City of Basketball Love

By Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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Word spread Friday morning. It came through social media, though mostly by the old-fashioned word of mouth. Clyde Jones, the legendary coach who directed Penn Wood to its first and only PIAA state basketball championship in 2009, had just dropped his wife off at the airport when he received a call.

Jones, currently Chichester’s coach, was told his longtime friend Rap Curry died earlier in the morning from one of Curry’s relatives.

Soon after, Jones heard from Imhotep Charter’s legendary coach, Andre Noble, sharing their grief about the tragic news.

Curry, 51, was a 2008 Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame inductee, a star guard at Saint Joseph’s and at Penn Wood High School before that. He went on to become a coach, then the longtime athletic director at Penn Wood. He passed away after battling a long illness the Curry family revealed.

Curry’s death sent shockwaves throughout the Philadelphia basketball community, none more than to those who knew him best, coaches like Jones and Noble.

“It’s like a gut punch,” said Jones, who Curry hired in 2006 at Penn Wood and within three years turned the program into state contenders. “It’s awful. I just spoke to Rap on May 9 and we were busting it up about the All-Del-Val League team. The next day, May 10, Rap went into the hospital. He sounded fine when I spoke to him over the phone.

“This hurts. Rap and I go way back with each other. Rap was going to be one of my assistants when I was coaching at Harriton. Rap was always looking to help kids. We met in 2000 at Pepper Middle School. We knew each other. He would sit with me and we would break down Harriton games on film.”   

Just when Curry was about to join Jones at Harriton, the former three-time All-Big 5 selection who guided the Hawks to a pair of Big 5 titles and a NIT appearance as a junior in 1993 joined Dave Duda’s staff at Widener.

From there, Curry left Widener to become athletic director at Penn Wood, which Curry led in some amazing court wars with Chester and now defunct Glen Mills in the late 1980s.

Curry was instrumental in building Philadelphia’s Charter League, where Noble met him.

“This is a hard, hard day,” Noble admitted. “Rap, Clyde, coach Greg Dennis and myself did everything together. We are all good friends, working kids out together, talking basketball. In 2001, 2002, Rap was at Franklin Towne Charter School, and I was at Imhotep. We started the league together and it is how we met initially.

“Clyde and I spoke this morning. We knew it was a dire situation and we were hoping he would pull through. Rap loved kids, and loved the Penn Wood area. He was one of my mentors in this game. Every time we would win a state championship, I made sure I called Rap, Clyde, and Greg. They helped me build the foundation of teaching the game and what we do here at Imhotep.

“Rap was selfless. He put kids and community first. We spoke about the work Rap did at Penn Wood and the surrounding area. Today has been really tough, because I lost a friend, a mentor, a great man. I don’t break down too often, but the man was my brother.”

Curry lead the Hawks in assists and steals during three seasons, setting a then program mark for career assists with 580.

He made an immediate impact at St. Joe’s, earning Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors, appearing in 107 games. He currently ranks seventh all-time in steals (195), 25th all-time in scoring (1,372 points) and 45th in rebounds (521), along with sharing the record for most assists in a game with 14. Curry was inducted into the SJU Men's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

“The story of St. Joe’s basketball is built on the legacy of its former players. Great young men who gave all they had to be ambassadors for Hawk Hill and wear the Crimson and Gray,” said St. Joe’s head coach Billy Lange in a statement released by the school. “Rap Curry embodied everything great about SJU. An engaging personality, a leader, and a Big 5 Hall of Famer, who lived out the Jesuit mission of serving others.

“My brother, Mark, who was a team manager during Rap's time in the program, often spoke of Rap's connection skills and how his teammates loved him. We will pray for the faithfulness and endurance of his family during this time.”

Said former St. Joe’s head coach John Griffin: “I was blessed to have coached Rap for several years. We have had great guards at Saint Joseph's, and without being disrespectful to anyone, he was one of the best. He was an NBA talent, if not for the injuries. Rap was a remarkable player, but an even better leader and person. And that became more evident after his time at Saint Joseph's with his work in higher education. He was a terrific husband, father, and son.”

Curry is survived by his wife Gina, two daughters and a son.

“Rap was a joyful and charismatic person, who made an impact both on the court, and in people's lives,” former Saint Joseph's Vice President/Director of Athletics Don DiJulia said. “He was the whole package—loyal, caring and faith-filled. God bless his wife Gina and family.”

Later Friday afternoon, Noble said he will be meeting up with the guys again, Jones and Dennis. They will talk and laugh about Rap, remembering the stories and reinforcing a legacy that Curry established everywhere he went.

“Rap just had so much impact everywhere he went, and beyond, with me, in Delaware County, in Philly, his loss is something the whole Philadelphia basketball community will feel,” Noble said. “Obviously Rap was a great player on the court, but his impact off the court was unbelievable. Just look at some of the responses from people on social media. He committed to the basketball community. He was the definition of selfless.

“A great dude, who was smart, but most of all, Rap was giving. He always put everyone else before himself.”  

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.