Stephen Curry's Potential for Greatness Should Make Him the Choice for ROY

If the New York Knicks had not been so adamant in their intentions to draft Stephen Curry in the 2009 NBA draft, he could very well be spending his evenings in Madison Square Garden instead of the California coast.

The Knicks were the only team to openly express a desire to draft Curry in the first round, and their intense interest may have caused other teams to take a longer look and reconsider their options.

Golden State Warriors' coach Don Nelson was one of those people and he must have been impressed with what he witnessed, because when the chance to draft Curry opened up he jumped on it.

The decision to pick Curry confused many Warrior fans who thought Golden State would have drafted for size instead of an unproven point guard prospect, but most of the confusion derived from an unfamiliarity with Curry and his game.

Most people were mildly aware of Curry's heroics in the NCAA tournament of 2008, but their interest was more of a passing fancy, and when Curry failed to reprise the magical season of 2008 in his junior year, his exploits were mostly forgotten.

People should have paid more attention when former Texas Tech coach Bob Knight called Curry the best passer in the college game, because it set the stage for events to unfold later.

Curry went on to have one of the better rookie seasons in Golden State Warriors' history, and as the year drew to a close it became apparent Curry's future was much brighter than at first thought.

It was widely assumed Curry was a one-trick pony coming out of college, and people doubted he would be able to thrive off of his amazing shooting skills in the NBA.

Maybe people should have listened more to the voices coming out of Curry's home town of Charlotte, North Carolina, because there were few in the Queen City who doubted Curry's potential to succeed in the NBA.

Charlotteans were well-versed on the depth of Curry's talent, and when he finally began to blossom in the second half of the regular season, it was more an affirmation of their faith, rather than a coming out party.

Golden State is known for their rabid fan base, despite the team's lack-luster success, and a whole new contingent of fans 3000 miles away has been added to their ranks specifically because of Curry.

Count me among those numbers, because while I was always aware of the Warriors, I paid little attention to the direction of their team until Curry was drafted.

Charlotte is still gripped by "Curry fever" and during a recent game against the Bobcats there were more people in the stands wearing Warriors' jerseys and Davidson gear than there were representing the home town Bobcats.

The crowd was so Curry-centric that as the game drew to a close, there were Bobcats fans who actually started booing Curry every time he touched the ball, but needless to say, those boos were drowned out by the waves of Curry supporters.

Curry has earned all of the attention he is garnering, and out of all the great rookies in this year's class, his future may shine brighter than anyone else's.

Charlotte Observer writer Rick Bonnell cast his Rookie of the Year ballot for Curry, and he said that award more than any of the others was an indication of potential, and who has shown more potential than Curry?

Everyone had an idea of what type of rookies Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings would be because of the amount of attention that was lavished on each prior to them joining the NBA.

Evans came from a star-studded system at Memphis, and most people assumed his path to stardom was already set, while others were aware of Jennings for his decision to skip college and play overseas.

Both players were considered to be solid NBA prospects while Curry was thought to be marginal at best, and a long shot for being anything more than a role player with a great jump shot.

Curry's growth during the regular season defines what a ROY should be, and his 16 points per game average and 46 percent shooting from the field are as good as any other rookie's in this year's class.

Give the award to Evans or Jennings if you must, but as far as potential goes, neither has as much as Curry from the point guard position, and the way he has progressed suggests his future as a superstar may be set.

Curry's shooting skills give him a pre-determined advantage over both Jennings and Evans, because it is a natural gift that no amount of training or preparation could equal.

Curry just might have the purest shooting stroke in the NBA as a rookie, and that inherent talent has allowed the rest of his game to continue to develop and prosper.

If Evans or Jennings were to win the award, there is no real reason I could give to say they don't deserve it, as Jennings has led his team to the postseason, and Evans has put up some amazing numbers of his own.

But if the ROY award is based on the potential of a player, then Curry may have a leg up on both, because there is no ceiling to the type of player he could be, and he proved it this year.