Mom Agrees, Curry’s A Hot Prospect Transfer From Florida State Key To Idaho Hopes

Avery Curry’s mother wasn’t like other moms. Gloria Fudge wanted her son to play football.

“She’s a football fan,” says Curry, a junior starting at point guard on the University of Idaho men’s basketball team. “She likes to watch Monday Night Football. She tried to talk me out of basketball.”

A second opinion helped convince Gloria that dribbling was better than tackling. Eli Bryant, who later was an assistant coach on Curry’s high school team in Tallahassee, Fla., had essentially become a surrogate father to Curry, who has never met his biological dad.

Since Bryant had known Gloria since they were kids, his voice carried influence.

“Eli kept telling her and she believed Eli about basketball,” Curry said. “Basketball grew on her because of me.”

Curry’s mother, Gloria, tells a slightly different story. “Florida’s got a lot of football - Florida State, the Gators, Miami,” she says. “But they play some basketball, too.

“I like football and basketball.”

And her son, of course.

“I’m trying to get Primestar or something,” she says. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to pick up his games. I’m hoping.”

The chances are remote, but Curry calls home often enough to keep her updated. What he might also tell her is that his grades are good, that he’s getting over a nightmare redshirt season and that he anticipates having a successful year.

To get to Idaho, Curry had to leave his own backyard, as well as Bobby Knight’s and Jim Boeheim’s.

Curry was an all-state point guard who guided Rickards High in Tallahassee to a state title. After a year at a prep school, he took recruiting trips to Indiana and Syracuse. Both offered him scholarships.

Curry played on an AAU team coached by Knight’s son.

“He (Bobby) was cool sometimes,” Curry said. “Then again, after some games he’d come into the lockerroom and tell his son “that was a (expletive) effort.”

Curry turned down those NCAA powers to play at Florida State. He wanted to stay close to his mother and to his newborn son.

He played in 24 games as a freshman, but his FSU career soured as a sophomore. He started 18 games, but in doing so, he had to move to off-guard.

He continued, but voiced his displeasure to then-coach Pat Kennedy, who insisted the move was in the team’s best interest. Curry wanted to return to point.

After about “50 meetings,” Curry decided to leave. Nebraska and Tulane were interested, but Curry elected to join Kermit Davis, who had been rehired at Idaho. The two became acquainted when Davis was coaching at Chipola JC in Florida.

“For me, it’s not always the size of the school or the reputation,” Curry says. “It’s being comfortable with the people around me.”

Under transfer rules, Curry sat out last year, but he still made headlines. He and two teammates were arrested and charged with battery after an incident at a Moscow hotel. Curry was accused of hitting a woman in a hallway.

With Curry’s mother in attendance for support, a Latah County Court last December ruled Curry was not guilty of battery. He later pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace and was fined $298.

Curry wrote a letter of apology to the woman. Telling his mother was even tougher, especially since word of the incident had reached Gloria’s employer, the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper.

“She was on the phone crying. I had to explain it to her,” Curry says. “She knows me better than anyone else. I’d never hit a lady. My mom gave me everything I have in life.”

Including the ability to persevere. Shortly after the legal tangle was resolved, Davis bolted Idaho for an assistant’s job at Louisiana State.

Curry insists he wasn’t mad at Davis because the coach told him the move was in the best interest of his family. “It was one of those things he had to do,” Curry says.

Curry would have left, too, had Idaho hired somebody other than then-assistant Dave Farrar. That became a non-issue when Farrar was promoted.

“He’s a very stern person with a lot of discipline. I need that and our team needs that,” Curry says. “I can respect him.”

Curry joins some elite ex-Vandals who transferred from big-name schools. Orlando Lightfoot originally signed at Oklahoma. Otis Livingston came from Kansas.

“When you take a transfer, you better know why he’s transferring,” Farrar said. “His reasons were more playing time, playing point guard and playing on a team he’d enjoy being on. He wants this team to win.”

Curry’s ‘97-98 season started with a thud - 4-of-20 shooting in the exhibition opener on Nov. 9. But he made considerable improvement and lit up NBC Thunder for 20 points Nov. 17.

“Avery is a better player than he is an athlete and that’s unusual for a lot of guys considered above average,” Farrar said. “He’s better at driving than he is at standstill shooting. The best thing he has a chance to do is be good at everything.”

If that happens, the Vandals just might be pretty good, too, despite gloomy predictions from most forecasters.

“Our guys believe in each other,” Curry says. “I’m an important part of this team, but I’m definitely not the only part.”

“He’s grown up a lot,” Gloria says. “It has been good for him to get away from his friends in Tallahassee, but I miss him and it’s kind of hard not seeing him play.”

Basketball, that is.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: IDAHO MEN’S BASKETBALL AT A GLANCE

Coach Dave Farrar (1st year)

Assistant coaches Mark Bernsen, Derek Zeck, Mike Buck 1996 record: 13-17, 5-11 Big West (5th place)

Players to watch Sr. Avery Curry (6-0, PG); Sr. Kris Baumann (6-1, G); Jr. Kevin Byrne (6-9, F); Sr. Troy Thompson (6-4, F).

Key newcomers Jr. Clifford Gray (6-3, F); Jr. Cameron Banks (6-2, G/F); Jr. Mao Tosi (6-5, F); Jr. Eddie Hampton (6-4, F).

Bonus points Gray, one of UI’s top players, has a stress fracture in his shin. His playing time is being limited to the first halves of games in hopes he’ll be able to remain healthy for the season. … Idaho doesn’t play in a tournament during the regular season. It has to finish in the top four of the East Division to advance to the Big West Tourney. … Idaho’s game against Southwest Missouri State (Dec. 12, 9 p.m.) will be televised live on ESPN2. … Moscow High grad Adam Miller is a freshman walk-on.

Outlook Vandals could be in for a long year. Most magazines pick UI fifth or sixth in the six-team East Division. Nevada, Utah State and New Mexico State are expected to battle for the East title. Boise State merits consideration. UI and North Texas likely will duel to see who stays out of the cellar.

Idaho men’s basketball roster

Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown Kris Baumann G 6-1 Sr. New Plymouth, Idaho Clifford Gray F 6-3 Jr. Kannapolis, N.C. Avery Curry G 6-0 Jr. Tallahassee, Fla. Adam Miller G 5-10 Fr. Moscow, Idaho Deon Cash G/F 6-4 Jr. Dayton, Ohio Josh Toal G 6-1 Jr. Columbia, Ill. Jon Harris G/F 6-4 So. Boise Troy Thompson F 6-4 Sr. San Jose, Calif. Cameron Banks G/F 6-3 Jr. Auburn, Wash. Kirk Hessing F 6-4 So. Boise Kevin Byrne F 6-9 Jr. Costa Mesa, Calif. Mao Tosi F 6-5 Jr. Anchorage, Ala. Eddie Hampton F 6-4 Jr. Washington D.C.

1997-98 schedule

Nov. 21 Montana Tech 6 p.m. Nov. 29 at Montana State 6 p.m. Dec. 3 Western Montana 7:05 p.m. Dec. 6 at Gonzaga 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at Washington State 7:05 p.m. Dec. 12 Southwest Missouri State 9 p.m. Dec. 20 Montana State 7:05 p.m. Dec. 23 vs. Idaho State (in Nampa) TBA Dec. 29 at Memphis 4 p.m. Jan. 5 Gonzaga 7:05 p.m. Jan. 10 UC Santa Barbara 7:05 p.m. Jan. 15 at CS Fullerton 7:05 p.m. Jan. 17 at UC Irvine 7:05 p.m. Jan. 22 at Nevada 7:35 p.m. Jan. 24 at Utah State 6:05 p.m. Jan. 29 Pacific 7:05 p.m. Jan. 31 Boise State 7:05 p.m. Feb. 5 North Texas 7:05 p.m. Feb. 7 New Mexico State 7:05 p.m. Feb. 12 at North Texas 5:35 p.m. Feb. 14 at New Mexico State 6:05 p.m. Feb. 19 Utah State 7:05 p.m. Feb. 21 Nevada 7:05 p.m. Feb. 26 at Long Beach State 7:35 p.m. Feb. 28 at Boise State 6:35 p.m. Mar. 6-8 Big West Tourney (Reno, Nev.) TBA