City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Savannah Curry met her future college coach before she’d even started high school.

It was as an eighth grader in Harford County, Maryland that Curry first connected with Diane Richardson, then the head coach at Towson. During Curry’s underclassman years at Roland Park Country School, an all-girls’ private school in Baltimore, the Tigers staff kept coming around, intrigued by the athletic, 5-foot-11 wing guard who could score from inside and out, Richardson building a relationship with Curry.

“(When) I was in 8th grade she wasn’t really saying much to do, she just came to a lot of my games and stuff, and then of course all throughout high school,” Curry said. “Then [when] we could finally have a chance to talk to the coaches, she was always encouraging and she loved the way I play, stuff like that. She was a great person to talk to.”

At almost the same time, they both moved north one state: Curry transferred from Roland Park to the Westtown School last summer, shortly after Richardson got the head coaching job at Temple. It was right when the Class of 2024 could be directly contacted by college coaches as they entered their junior seasons, the coaches no longer needing to go through an intermediary to send a text or make a call to a player they were recruiting. 

Suddenly, Temple became one of Curry’s biggest suitors. 

“I definitely noticed that (Richardson) wanted me more,” Curry said. “[She recruited me] a lot harder at Temple, because she had to start over when she came here, she wanted players that could help her build [the program] up.”

That relationship, which now goes back four years, was the biggest reason Curry cited as the one she decided to end her college recruitment in the middle of the July live recruiting periods, committing to Temple over the weekend. 

“I’ve known Coach Rich since I was in like 8th grade, she’s been following me for a while, so I built that connection up over time,” she said. “Mainly that part, and all the other coaches as well [are why I committed.]”

Curry, who played her grassroots ball with Team Takeover on the Nike circuit, didn’t want to discuss other finalists that were involved in her decision. She had told CoBL in mid-June that she had double-digit scholarship offers and had taken an official visit to Elon, with one to Temple that was upcoming at the time.

The visit to North Broad, her first time actually on campus, served as only further proof that she’d found her spot.

“I think Temple, the school itself, I really wanted to be part of the Philly area, because I go to Westtown now — I love the area, I’ve been up there a few times and I’ve been around a lot of the people and the culture, so that’s one of the big things for me, creating that culture and environment.”

A sharpshooting wing, Curry was a starter on the Westtown squad that romped through the Friends’ League and won the PA Independent School (PAISAA) state championship by 20 points over Penn Charter. The Moose, loaded with Division I talent from the starting lineup and onto the bench, were one of four girls’ programs invited to the GEICO Nationals, falling to powerhouse Montverde Academy (Fl.).

That was Curry’s first time playing on national television, and she’s determined not to let it be her last.

“That was great, that was honestly one of the most fun things I’ve done all season,” she said. “I know that we’re probably going to get out a lot more this season as well, but for the first time last year, that was really fun.”

One of two high-level 2024 wings on the Moose along with Zahra King (uncommitted), Curry was most called upon for scoring and defense: hitting open shots, attacking the rim, using her long arms to harass opposing guards and force turnovers. She expects to do much of the same at the next level.

“Coach Rich, her style of play is very fast and they encourage all the shooting and stuff like that, that I’m used to,” she said. “So I think her style of play fits with what I do most often.”

“She’s really starting to embrace the ability that she possesses to be real successful at the next level,” Westtown coach Fran Burbidge said. “She has the length, she has a toughness to her, she can defend, she can shoot it, and she’s starting to really grasp the fact that she could be pretty good at this game. As she continues to mature with that, as with all kids, I think she brings a lot of intangibles to the table that’s going to be very helpful to Temple.”

Last year, Richardson’s first at Temple, the Owls went 11-18 overall, with a 6-10 record in AAC play. They had to play much of the season short-handed due to injuries and a couple dismissals, but return three of their top four scorers, including point guard and all-AAC selection Aleah Nelson (15.4 ppg, 4.4 apg).

When she suits up for the Owls, Curry will be the first player who played high school ball in Southeastern PA to play a game for Temple since Neumann-Goretti’s Ashley Jones in 2019-20. Temple’s coaches have been heavily recruiting a number of other

The Temple staff has been busy recruiting a number of other girls from the area, including 2025s Shayla Smith (Audenried), Grace Galbavy (Perkiomen Valley) and Kaylinn Bethea (Penn Charter); Curry’s Westtown teammate forward Aidan Langley, picked up a Temple offer earlier this month.

Curry’s not sure if she’s the beginning of a trend or an outlier, but she doesn’t see any reason why she should be the only “local” girl wearing Cherry & White.

“This is a very great area with a lot of good athletes,” Curry said, “so I don’t see why not.”