Former JMU basketball standout Ronald Curry, dribbling at the top of the key in a recent ORLEN Basket Liga game in Poland, took advantage of a defensive mismatch.
Guarding him on that rare occasion was 6-foot-8 Ben Vander Plas, the former big man for Virginia now playing for Dziki of Warsaw. The 6-4 Curry drilled a three-pointer over the ex-Cavalier fan favorite early in the fourth quarter, then made four straight free throws in the final 9.1 seconds of regulation that appeared to seal a victory.
But host Dziki forced overtime with three late free throws and then posted the 96-93 win in the extra session over visiting MKS, despite 18 points and four assists from Curry.
“That was a tough one,” said Curry, 32, standing courtside as about 1,000 fans cleared out of Arena Hala Kolo in a residential neighborhood in capital Warsaw.
It was a disappointing loss – the fourth straight for his club after a 2-0 start – but Curry is just grateful to be playing again.
The former all-CAA performer with JMU tore his ACL while playing in Portugal early in 2024. Curry had surgery there and missed all the 2024-2025 season.
“I had surgery in Portugal, with my team, a month after I tore it,” he said. “The first five, six months of rehab were in Portugal. The team got new management and a new coach. They didn’t want to resign me so that is when I went back home” to the Philadelphia area.
Many Americans may have opted for surgery in their home country – but not Curry.
“They had great doctors, and they paid for it,” he added. “I am fortunate I was in a place that (doctors also) worked with the prestigious soccer team in Portugal. They gave me a pretty good surgery. It worked out well. I feel pretty good.”
He returned to action this past summer for the champion Niagara River Lions in the Canada Elite Basketball League – then landed a job with MKS in Dąbrowa Górnicza, a city of about 130,000 people in southwest Poland about three hours from Warsaw.
Curry ended his four-year career in Harrisonburg in 2016 and since then has played in Slovenia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, France and Portugal. With his Lisbon club in January of 2024, he made a trip to Poland to face host Legia of Warsaw.
“My market is Europe. After the surgery, I knew I would be coming back to Europe,” said Curry, sitting in the bleachers as employees cleaned up the arena. “This team gave me a great opportunity to be a leader and it was a great fit for me.”
He averaged 31.3 minutes, 11.3 points and 5.7 assists in the first six games this season in Poland.
Curry is running the point – something he has rarely done overseas.
“I have been a combo guard. Most of my career, I have been the second ball-handler,” he said. “Now I am primarily the point guard – going back to the position I played at JMU. It has taken a few games to get that rhythm back. If I did not get hurt, this would be my 10th season” overseas.
While former JMU teammate and friend Andre Nation is playing in South America, Curry feels at home in Europe.
“I know that Europe is my market,” he said. “For me, the most important thing is to be comfortable. If I am not comfortable, I won’t be able to play as well.”
How long does he want to play?
“Once it is done it is done. I want to play as long as my body allows me to. I would like to walk away being able to move. I want to play as long as I can.”
Curry would like to coach at the pro level once his playing career is over. “I came to that conclusion the last few months. I knew I wanted to coach, but didn’t know which level. I think I can do a good job,” he said.
Off the court, Curry likes to make music, such as hip-hop and rap and he has put his work on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.
American teammates with Curry in Poland include E.J. Montgomery, who ended his college career at Kentucky; Luther Muhammad (Arizona State); and Dale Bonner, who played at Ohio State. Dominic Green, a native of Washington state, is also on the team but has been out with an injury. He played for Dziki of Warsaw during the 2023-24 season.
Another JMU product in Poland
Another former JMU player suiting up this season in Poland is Noah Feidel, who is with King Szczecin in northwest Poland. He was averaging about eight points per contest in early November.
Feidel played two seasons for JMU through 2024 after three seasons at South Dakota State in his native state. He played in Belgium last season as a rookie pro. One of his teammates in Poland is Tomasz Gielo, who played in college at Liberty and Ole Miss and is a native of Poland.
Former JMU star Matt Lewis, who is playing in Greece, had several stints in the NBA G League and the NBA Summer League. He is from Woodbridge and played at Bishop O’Connell in Arlington. Lewis was the CAA Player of the Year in 2021.
The Liberty connection
There are at least four former Liberty University basketball players in Poland this season: Lovell Cabbil (Gornik in Walbrzych), Gielo (King Szczecin), Jayvon Maughmer (Zastal BC Zielona Gora) and Shiloh Robinson, with Polonia of Warsaw in the second division.
Robinson, from Nebraska, averaged 19.3 points per game in his first seven outings. He began his pro career last season in Portugal after appearing in 161 games in five seasons for the Flames.
On the women’s side, former Virginia Tech standout Asiah Jones is playing for a club in central Poland. Cabbil also played in Poland in 2023-2024, then was in France last season.
Notes
- Former Baylor hoop star Jeremey Roach, from Paul VI Catholic in Fairfax, is also playing in Poland. His brother, Jordan, played basketball and ran track at Christopher Newport, and their sister, Chloe, played hoops at EMU in Harrisonburg. The latter had 26 points in a game at Randolph-Macon in 2019.
- Vander Plas, facing Curry on Nov. 9, had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. He hit a key three-pointer in overtime to help his squad win in Warsaw. The Wisconsin native averaged 7.8 points and 5.0 boards in his first six games in Poland.
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David Driver
