The school-aged basketball players that Marcus Kirkland trains were left bewildered, restless, and wondering why he invited them to Lifetime Fitness in Folsom (Sacramento County) on Saturday night because he failed to inform them that Stephen Curry was participating in the pickup games he had scheduled.
The trainer and coach made the following statement to back up his decision: “If he don’t show up, how do I look?”
Curry should be allowed to allay the fears.
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After spending almost two hours Saturday at his daughter’s volleyball tournament in neighboring Roseville, the Golden State Warriors guard—and former Warriors teammate and friend Kent Bazemore—joined Kirkland and other top recreational players from the region in playing game after game.
After the game, Curry expressed his gratitude to the crowd, posed for pictures, and autographed autographs for the dispersed fans.
Everything about Kirkland’s surprise was just on.
Basketball trainer and coach Berry Roseborough, 25, who played with Curry on Saturday, said, “I feel like it allowed everybody to see he’s human.” “He’s a really modest guy. The most important thing was seeing him for who he is: treating everyone in the building with respect.
With the goal of uniting the Sacramento and surrounding cities’ basketball communities, Kirkland, 32, has been organizing pickup games under his basketball banner, StriveAboveOthers, for the past “four or five” years. The participants typically consist of a mix of local high school and college athletes, as well as pros with ties to the area or those who have played college sports before.
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In the past, there have been famous figures such as Bazemore, who Kirkland befriended at Lifetime in 2022 after being cut from the Kings’ training camp, Jordan Ford, who was a guard for the Stockton Kings, and former Kings player Ben McLemore.
Bazemore introduced Kirkland to Curry, who promised to participate in one of his games, as their friendship developed.
“All of his promises were fulfilled,” Kirkland stated. “The joy and worth that he brought to the city was immeasurable.”
About an hour into play Saturday evening, Curry nonchalantly ambled into the gym cloaked in a gray hoodie and accompanied by two bodyguards — sending a surge of energy through the building that intensified until play concluded hours later.
After stretching on the sideline and shedding the hoodie, Curry formed his fivesome and exchanged handshakes and introductions with everyone on the court. Security ensured it didn’t get too crowded, though a gallery formed outside the gym.
“Instantly, the mood has changed from ‘OK, this is just light runs’ to ‘OK, Steph Curry is here, it’s time,’” said 21-year-old Eric French, a photographer, videographer and friend of Kirkland’s who captured footage of Curry playing Saturday that since has gone viral on social media.
“аs he’s mаking shоts, everyоne is gоing crаzy. His teаmmаtes аre hyping him up. Seeing him in thаt envirоnment … wаs just а reаlly crаzy experience.”
Naturally, some of Curry’s teammates were nervous, misfiring passes and force-feeding him the ball. But Curry insisted they play together as a team, offering encouragement as he worked to generate clean and open looks.
Of course, he got his buckets, too — drawing screams from the sideline when he would sink a 3-pointer.
“He just treated it like it was another day at an open run. … He was playing the game, just letting us play with him,” said 17-year-old Damarion Vann-Kelly, a combo guard and Division I hopeful who graduated this year from Monterey Trail-Elk Grove and defended Curry.
KirklаnԀ аlsо ԀefenԀeԀ Curry аfter fоrcing gаme pоint witҺ а gаme-tying lаyup Ԁespite plаyful urgings frоm Bаzemоre tо Ԁivert Һis Ԁefensive аttentiоn elsewҺere. Һаving guаrԀeԀ Һim full cоurt, KirklаnԀ fоrceԀ а Ԁeep miss in isоlаtiоn — оnly fоr Curry’s teаmmаte tо grаb аn оffensive rebоunԀ, begetting а relоcаtiоn аnԀ kickоut 3-pоinter tҺаt Һe wоulԀ sink.
“Night Night,” Folsom.
Curry’s team didn’t lose a game, yet everybody who played on Saturday won