Erik Durham remembers like it was just yesterday.
When he was a kid, watching the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with his father, and seeing the winner of the championship game cut down the nets with an NCAA Tournament bid in hand.
“I was like, ‘I could probably play in this, you know?’ ” Durham said on Monday evening, giving a hearty laugh at the memory.
Memories like that leave an imprint, and even more so when dreams intersect with reality.
Earlier this month, it was Durham helping to cut down the nets at the OVC Tournament, after scoring a game-high 17 points in Jacksonville State’s 66-55 victory over UT-Martin in the championship game in Nashville.