I wrote RAIN because the game matters. My belief is simple: the game is ever transforming, yet never constant. And blessedly, within this paradoxical encampment , the game is never routine... never placid. And as we know, the ability to score points is the preeminent skill. We love the game because it reflects who we are. We teach it to our sons and daughters-the kids we coach-our grand kids - with the quiet hope they will someday know the beauty of a lay-up at the buzzer, or how the time/space continuum is disrupted as everyone watches the ball and the seconds on the clock, wondering if it's going to fall. In that tenuous moment of waiting, the dreams of a season and perhaps a career hang in the balance.When the game begins to matter to us-with more than a simple surface involvement-we are changed...into better students, better players, and better persons-not just for now, but for eternity.