Four thoughts from last night

1. I had never before watched a regular-season West Coast NBA game into the a.m. hours on Channelsurfing.net.

2. It had been a while since I had watched an NBA game at all, actually, not on press row, not in a seat in the stands, at least not from start to finish, and so this was a reminder: That league is a league of shot makers and freaks. Extraordinarily tall, strong, fast, skilled, often all of those traits put together in one body -- anatomical anomalies, every one of those guys.

3. Stephen looked comfortable, more comfortable as the game went on, so comfortable, really, that I found myself thinking: It’s practically incomprehensible to consider him in a Davidson uniform this year. He loves Davidson, and Davidson loves him -- for basketball purposes, though, he’s very much where he belongs. There was one pass he threw, in the third quarter, maybe the fourth, where he was leading the break and he hit a big guy running down the center of the court, a two-handed rope of a look that didn’t hit the floor and just seemed to stick to the guy’s hands. There are very few people on the planet who (1) could see that and (2) could then turn that vision into an easy dunk for somebody else. He’s a freak.

4. I sat watching in my place in downtown St. Pete but I was not alone. My phone was buzzing with texts and the Davidson parts of my feeds on Twitter and Facebook were clear. One text from Bro Krift in Texas: “I can’t believe I’m watching the Warriors pregame show ...” I thought: I can. Eileen Keeley on Facebook: “We are united watching Stephen Curry ...” That was a shared experience last night.

June 20, 2008

Eileen Keeley at Summit: “The disappointment wasn’t so much that we lost. It was that it was over.”

Answering the question

Says the All-American Hoops Blog on the book: “Stephen Curry isn’t on the cover. Why? No one knows.”

I know why.

Because Jason took the shot.

Because Stephen trusted him to do that.

Because it’s about the pursuit and not the result.

Because it’s about the journey and not the destination.

Because William wrote what he wrote.

Because Davidson basketball under Bob McKillop has always been about the chase of the chance and there it was.

Because that moment -- watched by so many -- was created by so many people for so many years doing so many things watched by so few.

Because in my reporting for the book Eileen Keeley told me this: “Wait. Stop. Focus on the moment.”

And because Reed Jackson told me this: “I felt like it wasn’t about wins and losses anymore. The fact that the moment existed made it worth experiencing.”

And because Stephen Cefalu told me this: “Something I want to do better in life is live out those moments. Embrace them fully. … Live life. Life should be amount those moments, and they’re so quick.”

And because Greg Dunn told me this: “I cared about this, deeply, but … it was an oddly calm experience. I’m usually an anxious sports watcher. I get up and pace. I drink my beer too fast. But there was a euphoria about being there.”

And because Beaux Jones told me this: “That feeling exists.

“It was possible.

“It was real.

“That moment happened.”