Having done this Huskerland gig for a while now there are some things that just stay with you. Like the night Kimball superstar Mike Daum was standing in the doorway to the gym at the SPVA basketball tournament.

Mike was a senior that year and was clearly not like the other boys in class. At 6-foot-9 he was big enough and strong enough, though he would soon grow even bigger and stronger once he’d gotten to college. I had interviewed him over the phone the week before and we’d spoken prior to that so we were somewhat acquainted; I told him during our interview I would be in North Platte to watch him play in the conference finals. We both agreed that would be kinda cool.

That fateful night I walked into Mid-Plains Community College about 15 minutes ahead of the boys’ final all set to watch Mike play. And the rest of his team, of course, a group that included his classmate Jake Reader, who with whom I’d enjoyed a sit-down interview the previous spring for his feature story that would up in our Huskerland football magazine. With Mike and Jake both the game I was getting two-for-one the way I saw it.

Having grown up in that part of the world - my beloved home town of Arnold just 45 minutes away - there were plenty of people to visit with on my way to the gym. That is a great part of what I do but that also led to me being somewhat distracted as I approached the doorway to the gym.

Where Mike Daum was standing.

Here is where full disclosure comes into play. Being the height of professionalism I hadn’t really checked the tournament scores from the night before and figured Mike and his crew would be in the championship game. So when I approached the doorway and saw this large human being with a big smile on his face standing on the right hand side of the doorway I thought to myself, boy, that sure looks like Mike Daum.

Only it couldn’t be. Mike Daum was playing in the championship game and I could see on the clock there was only about 12 minutes until tip-off. Right?

Funny thing about that. Mike, Jake and the rest of the Kimball team lost their semifinal game without me bothering to check. So not only did that look like Mike Daum standing in the doorway it was Mike Daum standing in the doorway.

I doubled back to visit with him - such a great kid, so grown up, personable and driven, even at that young age - only he was gone. I looked around the commons area, hoping maybe the kid had stepped into line to grab a hot dog and a pop. No dice, he was gone.

Now, I did see Mike later that winter when his team played at the state tournament, losing a heartbreaker at hot and sweaty Prasch gym at Lincoln Southeast. (Few places at the state tournament get hot and sweaty quite like the Prasch gym at Lincoln Southeast.) We acknowledged one another with the universal sign of I-see-you - the nod of the head - but that was it. No time to talk, not with him playing and me running around town taking photos.

I’d missed my chance for a face-to-face with this great kid Mike Daum. You could see he was destined for basketball greatness at the proverbial next level but we never got the chance to talk about it in person. Nor any of his other hopes and dreams. I felt sort of cheated, and it was all my fault.

I bring this up because last night I watched Mike dominate another college basketball game - 34 points and 22 rebounds if I remember correctly - and here in a few months it is almost certain his name will be called on NBA draft night. Hopefully he finishes his already brilliant college career in style - he’s already an all-American and played in the NCAA tournament - and that he goes on to have a long and productive pro career. My guess is he will, on both counts.

Tonight (Thursday) they play the boys semifinals at the SPVA tournament in North Platte. Mike Daum won’t be standing in the doorway nor will I be in attendance to mistakenly snub him. But every year since that night when he was a senior in high school I think about how rude that looked, me blowing by him when it was clear he expected me to stop and visit. Being rude isn’t something I go out of my way to do, especially when it comes to the players I’ve interviewed over the years for Huskerland.

So, with all that off my chest, let me say it is awesome to see Mike doing so well for himself. Even though it’s been five years since we last spoke I know without asking he will be a success at whatever he chooses to do with his life - he’s that kind of person.

And let me tell you something else, at 6-9 Mike Daum can sure fill up a doorway.