Sydney Curry

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- If you put it up for a vote, you might well find that big man Sydney Curry was the one Cardinal most wanted by fans to remain in the red and black as the University of Louisville basketball program begins to get sorted out by new head coach Kenny Payne in the age of the transfer portal.

On Wednesday, Curry, a 6-foot-8-inch, 270-pound forward, announced that he will, in fact, remain at Louisville to play for Payne's first team.

Curry emerged as the Cardinals' top player — and perhaps player with the most upside — over the second half of the season. He gave a high level of effort, regardless of circumstance, and earned the praise of interim coach Mike Pegues and the gratitude of the Louisville fan base.

Curry was not one of the three players at Payne's introductory news conference (that was El Ellis, Dre Davis and Jae'lyn Withers). Other players were out of town, because the university was on spring break.

But Curry was at an event with the Louisville Women's basketball team on Selection Sunday, and was sitting with the Louisville women's players when they were announced as a No. 1 seed.

Last week, Samuell Williamson became the first player on the team to enter the transfer portal since Payne's hiring. (Gabe Wiznitzer announced he was going into the portal before a coach was named.)

But on the day Payne was announced, Davis said the first-year coach made a favorable impression.

"He just talked about reaching our dreams and getting to where we want to be," Davis said. "I know a lot of guys have a lot to think about. It feels like to me he's a hard guy to say no to."

In the last four games of the regular season, Curry averaged 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting 67.3% from the field. That included a pair of double-doubles.

He averaged 10.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game over the regular season's last 15 games, 10 of which he started.

Curry led the Cardinals with a career-high 28 points and seven rebounds at Wake Forest on Feb. 26, making 13-of-18 field goals. It was the most for a Cardinal since Jordan Nwora finished with 37 at Boston College on Jan. 29, 2020. Curry’s 13 field goals made were the most by a Louisville player since Russ Smith finished 14-of-22 in a win over Houston in the AAC semifinals on March 14, 2014.

Curry, whose previous high was 22 points vs. N.C. State, had scored just 18 total points over his previous five games.

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