Stephen Curry is reuniting with Davidson. The Golden State Warriors megastar will step in as an assistant general manager for the basketball programs, according to ESPN. Curry is a trailblazer of sorts, becoming the first active player to take on a burgeoning role in a college front office. Davidson sits at 16-15 overall and 6-12 in A-10 play ahead of Wednesday’s A-10 Conference Tournament opener against Richmond.
Curry is the biggest name by far, but consider this Davidson splash just another step in the latest evolution of a general manager role that’s starting to swell throughout college basketball, even in the A-10. Former ESPN news-breaker Adrian Wojnarowski is St. Bonaventure’s general manager, while George Washington also tabbed Cooper Handelsman for that position.
Nearly 30 programs have general managers, headlined by NCAA Tournament-bound teams like Texas Tech (Kellen Buffington), Baylor (Jason Smith), Arizona (Matt King), Clemson (Lucas McKay) and Duke (Rachel Baker). The role can be a mix of transfer portal scouting, fundraising, roster management and payroll massaging with a salary-cap era so clearly right around the corner.
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Davidson is the second program to hire a general manager in the last two weeks, joining in-state foe North Carolina. The Tar Heels brass handed veteran NBA agent Jim Tanner north of $1 million in late February to be its general manager ahead of the looming 2025 transfer portal cycle. UNC is building an NBA-like, full-fledged front office, an item that numerous programs have emulated. A front office-like approach has helped former NBA hotshot assistant Kevin Young turn BYU into a real player in the Big 12.
Those infrastructures will be tested shortly. A 30-day college basketball transfer portal window opens in two weeks on March 24, just eight days after Selection Sunday.
