks.
With the virtue of having one of the best performances in the 2007-2008 season, The Baby-Faced Assassin was awarded the 2008 Southern Conference Player of the Year and was also named to the 2008 Midwest Regional Team, and the 2008 consensus Second Team All-American.
Despite having an outstanding sophomore season, Curry decided to return for his junior year as well. In his final year at college, he would go on to record 28.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.5 steals per game, per Sports Reference, and also won the 2009 Southern Conference Player of the Year and received the 2009 consensus First Team All-American nod.
The Golden State Warriors would go on to pick Steph with their 7th pick in the 2009 draft. 15 years later, Stephen Curry is the reason behind the franchise having four NBA championships and has established himself as one of the greatest players the sport has ever seen.
