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A number of college sports programs have opted to hire general managers in recent years to help them navigate challenges linked to NIL and the transfer portal. However, Davidson has become the first one to tap an active NBA player to contribute to the cause after retaining the services of Wildcats legend Steph Curry.
The men’s basketball team at Davidson had a few impressive runs in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the 1960s, but they’d only punched their ticket to The Big Dance three times in the more than three decades that followed before Steph Curry took his talents to the school in 2006.
The guard who had been written off as undersized by Virginia Tech (where his father Dell had a standout career) wasted no time making his mark for the Wildcats, who had two one-and-done March Madness appearances during his first two seasons before he led them to the Elite Eight during the Cinderella run that unfolded in 2009.
Curry led the country in points that year and was subsequently drafted by the Warriors with the seventh overall pick prior to kicking off a career that’s seen him shatter the NBA’s three-point record and win four championships while ensuring he’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer whenever he decides to hang up his sneakers.
It seems like the 36-year-old Curry has plenty of gas left in the tank, and there’s no telling what he’ll decide to do once he retires. However, we may have gotten a glimpse at that future based on the new job he’s accepted at his alma mater.
According to ESPN, Davidson has hired Curry to serve as the assistant GM of its men’s and women’s basketball programs to “provide guidance…based on his college and professional experience.”
The men’s squad has appeared in the NCAA Tournament five times since he left for the NBA (most recently in 2022) but has not been able to advance past the second round. The women’s team, on the other hand, is still seeking its first invite since kicking off its inaugural season in 1992.
Curry addressed the role he’ll balance with his slightly more involved NBA job in a statement, saying:
“The Davidson experience is top-notch.
My journey from when I got to Davidson in 2006 to now demonstrated that I had the opportunity to play basketball at the highest level, got a great education, an amazing network through the Davidson alumni and continue to wave the Davidson flag.
I want very talented, high-character student-athletes to have that same experience.”
Davidson isn’t the first mid-major to try to make a splash with a bit of stunt hire on the GM front; last year, Adrian Wojnarowski abruptly retired as an NBA insider to take the reins at St. Bonaventure.