Long Beach State University Athletics
Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
A member of the Naismith and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, Denise Curry is in her fifth season with The Beach. One of the top players of all-time, Curry has been a teacher of the game at the collegiate, professional and international level for well over a decade.
Curry's previous coaching positions included a three-year stint as the head coach at Cal State Fullerton (1997-2000) and a six-year tenure as an assistant at California (1990-96). As an assistant at Cal under Gooch Foster, the Golden Bears made two consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1993. While in the Bay Area, Curry was instrumental in the recruitment of Milica Vukadinovic, a first team Kodak All-American and two-time all-league selection. While at Fullerton, the Titans reached the Big West Tournament for the first time in three years, as she coached the Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Erin Whiteside, who also led the Big West in rebounding for two seasons.
At the international level she was an assistant with the U.S. Pan American team in the summer of 1999 and an assistant with Team USA's Select Program in the summer of 1998. The 1999 Pan Am team upset Canada and Brazil en route to a surprising Bronze medal finish. The 1998 Select Team, comprised entirely of collegiate all-stars, went 7-1 on the road against national teams from Puerto Rico, Poland and Spain.
Curry also coached professionally in the inaugural season of the American Basketball League in 1996-97. The San Jose Lasers finished second in the Western Conference and lost in the playoff semifinals to eventual champions, the Columbus Quest.
Curry was the first in a group of four Bruins to have their numbers retired, joining former teammate Ann Meyers, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton, on the 25th anniversary of Pauley Pavilion in February of 1990.
In 1998, Curry was named one of the 15 greatest women's basketball players of all-time at UCLA. The four-year starter and three-time Kodak All-American (1979-81), teamed with Meyers to win the AIAW National Championship in 1977-78. The three-time Western Collegiate Athletic Conference MVP was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1994. Curry set 23 individual scoring records, including the all-time Bruin scoring title of 3,198 points, while shooting an equally impressive and record .607 from the field. Curry also scored a single-game record 47 points in one game, and grabbed a record 25 rebounds in another. She also set single-season records for scoring average (28.5), and field goal shooting (.647), among others. Curry also was a member of the 1978 National Championship UCLA softball team and was a Academic All-American in 1981.
Curry was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1977 to 1984, winning gold medals at the Olympics in 1984, the Pan American Games in 1983 and the World Championships in 1979. She was a member of the 1980 U.S. team, which boycotted the Olympics. In 1981, she was named USA Basketball's Player of the Year. In 1983, she served as the flag bearer for the Pan American Games. Curry also served on the USA Basketball Staff Selection Committee from 1993 to 1996, which was responsible for choosing the 1996 gold medal winning Olympic coaches.
Curry played professionally in Europe from 1982 to 1990 in the German, French, and Italian Leagues. In fact, Curry was voted the French Player of the Decade (1980's). Curry won five national championships in her eight years of professional of basketball.
Curry became one of only 10 female players inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, when she was enshrined in 1997. Curry was in the inaugural class of inductees to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. Curry served on the Women's Screening Committee for the Naismith Hall of Fame which was responsible for reviewing nominees from 2000 to 2003.
She received her bachelor's in history from UCLA in 1982 and received her Master's in Humanities from Cal State Dominguez Hills in 1995.
