Y13 [EN]: Chapter 24

00024 Each One’s Path

2010 NBA Draft Report

[Mock Draft]

1. John Wall (PG)

2. Evan Turner (SG)

3. Demarcus Cousins (C)

…

9. Paul George (SF)

…

17. Gordon Hayward (SF)

…

24. Dominique Jones (SG)

…

31. Young Jae Yoon (SG)

…

* No. 31 Young Jae Yoon

Current Position: PG/SG/SF

NBA : PG/SG

Possible : PG/SG

athleticism (Focus and Activity)

8 / 10

– At Aztecs [San Diego State University’s basketball team, Young Jae Yoon’s college team], his performance was consistent whether it was a non-conference or conference game. It also didn’t matter if the team was winning by a large margin or losing. In any situation, his focus was arguably the best among his peers. For example, his average turnover rate of less than 1.5 demonstrates his formidable concentration. His physical stamina has improved significantly since high school, but he was thoroughly managed at Aztecs, playing an average of 29 minutes per game, so there are still question marks, hence the score of 8.

Size (Physical Condition)

7 / 10

– 6-5 (196cm) in height and 194 lbs (88kg). A decent size that can be effective as a shooting guard, his primary position. However, his weight, which feels slightly thin compared to his height, is a concern for NBA teams. A thin frame suggests limitations to bulking up in the future.

Defense (Defensive Ability)

8 / 10

– In high school, he was more active on offense than defense as a point guard. However, after joining Aztecs, his defense, which locked down his matchup opponents in dozens of games, was like the curse of Friday the 13th, his jersey number. Based on excellent dynamic visual acuity and reaction speed, he plays smart defense, preventing opponents from making aggressive passes, and his relentless pursuit even after being beaten on drives is said to be sickening. He consistently ranked high in defensive stats in NCAA Division 1 [National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1, the highest level of college athletics] over the past season. However, there is a minor concern about whether his defense will work in the NBA because his wingspan is not particularly outstanding.

Strength (Power and Durability)

6 / 10

– He is uniquely Asian, Korean. This isn’t a racist remark, but Asians inevitably face physical limitations. He seems well aware of this, focusing on yoga and stretching to use the increasing weight and muscle mass to his advantage while bulking up during the season to build strength and durability. As a result, he was able to play consistently without any minor injuries, even when suddenly showing explosive movements on the court after moving with very smooth movements usually. His efforts deserve recognition, but it is undeniable that there is still room for improvement.

Quickness (Agility)

8 / 10

– His flexibility is well-known. You might wonder why flexibility is mentioned in the Quickness section, but his agility is based on his flexibility. He may have received a harsh rating in the Strength section above, but his Quickness more than makes up for it. However, he is not satisfied with this and is looking for the best answer to improve both his Strength and Quickness.

Leadership

9 / 10

– Despite being a freshman, his leadership shone. Leadership can be the ability of a leader to lead the team as its representative, but it can also be seen as the ability to harmonize, expressed in various terms such as teamwork and team chemistry. He is a player with excellent leadership in that regard. Despite his improving skills, he plays as a shooting guard instead of his primary position of point guard in high school, and even plays at the point guard and small forward positions, showing that he is thinking of D.J. Gay, the team captain, and putting the team before himself.

He agreed to the proposal of Aztecs coach Steve Fisher and took on various roles to make the team stronger. He encourages his teammates from the bench, and on the court, he enhances synergy among teammates and instills confidence with selfless plays and consistent performance.

Jump Shot (including Spot Up, Pull Up, Step Back, etc.)

9 / 10

– Looking at his 2009-2010 NCAA record, his shooting accuracy is astonishing. Included in the so-called 180 club (50% on 2-pointers, 40% on 3-pointers, 90% on free throws), he shows a terrifying accuracy of 56%, 47%, and 96% on average. He is a spot-up specialist and shows a high level of accuracy even when using pull-ups and step-backs. His shooting is so good that it is generally believed that he could succeed in the NBA right away, even with tough shots under defensive pressure.

NBA Ready (Can he play in the NBA right now?)

6 / 10

– Overall, there is no doubt about his abilities, but there are uncertainties. His biggest uncertainty is the possibility of being a fluke. He may show a flash of brilliance and fail to maintain it. There have been many rookie players who have been labeled as busts in the past, so he cannot be free from this suspicion. Also, many well-rounded players with mediocre athleticism have been labeled as college-only players. Furthermore, although he has improved a lot, he has not completely eliminated his stamina issues. The key will be how quickly he can develop the stamina required for the NBA.

Ball Handling (Dribbling and Ball Handling Skills)

9 / 10

– He used to be a point guard. Moreover, he is a player with excellent fundamentals, so he deserves a high score in dribbling, steps, and ball handling. The reason he was given a 9 is that it is not certain whether he will remain composed under tight defense.

Potential

7 / 10

– In terms of simple skills, he deserves a 10, but considering how he will overcome his inherent limitations, the problem of ordinary wingspan and the weaknesses that Asians inevitably have, and the power that is flexible and agile but does not deviate significantly from the average level, he was given a 7.

Passing

9 / 10

– Do you remember the scoop alley-oop pass he showed when Sean Mosley and Jordan Williams of Maryland were closely marking him from the front and back in the NCAA Round of 68? That alone would be enough to explain everything. He is a shooting guard but has fantastic passing skills. Wide court vision, quick judgment. Sharp passes without hesitation. That should be enough explanation.

Intangibles (Intangible Abilities – Mentality)

10 / 10

– As mentioned in the Leadership section, his mental ability is arguably the best in the NCAA. 2K Sports, which hosted the NCAA, and CBS Sports, which organized the broadcast at the center of it, rated Yoon Young-jae higher than John Wall, the expected No. 1 pick in the draft, in this category. He is unwavering and has an unimaginable ability to embrace the team. Even if a teammate makes a mistake, he does not blame them but continues to show improved plays in the next play so that his play can be the ‘best play’ for the teammate. But he also has the aspect of running to pick up a teammate who falls, and running out to protest and get angry at a player who harms the team.

* Total Score: 96 / 120

[Agonizing Injury, Yoon Young-jae. Agonizing Tears]

[High Wall of the Round of 32. Absence of Ace Y13]

[Aztecs Fail in Round of 32… Yoon Young-jae’s Broken Nose Ends NCAA 2009-2010 Season.]

[Yoon Young-jae Announces Intention to Participate in Draft. Which Teams Are Interested?]

@Tier 6 article came out a while ago, and now he’s up to 31? Is a Korean NBA player really going to come out like this?

Re: He’s real. Maryland game was amazing. Did you see him blow by 4 people?

Re: Layup fake? It was awesome…

Re: He cried because he thought he couldn’t play anymore, not because it hurt when his nose broke… His mentality is top-notch.

Young-jae smiled bitterly as he recalled the article he had seen last night. Immediately after the injury, Young-jae, who had undergone emergency surgery, told Coach Fisher that he would play if he could help the team even a little, even if he wore a protective mask and took painkillers, but Coach Fisher firmly shook his head from side to side.

‘I don’t doubt your abilities. But I can’t let you play a game at the expense of your future. And, Yoon, with your current injury, your injury will worsen, and it won’t help the team. This was unavoidable. It’s not your fault, and I’m not going to give up here. So… focus on recovering from your injury to the best of your ability.’

Young-jae, who had no choice but to give in to his stubbornness, had to watch Aztecs fall apart from the hospital room without even being able to watch the Round of 32 game from the bench. Young-jae was discharged from the hospital, and the players had dinner together to commemorate Young-jae’s discharge and shared various stories.

‘I signed with an agent. I’m going to Europe.’

D.J. Gay, who was the captain of Aztecs for a year, is leaving for Europe.

‘I’ve been contacted by Unicaja Malaga and a few other teams in the Spanish ACB 1st Division [Spain’s top-tier professional basketball league]. I’ve discussed it with my agent, and Unicaja Malaga, which has shown the most interest in me, has made the best offer, and has the highest league level, is the most appealing to me.’

Gay is scheduled to go to Unicaja Malaga in Spain for a workout, and he joked to Young-jae, ‘Yoon, let’s keep in touch from time to time and come to Spain for vacation during the off-season. I’ll go first and socialize with sexy Spanish girls.’ Then Thomas shouted, ‘Hey! D.J.! I’ll definitely go, so don’t pretend you don’t know me!’ making everyone laugh.

‘I’m going to build up my skills in college for another year.’

Kawhi Leonard steadfastly said that he would go his own way, despite the agent’s sweet talk about participating in the draft. The members of Aztecs, including Young-jae, said that it would be better to participate in the draft, but Leonard was firm.

‘I honestly don’t think it’s possible to play power forward in the NBA with my size. I don’t think I’ll get much taller anymore. I didn’t think I could survive in the NBA with just defense and rebounding. I’m going to try to turn my weaknesses into strengths for a year. I think it will get better if I refine my shooting and dribbling more.’

Young-jae thought that Leonard was still the same. Gay and other teammates didn’t have much of a relationship in his past life, so he didn’t remember them well, but he remembered Leonard clearly. At that time, Young-jae snorted, saying, ‘He’s showing off,’ but he secretly thought he was great. Leonard was drafted 16th overall in the first round of the 2011 draft with his improved skills in his sophomore year, thanks to his bone-crushing efforts as he said.

‘I hope you grow more this time and get picked higher.’

Young-jae blessed Leonard’s future in his heart.

‘Uh – to be honest, I’ve been contacted mostly from Asia. The most tempting ones are China and Korea.’

The teammates were surprised and worried about whether they could adapt to such unfamiliar places, but Thomas made very practical and cold-hearted judgments, unlike usual, and continued to talk.

‘To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from the NBA. I was just going to try my best one last time, and if it didn’t work out, I was going to quit basketball and get a technical job with the skills I had. Or I would study hard and get a job. Of course, I’ve been contacted by places like Europe like D.J., but… the money is more appealing. I can’t guarantee my future, can I? And… I met Lucy again? Lucy was sincere with me, but she said she couldn’t see me anymore because my future was too uncertain. I agreed with her. She’s a senior and has great skills. So I want to prove to Lucy what my future is like.’

The teammates tried to read Thomas’s deep thoughts as they said, ‘Oh-‘ to Thomas’s serious conversation. They were surprised that Thomas, the team’s mood maker who always jokes and gets joked, was thinking this way, and he looked great.

‘Well, if I can’t prove it, it’s a bust. D.J.! Is that sexy Spanish girl story still valid?! If I’m depressed, please bring her to me right away!’

Gay joked that he would treat him to a full course, saying, ‘Is there any doubt?’ to Thomas’s joking words.

‘Yoon, how is Korea?’

Thomas asked Young-jae for advice because he was from Korea. At Thomas’s words, Young-jae thought for a moment and gave him simple advice to the best of his knowledge.

‘Well… the popularity of Korean professional basketball is not very high. It’s a world of difference compared to here. China too, of course. Besides, the NBA doesn’t even count Asian leagues other than the Chinese league as experience. However, if it’s Korea, I think you can get more money. And the treatment is good too. They provide an interpreter and help with accommodation.’

‘Well, I’m staying at school too.’

Brian Carwell, the reliable center of the 3rd grade, also decided to stay at Aztecs.

‘I’m going to improve my skills with Leonard for a year and try to participate in the draft. Actually, the draft is good, but after playing this season, I felt it was a waste. I feel like I can go up if I do a little more. Yoon! It’s a pity, but even if we can’t go up together in Aztecs, always cheer for me. Bro.’

Thanks to Carwell, who thought of Young-jae by calling him even the title he used when they were like brothers, Young-jae laughed, saying not to worry and that he had already bought an Aztecs muffler. After that, Billy White, a 3rd grader, and Chase Tapley and Alex Williams, freshmen, also decided to stay at Aztecs, and they confidently said that they would lead Aztecs with the freshmen since they were no longer the youngest.

‘Um! Am I the last one? Well, I’m the only one graduating.’

Kelvin Davis, a graduate, also said that he had received some calls from European teams thanks to his outstanding performance against Maryland. He boasted that his price had risen a bit because he was labeled as a sophisticated 3-point shooter and a veteran and passionate team player who could be said to be a one-tool player, although it was short.

‘The one I like the most is Olympiacos BC in the Greek League.’

A Greek basketball team that is quite famous for Kostas Papanikolaou (currently a small forward for the Houston Rockets), who is often said to be drafted into the NBA. Young-jae could feel his heart warming because everyone seemed to have achieved a better future than he knew in the past.

‘By the way, Yoon, shouldn’t you start preparing for the draft now?’

‘Yeah. Bro. You don’t have an agent either.’

Young-jae had already prepared for the draft once, so people around him were worried, but he himself was quite relaxed. He had expressed his intention to participate in the draft to the school, and all the procedures to be done at the school had been completed. A player who participates in the draft can never play in the NCAA again. Unless he withdraws his application.

It’s not that he’s arrogant, but anyway, Young-jae received 31st place in the Mock Draft (virtual draft – rankings evaluated by each media and professional magazine before the official draft). It is common for agents to contact not only the top players in the first round but also the players who go up to the lower picks in the first round or the upper ranks in the second round, so Young-jae did not struggle to sign with an agent. For him, the problem is which team and which pick, not whether he will be drafted or not.

Even if he can’t sign with an agent before the draft, he can sign an agent contract after the draft, so Young-jae devoted all his energy to recovering from his injury and personal training.

============================ Work Review ============================

★Thank you to those who gave advance subscriptions, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

Basketball is a team sport where individual influence is the greatest. To give an example of this season’s NBA, there are players like LeBron James, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook. In the games where these players did not appear, their teams showed poor performance. In the case of the Houston Rockets, there is even criticism that it is a Harden one-man team.

In the novel, Young-jae’s importance in Aztecs surpasses James Harden of Houston this season. He is the center of the offense as well as the center of the defense. Naturally, Aztecs is experiencing Young-jae’s absence for the first time this season. The probability of winning is very low. Kawhi Leonard, who will be the center of the team next year, still needs to grow more.

For reference, some of you may remember a player named Malcolm Thomas. He played for Ulsan Mobis in 2011. And he also played in the NBA this season. In the Philadelphia 76ers. It was not a formal contract, but he played on a 10-day contract before being released. And he has now completed a contract with a team in the Puerto Rican league.

sosuHands/// Thank you. As a novel, I plan to put in appropriate curves rather than always succeeding.

Baekye/// I couldn’t find a place to put the penalty for Jordan Williams in the text. Since the main character is injured, he doesn’t describe any more games… I know that a 2-3 game suspension is usually the case in this situation.

AdYang/// That’s not what I was trying to do… (sweat)

Blue Day/// Injury for skipping may be one of the reasons, but it is not the main reason. I could have omitted the game description.

TaeRooGoon/// Philadelphia, New York Knicks, Lakers this season…

Let’s Eat Meat/// Thank you for the recommendation!! Please look forward to the draft~

Starter/// I’m glad you don’t mind putting explanations in the main text. However, nothing has been decided about the heroine. The reason why there was little description of the shoe store clerk is that it may mean that she is not the heroine, and when I thought about it from the perspective of Young-jae, who has just returned and is working hard in the NCAA to debut in the NBA, I thought that a deep relationship with the opposite sex was premature, so I did not increase the proportion of the content in terms of ‘romance’ significantly. I would appreciate it if you could generously understand that Team Signature may be somewhat lacking in knowledge related to romance (sniff).

In the case of injuries, unless it is an injury caused by overuse such as a stress fracture, the risk of injury is thought to come unexpectedly. There was a somewhat hasty and radical ending to the NCAA, but it didn’t seem like a situation where there was no reason, but I thought there might be readers who felt that way.

Lastly, regarding the monologue you mentioned, there was a debate within Team Signature as to ‘What would you feel like if you were to experience this situation?’, and I explained this situation to acquaintances around me and asked them, but honestly, how they felt varied from person to person. Among them, Team Signature chose the emotions of ‘sadness, emptiness, and sadness’ that best met the criteria of ‘What emotions are the most appropriate for Young-jae to feel?’

Bangtoe/// Thank you. As you said, we are still amateurs, so we try to write articles in the right direction through a lot of feedback from readers, but it is not easy ㅠ

anwkdk, kksswqq771/// That’s right. I also think that basketball is a sport where individual influence is the greatest. It has been revised in the main text of episode 23, but I think Aztecs could have advanced to the semi-finals if Young-jae had been there.

Thank you for your advance subscriptions, recommendations, and comments!!