December 8, Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
December in the Great Lakes Region is bitterly cold, with icy winds stinging the face. But inside the Bradley Center, the heat is palpable. The Marquette University Golden Eagles, playing at home, are crushing the visiting Fordham University.
Lin Qi, dressed in a low-key dark coat, sat in a seat towards the back of the lower stands. Next to him sat the director of the Celtics ' scouting department.
In late November, Lin Qi had the scouting department submit a batch of videotapes of players "expected to be in the late first or second round, with defensive potential or special physical talents." Lin Qi then randomly selected three names from those dozens of tedious tapes and requested they be closely followed: Josh Howard of Wake Forest University, Marquis Daniels of Auburn University, and Dwyane Wade Wade, the guard wearing the number 3 jersey at Marquette University.
Today, Lin Qi made a special trip from Boston to fly in and "inspect" the goods in person.
"Boss, this is the latest scouting report for him this month." The scouting manager handed over a thick folder, reporting in a low voice, his tone still carrying a hint of confusion.
"To be honest, I can understand Josh Howard among the players you circled; he has a good defensive foundation. But this Dwyane Wade Wade, if you hadn't picked him out from the videotapes, he wouldn't have even made it onto our A-level watchlist."
The scouting director pointed to Wade on the court and explained, "He didn't play his entire freshman season. Because his high school grades didn't meet the NCAA's Academic Proposal No. 48 standard, he was suspended for a year. He was practically invisible on the radar of scouts across the country."
Lin Qi took the folder and opened the report.
Indeed, before November, Wade was just a "legend existing only in the Marquette University training facility." It wasn't until his debut in mid-last month and the subsequent Alaska Invitational that he finally had official high-level game footage.
"How are the major scouting agencies predicting his future?" Lin Qi asked without looking up.
"Very conservative." The supervisor pointed to the prediction column on the report. "Because he lacks a full year of college game experience, there are doubts about his performance against high-intensity defense. The current general prediction is late first round. A few more optimistic scouts, focusing on his athleticism, have placed him in the middle of the first round. No organization has even put him in the lottery discussion."
Lin Qi flipped through the first two pages of cold data and went straight to the last page of the report.
That page contained a "background file" that Lin Qi had hired a private investigator to conduct, leveraging the team's security connections in Chicago. This is standard practice in the NBA; every team that wants to invest in a high draft pick or real money will thoroughly investigate the player's family history.
Lin Qi's gaze swept over the shocking words.
Dwyane Wade Wade was born in Chicago South Side Illinois (one of the poorest and most crime-ridden neighborhoods in the United States). His parents divorced when he was four months old.
"The mother, Linda Wade, has a long history of drug addiction, has been arrested multiple times, and is currently serving time in Illinois prison, where she has not yet been released."
"My academic performance in high school was terrible; I almost couldn't graduate."
Current status: My fiancée Siohvaughn Vaughan (my high school sweetheart), is six months pregnant and due in February next year.
Lin Qi closed the folder.
In the eyes of traditional scouts, a short shooting guard who missed his freshman year, had an inconsistent shot, and came from a terrible family background with his mother in prison and about to become a father before graduating from college, was simply a troublemaker who could spiral out of control at any moment. His ceiling was clearly visible.
But Lin Qi saw something completely different.
Broken families, struggles in the slums, and the unborn child. These heavy burdens can be the straw that breaks the camel's back for some weak-willed players. But for players with certain special character traits, they are the underlying motivation that drives them to bite their opponents like mad dogs on the field.
On the court, Marquette University is on offense. Wade calls for the ball at the top of the key, and facing Fordham University's zone defense, he lowers his center of gravity.
Lin Qi's eyes narrowed slightly.
first step!
Without any fancy probing, it was pure, unadulterated explosive power. Wade's broad shoulders suddenly sank, and he moved like a black lightning bolt, instantly tearing through the gaps in the defense.
Fordham's big man rushed to help defend. Wade aggressively sought physical contact in the air, even deliberately bumping his shoulder into the center's chest. In the instant he lost his balance, he used his fingers to deftly flick the ball into the basket.
"Bang!"
The ball went in, the whistle blew. But Wade, due to the immense impact, crashed heavily onto the hardwood floor and slid out of bounds.
"You see, it's the same in the video. That kind of play, throwing yourself into the air, is too damaging to your body." The scouting director shook his head. "That's one of the reasons why nobody dares to draft him high. His knees can't take years."
But the next second, Wade acted as if nothing had happened, suddenly pushing off the floor with both hands and jumping up like a spring, pounding his chest and roaring at the baseline.
Lin Qi's gaze wasn't on Wade's celebratory gestures, but rather fixed on his left knee as he landed and stood up.
In his memory, it was probably during his sophomore year of college that Wade's left knee would develop a major problem. In order not to affect the performance opportunities he had worked so hard to obtain, and in order to enter the NBA as soon as possible to earn money to support his unborn child, Wade chose the most short-sighted surgical option... to remove his meniscus.
Although the surgery restored his explosiveness in the short term, it laid a huge hidden danger for injuries later in his career.
The game quickly lost its suspense. Led by Wade, Marquette University won 79-55, securing their seventh consecutive victory to start the season.
The final buzzer sounded, and the entire arena erupted in cheers. Wade, drenched in sweat, walked toward the players' tunnel.
Lin Qi stood up and straightened his coat.
"Go and make the arrangements. I'd like to meet with this kid privately after the game," Lin Qi said to the head scouting officer.
"Contact him now?" The manager hesitated. "Boss, he's just a player hovering in the mid-to-late first round of the draft, and the NCAA is strict. If we, as a professional team, contact a college student privately, what if we get noticed by those compliance officers..."
"No 'what ifs', keep your head up." Lin Qi interrupted him, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Find a quiet, private, upscale restaurant, and invite him and his 'family' to dinner in the name of a fan."