"Years later, looking back on her basketball career, Jaime Echenique will think of the last game of the Wizards of 2021, and think of the distant night when she was emotionally tearful after the game."
The reason why the classic opening of Márquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" that has been recited to this day is because the protagonists of this article, Echenek and Márquez, come from the same country: Colombia. This is a country located in South America, and the deepest impression left on the people of the country is marquez, which is the brilliant football superstars. It's a magical land where magic realism literature was born, a hot land of madness for football. When it comes to Colombia, there is always a strange and dazzling light in front of you. Echenick is from here.
Under the influence of the epidemic, there have been large-scale attritions in NBA teams. A new rule in the league gives NBA teams the power to sign players on short 10-day contracts. As a result, many players have unexpectedly gained the opportunity to have close contact with the NBA. For most of them, this could be the only chance of a lifetime, and the same is true for Echenik.
In the final game of 2021, the Wizards beat the Cavaliers 110-93 at home, and Echenick won 3 minutes to play. Despite all the statistics being blank, he received his most memorable New Year's gift: he became the first Colombian player in history to appear in the NBA. For this day, Echenick did not know how long he waited, and the accumulated emotions exploded in an instant, and tears of excitement suddenly burst out of his eyes.
Echenick was born on April 27, 1997 in Baranquera, Colombia, where the world-famous Carnival is celebrated. Echenick came from a family that had nothing to do with basketball or even sports. His father was a bus driver and his mother was the head chef at a local Arabic restaurant. But even so, Echenick still has the stature of a giant: 2.11 meters tall and weighs 117 kilograms.
In the early years, under the influence of a relative, Echenick was involved in a street gang. At that time, his parents were busy with work for a long time every day, neglecting to take care of the young Echenick, and he often had to stay alone in the empty room at a young age. Later, Echenick recalled that he didn't want gangs, he just didn't want to be alone at home.
Fortunately, the relative who brought Echenick to the street knew his thoughts and never let him participate in any illegal activities, and the chubby Echenik at that time was also widely loved in the gang. Years later, Echenick was grateful to the relative. "I've never been exposed to any illicit drugs," Echenick said, "and he never let me get involved with them." He just wanted to take care of me in place of his parents. We were very close. He knew I shouldn't be gangmates, but I had nowhere to go. ”
The paper wrapper can't hold the fire. When Echenick was 14 years old, a group photo of him and gang members holding weapons was accidentally discovered on Facebook by his mother, Lydice. Learning of her son's gang, Lydice wept and texted her son to stay out of the street. But it was basketball that ultimately saved Echenick, who also quickly showed his talent in basketball, leading his high school to four consecutive regional championships and being elected MVP of the tournament in his senior and senior seasons. After falling in love with basketball, Echenick said goodbye to the street.
In December 2015, Echenick graduated from high school and received professional contracts from several Europa League teams. But he had to put the idea of making money in professional leagues on hold for the time being because his father forced him to focus more on his studies. But that wasn't the only reason he turned down an offer from a Europa League team. At this time, Echenick's mind has begun to germinate the idea of going to the NBA to play.
Echenick was not a utopian, and when he had an idea, he immediately set about it. He started with an amateur basketball club in Medellin, Colombia's second-largest city. Two months later, a team based in Bogotá, Colombia, used its overseas connections to help Echenik obtain a credit card that could be used in the United States.
At this time, Echenick also gained the attention of an American college, Trinity Valley Community College in Texas, which was the alma mater of former NBA star Nick Van Exel, and where "Rain man" Kemp also stayed briefly. On the recommendation of two Colombian players on the team, Guy Furr, the coach of the school's men's basketball team, learned of Echenik's talent and extended an invitation to the latter.
In this way, Echenick, whose pockets were cleaner than his face and spoke a bad English, came to the other side of the ocean in a daze. After meeting with the coach, Echenick's potential impressed the coach and he was soon officially awarded a basketball scholarship. But that didn't settle Echenick. In his freshman year, he left the impression on the fans as a lack of confidence and helplessness. Fortunately, Coach Fore was very important to him, and as a freshman, he got 26 starters and averaged 9.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in his freshman season.
After the first 2 seasons, the invitation of a good friend changed Echenik's basketball path. Led by a friend, Echenick visited the Wichita State University and was deeply attracted to the city of Wichita. Despite offers from colleges and universities such as Baylor University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Illinois, Echenick chose to transfer to Wichita State University.
There was a small episode at this point. During a training session, Echenick was deeply unwell, and was once suspected of having a heart attack and rushed to the hospital, resulting in a false alarm. This did not affect him. In the first season of the transfer, he averaged 9.2 points, 6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. In his senior year, Echenick averaged 11.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, making him the best second team in the AAC division.
Off the court, Echenick's humility, orderliness, studiousness and optimism also deeply impressed Wichita Men's Basketball coach Greg Marshall. Echenick's teammates often joked: "You are one size bigger than everyone else, you have to be nice to us, you can't bully us." ”
Echenick also remembers Coach Marshall's instructions, revealing that the coach had asked them to play with a sense of urgency,"as if their hair was burning." "For some people, it's hard to do, but for some people, they're born to do this," Echenik said. ”
But such a performance did not allow Echenick to knock on the door of the NBA. So, in August 2020, he signed with Spanish league side Acunsa GBC. In August, Echenick represented the Wizards in the Summer League, signed an Exhibit 10 contract, and was cut to join the Wizards' Development League team, where he averaged 12.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, shooting 55.4% of the results. It wasn't until he signed a 10-day short contract with the Wizards that he made his NBA debut today.
Perhaps, Echenick, like the "family that suffered from a hundred years of loneliness", is destined not to have a second chance, and perhaps today's 3 minutes will become his only NBA memory, but he at least left sweat and tears here. As Yuta Watanabe, also from a country that is not rich in NBA players, said: "There are about 450 million people in the world who play basketball, but only 450 people can enter the NBA." Echenick could at least proudly say, "NBA, I've been here." (Charm)