Chapter 16: On the List
Time flew by, and it was late February.
In the past two months, Hansen had been improving his man-to-man defense by practicing with Wade, and he also participated in more help defense during games.
His defense improved rapidly through the combination of man-to-man and help defense.
Wade was the first to notice this change.
During one of their post-game practice sessions, Wade's attempt to break through was disrupted by Hansen.
"You seem a bit off today," Hansen observed, looking at Wade.
Then Wade used a more aggressive drive to get past him and dunked for a score.
"Your defense is still as bad as ever."
Trash talk became part of their daily competition and significantly enhanced their relationship.
Hansen managed to block many of Wade's offensive rounds, and their competition lasted for over forty minutes that day, longer than usual.
When the practice ended, the two sat down to rest by the court.
"Have you signed with an agent yet?" Wade asked, picking up his water bottle after sitting down.
As the second division wouldn't compete in March Madness, Hansen's junior year was about to end.
"Not yet," Hansen shook his head.
Wade put down his water bottle, grabbed a bag next to him, and pulled out a business card to hand to Hansen.
Hansen took it and saw the name: Henry Thomas.
"If you need, you can contact him."
Tois was the next person to notice Hansen's defensive improvement.
Barry University's strength had escalated further because of Hansen's advancements in defense.
This should have surprised him, but it hadn't.
Looking back, it seemed related to that interview with Carrell.
Hansen had told Carrell that his strongest talent was his ability to learn.
By the end of February, Barry University had beaten Northwest Missouri State University and clinched the division II championship.
Hansen contributed 26 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block in the final, becoming the MOP.
Such achievements were outstanding in the second division, but in reality, it didn't help him much.
NBA scouts didn't care who won the division II championship, nor who had played well in the finals.
After the finals, Hansen finished his junior year and became one of the earliest to prepare for the 2009 draft.
He first signed with an agent.
His target was Jeff Schwartz, a top NBA agent known for marketing and hype.
Anthony Bennett, the most infamous top pick, and James Wiseman, similarly infamous, were both orchestrated by him.
Given that Hansen had no draft buzz, having Schwartz drum up some hype would have been helpful.
Unfortunately, Schwartz didn't take an interest in him.
He had to settle for his second choice, contacting Henry Thomas.
The signing with Thomas went smoothly, not merely a formality, but because Wade had genuinely made a helpful introduction.
Hansen hadn't known about Thomas before but found out he was the agent for both Wade and Bosh, which gave him a substantial reputation.
Even if his agent didn't have Schwartz's capabilities for creating hype, his connections were invaluable.
Currently lacking any draft buzz, Hansen could only rely on securing individual workouts to seize an opportunity, and for that, connections were essential.
NBA workouts generally start after the draft lottery in mid-April.
Hansen decided to use the month ahead to intensively train and enhance his skillset.
"Han, aren't you buying in?" One day after practice, when they returned to the dorm, Rondo approached Hansen with his phone.
Hansen glanced and saw it was the March Madness betting odds.
March Madness, akin to the NFL Super Bowl, was one of United States' most-watched basketball events.
Therefore, every year, including many NBA players, would place bets on the March Madness champion.
Due to the knockout format, the uncertainty was high, and the odds were never low if you bet from the start.
For example, North Carolina University, the team Rondo showed him, had the lowest odds at 2.9.
When Hansen saw North Carolina University, he seriously considered it.
He couldn't remember the NCAA champions from other years, but he remembered this year because of the "longest river in NCAA," Hansbrough's championship dream.
"If you want to buy, buy North Carolina, they have no competitors this year," Hansen suggested to Rondo.
"You are being overly optimistic. They had no competitors last year either and still lost, didn't they?" Rondo wasn't convinced.
"There's everything in the world, just no medicine for regret."
"Are you sure about this?" Rondo asked, his confidence wavering as he knew Hansen wouldn't usually speak so confidently.
Hansen nodded definitively. Rondo had helped Hansen become a ball boy for the Heat, which was a big favor, and this was a way to repay him.
"Alright, I'll trust you this time! When I win, I'll treat you to a big meal."
Rondo had already started to place his bet.
At this time, Hansen also took out his phone and started asking his parents overseas for money.
Training on his own was not sufficient; he needed to find a trainer to help, and that would cost money, as would upcoming trials.
Some hot prospects have their trial transportation and accommodations paid for by their agents, as a kind of upfront investment.
But he didn't receive such treatment, which was also a significant expense.
He hoped to make a quick buck which would solve most of these problems.
Of course, Hansen asked for a bit more.
If he could make money this way, then he could also make some from this year's NBA finals, and even if not chosen, he'd have other options.
So, in the end, he asked for a total of 50,000 US Dollars.
Coming to the United States to play in the NCAA suggested he came from a well-off family, and knowing that Hansen wanted to shoot for the NBA, his parents weren't stingy.
He bet 40,000 on North Carolina, leaving the rest for his training.
His training at this stage was focused on strengthening fundamentals, mainly on ball handling and passing.
The NBA is not the CBA; even a 3D player needs decent ball handling-shooting ability.
Dribbling like Zhai Xiaochuan, which wouldn't work in college games, is non-existent in the NBA.
And for him, 3D was just the starting point; to enhance his performance further, ball handling was essential.
Passing needs no further discussion; he had been training that content before.
During his intense training period, Hansen didn't give up his part-time job as a ball boy.
His defense hadn't yet reached its peak, and he couldn't stop practicing with Wade.
During this training period, Tois came to see him.
He brought Hansen some news.
He had compiled Hansen's seasonal performances into a video and sent it to some team management people he knew.
When Hansen heard this news, he didn't know how to describe his emotions for a moment.
Calling him a mentor wasn't an overstatement.
"I'm helping you and helping myself," Tois admitted frankly.
Another month flashed by, and the betting ended to the fans' excitement.
North Carolina University led by 21 points at halftime in the final, setting an NCAA final record, and ultimately triumphed over Michigan State University with a score of 89 to 72, capturing the NCAA championship.
Taylor Hansbrough wept on the field, marking an NCAA historical moment.
As North Carolina clinched the title, the betting also concluded.
Hansen thus earned over 90,000 US Dollars (after taxes).
This was an expected gain.
The unexpected gain was that in the latest NBA draft list update, he was actually listed!
He was projected to be picked 60th by the Miami Heat (trading from the Cavaliers' draft rights).
NBA draft reports score listed players, and Hansen received a score of 84 out of 120.
He scored 7 points each for size, athletic talent, agility, and 8 points each for shooting and mental attributes.
Strength analysis: A full-sized scoring guard, decent physical talent, impressive athletic ability, fast and stable three-point shooter, capable of threatening with the ball, exceptional psychological quality, remains stable under adversity, a big-hearted player;
Weakness analysis: Average ball-driving ability, decent but not outstanding defensive skills, lacks high-level game experience.
Summary: Capable of becoming an NBA-level shooter, but still needs to improve defense and game experience, has a fair chance of being selected by teams needing bench depth.
Draft Template: Michael Redd.