Refurbished Court, Refurbished Ankle

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This past Saturday, millions across the country were celebrating Cinco de Mayo while consuming pounds of delicious Mexican delicacies and endless cases of Corona from sunrise to sunset. On the basketball court at Brookdale Park in Oakland, they were celebrating as well, but for an entirely different reason. The National Recreation and Park Association (a partner in the Sprite Spark Parks Project) identified Brookdale as a court in need of refurbishment and therefore donated a very generous $20,000 to assist in a much-needed makeover. Hundreds of members of the community (and the Junior Warriors) came out to witness the event which was hosted by a very familiar face for basketball fans in Oakland – Stephen Curry.

Two weeks removed from his second ankle surgery in as many years, Curry, along with his wife and mother, helped host the event much to the delight of the adoring fans in attendance. “It’s extremely important [to refurbish the court]. A lot of kids benefit from having a place to go after school, to hang out with some good people, some friends and really enjoy their community. A lot of kids are gonna play sports growing up and this gives them a safe place to do it” Curry said. “I grew up on basketball courts just like this back in North Carolina and I know how important it is to have a place to go.”

Curry took some time to lead a few drills with the Junior Warriors (not to be confused with the Flying Dubs, although most were the same height), sign autographs and drink copious amounts of Sprite despite being limited by a massive walking boot and crutches.

While the Warriors season had ended nine days prior, Curry made it clear that his time off will be spent solely focusing on getting prepared for the 2012-2013 season. Step one? Getting his ankle 100% healthy. When asked for an update on the surgically repaired ankle, he responded, “Everything is on schedule. I had a follow up meeting on Thursday with Dr. [Richard] Ferkel. Everything looked good, just gotta take it slow with recovery. I have this boot on for about another two weeks to three weeks and then we’ll kind of go from there.”

Curry mentioned that he would spend half of the off-season here in the Bay Area and half in Charlotte for rehab and preparation for the upcoming season and that he looked forward to doing so since he was not able to do any of that last year with any of the coaching staff (or medical staff) due to the lockout.

The point guard was also asked about his thoughts on the upcoming draft and what he thought the Warriors should address come June. “Obviously there are some pieces that we need. A backup power forward and getting our bench [deeper] and all that. There’s a lot of possibilities.”

You might say that Curry was the perfect special guest for the refurbishment project given the fact that his ankle was recently just “refurbished”. The community and children will benefit once the court at Brookdale Park is fixed up and the Warriors and their fans will benefit if Curry’s ankle is, once and for all, injury-free.

Curry has a few reasons to look forward to this fall. One being his return to the NBA hardwood and the second being the birth of his first child with wife, Ayesha, whose baby-bump is now rounding out to form very nicely.

Maybe an even newer ankle and a new baby is exactly what Curry and the Warriors need for a successful season.

Oh, and I guess a fully healthy season from Andrew Bogut and David Lee and that top-seven draft pick might help too.