Why Steph Curry sees his sport in MiLaysia Fulwiley and helps South Carolina star get even higher – Greenville Information

Stephen Curry noticed the movies.
MiLaysia Fulwiley created magic with the basketball.
Wrapping the ball round her again right into a scoop layup in transition had Curry, a two-time NBA MVP and four-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, questioning if he’d ever seen something prefer it for somebody that age.
Curry was mesmerized by her move on the courtroom and the way her layups have been suave, elegant but assertive.
“Her athleticism, her type and creativity simply jumped off the display,” Curry informed The Greenville Information. “She had that flashy form of vibe.”
Fulwiley’s sport is exclusive but additionally linked to Curry.
“Confidence is vital, he has probably the most confidence when he steps on the ground in order that motivated me to be extra assured myself,” Fulwiley mentioned, admitting she wasn’t resistant to the technology of younger basketball gamers whose capturing vary knew no bounds after watching Curry pull up from method past the arc.
She was rhythmic and will rating from wherever on the courtroom as a highschool star in Columbia. That caught Curry’s eye.
“Similar to how I play, there’s a aptitude for the dramatic, a creativity that she at all times finds a method to categorical,” Curry mentioned. “She has a killer intuition.”
A lesson Curry has realized is one Fulwiley is now dedicated to mastering: how a flashy participant, one which’s so dynamic, matches right into a top-tier system.
That is why Fulwiley joined South Carolina women’s basketball to play for coach Daybreak Staley.
In 2022, Fulwiley performed her remaining season of AAU basketball for Crew Curry in Charlotte, North Carolina. That August, she attended Curry Camp in San Francisco, the place the NBA star obtained a better look.
The silky strikes and offensive domination made Fulwiley a five-star prospect. She was ranked the No. 3 level guard and No. 13 participant within the nation in accordance with ESPN’s HoopGurlz rankings earlier than turning into Keenan Excessive College’s all-time main scorer with over 3,000 profession factors, and a four-time state champion.
She had many faculty gives however her mom knew that one in every of them meant a bit extra.
Two nationwide championships in 5 years does not occur with one star however with a whole roster, and Fulwiley had been one of the best participant on each courtroom she stepped on.
“You want somebody that is going to say no when the time is correct,” Phea Mixon informed Fulwiley, as recruiters mentioned her daughter may run the present. “Transitioning to school and the WNBA, you could have to have the ability to change and sacrifice some issues … you want somebody that is going to carry you accountable.”
Staley had no subject with that.
“It’s not addition by subtraction together with her, it’s simply addition,” Staley mentioned. “We recruited her flash, we knew that was what she was bringing to the desk. When the flash isn’t working, you must have one thing to fall again on. She knew there’s extra, she simply didn’t know what that appeared like, she (got here) to a spot that understands what her superpower is.”
Fulwiley, now a sophomore with the Gamecocks, went from an area legend to a transcendent faculty guard in only one yr.
“She is aware of she’s good however there’s humility too,” Curry mentioned. “She is aware of she has much more to do and might get lots higher. I like that mixture. There’s issues you possibly can’t educate together with her, her ball dealing with, pace, athleticism, the best way she sees the sport, she’s fearless.”
In March, Fulwiley grew to become the primary faculty athlete to signal with Curry Model — a car for his mentorship but additionally a recognition of her talent and accomplishments, which final season included SEC Match MVP and a spotlight reel filled with artful performs.
Staley, who coached A’ja Wilson into South Carolina’s most embellished participant, and guided Aliyah Boston into stardom, known as Fulwiley generational after an electrifying efficiency to start out the 2023-24 season in Paris.
“I learn about generational wealth, however I used to be like, ‘Dang, I am a generational participant, I am reliable,’ ” Fulwiley admitted.
Success final season was fast, fixed, although the offseason wasn’t spent watching her highlights both.
“I can not let final yr outline me, I did a number of fancy stuff however I wish to be greater than only a fancy participant,” Fulwiley mentioned.
Her sport is layered and evolving, as she has to find what’s already there with a view to transfer ahead. Moments this season like in opposition to UCLA on Nov. 24 when an excessive amount of flash resulted in taking part in simply three minutes will occur. Different occasions it is going to be like the sport in opposition to TCU on Dec. 13 the place 20 factors and three steals appeared easy.
An out of doors eye might take a look at her on the bench and assume it hinders her sport, however to Curry, “That’s her story, that’s the cool half,” he mentioned. “Everybody has a distinct journey and he or she has such a novel perspective within the sport … similar to like a Devin Booker story, a participant that was aside of championship caliber crew in faculty however a six man position like MiLaysia is … I feel the sky is the restrict for her.”
Staley, the each day voice reminding her of who she is, and Curry, an embodiment of Fulwiley’s desires, have change into pillars in her metamorphosis. Staley desires each: flash and fundamentals, which requires understanding how Fulwiley learns, assembly her the place she’s at, then stepping ahead, collectively.
“You need to perceive when and he or she’s attending to know that course of,” Staley mentioned. “I don’t count on her to grasp it each play each sport, I simply need her conscious of it … she’s not resisting it, she’s welcoming it as a result of she desires extra for herself … it is by no means been about ‘don’t do that’ it’s about ‘add this,’ and simply complimenting what she already brings to the desk.”
THE FUTURE:South Carolina women selected for Players Era tournament in 2025 with Duke, Texas, UCLA
Day-after-day in Staley’s system is a chance to take one step nearer to turning into the participant and particular person she’s at all times needed to be, seven miles away from the driveway she spent hours in, with simply cones and basketball.
That is just the start.
“To to have the ability to play in a program pretty much as good as this, coached beneath among the finest coaches on the earth and be house on the similar time, it simply means lots,” Fulwiley mentioned. “I simply know that the youthful model of myself could be so happy with how far I’ve come.”
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville Information and the USA TODAY Community. Electronic mail her at lkesin@gannett.com and comply with her on X, previously generally known as Twitter, @Lulukesin

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