Franklin Junior Damon Curry Overcomes Thumb Injury to Turn in All-State Season for the Knights

| May 6, 2023

FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT/D9) — In just the second game of the season, Damon Curry feared his junior campaign for the Franklin basketball team was already over.

The thumb on his left (shooting) hand snapped back, a ligament torn.

That was actually good news for the 6-foot-5 star for the Knights.

(Photos courtesy of Tammy Curry)

“I first I thought it was just dislocated,” Curry said. “Then I thought it was broken. It turned out to be just a slight tear. When I found out is was torn, I was happy.”

A tear he could play with. A fracture would have ended his season.

With a new lease on his basketball life, the hard work began for Curry, who had to relearn how to shoot.

To protect the healing thumb, Curry had to wear a plastic splint that radically changed the way the basketball left his hand.

“I played with tape over it holding my thumb in,” Curry said. “I was shooting with four fingers. The first practice, every shot I took was taking a hard right. I was missing by feet. I had to dial in and shoot a bunch of high-volume shots to get it back.”

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Once he did, Curry was an unstoppable forced again for Franklin, which won its third consecutive District 10 Class 3A championship and reached the PIAA quarterfinals.

Curry averaged 17.2 points per game and added 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per night. On Wednesday he was named to the Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State Team in Class 3A as a second-teamer.

“I found out on Twitter,” Curry said, chuckling. “I was scrolling threw and I saw something on it, saw my name. I was surprised.”

The thumb injury may have been a blessing in disguise for Curry, who had to open up his game more to score points.

“Honestly, it kind of helped because I couldn’t just be that 3-point shooter,” Curry said. “I had to be a three-level scorer.”

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Curry said it took him about three games to feel comfortable with his new shot and his new game.

He and the Knights took off from there.

Curry reached 1,000 career points against Fairview on Feb. 28 in the D10 playoffs.

Reaching that milestone as a junior was one of Curry’s top goals entering the season.

He saw former teammate Easton Fulmer, who is now on the Edinboro University men’s basketball team, accomplish that feat and decided he wanted to do the same.

“It was just one of those things that after freshman year, I knew I could score the basketball and I set a goal to do it,” Curry said. “After my sophomore year, it was something that I knew was reachable.”

Curry needed 382 points coming into the campaign to hit the 1,000-point mark.

He now has 1,082 points in three seasons.

Curry, who also plays baseball for the Knights, just began his AAU season.

The thumb is healed now and Curry has some big goals again for himself and Franklin next year.

Getting a fourth straight D10 titles and farther in the PIAA playoffs is high on his list.

“I think as we mature and grow and do all the little things we need it do,” Curry said, “we can play a lot deeper.”

Franklin High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
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