Can Stephen Curry dunk?

I am working on a big piece on Davidson basketball and the extraordinary place it finds itself in as this season begins: ranked No. 20, embedded in its community like few other programs and boasting a preseason All-American in junior guard Stephen Curry.

Now unless you were in a cave all last March, you know Curry can shoot. He scored 128 points (a 32-per-game average) in Davidson's remarkable NCAA tournament run to the Elite Eight, becoming a national sensation.

But can Steph dunk?

I'm here to tell you he can. I watched most of a very intense Davidson practice Wednesday night, and Curry (listed at 6-3, although I think he's at best 6-2) concluded it with an alley-oop. He didn't throw the pass; he dunked the pass from a teammate. That Curry still had the legs to do that after Bob McKillop had the team sprinting through all sorts of drills was impressive.

"It's my post-practice ritual," Curry said, explaining he does that same dunk after every practice.

Curry -- who is making the switch to point guard from shooting guard this season -- said he actually had two dunks in 2007-08, but that teammates tease him about both because they were so gentle. He hopes to slam a couple home a little more violently this season, and I can vouch that he has the hops to do it.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the story on Davidson and Curry will be in Sunday's Charlotte Observer.