Gotta start somewhere

I should begin by dropping a big old multi-barreled caveat to anything I say tonight: It’s Nov. 11, that was an exhibition game, it was against Lenoir-Rhyne. Also, and perhaps most importantly, I watched it on a small piece of the already not all that big screen of my MacBook. The whole thing was like watching a basketball game through a keyhole covered with some cheesecloth.

That said …

1. Stephen. He had more turnovers than he should have, and more than he will have, you can be sure of that, but I think watching him with the ball in his hands is just going to take some getting used to. Not just because he’s on the ball more now, or was against LRC, but because in that slot he brings such a different look than we’re used to. By we I mean those of us who’ve watched Davidson basketball for longer than like the last 15 minutes. Davidson basketball? On the ball is an Alpert, or an Ali, or even a Jason. Not a guy who scores 41 points on 19 shots.

About those 41 points on those 19 shots …

(Who scores 41 points on 19 shots? I mean seriously.)

Even with the keyhole, even with the cheesecloth, it’s almost laughable, what he does, isn’t it? His 24 at half looked like 10, or 12, or 15 tops. But no. The stats thing said 24. His points just pile up. Stephen just does what he does, and did what he did, and what he did equaled 24 points at half.

Okay.

That works.

One thing I was reminded of tonight: Some of his jumpers, his threes in particular, tend to be what I’ll call “separaters” -- shots that make a 9-point lead a 12-point lead, or a 13-point lead a 16-point lead, etc. I don’t know if those numbers were the numbers from tonight, or any other night, but I’m just talking in generalities here. His shots seem to make leads bulge. It’s like: Stephen shot, Stephen shot, and -- boom -- the Davidson lead is all of a sudden some kind of comfy.

2. One thing the keyhole viewing didn’t totally take away: The familiar sounds of McKillop yelling instructions from the sideline.

“Tell him Stephen!”

“Guard the ball!”

“Come on Andrew!”

“Communicate!”

Sounds like basketball season. Even down here, even with my windows open and it being 71 or 68 or whatever it is this time of the evening, I can almost smell Belk on the inside, and feel the cool air on the walk up the hill.

3. This probably goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway. The bad news IS the good news: There are PLENTY of things the guys need to work on. The goal is not to be great or even good right now. It’s for them to start somewhere, see what works, see what doesn’t, and be at their best, oh, four months from now. That’s the track record. McKillop’s teams at Davidson, even his very worst ones, the early ‘90s Big South teams -- they ALWAYS played their best in February heading toward March. I don’t see why that changes now. Even if this program IS coming off an Elite Eight appearance. Even if this program IS ranked No. 20 in the country preseason. Even if No. 30 IS a preseason All-American. McKillop’s teams are always building, and building, and building, and so this is but the very, very beginning, and that’s as it should be.

4. Things I liked: Bryant’s about as shy about shooting as his roommate. Ben Allison is not the same guy. Max guarding the inbounds. Always worth the price of admission. Will Reigel in a Davidson uniform. His dad. His name. It’s good institutional karma.

5. Potentially blasphemous: Is it just me or did Sweet Caroline seem a little … tired? At this point, and this is, understand, not the song’s fault -- but at this point I associate Sweet Caroline with Davidson basketball through the lenses of Raleigh and Detroit. I know it wasn’t always this way. In my head, though, Sweet Caroline plays in the heady, gauzy backgrounds of transcendent moments … not at the second-to-last media timeout of exhibition games. Not sure how to get around that. But there it is.

6. Blue Moon bottles while watching the Wildcats in your lonely luxury apartment home in the paved-over stucco-structured paradise that is the Sunshine State taste not nearly so delicious as Blue Moon drafts at any and all times at the Brickhouse. Winthrop. Week from Friday. After the game.