We didn’t expect an ESPN camera to be trained on Kamiah Smalls on Friday night. Third-round draft picks don’t get much air time. Ditto for second-rounders.

But we hoped for better than what we got. While commissioner Cathy Engelbert talked, while another plug for SportsCenter droned (do we need to remind you there’s no live sports?), while ESPN was previewing the upcoming Chicago Bulls documentary, 24 women not named Sabrina Ionescu were being drafted. (Side note: We have nothing against Sabrina). One of them was JMU’s Smalls, going crazy after being selected by the Indiana Fever. the 28th overall pick. She was having a viral moment that, lucky for us, her best friend captured on video. Here it is in case you missed it.

What a missed opportunity for ESPN. Who doesn’t love to see genuine, raw emotion from a player when a dream is realized? Had ESPN aired that footage, perhaps it would have been one of the most talked about moments of draft night. Instead, what was Engelbert saying? We don’t remember.

We hear a lot of talk about women’s sports as it relates to disappointing coverage. We credit ESPN’s commitment to women’s sports. But especially during these weeks when we’re all aching for live events, would it have been too much to ask to present the WNBA draft in real time, names announced, logos of schools on screen? These women have imagined these moments. How neat would it be to share them? Even minus a camera in Harrisonburg, which we didn’t expect, showing that tweet a few minutes afterward would have resonated with sports fans far and wide.

Granted, the JMU senior isn’t complaining. It was her 22nd birthday on Friday, and we’re betting she’s never gotten a better gift.

The story she told the next morning in her first official WNBA press conference, on Zoom, of course, was that she was in Harrisonburg watching with her Dukes teammate Lexie Barrier. With a phone in each hand, Smalls was facetiming her mother and sister. Smalls’ feed was delayed; suddenly her sister started screaming.

“What, what?” Smalls asked puzzled. Then on her TV, she saw it. Underneath Jordan footage crawled her name, Kamiah Smalls, next to Indiana Fever. Smalls lost it.

“It brought a smile to my face,” said Fever coach Marianne Stanley.

Here’s Kamiah talking about what she’ll bring to Indiana.

Good luck, Kamiah. Send us a postcard from Hoosier country.