Hope McRae was a student photographer for Underwood College's daily newspaper. She had worked in that position all four years of her time there.
As a freshman, she came up with the idea - partly for fun, partly for news - of taking informal portraits of members of the basketball team who had declared for the FBA Draft.
As a result, the collie had amassed quite a photographic record of future pro ballers like Teddy Sanftner, Bailey Brisbane, and Wescot Yobia.
And Silas Rand.
The squirrel was a rising star who'd just finished his 2nd season with the Biloxi Mudpuppies (now the Voodoo). It was now July, and he was in the area because he had been speaking at the regional basketball camp the college sponsored.
Hope had remained on campus as a photographer, and was about to start the graduate-student phase of her education.

For the sake of contrast, and providing an update, Hope reached him and asked if she could take his picture again. Silas happily obliged, posing in the same spot in front of the student union he'd been photographed two years earlier.

When Hope asked what was in store in the near future, the squirrel grinned and, in his usual honest-to-a-fault way, replied "I haven't the vaguest idea." Then he chuckled and added "More on that, after this."