A young Stephen Curry during his days at Davidson College is depicted in the Apple TV+ documentary “Stephen Curry: Underrated” (Photo Credit: Tim Cowie).
To whom much is given, much is required.
While no one ever gave Stephen Curry anything on the basketball court, because he earned all his glory, it has not stopped the sharpshooter from giving back to his community, old and new.
The most celebrated alum from Davidson College recently launched a scholarship for Oakland Unified School District students to attend his alma mater in Davidson, N.C.
The Grio reported, “According to the Charlotte Observer, the Golden State Warriors star announced the creation of the Davidson College Curry Scholars Program, a full-ride scholarship opportunity aimed at students from lower-income communities in California’s Bay Area. Beginning with the fall 2027 semester, the program will select between five and 10 students to attend Davidson College in North Carolina with all major expenses covered.
“According to Davidson, the scholarship includes tuition, housing, meals, books, fees, a computer allowance and an all-expense paid campus visit during the students’ senior year of high school.”
Curry said, “Davidson is where I learned what kind of person I want to be as much as I learned about basketball. It means so much to me to help high-achieving students from the Oakland area not just get a chance to go to college, but to learn, explore and grow as a human being like I was able to do.”
The worldwide name recognition of Davidson College grew because of Curry back in the day.
The future Hall of Famer starred for Davidson from 2006 to 2009.
Lightly recruited out of high school because of his small stature, Curry became must-see television while at Davidson.
Curry drew eyeballs to Davidson games like Caitlin Clark did for the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball almost two decades later.
Even established NBA stars at the time, like future rival LeBron James, attended games to catch the Curry show live and in living color.
The three-point specialist led Davidson to the Elite Eight during the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
The school later moved up to the Atlantic-10 Conference from the Southern Conference, arguably because of the notoriety the school received during the Curry era.
Although Curry left Davidson without finishing his college degree to join the Golden State Warriors, he did not stop until he had his diploma.
Upon graduation, Davidson retired Curry’s number 30 jersey.
The scholarship program will collaborate with the Oakland Unified School District and the nonprofit organization College Track to decide which students qualify for the financial assistance.
Davidson College president Doug Hicks praised Curry’s effort to “lead and serve” his communities.
Applications will open ahead of the 2027 school year.
Curry’s run from overlooked high school player to Davidson and NBA star is chronicled in the Apple TV+ documentary, “Stephen Curry: Underrated.”
The documentary also captured Curry taking online classes to complete his degree from Davidson College.
In a movie review, RegalMag.com film critic Todd A. Smith wrote of the documentary, “In 2023, it is hard to view Stephen Curry, the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) greatest shooter of all time (G.S.O.A.T.) as underrated.
“However, the doubters have questioned him from high school until 2022, when he won the NBA Finals MVP for the first time despite several championship rings.
“But from Tom Brady getting selected in the sixth round of the National Football League (NFL) draft to Michael Jordan getting cut from the high school varsity basketball team as a 10th grader, the greats have always used the naysayers as motivation, even when they have reached the plateau of their career numerous times before.
“The documentary ‘Stephen Curry: Underrated’ shows all the dreamers that the road to glory is often not paved with gold.
“That road is rocky with detours, unplanned stops and constant traffic jams and traffic stops along the way.
“However, if the dreamer can keep that motivational fire burning, they can often muster the strength to accomplish new goals and climb to new heights.
“‘Stephen Curry: Underrated’ begins in the mecca of hoops, New York’s Madison Square Garden, as Curry dethrones Hall of Famer Reggie Miller as the NBA’s all-time leader in three-point shots made.
“It then quickly transitions to Curry’s journey as the son of an NBA sharpshooter to a lightly recruited high school shooter to the toast of the NCAA tournament with upstart Davidson College.
“To encapsulate how long a journey Curry has been on from unknown wannabe hooper to the best shooter in the league, the documentary goes back and forth from high quality high definition/4K to grainy VHS tape quality and back again.
“Some of the youngsters who dream of becoming the next Curry might not even know what in the world a VHS tape is.
“That should serve as a reminder to all the dreamers out there as to how long it might take to achieve one’s ultimate goal.
“Not only will dreamers always have doubters, but they might also have to deal with the same doubt or question throughout their career, just from different people.
“From the get-go, Curry received the label of too small and not strong enough to compete at the next level.
“The next level could have been high school varsity basketball.
“It could have been division one college basketball.
“Or it could have been professional basketball.
“As a child, Curry was so diminutive that he had to shoot the ball from down low to muster enough strength to get it to the rim.
“However, his professional basketball-playing father, Dell Curry, let him know that if he wanted to play college basketball, he would have to strengthen himself enough to shoot from a higher release point.
“Therefore, the summer before his junior year in high school, the younger Curry had to totally redevelop his shot, which took backbreaking work that would have made less determined individuals quit and go back to their old way of doing things.
“That determination right there should have let people know that Curry was different than most.
“He did not come from a poor background, with two college-educated parents (one who made millions in the heyday of the NBA of the 1990s).
“Even if he did not receive a basketball scholarship, Curry probably would have matriculated to his parents’ alma mater, Virginia Tech, and enjoyed college life like any other student.
“However, he did not want to be like every other college student.
“He wanted to be the best student-athlete possible.”
Now, Curry is doing all he can to help Oakland area high school students be the best college students they can by eliminating one of the biggest barriers to success, which is a lack of funds.
