Davidson was a quality program, at least for the conference they were in. The year prior to Curry’s arrival, the Wildcats won 20 games and made the NCAA Tournament.
Regardless, when the sharpshooting point guard arrived on campus, he immediately established himself as not only one of the best players on the team but one of the best freshmen in the entire country.
Stephen Curry’s college career didn’t get off to a great start though. In his first game, Curry would commit 13 turnovers.
However, the next game, Curry would face off against future teammate Ekpe Udoh and Michigan. Despite losing, the 6-foot-2 guard would put up 32 points and prove to the world that he was a force to be reckoned with
In his first year, Curry would light it up for the Wildcats, averaging a SoCon-leading 21.5 points per game along with, 2.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds while shooting over 45 percent the field and 40 percent from deep.
Texas freshman and another one of Curry’s future teammates in Kevin Durant would go on to win national freshman of the year honors that season and Davidson would lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but it was clear — the Wildcats had something special on their hands.
The next season, everyone, at least everyone in the Southern Conference knew Curry was a star. Growing an inch and adding a few pounds of muscle, Curry would once again lead the conference in scoring with 25.5 while also leading Davidson to a perfect 20-0 in conference play.
Earning their third straight NCAA Tournament in as many years, Davidson would be matched up against seven seed Gonzaga. Early in the second half, the Bulldogs held an 11-point lead. That’s when Curry, the 2008 SoCon Player of the Year caught fire. The future Warriors star would score 30 of his 40 points that game in the second half to lead Davidson to an 82-76 upset.
However, behind Curry’s hot hand, the 10-seed Davidson Wildcats weren’t done just yet. In another 30-plus-point game for the Wildcats guard, Davidson would upset a Roy Hibbert-led Georgetown team that was considered one of the best teams in college basketball that year.
In the Sweet 16, the Sophomore sensation would drop 33 points and Davidson would handily beat three seed Wisconsin.
Davidson’s magical run would, unfortunately, run out in the Elite Eight against a 35-win Kansas team that was stocked with future NBA talent and would go on to win the title that year. Despite the loss, Curry remained hot with 25 points and setting the NCAA record for most three-pointers in a single season with 162 — a record that he would go on to set in the NBA as well.
The Wildcat’s Sweet 16 run put Curry on the map in a national sense. The one-time 52nd ranked point guard in the class of 2006 was starting to be seen as a legitimate NBA prospect. Curry’s junior season cemented that idea even further.
That year, Curry would set a new career-high for points with 44, assists with 13 again, but after losing in the conference tournament at the end of the year, Davidson’s NCAA Tournament streak would end. They did make the NIT, but only lasted through the second round.
Despite that, Curry was named a first-team All-American after leading the country in scoring with 28.6 per game while also progressing as a point guard dishing out a career-high 5.6 assists per game.
Curry would opt out of his senior season and would leave Davidson as the program’s all-time leading scorer. In his three years as a Wildcat, Curry captivated the nation with effortless scoring and dominant performances — not too bad for the 256th best player in the class of 2006.
Now, Stephen Curry remains as one of the best players in the NBA and will go down in history as one of the greatest shooters- if not the greatest- to ever play the game.
