Anytime you heard Stephen Curry associated with Minnesota basketball, it brought gut-wrenching memories of when the Timberwolves passed on the otherworldly shooter in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Jalen Suggs, Paige Bueckers named most outstanding players at Stephen Curry basketball camp
Now if you search for Steph Curry and Minnesota hoops, it's going viral for another reason. Curry's select camp this week in the Bay Area ended up being a Minnesota takeover.
First, it was Minnehaha Academy 7-foot junior Chet Holmgren driving past the Golden State Warriors All-Star guard with Curry's own double behind-the-back dribble move for a dunk in a scrimmage with other top high school prospects. That instantly trended on social media earlier in the week, including former NBA superstar Dwyane Wade becoming a Holmgren fan.
On Wednesday night, Holmgren's high school teammate Jalen Suggs, a five-star senior guard at Minnehaha Academy, took home the Curry camp's male outstanding player award. Joining him was another local star, Hopkins senior guard and UConn recruit Paige Bueckers, who earned the camp's female outstanding player award.
Other than Holmgren's memorable move, Suggs created a social media highlight with a windmill dunk in Wednesday night's final game. A top-10 player in the 2020 class, Suggs will finish off his summer of hoops in Slam Magazine's All-American Game next weekend in New York City.
Bueckers, ranked No. 1 in the 2020 class, was caught in another video competing in a three-point shooting contest against Curry, which was won by the two-time NBA MVP when she finally missed after nailing her first several shots.
Curry's camp featured 25 of the top boys in the Class of 2020, 2021 and 2022, including Makur Maker, the No. 2 player in the 2020 Class by 247Sports.com. Seven girls were also invited, including Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 player in the 2021 class by ESPN's rankings.
Curry might never know what it's to play for the Timberwolves, but he doesn't have to wonder how good ballers are in the state of hockey.
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.