Sometimes you get lucky in this life — and “this life” means the life of a sports writer. Sometimes you are kept secret before anyone else knows about it. Sometimes you can get a glimpse of what’s coming.
The Providence Journal and Hartford Courant’s secretary were certainly fascinated by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig as minor leaguers. Someone in Oshawa News did see 14-year-old Bobby Or play for a junior league general. Maybe that’s not so obvious at this point. But looking back, I’m glad I was there.
It was nice to be in Buffalo early on Thursday afternoon, March 15, 2007. The first match of the 2007 NCAA Tournament paired Maryland Terrapins with Davidson Wildcats. -Double-sided case. Sometimes you can afford to skip the game. However, there were some special interests.
The son of a famous athlete played in each team.
Most notable is DJ Strawberry, the son of Darryl, Maryland, who has become a very good ACC player in four years, averaging 14.9 points. The day before, he was besieged at a press conference at what was then known as the HSBC Arena.
“I didn’t think it was a burden to name it Strawberry,” he said at the time. “I have always regarded it as an honor.”
other? That was the eldest son of Dell Curry. Dell Curry never reached the level of NBA fame or infamy that Darryl Strawberry reached in MLB, but hoop enthusiasts still said that Dell probably owned the sweetest shooting stroke in history. I admitted. 40.2% of his three-point shots over 16 seasons in the Jazz, Cavaliers, Hornets, Bucks and Raptors are careers that ended five years ago.
“Do you want to hear the secret?”
Bob McKillop asked me those words. I’ve known McKillop for years since I attended his summer camp at Long Island Luzaran. He was already one of the iconic long island basketball careers, and at the time this Davidson team was his masterpiece: 29-5, 17-1 at the Southern Conference.
“I love secrets, coaches.”
(And yes, until the end, McKillop was one of the few coaches I still call a “coach” because I always felt I was 14 years old at his company forever.)
“The child shoots it better than his old man.”
Of course it was ridiculous, but I nodded politely. The next day, during the warm-up, I was keeping an eye on Dell’s kid. His name was Stephen. He was probably submerged in 160 pounds of water, and when he turned sideways he virtually disappeared, he was very thin. Despite his strong pedigree, he was not well hired. That’s how he got to Davidson.
Curry took a shot from outside the range, beyond the three-point line in the corner. Shake it. He moved a few steps to the left. Shake it. He moved around a three-point circle and kept himself 10 feet behind the line. He made each one his first tour. He made each one his second tour. When he finally missed, he reacted as if he had forgotten his mother’s birthday.
In a nutshell, it was extraordinary.
game? Well, as you can imagine, the Terrapins didn’t deal with Davidson’s Wildcats, as they might have dealt with Kentucky, Villanova, etc. Davidson was half within 43-42. Wildcats stayed in the game for quite some of the second half, but Maryland was too many to win 82-70. Strawberries had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Curry scored 30 points. He wasn’t as perfect as he used to be, but every time Davidson seemed to be rolling out of the gym, he shot 3-14. I played.
“I feel like I belong here,” Curry said. “I know I have to prove it every day, but that’s okay. I’m not afraid of hard work.”
It was probably the last game. The curry was a dark horse anyway. A year later, Wildcats appeared in the Final Four Reminiscing shots. As a junior, curry was unstoppable. One coach chose to play Triangle and 2 Defender — his two defenders.And well, you know That he was the NBAConcludes with his first Finals MVP Awards and fourth Championship this week.
It turns out that McKillop underestimated it. The kid shot it not only better than his old man, but also better than anyone who had ever played a basset ball. And it was like that for a while.
Vac’s Whacks
Bob McKillop was a great player at Chaminade and Hofstra and a notable coach at Holy Trinity (coaching Matt Doherty) and Lutheran (coaching Bill Wennington). Do so with elegance and dignity in honor of his profession (and had to give him the work of St. John at least four times). This is a prosperous retirement.
Readers quickly jumped to one obvious omission from my list the other day in New York’s aggressive season: Don Mattingly, 1985: 35 home runs, 145 RBIs, 48 RBIs, 370 RBIs, .324 /.371/. 567. Scrivener error.
I mentioned this when it first aired, but Paramount +’s “The Offer” was about as good as the limited series I’ve seen over the years. Everyone in it is great, but there is a special mention of Giovanni Ribisi as Joe Colombo.
Wackback with Vac
Spencer Ross: Stephen Curry was naturally awarded the final MVP. But without Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors wouldn’t be able to win the title.
Vac: The Hoop Spencer is like an old EF Hatton commercial. People listen when he speaks. Or at least they should.
Tim Doyle: Isn’t it illegal or unconstitutional or just non-American not playing baseball in New York on July 4th?
Vac: That’s all these. How the Yankees — Yankees! — Resting that day is beyond explanation.
@gorevidal: The gravy train ends when the Yankees play tougher rivals. Again, who did they play?
@MikeVacc: Soon, the Yankees will need to schedule a friendly match against the Yankees in 2015 to find an opponent who is not considered “easy.”
Alan Hirschberg: Lee Trevino is famous for saying, “I don’t know what the pressure is until I play for $ 5 with only $ 2 in my pocket.” Those who have received LIV money in advance will never feel the pressure to win one of these fake tournaments. So why does one fan care if it doesn’t matter who wins?
Vac: That’s a very fair question.
