SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Davidson’s Stephen Curry was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the 2009 National Basketball Association Draft Thursday night. The junior guard was chosen with the seventh overall pick, becoming just the 12th player in league history to be taken in the first round of the NBA draft. He is the first player from the Southern Conference to be taken in the first round since Sacramento selected Western Carolina’s Kevin Martin in 2004.
The league’s all-time leading scorer with 2,635 career points, Curry was a consensus first team All-American in 2008-09 after leading the nation in scoring (28.6 ppg). He was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All-America Team and garnered the same honor from the Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Association and The Sporting News. Curry finished his career 25th on the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s all-time scoring list. He finished his collegiate career with 414 3-pointers, tops in the SoCon and the fourth-best total in NCAA history. Curry also led the Southern Conference in assists (5.6 apg) during his junior season.
Curry becomes the 14th player from Davidson to be drafted and is just the second Wildcat to be selected in the first round, joining Fred Hetzel who was the No. 1 overall pick of the San Francisco Warriors in the 1965 draft. The last Davidson player to be taken in the draft was Cliff Tribus who was chosen in the eighth round by the Denver Nuggets in 1983. Four Davidson players have played in the NBA, including Brandon Williams (2002-03), Dick Snyder (1966-79), Rodney Knowles (1968-69) and Hetzel (1965-71).