Posnanaski Nominates Davidson's Curry for Sportsman of the Year

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/magazine/specials/sportsman/2008/11/10/posnanski.curry/


Here's what I remember most about watching Stephen Curry play basketball in the NCAA tournament. The smiles. No, not his smiles. I remember the way everyone around him smiled -- the adoring fans, the on-deadline sportswriters, the big-time announcers, the opposing cheerleaders, LeBron James, everyone.

I smiled too. You couldn't help yourself.

These weren't the normal smiles you see during March Madness, no, these were big, wide ones, the smiles of children at Disney World. Sure, every NCAA tournament has a hero, a player who emerges and scores a bunch of points or blocks a bunch of shots or makes one as the buzzer sounds. This guy was different, though. There was something about watching Steph Curry play basketball that just made everybody happy.
Maybe it was because he looked so young, like a 12-year-old kid who had been called from out of the stands. Maybe it was because he played ball for Davidson, the little school in North Carolina with the game-show host name. Davidson had a history. Back in '64, the year the Beatles hit America, a young coach named Lefty Driesell stormed the Davidson sidelines, and Sports Illustrated picked the school No. 1. Something about Davidson sparked Beatles nostalgia from the days when little schools had a chance.

Maybe it was Curry's story. College basketball, more and more, seems like a one-year layover for high school stars on their way to the NBA. None of the big schools wanted Stephen Curry. Even Virginia Tech, the place where his mother and father had both been athletic stars, only offered him a chance to walk on. He was considered too slight, too small, too delicate to play in the big time. He went to Davidson instead and, as a freshman, set the NCAA record for most three-pointers in a season. As a sophomore he led Davidson to 22 consecutive victories to end the year.

Then, for two wonderful weeks in the tournament, he showed the big schools and America what too many had forgotten: Basketball is not a science; basketball is art.

CHRIS BALLARD: Tiger Woods' Open performance transcended sport.
IAN THOMSEN: Celtics embraced team-first philosophy en route to winning their title.
MICHAEL FARBER: Central Washington softball players restored faith in sport, human nature.
RICHARD HOFFER: At the age of 43, Bernard Hopkins proves he still has what it takes.
JIM TROTTER: Soft-spoken Nnamdi Asomugha making impact on the field, and off.
AlEXANDER WOLFF: Abhinav Bindra gave citizens of India a reason to smile.
LEE JENKINS: Fresno State's baseball squad shocked the world by winning the CWS.
LUKE WINN: Milwaukee was down on its baseball luck ... until CC Sabathia came along.
GEORGE DOHRMANN: Hope Solo overcame adversity in helping the U.S. women's soccer team win gold.
JON HEYMAN: Joe Maddon turned a laughingstock franchise into one of baseball's top teams.
JACK McCALLUM: Gold-medal winner Joey Cheek is raising awareness about the crisis in Darfur.
SETH DAVIS: Barack Obama took lessons from the hardwood to become the next president.
JONAH FREEDMAN: Brian McBride had plenty of reason to complain, but kept his mouth shut and played hard.
LARS ANDERSON: Jimmie Johnson is a true gentleman, as well as the nation's top driver.
JOSH GROSS: Anderson Silva is the most explosive talent in the world's most explosive sport.
DAMON HACK: Padraig Harrington picked up the slack for a Tiger-less PGA Tour.
JOE POSNANSKI: Stephen Curry brought the fun back to college basketball.

 

Re: Posnanaski Nominates Davidson's Curry for Sporstman of the Year

How is Phelps not a nominee?

 

Re: Posnanaski Nominates Davidson's Curry for Sporstman of the Year

Lightning Bolt as well. Double honorees? Maybe the drug stuff scared them off

 

Re: Posnanaski Nominates Davidson's Curry for Sporstman of the Year

Who is Posnanaski?

 

Re: Posnanaski Nominates Davidson's Curry for Sporstman of the Year

How come no one has suggested Nick Saban as Sportsman of the Year?

 

Re: Posnanaski Nominates Davidson's Curry for Sporstman of the Year

The website trots out a couple more nominees each day, I believe. I'm sure they just haven't gotten to guys like Phelps and Bolt yet. Probably saving the big ones for last.

 

Re: Posnanaski Nominates Davidson's Curry for Sporstman of the Year

Gotcha. I thought it was odd Mr. Olympics wasn't on there.

 

Re: Posnanaski Nominates Davidson's Curry for Sporstman of the Year

I'm stunned at no love for Eli Manning.

 

Re: Posnanaski Nominates Davidson's Curry for Sporstman of the Year

Curry is a PART of the 2008 sports history. He's just not THE part of 2008 sports history.

 

Re: Posnanaski Nominates Davidson's Curry for Sporstman of the Year

Short of a devout Davidson alum, you might not find a bigger fan of Stephen Curry. But Michael Phelps is still a lock - or should be.

 

Re: Posnanaski Nominates Davidson's Curry for Sporstman of the Year

I seriously doubt Posnanski really thinks Curry should be Sportsman of the Year. But if they ask all the writers to do a nomination piece, I don't think they're going to accept 40 stories about Michael Phelps. Everyone has to pick someone different. Deford or somebody like that will probably do the Phelps nomination.