The New York Times (registration required) has a good article up about JamesOn Curry and his move to Oklahoma State.
One nugget that I found amusing was that the two other schools that courted Curry after his arrest were Memphis and Cincinnati. Calipari and Huggins? Who would have guessed? Actually, as soon as I heard the story, I had my money on Curry ending up at Cincy, but this is the first evidence I’ve seen that it almost happened. Pretty funny.
The other new info, at least for me, was the story about Roy Williams’ father:
“Things that happened in my childhood helped form the beliefs I have now,” Williams said recently in his office in Chapel Hill, N.C. “I’ve had a distant relationship with my father for most of my life. And I equate drugs like marijuana the way I do alcohol. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I’ve been married to the same woman, Wanda, for over 30 years. My father had five wives. And I would have serious problems dealing with someone who had sold and possessed drugs. I understand that JamesOn has been thought of as a good citizen beyond this incident, and I was impressed with him when I met him. And I’ve given second chances to some kids, but North Carolina wants to maintain a squeaky clean image.
Granted, once he was arrested, there was no chance Curry was going to UNC, but that extra baggage of Roy’s didn’t help any.
After reading so many articles about JamesOn, both before and after his arrest, I think this is one case where he really is a good kid who did something stupid. Sure, someone always makes that point when a star athlete gets arrested, but I think it’s true here. He doesn’t hide from the fact that he screwed up, and he seems extremely sorry. He hasn’t made any excuses about how he was set up (someone in his family implied it once, but not too strongly), or how he’s from a tough background and others wouldn’t understand. No, he, his family and his coach have all said that JamesOn screwed up big time and now he has to set it straight. He didn’t fight the charges; he pleaded guilty and is moving on.
I wish him the best of luck in Stillwater. Whether or not he becomes a basketball star at the college level, I think he’s learned a great life lesson and will be a better man for it.
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