One Year Left to Play-Chapter 82 - 26: I’m Going to Take My Talents to the NBA
"...For others, honing skills in the NCAA is essential, but for you, playing in the NCAA for a few years might not bring as much progress as being in the NBA.
The NCAA won’t develop strategies around a moving shooter like you, but you’ve already gone through the phase of refining your mid-range shot. If the tactics don’t revolve around your mid-range shot, then in my opinion, it’s just wasting your time.
However, in the NBA, there’s a chance to develop strategies centered around a shooter...
That’s just my view, and I know it’s crazy, but I have faith in you.
But I can’t make the decision for you. Think about it; my flight is tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be at school tomorrow morning, and you can come find me anytime..."
Listening to Coach Scott Collins, Zhang Hao, who was initially confused, began to clear his thoughts.
When he first saw the draft application form, his initial thought wasn’t about where he should fit but — What the heck, am I going to enter the draft as a high school student?
There’s also a character element; now you can choose any university, and by choosing Option 1, you directly get a gift package.
With Option 2, you must at least be selected by an NBA team to receive the package; if picked in the second round, you only get the Bronze Gift Package.
And the average career lifespan for an NBA second-round pick is just over a year!
Not only second-round picks, but even first-round picks have a career lifespan of only two to three years.
A high school student entering the draft...
Yet, after hearing Coach Scott Collins’ analysis, Zhang Hao felt the coach wasn’t impulsive but had genuinely considered his current strength and style before giving advice.
Zhang Hao also seemed to sense an emotion from Scott Collins — dissatisfaction with those universities.
This emotion, Zhang Hao could relate to!
Over the past few days, he struggled despite having three excellent options: USC, University of Kansas, and Stanford University, because he was holding back a fire.
He also has his temper; he patiently waits when he isn’t allowed to express dissatisfaction.
But now, he has transitioned from being unnoticed to being able to choose, with emotions constantly bubbling up.
He still needs to pick a university, so he can’t show it, but the dissatisfaction has been increasing...
After safely putting away the draft application form, Zhang Hao returned to the training ground and left the gym together with Aprile Clark, who was helping the team manager pack up, to head back to the apartment.
They plan to take a break at the apartment; tonight, they are having dinner with Pierce.
They gather whenever possible; Pierce plans to train with his second brother soon, and Aprile Clark is preparing for the art exam, having already enrolled in a training course.
Living in the same apartment, the three of them are prominent figures in school sports, sharing similar fame within the school, naturally becoming good friends.
But the time they can spend together is getting shorter.
When Zhang Hao learned Aprile Clark decided to apply for an arts major, he realized Aprile Clark had given up her dream of becoming a professional tennis player, instead following her mother’s dream to become a theater actress.
This made Zhang Hao understand the difficulty of becoming a professional athlete!
At dinner, both friends noticed Zhang Hao was preoccupied.
"Aix, are you still struggling with where to go? Didn’t University of Kansas also invite you? Come on, continue being my teammate..." Pierce began, then suddenly looked at Aprile Clark and raised his voice: "Hey, Aix, you wouldn’t be thinking of going to USC, would you..."
But as he said this, Pierce suddenly felt warmth; Zhang Hao hadn’t directly chosen to follow the girl and was still hesitating, indicating he mattered as a friend, at least not overshadowed by the girl.
According to Pierce’s logic, Aprile Clark is also a friend, and Zhang Hao hadn’t chosen the girl’s side just because of a friend + girl situation, meaning his friend status is higher than Aprile Clark’s!
Zhang Hao glanced at the two; he found himself unable to decisively choose... Or rather, he needed motivation or resistance to make a choice.
He decided to be direct and asked: "I plan to directly enter the NBA draft, what do you think?"
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere eased by resolving Zhang Hao’s college basketball scholarship issue instantly froze.
Neither friend had expected Zhang Hao to be conflicted over this!
"Aix, this isn’t a good idea; a high school student entering the draft is too far-fetched..." Aprile Clark shook her head repeatedly.
Though the NBA doesn’t refuse high school entrants, throughout the years, only Moses Malone has succeeded.
Even Garnett, despite media hype when entering the draft, wasn’t widely optimistic.
Aprile Clark’s reaction matched Zhang Hao’s expectations.
Just as Zhang Hao’s thoughts shifted towards attending college, Pierce exclaimed exaggeratedly and excitedly said: "Oh my God, Aix, you came up with something I hadn’t thought of — why don’t we join the NBA draft together? It’s so cool! Playing in the NBA right after high school..."
When Pierce said this, Zhang Hao’s wavering emotions were immediately subdued...
He rubbed his acupoint, pondered for a moment, reorganized his words, and said: "Paul, if you go undrafted in the NBA, you can’t play college ball, Auntie will kill you..."
