Denise Curry (born August 22, 1959) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

basketball coach. Curry was inducted in the inaugural class at the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...

in 1999.

College basketball

Born in

Fort Benton, Montana Fort Benton is a city in and the county seat of Chouteau County, Montana, United States. Established in 1846, Fort Benton is the oldest continuously occupied settlement in Montana. The city's waterfront area, the most important aspect of its 19 ...

, Curry moved to

Davis, California Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 66,850 in 2020, not including the on-campus population of the University of California, Davi ...

by the time she was in high school. She graduated from Davis Senior High School. During her college playing career she led

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

National Championship in 1978, has been named

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

three times (1979, 1980, 1981), set fourteen school records and was all-time leading scorer (3,198 points) and rebounder (1,310 points). She scored in double figures in every one of the 130 games she played for UCLA. She averaged 24.6 points per game. Only one other Bruin player, Natalie Williams, averaged over 20 points per game at 20.4. As of 2008, she is still the top record holder in 10 categories for UCLA.UCLA Women's Basketball Media Guide (PDF copy available a
uclabruins.com
2006–2007 season publication She was named

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of Western Collegiate Athletic Conference three times and UCLA All-University Athlete of the Year in 1981. She was named the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year in 1981.

UCLA statistics

Source

Amateur and Olympic competition

For the US national team, she won gold medals in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, Pan American Games in 1983,

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1979, and silver medals at

in 1983, World University Games in 1981 and Pan American Games in 1979. Curry was chosen to represent the USA on the USA Basketball team at the 1981 World University games, held in

Bucharest, Romania Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. After winning the opening game, the USA was challenged by China, who held a halftime lead. The USA came back to win by two points, helped by 26 points from Curry. The USA also was challenged by Canada, who led at halftime, but the USA won by three points 79–76. The USA beat host team Romania to set up a match with undefeated Russia for the gold medal. The Russian team was too strong, and won the gold, leaving the US with the silver medal. Curry averaged 18.3 points per game to lead the team in scoring. Curry was named to the team representing the US at the 1979 William Jones Cup competition in

Taipei, Taiwan Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. The USA team won all six games en route to the gold medal. She then qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but was unable to compete due to the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...

. In 2007 she received one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes. Curry was a member of the USA National team at the 1983 World Championships, held in

Sao Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

. The team won six games, but lost two against the Soviet Union. In an opening round game, the USA team had a nine-point lead at halftime, but the Soviets came back to take the lead, and a final shot by the USA failed to drop, leaving the USSR team with a one-point victory 85–84. The USA team won their next four games, setting up the gold medal game against USSR. This game was also close, and was tied at 82 points each with six seconds to go in the game. The Soviets Elena Chausova received the inbounds pass and hit the game winning shot in the final seconds, giving the USSR team the gold medal with a score of 84–82. The USA team earned the silver medal. Curry averaged 13.6 points per game, including 28 points in the overtime victory against China. In 1984, the USA sent its National team to the 1984 William Jones Cup competition in

, for pre-Olympic practice. The team easily beat each of the eight teams they played, winning by an average of just under 50 points per game. Curry averaged 9.0 points per game.

Professional basketball

With her professional team, Stade Francais, she won French National championships in 1986 and 1987.

Coaching

Curry served as an assistant coach at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. She was an assistant in the

San Jose Lasers The San Jose Lasers were a women's professional basketball team in San Jose, California. It was a member of the American Basketball League. Their home games were primarily held at the San Jose State Event Center with an occasional game being p ...

of the Women's American Basketball League. She became the head basketball coach at

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

for three seasons from 1997 to 1998 through 1999–2000. She had a coaching record of 16 wins and 64 losses as the head coach of the Titans. She was an assistant basketball coach for the Cal State Long Beach women's basketball team for six years but retired from coaching in March 2009.

Honors

Curry is a member of the

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

(enshrined in 1997), Women's Basketball (enshrined in 1999), and

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

Halls of Fame. She was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994.UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees
1994 (7): Donald Bragg, basketball; Denise Curry, basketball; John Richardson, football; Larry Rundle, volleyball; John Sciarra, football; Kiki Vandeweghe, basketball; Peter Vidmar, gymnastics. Her #12 basketball jersey was one of the first four retired by UCLA. She was honored on February 3, 1990, in a ceremony in

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The ...

, along with

Ann Meyers Ann Meyers Drysdale (born Ann Elizabeth Meyers; March 26, 1955) is an American former basketball player and sportscaster. She was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and the professional level ...

(#15),

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

(#33), and

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...

(#32). This was the key moment in the "Pauley at 25" celebration of twenty-five years of the arena. The primary criteria for being chosen was that all four players were three-time All-Americans.

References

External links

Basketball Hall of Fame profile

Long Beach State official Athletics site

Bibliography

* UCLA Bruins Women's basketball media guide (PDF copy available a
www.uclabruins.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, Denise 1959 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from California Basketball coaches from Montana Basketball players at the 1979 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1983 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players from California Basketball players from Montana Congressional Gold Medal recipients Davis Senior High School (California) alumni Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) People from Fort Benton, Montana People from Davis, California Small forwards Sportspeople from Greater Sacramento UCLA Bruins women's basketball players Pan American Games medalists in basketball Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games United States women's national basketball team players