NBA's King of Talking

That evening, Cornell University students, having finished their party and celebrations, checked into a hotel in downtown Houston.

Jia Fei and Kemba Walker shared a room.

Even though it was late at night, neither Jia Fei nor Kemba Walker felt sleepy. With the long night ahead and nothing much to do, the two began to talk about their future plans.

“Jay, I have a very important decision to tell you!” Kemba Walker said, beaming.

"Okay, I'm listening, go ahead!" Jia Fei turned his head and sat up straight, pretending to listen attentively.

"I plan to enter the NBA draft!" Kemba Walker said seriously.

Jia Fei didn't seem surprised at all. He simply nodded, picked up a bottle of mineral water from the bedside table, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

"You seem to already know? I don't remember telling you!" Kemba Walker had been brewing up a big news story for a long time, but he didn't expect his roommate to be so calm.

“Not only do I know, but I’m afraid most people across the country already know!” Jia Fei turned to look at Kemba Walker, who looked surprised. “Kemba, you’re already a junior, you’ve won the NCAA championship and the Most Outstanding Player award. I don’t think you need to stay and prove anything.”

Kemba Walker was momentarily speechless. He felt that Jia Fei was somewhat different today, but what Jia Fei said made no problem. Indeed, what else did he need to prove?

In fact, even before the NCAA Championship game began, the NBA draft was already generating a lot of buzz online. This year isn't considered a strong draft class, but there are many potential top guards, and UConn's star player Kemba Walker is naturally a hot topic of discussion.

Even with the newly crowned champions and Most Outstanding Player (MOP), Kemba Walker wasn't even among the top 3 predicted by major draft websites. His predictions were mostly in the top 10, with a chance of making the top 6 at best, and at worst, the end of the lottery. The top 3 favorites were Duke University's star guard Kyrie Irving, Arizona State's beastly forward Derrick Williams, North Carolina's Harrison Barnes (nicknamed "North Carolina Blackhawk"), and Lithuania's center Jonas Valanciunas.

There are reasons why Kemba Walker wasn't a top-3 draft prospect. The NBA draft has always prioritized talent and potential. He's already 21, a junior in college, which is a disadvantage; his 183cm height is a disadvantage even for a point guard in the NBA; as a point guard, his playmaking ability is weaker than his offensive ability, and his offensive ability isn't particularly outstanding. Not to mention, his defense is a natural weakness. Remember, the NBA is full of athletic players, but not everyone is Chris Paul.

In terms of immediate impact, Kemba Walker is currently on par with the top draft prospect, Kyrie Irving. However, Irving is nearly 190cm tall, and he's only 19 years old!

As for veteran rookies, not everyone can be like Tim Duncan, who played a full four years in college. Compared to the late-maturing centers, guards obviously mature much earlier.

Jia Fei was a time traveler, so of course he knew the results of the 2011 NBA Draft. In that world, Kemba Walker was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats with the 9th overall pick in the first round.

What surprised Kemba Walker even more was his next sentence: "Kemba, I also have something to tell you. I'm going to participate in this year's NBA draft!"

"What? Why?" Kemba Walker's eyes widened, as if he had heard something almost impossible. In his view, Jia Fei, currently only a freshman, would obviously choose to continue competing in the NCAA Tournament next season, striving for better individual performance and aiming to defend his title after March Madness begins. Entering the draft rashly without knowing his current market value would easily result in him going undrafted and other adverse consequences.

It's important to know that, according to NCAA rules, once a college student decides to enter the NBA draft, they can no longer participate in college basketball games or accept any basketball-related scholarships. If a student is ultimately selected in the draft, they can choose to forgo their college qualification and directly join the NBA professional league.

Jia Fei witnessed Kemba Walker's shock, which was entirely within his expectations. The decision seemed unbelievable and carried enormous risk. Keep in mind that he was only averaging 5.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game this season. For a backup forward, this performance in 19.5 minutes per game was remarkable, but it didn't mean he had any chance of being drafted.

Kemba Walker believes Jia Fei has impressive physical attributes: a height of 201cm and a wingspan of 220cm, solid fundamentals, and a hard-working attitude. But the NBA is a place where talent is never lacking, especially considering Jia Fei is an Asian player with yellow skin.

In the NBA to date, only Yao Ming has truly made a name for himself among Asian players. Yi Jianlian, the sixth overall pick and once highly anticipated, also struggled to adapt to the NBA. Both Yao and Yi are over 7 feet tall and are centers, while Jia Fei is a wing-type perimeter player.

No Asian-skinned perimeter player has ever truly established themselves in the NBA. Sun Yue didn't, and Jeremy Lin, the highly anticipated Harvard talent, went undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft...

"Jia, I'd love to hear your reasons for deciding to enter the NBA draft. Can you tell me?" Kemba Walker asked. As a good friend and teammate, if Jia Fei's reasons couldn't convince him, he would try to persuade him to give up this somewhat unrealistic idea and stay in the NCAA to continue training.

"Kemba, you might think I made this decision impulsively, but I really thought it through carefully. My performance this season is certainly not good enough to catch the scouts' eye and get them to put me on the list of top rookies, but I think you know my situation, I really need money!" Jia Fei said very seriously.

Kemba Walker nodded slightly; he was listening attentively.

Jia Fei continued, "My parents have both passed away. Even with some scholarships, playing in the NCAA and attending college still couldn't fully support my living expenses. I needed to work part-time to complete my studies. This year we won the championship, and I think it's time to make a decision for my dreams and my life, and leave campus."

Kemba Walker listened to Jia Fei's words, thinking he would persuade him to give up, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He knew about Jia Fei's situation and usually took good care of this hardworking Asian teammate, but there was nothing wrong with Jia Fei's choice; he just wanted to make money.