After waiting 644 days to play in a Gophers uniform again, Eric Curry had trouble sleeping the night before taking the court Sunday afternoon for the first time since a 2017 NCAA tournament loss to Middle Tennessee.
A night owl, Curry texted his head coach at 1:45 in the morning in anticipation of his return.
"I was sleeping," Richard Pitino said. "So I know he was excited."
Curry, who was sidelined all of last season and for the first 12 games this year while recovering from two knee surgeries, received resounding cheers from the Williams Arena crowd when he checked into the game against Mount St. Mary's just under four minutes into the game.
Motivated with Curry back, the Gophers jumped out to a 9-0 lead, but like him they still had to shake off a lot of rust to pull away in a 71-53 victory in front of an announced 10,767 at the Barn.
"It was amazing," said Curry, a 6-9 redshirt sophomore. "I couldn't even sleep at night. I was so excited to be back out on the floor in front of the fans. It was just a great feeling when I got to check in and all the fans gave me a standing ovation."
Daniel Oturu, Curry's replacement as the starting center this year, had 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Dupree McBrayer had a team-best 15 points, and the Gophers (11-2) ended nonconference play on a five-game winning streak.
Curry had hoped to be ready to begin this season after missing 2017-18 with torn ligaments and meniscus in his left knee. But doctors discovered in late October that he needed to repair cartilage damage. His initial recovery timetable was four to six weeks, but his comeback was delayed a few more weeks after more swelling occurred.