Stephen Curry. (Tim Cowie photo)

Tonight’s NBA draft in New York City will end the unceasing speculation about teams and picks and trades. For Davidson College star Stephen Curry, it can’t come a moment too soon as he wonders where he’ll play. As the 24-hour countdown began yesterday, it brought a new wave of wild speculation.

One commentator suggested he’ll wind up in Sacramento. Another said the New York Knicks – a team Mr. Curry himself would love to play for – was looking to trade up for a No. 3 pick so it could get Mr. Curry. Still another has Mr. Curry as a No. 2 pick. ESPN’s Chad Ford says No. 10.

Mr. Curry doesn’t appear moved by all the speculation. “Right now, I’m on a high, enjoying the whole process,” he told The Charlotte Observer‘s Scott Fowler in an interview in New York. (See “Curry shopping Big Apple, where he hopes his future lies.”)

Download a 1 page biography of Curry produced by Davidson Sports Information. (Click image)

If Mr. Curry goes in the first round, as predicted, he would be the first Davidson College player to do so since 1965, when Fred Hetzel was drafted first overall by the San Francisco Warriors.

And he’d be the first Wildcat drafted since Cliff Tribus, who was selected in the eighth round by the Denver Nuggets in 1983.

Here are a few more Davidson NBA factoids, compiled by Davidson sports information chief Marc Gignac (thanks Marc):

• A total of 14 Davidson players have been drafted.
• Four Davidson players have played in the NBA, and the last was Brandon Williams, who played for the Atlanta Hawks in 2002-03 (Dick Snyder, 1966-79; Rodney Knowles, 1968-69 and Hetzel, 1965-71 are the others).
• Current Davidson head coach Bob McKillop signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1972 but was cut. The 76ers went 9-72 that season and McKillop likes to joke he was cut from the worst team in NBA history.
• Jason Richards, a two-year teammate of Stephen Curry and a member of the 2008 NCAA Elite Eight team, signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat last summer before an injury forced him out of action Aug. 26, prior to training camp.
• Davidson has a few graduates working in the NBA – Chris Alpert ’96 is the VP of Basketball Operations for the NBDL, Brandon Williams is a Director of Player Development for the NBA and Chris Clunie is a coordinator of basketball operations for NBA International.
• 34 Davidson players during McKillop’s 20-year tenure have played/are playing professionally overseas.
• Curry’s father, Dell, was drafted in the 1st round (15th pick overall) in the 1986 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz.

WANT TO WATCH?

ESPN will air the draft beginning at 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday, June 25).

RELATED LINKS

ESPN.com NBA draft website.

DavidsonNews.net previous coverage of Stephen Curry, at tag “Stephen Curry”