Chapter 417: Chapter 354: Predicted Achievement: Hall of Fame
April 26th.
In his office at the Miami American Airlines Arena, Pat Riley had his feet propped up on his desk, half-reclining as he watched the television in the corner.
An ESPN special interview with LeBron James was playing on the screen.
It was filmed yesterday.
And the day before that, Chen Yu’s week-long rookie potential prediction training camp had just concluded.
Reporters had little to report about what went on at the camp.
Following Chen Yu’s request, the rookies hadn’t disclosed the content of the tests to the public.
However, as soon as the camp ended two days ago, ESPN had immediately tracked down James for a special interview to ask him about his experience.
Chen Yu’s training camp had garnered a great deal of attention.
On the television, the host asked in a puzzled tone, "So, you’re saying you only played some scrimmages during the first two days of the camp, and the rest of the time was spent on technical training?"
James nodded. "That’s right. It didn’t feel like a tryout; it was more like training to improve our skills. Dr. Chen and his team used all sorts of advanced scientific equipment to analyze our technical flaws based on our individual conditions, then gave us suggestions for improvement and guided our training."
"So I feel like I gained a lot from it."
Looking back on the seven-day camp, only the first two days had anything to do with a tryout. The rest was all about technical refinement and skill improvement.
Thinking about it now, James felt the trip had been well worth it. He had learned a great deal.
The host nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Oh, right, I heard you also had to take a test at the end?"
At the mention of this, James couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief.
On the first day, Chen Yu had tossed them a fairly thick book on tactical theory. Someone had asked if there would be a test, but Chen Yu had given an ambiguous answer.
Over the next few days, Chen Yu never mentioned the book again.
James didn’t know about the others, but he had made time to read it.
He later discovered that he had made the right decision.
On the final day, after announcing the end of the camp, Chen Yu went and organized a test for them, covering the contents of the book.
It was such a thick book. In seven days, reading in one’s spare time, how much could anyone really get through?
Fortunately, he remembered some of it and managed to finish the test.
He had no idea what score he’d get but figured he probably just barely passed.
James had specifically asked the others, and they were all completely clueless. Not many of them had read it seriously.
That guy Anthony read it on the first day, tossed it aside on the second, and was completely lost during the test. He just filled in random answers for everything.
"Yes," James confirmed with a nod. "During the camp, we not only took a test but also filled out a lot of questionnaires and had a one-on-one psychological talk with Dr. Chen. All in all, it was completely different from the tryout I had imagined."
In front of the TV, Riley picked up a glass from his desk, took a sip, and his expression grew thoughtful.
From James’s interview, it seemed Chen Yu’s camp was nothing like the combine.
It seemed to focus more on the rookies’ psychological state.
’Trying to be unconventional?’
Riley muttered to himself. The combine was the established gold standard. If Chen Yu wanted to make a name for his own camp, he had to do something different.
The key thing was that Chen Yu hadn’t announced the test results yet.
Based on media interviews with some of the top prospects, Chen Yu hadn’t ranked the rookies during the camp, so no one knew what kind of results he would ultimately produce.
As he was watching, the team’s General Manager, Randy Find, pushed the door open and walked in.
"Pat, the results are out," Find said.
Riley paused for a moment. "What results?"
Find pulled a chair over and sat down next to Riley. "The test results from Chen’s training camp."
Riley was the one who had told him to keep an eye on it, thinking it would be helpful for the Heat’s draft preparations.
As he spoke, Find used the laptop on Riley’s desk to log into the official NBA website.
"He posted them on the league’s website."
Chen Yu was still affiliated with the league, so it was perfectly normal for him to use its media channels to release the results.
Riley turned off the TV and leaned in for a look.
He keenly noticed that Chen Yu hadn’t used terms like "mock draft" or "pick projection." Instead, he had used the descriptor "Potential Prediction."
And ranked first was none other than LeBron James.
Below his name was a series of ratings on a 10-point scale across multiple categories.
Physical Attributes: 10 points.
The evaluation read: LeBron James possesses incredible, historic-level physical attributes. His muscular strength, explosiveness, vertical leap, and body flexibility are all top-tier. He has no injuries and still has massive room for improvement.
Riley nodded subconsciously.
This was exactly why everyone was so high on James in this year’s draft. Why he was called The Chosen One, the Little Emperor, the surefire number one pick. His physical tools were enough to make anyone drool.
Next was the "Skill" category.
Chen Yu gave him a 7.
Evaluation: Skills are somewhat raw and unrefined. Based on his current skill package alone, he would deserve a 6, but his development potential is immense, resulting in a composite score of 7.
Riley raised an eyebrow slightly. ’Chen Yu certainly isn’t pulling any punches,’ he thought.
Every media outlet that discussed James praised him to the high heavens: sharp drives, a rich variety of layup techniques, could blow by defenders effortlessly, excellent long-range shooting, great consistency.
But here, Chen Yu had gone and given him a 6, only bumping it up to a 7 because of his development potential.
"His 10-point scale probably isn’t based on a rookie standard," Find interjected.
Riley nodded in agreement.
If the standard was for rookies, then giving James a 6 would be a criticism, not a compliment.
But if, say, Jordan’s skill level was a 10, then rating James a 6 seemed quite appropriate.
And thinking about it that way, Chen Yu’s 10-point rating for his Physical Attributes was proof enough of just how good they really were.
After that was Psychological Fortitude.
Chen Yu gave him an 8 in this category.
The evaluation was lengthy: He possesses a maturity beyond his years, strong mental resilience, high IQ, is good at analysis, has excellent problem-solving skills, and is highly adaptable. However, his willpower is slightly lacking.
As for how it was lacking, Chen Yu didn’t elaborate.
But giving him an 8 was telling enough.
Physicals, Skill, and Mentality!
These three areas were the focal points of the combine and individual team workouts.
Generally, looking at these three aspects was enough to gauge a player’s potential.
But right after them, Chen Yu added another three rating categories.
Execution: 9 points.
Evaluation: He is sufficiently self-disciplined and has clear goals. Once a target is set, he will strictly execute the plan. He is methodical and possesses the fundamental conditions for success.
Teamwork: 9 points.
Evaluation: He is a qualified leader, able to lead by example and influence his teammates.
Learnability: 8 points.
Evaluation: He is a very fast learner. His powerful physical attributes also give him the prerequisite to learn any skill.
Riley subconsciously crossed his arms and sat up straight.
He could understand the first three categories, but he had every reason to suspect that the latter three were something Chen Yu had come up with himself.
The key was Chen Yu’s points of focus.
A normal workout or draft report would probably focus on a rookie’s physical attributes, technical strengths, or weaknesses.
But Chen Yu’s focus wasn’t on those things.
Riley could still understand things like Execution and Teamwork.
But what was this "Learnability"?
Was it the ability to quickly master a new skill after being exposed to it?
’Can something like that even be quantified so simply?’
And after these six rating categories, Chen Yu didn’t provide a lengthy, comprehensive evaluation.
"Projected Accomplishment: Hall of Fame."
"Team Role: Franchise Cornerstone."
Just those two lines. Not even a comment. And that was it.
Find sat up straight, frowning. "This report of his is... interesting."
It wasn’t very detailed, and its points of focus were completely different.
Most importantly, Chen Yu had directly predicted James’s potential future accomplishment: making it into the Hall of Fame.
Wasn’t he afraid that James would be a bust and his prediction would blow up in his face?
Riley grabbed the mouse and continued to scroll down.
Following right after was a name Riley hadn’t expected.
Dwyane Wade!
"How could it be him?" Find exclaimed in surprise.
As the NBA entered the playoffs, news about the draft was becoming more and more frequent.
In the media’s overwhelming flood of predictions and analyses, the number one pick was without a doubt going to be James.
And besides Milicic, the freakishly talented international player, the most highly-regarded domestic player was supposed to be Carmelo Anthony.
As for Wade, Find knew of him, of course, but the media generally projected him as a late lottery pick.
Yet Chen Yu had ranked such a player at number two. It was simply baffling.
Riley said nothing, scrolling down the page to look at Wade’s ratings.
"Physical Attributes: 9 points."
Evaluation: Strong combination of all physical attributes, fast, top-tier explosive jump, some injury risk.
Riley was slightly taken aback.
Compared to James’s 10, a 9 for physical attributes was already astounding.
He glanced at the skill rating.
Chen Yu had also given him a 7.
The evaluation was also surprisingly simple, consisting of just two points: has an advantage in speed, and has development potential.
Riley felt like he was starting to figure out Chen Yu’s scoring logic.
He thought that in Chen Yu’s mind, a 6 probably represented the league’s standard level. A 7 likely meant starter-level ability, and an 8 could be a franchise player, an all-star caliber player.
As for 9s and 10s, that must be the level of the absolute top-tier players.
Then came Psychological Fortitude.
Chen Yu gave him an 8, the same as James.
Evaluation: Stable mentality. His resilient heart will take him far.
Riley was surprised to find that, looking only at the first three categories, there was almost no difference between Wade and James, aside from a slight gap in their physical attributes.
The crucial part was that one was a surefire number one pick, while the other was a guy projected for the end of the lottery, yet in Chen Yu’s eyes, they received nearly identical evaluations!
Riley hurriedly looked at the rest of the report.
"Execution: 8 points."
The evaluation was just two words: "Sufficiently self-disciplined."
"Teamwork: 9 points."
Evaluation: He has a stable personality and a strong mind, possessing all the necessary qualities to become a qualified leader.
"Learnability: 7 points."
Evaluation: Excellent learning ability. Good at identifying his own weaknesses and working to correct and improve them.
And then came the final conclusion.
Riley was astonished to see that Chen Yu had given him the exact same conclusion as James.
"Projected Accomplishment: Hall of Fame."
"Team Role: Franchise Cornerstone."
Riley was shocked. Had he misjudged, or had Chen Yu?
