No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 97 - 81. He is Kobe, not even 17 years old yet, but what if he has only been practicing basketball for two years?_2
Chapter 97: 81. He is Kobe, not even 17 years old yet, but what if he has only been practicing basketball for two years?_2
The house was rented in a suburban area, not far from a newly opened store in a villa district, in a detached building.
It just so happened that Zhang Yang might need to lay low for a while, so he moved his family right away.
The rented building had been renovated three years ago and still looked quite new. Zhang Yang chose a room facing east where he could see the sun as soon as it rose.
A basketball hoop had been installed next to the yard, allowing Zhang Yang to train at home.
By April 27th, Tellem had passed along the news that the draft application was approved, and Zhang Yang felt his spirits surge. He thought of a classic line—"The gears of fate have begun to turn."
...
Soon, a new month arrived. On May 2nd, the league’s official website announced the list of players participating in this year’s draft.
This year, 108 players had declared for the draft early, not including seniors or international players who had turned 23 years old.
Players who had turned 23 years old were automatically put into the draft pool. If not selected, they would automatically become free agents at 24 years old and could join any NBA team. If selected and they did not join the NBA in the new season, the team that selected them would retain their signing rights indefinitely.
Out of these 108 players, 35 were international players, 42 were college students from freshman to junior year, and the number of high school athletes was a record-breaking 31.
Media had predicted earlier this year that the number of players skipping college would increase after the NBA announced it would no longer accept high school athletes from 2006. However, the numbers still shocked those following the draft.
Not only was the number of participating high school athletes high this year, but also the quality—four of the top 10 high school athletes in the nation were participating in the draft: Monta Ellis as the 2nd, Martell Webster as the 3rd, Louis Williams as the 5th, and Andrew Bynum as the 10th, which was rather astounding.
Extending this to the top 20 was even more staggering, with Keith Brumbeloe at the 11th, CJ Miles at the 11th, Amir Johnson at the 14th, Gerald Green at the 16th, Andre Blatche at the 18th... 11 of the top 20 high school players in the nation were bypassing college to enter the draft!
Among the top 20 high school athletes from the class of ’05 who declared early for the draft, one person was particularly special—Andrew Bynum. Born on October 27, 1987, he was just over 17 and a half years old. If he were to be selected and played in the opening game of the new season, given the start date of the previous NBA seasons, he would not yet be 18 years old.
Yet he wasn’t the most exceptional case—there was one even younger by seven months—Zhang Yang, born on June 6, 1988. At the time of the draft, he was just under 17 years old!
Zhang Yang was also the first Chinese guard to enter the NBA draft as a high school student!
Once the list was announced, both individuals immediately became the focus of this year’s draft discussions and the center of controversy.
Bynum had initially promised at the beginning of the season to join Georgetown University. Georgetown’s new head coach, John Thompson III, had publicly praised Bynum’s talent, saying he could become a historical-level center like Ewing, Mourning, and Mutombo, continuing Georgetown’s legacy of great centers, but he reneged and went to the draft!
Zhang Yang had already been in the news previously for planning to end his high school a year early by skipping 12th grade, with numerous universities vying to send him invitations... only for him to skip not only his last year of high school but also college entirely!
Discussions, doubts, and even verbal insults surrounded Zhang Yang. Initially, Bynum might not have faced such intense scrutiny, but Zhang Yang’s actions played a role in this...
However, when the list was published and other rookies began appearing everywhere to gain exposure, Zhang Yang and Bynum kept out of the public eye.
"America’s number one college player, Naismith and Wooden Award winner, and the Associated Press and ESPN’s college basketball player of the year... Andrew Bogut publicly stated not to compare him with Luke Ridnour, as he found that to be an insult, saying he was the white Tim Duncan."
"The nation’s second-ranked high school player, Monta Ellis, claimed he would be the next Kobe Bryant, stating that teams that did not pick him would regret it just as those who passed on Kobe."
"Andre Blatche’s agent proclaimed him to be a seven-foot version of Anthony Walker, larger and stronger, and even better at scoring inside."
"ESPN’s latest draft prediction leaderboard put Deron Williams as the second highest, while Raymond Felton from North Carolina’s ’fantastic four’ furiously claimed that ESPN’s people were blind to rank his defeated opponents ahead of him..."
The controversial remarks from other draft prospects gradually shifted public attention, and the voices criticizing Zhang Yang and Bynum decreased.
In an era dominated by entertainment, the focus of attention swiftly shifts.
At that moment, a new topic about the two emerged—are these two under-18 high school students entering the draft the new version of Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O’Neal nine years later?
"In 1996, Kobe was selected by the Hornets at 17 years and 10 months old, while young O’Neal was selected by the Trail Blazers just 15 days older than Bynum."
Thus, a new wave of public opinion surged—compared to those two, do Zhang Yang and Bynum match up?
...
By May 27th, Zhang Yang arrived in Memphis with Tellem.
Drew Bynum was also with them.
Zhang Yang’s first impression of Bynum—he really was a sleeping giant!
When they met at the airport, Bynum was sleeping in the waiting room, continued sleeping on the plane, and, after disembarking, he kept sleeping in the car that picked them up...
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