Curtis Staples

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Curtis Staples was an American basketball player who played from 1994 to 1998 for the University of Virginia. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1998 but opted out in order to play overseas. He was a sophomore starter on the State Championship Patrick Henry Patriots(Roanoke VA) team in 1992. He is best known for holding the all-time NCAA record for career three-point field goals, at 413. His record stood for nearly eight years after his career ended until J. J. Redick of Duke University broke it on February 14, 2006. Staples had actually conducted a basketball clinic in Virginia which Redick attended as a pre-teen; Redick's rare shooting ability caught Staples's eye even then.^{[citation needed]} Redick told The Roanoke Times, "I was a big Curtis Staples fan."^[1]

Staples attended the record-breaking game and remarked, "I've always said, like the old saying goes, records are meant to be broken. J.J. has been a hard worker and deserves everything that he gets. I'm glad to see somebody like J.J. breaking it. He's a very significant player that we will never forget."^[2] Staples played eight seasons of professional basketball overseas. He is now a successful entrepreneur who resides in Lynchburg, Virginia.^{[citation needed]}

Staples broke the three point shooting record of Radford University's Doug Day, a native of Blacksburg, Virginia. So, the past three record holders are all natives of a small area of Southwest Virginia.

The University of Virginia retired Staples' jersey (#5) on November 12, 2006 during halftime of Virginia's first game in its new John Paul Jones Arena. ([1]). Staples ranks ninth on Virginia's career scoring list with 1,757 points.^[3]