http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/story/360621p-307293c.html

Laying it on the line

By FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Saturday, October 29th, 2005

The biggest kid in the sixth grade stood nearly six feet, five inches tall and walked somewhere closer to six feet. From as early as Eddy Curry can remember, he was always trying to avoid standing out.

Why, he thought, can't I look and feel normal like everybody else? Why do I have to be the tallest person in the school, teachers included? His classmates stared as if he were some type of circus freak. They ridiculed him.


"Where I'm from the kids could be brutal," says Curry, raised on Chicago's South Side. "I was very insecure. That's why I walked around hunched over. And then they called me Lurch. I used to go home from school, do my homework and keep to myself. I was always picked on ... until I became popular."


As Curry continued to grow and basketball entered his life, he learned to appreciate the view from above. Even though he never felt fully comfortable in his own skin, Curry suddenly realized that being 6-11 had its advantages. The college recruiters and the NBA scouts noticed. The girls were impressed.


The eyes that followed him throughelementary school and Thornwood High School in South Holland, Ill., were still watching Curry in the winter of 2001 when he became a frequent visitor to the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls. Curry was now a standout prep star with friends in high places. Jamal Crawford, the Knicks' guard who spent his first four seasons with the Bulls, was always leaving tickets for his new friend.


Months later, the glares became more intense when Curry elected to bypass college and was drafted No. 4 overall by the team he grew up supporting. Four years later, he would enjoy his best season, helping the organization end a seven-year postseason drought that began after Michael Jordan hit the series-clinching jumper over Bryon Russell in the 1998 NBA Finals.


These days, Curry is being watched more than ever. And he knows it. The Knicks' championship drought is 33 years and counting. In Curry, the Knicks believe they've acquired a dominant low-post player, one they've lacked since Patrick Ewing departed five years ago.


Few doubt that Curry has the tools and the personality to be a star in New York. With a self-deprecating sense of humor - Curry once mocked himself for being dunked on by Shaquille O'Neal - Curry is very much a gentle giant.


Basketball executives view that as a negative, but Curry says that's just who he is. Only 22, he's already married with three children. He's thoughtful, polite and unlike many young players, he understands the pecking order in the NBA. Curry often refers to Isiah Thomas as "Mr. Thomas" and calls the last great Knicks center "Mr. Ewing."


"I'm very fond of Eddy," says Scott Skiles, Curry's former coach with the Bulls and occasionally his harshest critic. "I always found him to be very honest and open. He was never a problem."



* * *

There are, of course, a few problems with Eddie Curry. The knock against him is that he lacks the drive to become a great player. The Bulls raised similar questions about Curry's commitment, although the organization continues to say that the only reason Curry was traded earlier this month was because of the fear that he may suffer from a potentially fatal heart condition.


When the Knicks open the 2005-06 season in Boston on Wednesday, Curry will be playing his first regular-season game since March 30, when he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. Depending on which team and medical experts you talk to, Curry is either an All-Star in the making or a tragedy waiting to happen.


Almost overnight, the giant kid who once sought anonymity has become a young man who has managed to spark debates over morality, genetic testing and the cost of winning.


"Eddy's going to be playing in the NBA and living a healthy life for a long time," says Thomas, a Chicago native who pursued Curry for two years. "None of us, and I include our doctors and the NBA, would allow Eddy to play if we felt he was at risk of losing his life. Once I was presented with all the information, it didn't come down to soul-searching because we're not dealing with an unhealthy player. We're dealing with a player that's healthy."


John Paxson, the Bulls' general manager, has said he felt a moral obligation to prohibit Curry from playing after Curry declined to take a DNA test to determine if he is genetically predisposed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heart condition linked to the deaths of basketball players Reggie Lewis and Hank Gathers.


When Curry refused to budge, rumors began circulating that Curry had taken the DNA test independently and the results had shown he is predisposed to HCM. Curry denies taking the DNA test and even after signing a six-year, $56 million contract, he says he has no intention of taking the test for peace of mind.


"I'm extremely peaceful in the fact that I can play and nothing will happen," Curry says. "It was a no-win situation."


Curry, who was diagnosed with a benign cardio arrhythmia, was tested over six months beginning last April and was cleared by several doctors to resume physical activity. Dr. David Cannom, an expert on ventricular arrhythmias and chief of cardiology at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, determined that Curry's enlarged heart isn't life-threatening and is consistent with an athlete's heart. Cannom's diagnosis is consistent with that of Dr. Mark Estes, another prominent cardiologist whom Curry saw in Boston shortly after experiencing an irregular heartbeat before a March 30 game in Charlotte.


But according to people familiar with Curry's medical background, the Bulls believed that enough similarities existed between Curry's episodes of arrhythmia and those of Lewis to warrant the DNA test. Their physicians asked Curry to refrain from physical activity for six weeks in order to decondition Curry's enlarged heart. The testing showed a heart rate more consistent with a couch potato than an athlete.


However, red flags went up when Curry's heart didn't shrink. That's why the Bulls wanted to rule out cardiomyopathy and asked Curry to take the DNA test.


The Knicks contend that DNA testing is a relatively new science that could not prove conclusively that Curry is predisposed to HCM. After four days of testing in early October, the Knicks cleared Curry to begin practicing with the team.


Two weeks ago, SI.com quoted Paxson as saying that Curry had experienced chest pains during training camp last October and had been rushed to the hospital. A thorough examination at that time yielded no explanation for Curry's symptoms.


The Daily News has learned that in the summer of 2004, Curry, in an attempt to lose weight, either knowingly or unknowingly began taking ephedra, a controversial diet supplement that increases metabolism. It is not recommended for anyone with a heart condition and federal investigators have linked ephedra to at least 100 deaths - including that of Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler - and to strokes, seizures and heart attacks. It was banned by most sports leagues, including the NBA, long before the federal government finally outlawed its sale last year.


According to a source, the pills were provided by Tim Grover, the Chicago-based trainer whose A-list clients include Michael Jordan and Alex Rodriguez. Curry denied taking ephedra, saying the weight loss was the result of a low-carb diet. Grover did not return phone calls made to his office.


"I wasn't taking any supplements," Curry says. "I cut out bread and sugar from my diet. I lost something like 35 pounds and I came in at 275 pounds. I felt uncomfortable. I didn't feel like myself at all. I wanted to play at 285 or 290."


According to a source, the Bulls noticed Curry's dramatic weight loss and became suspicious. Curry gained a reputation as a player who gained weight during the off-season and avoided the Bulls' training facility during the summer. Curry contends that he preferred to use Grover, whom he hired four years earlier, to monitor his workouts at Hoops the Gym in downtown Chicago.


Curry went on to average a career-high 16.1 points last season in 63 games while averaging just 5.4 rebounds and 28.7 minutes. He figured he was staying in Chicago until the controversy over his health lingered throughout the summer. Curry eventually barred the Bulls from watching his workouts while the Knicks were welcomed visitors.


Although Curry resumed his workouts in early August, there is some debate over just how strenuous Grover's program was. When Curry arrived for Knicks training camp in Charleston four weeks ago, he was badly out of shape.


"He's way behind where he will be, but he's worked very hard and he's getting better every day," says Knicks coach Larry Brown. "He's nowhere up to the level of conditioning that Channing Frye, David Lee and Jackie Butler and the rest of our young kids are at this time. But I always think that it takes bigger guys longer."


Antonio Davis, Curry's teammate for two seasons in Chicago and now with the Knicks, adds:


"He has all the tools he needs. He has a coach that's not going to accept anything less than him working hard. You got guys around him that will point him in the right direction and give him all the support he needs. Now it's just really up to him and it's just a matter of time before he comes out of his shell and plays the way everybody thinks he's capable of playing."



* * *

Curry was steered toward basketball at a young age because of his size and he says it took him years to embrace the sport. He now claims to "love the game" and admits he is far from being a finished product.


Curry's inability to defend and rebound became a source of frustration for Skiles and will be for the equally demanding Brown, too. When asked by a reporter two years ago what Curry needed to do to become a better rebounder, Skiles simply replied: "Jump."


Brown has already expressed frustration with Curry's basketball acumen, saying last week, "I have been surprised by the fact that there are a lot of things that we've been talking about that I think he hadn't heard before."


Skiles, who guided the Bulls into the playoffs despite a 0-9 start last season, took Brown's assessment as an insult to Chicago's coaching staff.


"I'm pretty sure Larry invented the game," Skiles said sarcastically. "I'm pretty sure about that."


Skiles was Curry's fourth coach in four seasons with Chicago and believed Curry was on the verge of a breakthrough. Now, Curry becomes Brown's project. Brown demands solid point-guard play and believes it is necessary to have a big body to throw the ball to. With Curry and Stephon Marbury in the starting lineup, the Knicks have two potential All-Stars. On paper, that is.


If healthy and committed, Curry alone could accelerate the club's rebuilding phase. Or he could become part of an on-going problem at Madison Square Garden - a player who is overpaid and underachieves.


In that case, there will be no hiding.


"I feel like if I play hard every night the Garden is going to be the best place in the world to play," says Curry, standing beneath the Ewing banner that hangs at the Knicks' training facility in Tarrytown. "The NBA is going to make you or break you. Some people are made for it, some are not. Some people come in and get in the right situation and are able to excel. Some people get in a bad situation and push through it. Some don't. I came in a rough situation with all these different coaches and players and a lot of other stuff. But I was able to get through it with perseverance and faith.


"I think I'm going to be a great player. And I hope this is the last uniform I wear. I hope to end my career here and for my jersey to be in the rafters with Mr. Ewing's."


Sad history


Eddy Curry has been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeart, which is a symptom of HCM. HCM - or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy - is a thickening of the wall between the left and right ventricles of the heart. It can result in an irregular heartbeat, which can be life-threatening, and the risk increases dramatically with exercise and adrenaline production. Although it is unknown whether Curry has HCM, his situation has opened debate in the NBA over testing for the condition. Here's a look at past victims:


Hank Gathers


Loyola Marymount star died March 4, 1990, after collapsing during West Coast Conference tournament semifinal game.


Reggie Lewis


Boston Celtics guard died July 27, 1993, while practicing at Brandeis University.


Conrad McRae


Former Syracuse University basketball player died July 10, 2000, while practicing with Orlando Magic's entry in the Southern California Pro Summer League.


Anthony Bates


Kansas State football player died July 31, 2000, after suffering a heart attack during a car accident.


Thomas Herrion


San Francisco 49er died Aug. 20, 2005, after exhibition game in Denver.

I actually like Isola's articles... he's probably my favourite journalist, because he rarely reports stuff that isn't based on fact.

Good read for ppl who haven't followed the Curry situation this summer