There were mixed reviews from the 45 NBA representatives on hand in the Savvis Center stands Thursday night to scrutinize a pair of potential draft lottery picks.
But the pro contingent, which included general managers Jerry Krause of the Bulls, Pete Babcock of the Atlanta Hawks, Glen Grunwald of the Toronto Raptors, Rick Sund of the Dallas Mavericks and Seattle SuperSonics Vice President Billy McKinney, witnessed one thing for certain:
Eddy Curry isn’t afraid to play hurt.
Battling the flu, which he said left him at “about 15 percent of full strength,” the 6-foot-11-inch, 290-pound Thornwood center managed to battle 7-1 center Tyson Chandler to a draw during Compton (Calif.) Dominguez’s 54-50 victory over the Thunderbirds at the KMOX/Shop ‘n’ Save Shootout.
“I don’t want to use the flu as an excuse, but I had a hard time breathing out there,” said Curry, whose 16 points equaled Chandler’s total.
“It was very frustrating. I woke up on Monday and couldn’t move.”
Curry missed school Monday and missed practice Tuesday, necessitating Thornwood coach Kevin Hayhurst to invoke a team rule that Curry couldn’t start. He entered the game 44 seconds after tipoff, by which time Chandler had scored two quick baskets.
“My teammates told me before the game they were going to pull up chairs and watch the matchup,” said Chandler, who could join Curry among the top lottery picks in the June draft.
According to one NBA executive, Curry would benefit from a year at DePaul, where has signed a letter of intent. That same executive added that Chander’s 230-pound frame would encounter the same difficulties in the physical NBA that kept the Indiana Pacers’ Jonathan Bender from playing much of last season.
But another NBA executive came away impressed with Curry’s and Chandler’s raw skills and said they were better than any center prospects in college. He added that most teams don’t begin formulating their draft plans until June, and based on the upside potential he saw Thursday, both remain high lottery possibilities.
“I’m used to playing in front of important people,” said Curry, who made 5-of-18 shots and had six rebounds and two blocked shots.
“I knew this game wouldn’t make or break me.
“People put a lot of pressure on me, but I played because our team had a lot of pressure to win.”
Thornwood (4-1) led late in the fourth quarter when 5-8 Dominguez sophomore Mingus Murray hit a pair of three-point shots to provide a 50-48 lead. Murray and Keion Kindred each hit a pair of free throws to negate Melvin Buckley’s basket.
