Stephen Curry's story is famous by now. His father, Dell, played in the NBA and was one of the greatest 3-point shooters ever. So Steph had great genes and basketball pedigree and was showing signs as a high school player that he could really shoot the ball.
Still, no major Division I schools offered him a scholarship.
Not even Virginia Tech, where his dad starred.
It was, you might say, a poor decision.
Which brings us to Jules Erving. You may recognize the name. Jules is the 6-foot-5 son of Julius Erving -- better know as Dr. J. Turns out, Jules, a senior who's averaging better than 17 points and five boards a game at Holy Innocents Episcopal in Georgia, is pretty good at basketball. Who would have thunk it?
Here, check out the familiar length and athleticism on young Jules:
OK, so Jules can play. His dad is one of the greatest basketball players ever. And yet, to this point, he has exactly zero Division I scholarship offers. Though it sounds like he was a bit of a late bloomer.
"That growth and development just came out of nowhere," Erving's coach, Adrian Collins, told MaxPreps. "I hear from a ton of people saying he might be the most improved player in Georgia high school basketball."
With Erving hitting his stride in his senior season, and with those genes, it's hard to imagine that some school won't end up giving him a chance. The worst that could happen? He doesn't pan out at the next level. But the upshot? Even if he doesn't become a Steph Curry -- where coaches are regretting not recruiting him for the rest of their lives --- Erving's development could easily continue and he could wind up becoming an athletic, shot-blocking wing.
Clearly his lineage suggests that the latter could be very possible.
Seems like a pretty low risk to me.
