Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr still recalls the first time he saw Stephen Curry play on the national stage, seeing his rise through the college ranks, getting a glance at his talent early in what would be a Cinderella season for Davidson College, later reaching the NCAA Tournament's Elite 8 and falling only two points shy of bringing eventual national champion Kansas to overtime.

“It was magical to watch him,” Kerr told ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk recently. “The first time I saw him play, he was a sophomore, played in the Wooden Classic against UCLA. And he didn't shoot the ball that well, but he was — his ballhandling, his feel, the way he played just jumped off the court. You could just feel his presence. The whole game revolved around him.”

Curry shot 6-for-19 from the field in a 75-63 loss to the Bruins, but Kerr left the game impressed by his talent, now looking back on that game and the trajectory of Curry's superstardom — now remembering a brief conversation he had with Curry's parents after the game concluded.

“Dell and Sonya were there,” Kerr said, “and Sonya asked me, ‘Do you think my son can play in the NBA?' And I said, ‘Yeah. … Like, hell yeah he can play in the NBA.' There was like this look of relief on her face, like, ‘Ohh, that would be so amazing!'

“They didn't even know if he could play in the league, and now think about where he is and what he's done and what he's accomplished, it's pretty incredible.”

Both Dell and Sonya were concerned that Curry's slim 6-foot-3 frame would put him out of contention and league scouts would gloss over his resume due to playing in a small school. Yet that deep run into the NCAA tournament put plenty of eyes on their son, who would stay in school one more year before declaring for the draft and being selected by the Warriors with the seventh overall pick in 2009.