OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Mark Few watched the Golden State Warriors practice Tuesday as they prepared for Game 2 of their playoff series against Portland, and the Gonzaga coach was sure to remind Stephen Curry that Few had seen him shoot lights out long before.
Curry made 8 of 10 from beyond the arc during a dazzling 40-point performance for Davidson during an 82-76 first-round NCAA Tournament victory over Gonzaga in 2008 – 30 of those points coming after halftime.
“I’m throwing a little shade, when I see him, I have good memories of ’08 playing against him when I was with Davidson,” Curry said. “He mentioned it when I was shooting, `This all started with you making (eight) 3s against us back in ’08 in Raleigh. I do have an appreciation for obviously the consistency and the high level that he’s led that team, that program to since before I was even in college. So it’s pretty special that he’s still there doing it and who knows, they might be back on that stage next year.”
The AP Coach of the Year, Few was Tuesday’s special guest at Warriors practice – coach Steve Kerr loves opening the doors to show others how Golden State goes about its business – and he and Curry had a little fun. The two-time reigning NBA MVP smiled thinking back to that special win by his 10th-seeded Davidson team against the seventh-seeded Zags in Raleigh, North Carolina.
It was the Wildcats’ first NCAA win in 39 years, since coach Lefty Driesell put the tiny liberal arts school on the map in the 1960s.
An overlooked guard because of his stature, Curry – whose top-seeded Warriors host the Trail Blazers again Wednesday night holding a 1-0 series lead – shot 14 for 22 that day and had five steals.
Few is fresh off his team’s run to its first Final Four and a runner-up finish to North Carolina. Star Nigel Williams-Goss declared for the NBA draft on Tuesday. Few and his coaches were in the Bay Area for a visit and stopped by to see the Warriors and assistant coach Mike Brown. Few and Brown worked together with USA Basketball.
Curry certainly can appreciate the success of a mid-major that is a perennial national power.
“For sure, obviously they were right there on the doorstep of doing something historical,” Curry said, “and still had an historical season making it to the Final Four and the championship game.”