NBA Prospect Already Famous at High School

They pass him in the hallways, sit with him in the lunchroom or classroom, even play basketball against him in gym class.

But Eddy Curry’s Thornwood High School classmates figure that in a few months they’ll be seeing him on national TV as an NBA multimillionaire. Curry is one of six high schoolers skipping college and heading directly to the June 27 NBA draft.

“The freshmen, they stare at him,” junior Adrian Powell said. “‘That’s Eddy!’ They say, ‘I want to get a picture with him, I want to get his autograph before he’s famous.”’

For his fellow seniors, the past school year has been particularly memorable, for Curry’s on-court success and the attention he’s brought to the campus of about 2,300 students in suburban Chicago.

“That’s what our school is known for now: someone coming out of Thornwood is going to the NBA. I can’t really believe it,” freshman Nicole Georgia said. “He’s the star of the school.”

TV cameras have recorded Curry’s every dribble, rebound and free throw for news segments and sports shows.

The 18-year-old Curry led Thornwood to the Illinois state finals, where it lost the championship game 66-54 to Schaumburg High School.

When he decided to bypass nearby DePaul and go straight into the draft, his life changed immediately.

Curry shook his head as he thought about his 2002 Cadillac SUV and credit line from his agent to buy almost anything.

“That’s crazy, man. It’s just weird to be able to go out and get whatever you want,” Curry said. “But it all came from basketball and working hard.”

Basketball has filled Curry’s schedule. There were even times when he was booked four nights a week, said Jarrett Hubbard, assistant principal at Thornwood.

Hubbard said it seems like “the whole country has called” the school for Curry. There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of reporters seeking interviews, churches looking for motivational speakers and fans wanting autographs.

“We had requests from camera crews wanting to come to the school and follow Eddy to his classes. We turned them away. We’ve had people wanting to meet him in the parking lot. Uh-uh,” Hubbard said. “We tried to keep his senior year as normal as possible. There’s no way you can fulfill all those requests and have a normal life.”

Curry’s fellow students say they’re not envious of his new clothes, car or the oversized gold cross around his neck. They’re happy for him.

“The way I see it, he’s just like anybody else,” Powell said. “We treat him the same. We know he’s going to be the one to succeed, but they don’t treat him like that. He’s Eddy.”