Emmanuel Mudiay says playing in China was about family and focus, not eligibility
Emmanuel Mudiay didn't do NBA scouts many favors by forgoing a freshman NCAA campaign for a season abroad.
It does sound as if it was the right decision for him, and it's hardly moved his draft stock. Entering the season as the likely No. 2 pick in the draft, Mudiay now finds himself in the No. 2-6 range - hardly a major change, and one that could reverse as he works out individually for teams.
Originally committed to Larry Brown's SMU squad, scouts had been hopeful that Brown would refine the rough edges of Mudiay's appreciable and enticing skills. But Mudiay opted to sign a $1.2-million contract with Guangdong of the Chinese Basketball Association, something his brother denied was due to NCAA eligibility concerns.
Mudiay explained why he decided to play in China to ESPN's Chad Ford at a recent workout:
A lot of people think it was because I couldn't get into SMU. But I got cleared to go to SMU. Everything was fine there. But I decided to help my mom out. She was struggling at the time.
People can say what they say. I don't pay attention to that. I only care what God says, to be honest with you. You are going to have critics in life. People are going to talk but you can't feed into that and I don't feed into that. I try to inspire other people by what I did. My mom had been the backbone of our family since I was born. She's been the man and the woman. She's my motivation. To see her work 7 to 7. I didn't want her to go on like that no more.
I wanted to focus solely on basketball. I had grown up playing with older people and I wanted the chance to play with professionals and see how I fared. I knew I wanted to play in the NBA, that was my goal. So why not try to challenge myself by going to a pro league?
Mudiay's backstory makes his decision seem quite earnest: his father died before he turned 2, and he was raised by his mother. She helped move him from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Dallas when he was 5, after which she needed to work long hours to support the family.
The season overseas, coupled with an ill-timed ankle sprain, limited Mudiay's exposure to NBA decision-makers, and skipping the NBA Draft Combine shrouded him in more mystery. But by all accounts, scouts still see the potential they saw in him as a high-school prospect, when he was more highly regarded than anyone in the country except Jahlil Okafor.
His decision may have cost him a few spots in the 2015 draft order. That's surely an acceptable trade-off for $1.2 million - plus more from an Under Armour deal - and comfort for his family.