Return to form: Gophers' Eric Curry playing his best basketball following another injury

Eric Curry let out a primal scream Saturday after driving baseline on Penn State's John Harrar and finishing strong – a reverse layup, plus the foul.

The Gophers sixth-year senior forward felt the confident juices flowing again after battling a sprained ankle injury for more than a month.

When Curry drilled his first three-pointer of the season 30 seconds later, Minnesota's crowd and the bench went wild. That rousing sequence highlighted his 22-point performance in a 76-70 win Saturday that snapped a five-game losing streak.

"Coming back [the ankle] hadn't been feeling right until today," Curry said Saturday. "I had a lot of confidence."

Even if the 23-year-old team captain never has another scoring game like he did that night, there's significance in the fact Curry has a chance to finish his career fully healthy and playing at a high level.

The Gophers (12-10, 3-10 Big Ten), who play at No. 18 Ohio State on Tuesday, also were a different team when their top big man shined before he sprained the ankle in January.

"He brings that presence inside that can battle," Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. "Having him back and playing really good basketball right now is really big for us."

In his previous four games with his left ankle bothering him before Saturday, Curry was averaging 6.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and shooting 30% from the field.

In his last eight games before being sidelined Jan. 12 at Michigan State, Curry was averaging 10 points and seven rebounds. He also had more double-figure scoring games (five) in that stretch than any season since his freshman year in 2016-17.

"I was battling with an ankle injury the past [four] games," Curry said. "These guys and the whole staff have been telling me they still believe in me. They've been motivating me this entire time to keep shooting and be aggressive."

Curry's feel-good return to the Gophers reached a high and low point the night of the game at Michigan State. An awkward landing on his left leg going for a rebound with a minute left resulted in him writhing in pain on the Breslin Center floor.

Curry, who had battled back from multiple season-ending knee injuries, delayed being a graduate assistant to give Johnson his only inside presence this season. He had a career-high 19 points in East Lansing, but everyone watching feared the worst when he was carried off the court. It would have been a devastating end to Curry's already tumultuous journey to that point.

Fortunately for Curry, he avoided another major leg injury. He wanted to play four days later vs. rival Iowa at home, but he eventually sat out three games. Each time, it was a game-day decision to rest his ankle.

The Gophers allowed 92 points in the paint and 35 offensive rebounds combined in losses to the Hawkeyes and the Buckeyes at home without Curry. But freshman 7-footer Treyton Thompson showed potential with more playing opportunities in Curry's absence, including 10 points in a win vs. Rutgers.

"When I got hurt, [Thompson] got a lot of experience," Curry said. "He needed that for his future development and this year. We're going to need everybody on this team."

Johnson said the U's staff encouraged Curry to work on his jumper since the summer, and he had even more time to shoot while he was going through the recovery process.

On Saturday, the Memphis native had eight of his 10 made field goals come outside the paint, including his first three-pointer since Jan. 30, 2021 vs. Purdue last season. Curry had been 0-for-19 from three since then, including 0-for-9 this season.

"To see his development and the confidence piece offensively this past year is obviously rewarding as a coach," Johnson said. "Because you know how much time he puts in."

Curry never took advantage of the extra year granted to athletes by the NCAA during the pandemic because he had a medical redshirt to use. So he could technically seek a waiver to return for a seventh season.

Johnson has a feeling "this will be it" for his veteran big man putting on the uniform. There could be an open coaching seat for Curry on the Gophers' bench in time, but he seems to still have some of his best playing days ahead.

"It's nice to see he's able to finish his career here on the right note, his way," Johnson said. "It's not on the bench. It's not in street clothes, but it's out there on the court playing."