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Emmanuel Mudiay: Playing in China ‘gave me a better challenge’

By Ryan Ratty

Mar 18, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Emmanuel Mudiay of Prime Prep Academy poses for a portrait. He is a finalist for the USA Today Player of the Year Award. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Emmanuel Mudiay of Prime Prep Academy poses for a portrait. He is a finalist for the USA Today Player of the Year Award. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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Emmanuel Mudiay, who decided to play in China instead of playing for SMU, commented that playing in China gave him a better challenge.

When fans think of the 2015 NBA Draft, the three names many people talk about are Karl Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and D’Angelo Russell. However, perhaps the name people forget about is Emmanuel Mudiay. The Congo international point guard is forgotten mainly because he has played this past season in China, instead of playing at SMU where he originally committed to play basketball.

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Although the league doesn’t get that much buzz, Mudiay said in an interview with Scout.com that playing in China gave him a better challenge. Behind Okafor, Mudiay was the top prospect in the Class of 2014. Perhaps the reason why he decided to play internationally in China may have been because of money. When he signed with the Guangdong Southern Tigers, Mudiay made $1 million. He also signed an endorsement with Under Armour as well. Mudiay talked in detail about China and the challenge that came with playing in the league.

"“Honestly it challenged me as a basketball player,” Mudiay said to Scout.com “I’m not saying I’m better than everybody in college, but I felt like it gave me a better challenge than college would have given me.”"

Mudiay then talked about a few professional players that he played against in China and how they told him what to expect in the NBA.

"“Will Bynum, Jeff Adrien, Stephon Marbury, Al Harrington, Willie Warren, all of the players I was playing against told me what to expect in the league. They’ve been there and played there. I played against a lot of NBA players and it got the best out of me. The first game against Stephon Marbury was an eye opener. I had 18 or something like that, but it felt different. He talked to me after the game and he gave me advice on how to play over there. After he told me that, my game started going up and up.”"

Regardless of playing in the NBA or the injury-riddled season he had this past season in China, Mudiay is still a bluechip prospect and he will still likely be the first point guard taken in this year’s draft.

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