By Marc Raimondi
What did that mean to the Archbishop Molloy coach? “It means I have to make another trip – to Louisville – to receive it,” he said with a wry smile. It takes a lot to break the legendary mentor's daily routine. Former player Jim Larranaga, the current George Mason coach, had a hard enough time getting Curran to accompany him to Indianapolis last spring for a little thing called the Final Four. There have been plenty of honors in 48 years of coaching for the 75-year-old, but this particular award is special and not just because it's being given by the Hall of Fame. “I'm happy because it's named after Morgan Wootten, who is a good friend of mine,” Curran said. “We've played against each other many times over the years and respect each other. He's done so much for high-school basketball. I'm happy to receive an award that's named after him.” So, he will make the trek to the University of Louisville's Freedom Hall on March 28 to receive the award named after the only high-school coach to reside in basketball's hall of fame. But there is one caveat. “We had a baseball game scheduled for that day,” said Curran, who also coaches the Stanners baseball team. “That will have to change.” Curran succeeded Hall of Famer Lou Carnesecca as Molloy's basketball coach in 1958. Over the past 48 seasons, he has won 873 games, coached eight All-Americans, five of which went on to play professionally. Curran has also won five CHSAA city championships, was National Coach of the Year in 1990 and has been inducted into nine different halls of fame. He was inducted into the Molloy hall of fame last year, despite his protests. Everyone enshrined before him was an alumnus of the school; Curran went to All Hallows in the Bronx.
