Boys basketball: Curry joins the local scene

Tony Altobelli

There may be gold in the hills and mines of Grass Valley, but for

Ryan Curry, the jackpot of coaching and teaching at Corona del Mar High

was too good to pass up.

“I’ve always wanted to move down to Southern California and now I’ve

got a great reason to do so,” Curry said. “You can’t beat Southern

Californa basketball, plus, I’ve got some family who live in that area,

so that will nice, also.”

Upon completion of his duties at Nevada Union High, Curry will make

the always-fun 483-mile journey down I-5 to his new place of work, where

he looks to get things going as soon as possible.

“I’m extremely excited,” Curry said. “I’ve talked with some people who

are more familiar with CdM than I am and I’ve heard nothing but great

things about the school and the area. I can’t wait to get started.”

Curry grew up in Davis, and grew up in a basketball-obsessed family.

“My dad coached for years at the high school level,” Curry said. “My

brother is a coach up in this area and he’s got 10 or so league titles

under his belt. Also, my sister is Denise Curry, who was an All-American

for UCLA, a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and a two-time

Olympian.”

After his collegiate playing career at Chico State, Curry played a

year overseas before beginning his coaching career.

Curry was a junior varsity basketball coach for three seasons before

taking over the varsity position at Nevada Union in 1994.

“This last year was our most successful,” Curry said. “We were 26-6

and we were ranked No. 2 in our division. We reached the (CIF Sac-Joaquin

Section) Division I semifinals before losing to Modesto Christian, who

played Mater Dei for the state championship.”

Curry, 35, not only brings a U-Haul’s worth of personal possessions

from Grass Valley, but a moving van’s worth of basketball knowledge and

enthusiasm.

“On defense, I like to play a man-to-man style with not too much zone

coverage,” Curry said. “I like to run a motion-style of offense with no

set pattern. Set screens and make adjustments off of those screens. I

grew up in a shooter’s body, so I’m a big fan of shooting.”

In addition to his coaching, Curry will also teach English and/or

history at CdM as well. “Everyone I’ve talked to, from the athletic

director to the department heads have all been extremely nice,” he said.

For Curry, it’ll start getting fun once the feet offically get wet and

he’s got a coaching staff to call his own.

“I’m coming down alone and I understand most of CdM’s coaches from

last year have moved on to other things,” Curry said. “It’s going to be

hectic heading into the summer league. I’ll be a one-man show until I can

get some coaches for the lower levels.”

Curry’s coaching style is one of prepardness and high expectations.

“I do all my coaching during practice,” Curry said. “I’m more of a

sit-down-on-the-bench kind of a coach when the game starts.

“I only have three rules etched in stone,” Curry continued. “Do what I

tell you to do, play at the level which you’re expected to play and have

fun. After all, this is high school basketball. If you’re not having fun,

it’s just not worth it.”

Curry replaces Paul Orris, who coached at CdM for the past 15 seasons

and guided the Sea Kings to two CIF Southern Section titles and five

section championship-game appearances.