Former Endicott College basketball star
Jeremy Currier quickly learned the value of personal investment
necessary to excel in athletics and in life.
Spending his first two years at Central Catholic High School in
Lawrence, he split his time with the varsity and junior varsity
programs. This often meant waking up at 3:30 a.m. for 5 a.m. practices
with the big squad, a full day of education, then workouts with the JVs
and some studying. Campus time sometimes extended as late as 10:30 p.m.
Rather than grouse about the lack of personal liberty, the scrappy
scoring machine from Hampstead, N.H., found that unwavering commitment
can provide endless opportunities.
With hard work throughout high school and college increasingly rewarded
with success, he decided to transition to the educational side of the
sport and continued his meteoric rise unabated. After just one year as
an assistant coach, the ultimate prize came recently when the
25-year-old was promoted to head men's basketball coach at Daniel
Webster College in Nashua.
"Being a head coach is the ultimate goal for everyone in the business,"
Currier said. "I figured it would take a couple of years, but it was one
of those timing situations."
Former head coach Eddie Quick resigned after one season to become a high
school teacher in Connecticut.
The road to running a program seems swift - Currier becomes one of the
youngest college basketball head coaches in the country - but not
surprising.
A move to Pinkerton Academy as a junior saw Currier's career soar, as he
was the leading scorer in N.H. as a senior. At Endicott, Currier rewrote
much of the Gulls' record books with his brilliant long-range shooting.
Passing on the chance to play pro ball in Mexico, Russia, Switzerland
and New Zealand, Currier used his degree in sport management wisely as
Director of Basketball Operations for Hoop Specialists in North Andover
and as an AAU coach.
"Being involved with youth basketball and AAU has helped tremendously,"
Currier said. "It has allowed me to develop relationships that have
resulted in bringing in some of the top recruits in New England to
Daniel Webster College for our first recruiting class."
Currier also squeezed in a year and a half of intern work with the
Boston Celtics in sales, marketing and community service. Currier spent
quality time with legendary guard Jo Jo White, All-Star Paul Pierce and
head coach Doc Rivers.
When he was hired as a DWC assistant, the Eagles were coming off a
winless 2005-06 campaign. Walking the walk right off the bat with 14- to
18-hour workdays, Quick and Currier brought in five freshmen who helped
Division 3 Daniel Webster garner six victories this past season. Currier
also got a taste of the top spot when Quick took a two-week mid-season
sabbatical, holding the reins on an interim basis.
Currier will be hitting the road hard in search of talent. He already
landed two Salem High stars, Chris Hanson and Nick Linear, who led the
Witches over Andover in the Division 1 North state tourney.
"Any time you take over an 0-25 program, you know you need new faces,"
Currier said. "And talent-wise, it's hard to win with freshmen. We've
learned that. But now that they're a year older and seasoned, we're
looking to them to be floor leaders. They're up to the challenge."
Point guard Jamie Bryant (15.7 points a game) is pegged to be one of the
focal points, as will senior Ryan Middlemiss of Methuen. Middlemiss, who
was second in the league in assists (4.0) and eighth in steals (1.8),
has a 3.6 GPA and was nominated for academic All-American.
"Those two guys are the kind of players the program wants," Currier
said.
In other words, smart players who will work hard to succeed. Just like
their head coach did.
The Currier Files
Name: Jeremy Currier
Age: 25
Professional highlights: Newly named head basketball coach at
Daniel Webster College; as first-year assistant last year helped DWC
rebound from 0-25 season to post 6-18 record; former intern with Boston
Celtics.
Endicott College highlights: Scored 1,107 points; owns school
records for career 3-point shooting percentage (173-425, .407), 3-point
percentage in a season (led country in 2002-03 with 77-148, .520),
3-pointers in a game (8) and 3-pointers in a career (173).
Pinkerton Academy highlights: In two years after transferring
from Central Catholic scored 930 points; averaged 13.1 ppg as a junior;
as a senior averaged a state-leading 27.3 ppg including high games of 49
and 48 points; made 58 3-pointers as a senior and 26 as a junior.
