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bangordailynews.com
Friday, April 15, 2016
No rest for gym rat Kobe Bryant
The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (right) works off the dribble against the Memphis Grizzlies’ Jordan Farmar in the third quarter at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, on Wednesday.
NBA star scores 60 in farewell BY MARK LAMPORT-STOKES REUTERS
NHAT V. MEYER | BAY AREA NEWS GROUP | TNS
Curry, Warriors make history BY TIM BONTEMPS THE WASHINGTON POST
OAKLAND, California — As Stephen Curry sat on the bench during the fourth NBA quarter of Wednesday night’s historymaking victory for the Golden State Warriors over the Memphis Grizzlies, his mind had a chance to wander. Curry stopped paying attention to the perfunctory performance taking place right in front of him, stopped thinking about the clock counting down to what would soon be a record-setting 73rd win of the 2015-16 regular season for his team, and instead thought back over the
course of his seven NBA seasons. It wasn’t always like this for him. With one most valuable player award and a championship already in his possession — with one more of each quite possibly headed his way over the next two months — Curry sits peerless atop the NBA, and with 16 more victories will lead a team to a position that will be peerless in the history of the sport. But it wasn’t long ago that Curry was a player who signed a fouryear, $44 million contract that the league deemed a risk for Golden State because of balky ankles. It wasn’t long ago that Curry was being benched late in games in favor of journeyman Acie Law by then-Coach Keith Smart. It wasn’t
long ago that Curry was doubted as a prospect coming out of Davidson in 2009, when the Warriors took him with the seventh overall pick in that draft, and then doubted as to whether he was a more valuable long-term piece of Golden State’s future than Monta Ellis. All of these thoughts, and more, rushed back into Curry’s head as he sat and watched the final 12 minutes tick off the clock of a 125104 Golden State victory, one that capped the greatest regular season in NBA history, a final victory that was punctuated by 46 points from Curry. “It’s really hard to put into words,” Curry said. “I remember my rookie year here and just that
last game of the season, just [what] a different feel it was. But just I had a time where I really did take a moment. “I think I wasn’t watching the game for about two minutes … [I was] just sitting, thinking about how far we’ve come and just the energy that was in the building was unbelievable. So I wanted to just appreciate that. “I kind of had snapshots of moments in Oracle Arena, like the playoff series against the Spurs where I was addressing the crowd after a Game 6 loss. [I was] thanking the fans for all their loyal support and a great journey, but we were headed home after that. So See Warriors, Page B7
Top Maine players heading to Husson BANGOR — Five Maine high school basketball standouts are heading to Husson University this fall. Sami Ireland of Penobscot Valley in Howland, Tate Dolley of Machias and twin COLLEGE sisters Barrett REPORT Campbell and Hayden Campbell of Thornton Academy in Saco have committed to the women’s team, while Hampden Academy’s Jake Black has committed to the men’s team. Ireland, a 6-foot center, was a first-team All-Penobscot Valley selection for three seasons and a BDN All-Tourney pick. She was also a McDonald’s Senior All-Star and finished her high school career with 1,240 points. Ireland’s mother, former Calais High star Becky Moholland, played for Husson head coach Kissy Walker in 1995. Dolley, also a 6-0 center, averaged 20 points and 13 rebounds a game for the Bulldogs and hit 87 percent of her free throws. She was also a McDonald’s AllStar and finished with more than 1,000 career points at Machias, the second member of her family to do so, as her father, Thad Dolley,
reached the milestone at John Bapst. The Campbell sisters helped lead Thornton Academy to a Class AA South title. Barrett averaged 10.6 points and 2.1 rebounds while Hayden averaged 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. They were three-sport athletes and received academic honors in basketball, soccer and softball. Black, a 6-1 guard, averaged 7.3 points and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 38 percent from 3-point land. “Jake played a big role in the success of the Hampden Academy boys basketball program over the past four years,” Husson coach Warren Caruso said in a news release. “We really like the toughness and hard-nosed play he brings to the program. We feel he was one of the best defenders in state this year.” Black was on the Hampden varsity for four years, three as a starter, as the Broncos amassed an 84-2 record while winning three regional championships and two BDN FILE state crowns.. He was named to the All-Kennebec Valley Athletic Con- Tate Dolley of Machias scored 33 of her team’s 44 points in a Class D quarterfinal against Central Aroostook on Feb. 15. CAHS won the ference team. See Husson, Page B7 game 45-44.
Hermon driver off to fast start on PASS circuit three PASS North races. Hopkins finished second to Berwick’s Joey Dorion on Feb. 6 at the The auto race season in Maine PASS Winter Meltdown at Greenwill begin this weekend when the ville-Pickens Speedway in South Speedway Homes 150 Pro All-Stars Carolina and sixth on March 26 at Series Super Late the Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory AUTO Model North race Motor Speedway in North Carolina. RACING is held at 2 p.m. Turner’s Ben Rowe won the Sunday at Oxford Easter Bunny 150. Plains Speedway. Hopkins also posted a sixth last But Hermon’s Mike Hopkins weekend for the Icebreaker PASS has already gotten off to a good SLM North opener at Thompson start. Speedway Motorsports Park in He has run two PASS SLM Connecticut. That was a PASS NaSouth races, which also happened tional Championship series event. to be part of a six-race PASS NaHe is second in points in the tional Championship series in- PASS National Championship sevolving three PASS South and ries points, five behind Ben Rowe. BY LARRY MAHONEY BDN STAFF
He is happy with his start. “I have no complaints,” Hopkins said. “Things are working well. We’re headed in the right direction. The car has been pretty good. We’re having fun.” The 30-year-old Hopkins, who won the Late Model points championship at Hermon’s Speedway 95 in 2011, sold his Late Model car and equipment in 2014 to make the jump to Super Late Models and ran five PASS North races that year. He ran nine of the 16 PASS SLM North races last season and finished 13th in points with one top five and three top-10 finishes. He also did one PASS South SLM event.
“We struggled at the beginning of last year but started clicking near the end,” said Hopkins. “A lot of it had to do with getting used to the race tracks. We didn’t even have notes on some of the tracks because I had never raced there.” Hopkins said with familiarity comes confidence. “My confidence level is second to none right now,” he said. “I’m not nervous going into races. I know the tracks, and I also know most of the competitors.” One of those competitors is veteran Mike Rowe from Turner, the defending PASS SLM North points champion. See PASS, Page B7
LOS ANGELES — Just a few hours after producing a Hollywood-style script to end his 20-year career in the NBA with an astonishing 60-point display, Kobe Bryant was preparing to head back to the gym to stay in tip-top shape. At age 37, the five-time NBA champion is renowned for his extraordinary work ethic and though his competitive days with the Los Angeles Lakers are over, he was determined to stick to much of the same gym routine he has followed with such discipline. “I have to,” Bryant, still wearing his beloved No. 24 jersey, told a packed news conference at Staples Center after engineering an exciting, come-from-behind 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz on his much anticipated league farewell on Wednesday night. “That’s a slippery slope. I’ve done some research from players post-career, and it goes, ‘Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.’ Then all of a sudden it’s, ‘Uh oh.’ The important thing is to get into a routine, to maintain discipline. “I have been in a certain routine my entire career. The worst thing I can possibly do is not have one because then you wake up without a sense of purpose, a sense of direction. I have to find a routine, get into it and be comfortable with it.” Bryant had a crystal-clear sense of purpose during his stellar career with the Lakers, lighting up the league with a stunning ability to close out games as he helped the Los Angeles franchise to seven NBA Finals and five titles. Stunningly, that same closing ability was front and center for his league farewell as he almost single-handedly guided his team back from a 15-point deficit at halftime to a mind-boggling win over the Jazz as he poured in shots from everywhere. “This is kind of crazy to me,” said the 18-time All-Star, who made 22 of 50 shots in 42 minutes to end his career with 33,643 career points, the third highest total ever in the NBA. See Bryant, Page B7
Bruins stick with Julien as coach THE SPORTS XCHANGE
Two subpar seasons won’t cost Claude Julien his job. The Boston Bruins announced Thursday that the winningest coach in franchise history will be back behind the bench next season. There were rumblings the 55-year-old Julien was in jeopardy of losing his job after a late-season spiral prevented Boston from making the playoffs. “I emphatically believe that Claude can take us through what has been a bumpy transition period,” general manager Don Sweeney said at a press conference. “I have work to do.” Julien has a 393-223-88 record in nine seasons with the Bruins. The highlight of his tenure is winning the Stanley Cup in 2011. Boston went 42-31-9 this season and appeared en route to grabbing the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. But the Bruins lost nine of their 12 games and missed the final spot because the Detroit Red Wings held a tiebreaker edge. Julien said he did a deep selfevaluation process after the season. He analyzed whether or not he still had the passion to continue as Boston coach. Once he realized he did, he met with Sweeney and the general manager had no issues bringing him back as coach. See Julien, Page B7