What Happens in China: Emmanuel Mudiay and the Future of Preps Abroad

When potential 2015 No. 1 pick Emmanuel Mudiay recently injured his ankle in a game for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), it left his draft status—and potentially his entire CBA season—in doubt.

Those doubts grew last week when the Tigers signed journeyman point guard Will Bynum to a pricy—by CBA standards—$1 million contract to replace Mudiay for Guangdong's gauntlet of 13 games in December. With Mudiay currently shelved and speculation about his future looser than ever, one might wonder whether the injury is something of a blessing in disguise.

Consider: he cashed a cool $1.2 million from the Tigers (which isn't believed to be threatened should he be released), got Under Armour to pony up for his endorsement services, and may now be forced to decide between spending early 2015 in China sightseeing or returning to the States to prep for the draft.

Ultimately, if torn between those two choices, here's one vote to check out the Forbidden City or take an internship with e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Because the real irony of Mudiay's current draft stock "being enhanced" by his time in China—where he averaged 17.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.9 assists—is the fact that he was probably a top five prospect to begin with. Given the NBA rookie pay scale, even if he fell to say, No. 11, he would still make as much as a top five pick in his first year, not to mention the money he'll now get to scream "We Must Protect This House!"

These days, college doesn't seem to be the best place for elite prospects to improve their draft status, anyway. Sure, there's the Carmelo Anthony 2003 championship pipedream (Melo was passed over for Darko Milicic, mind you), but perhaps NCAA success better serves the undersized, like title winners who improved their draft status—see: Shabazz Napier, Russ Smith, and Kemba Walker. As for 2012 champs Kentucky, does anyone believe that if Anthony Davis had played in Ecuador, he would've tarnished his star?

At a stout 6'5", 200 pounds—think Iman Shumpert meets John Wall divided by James Harden—the potential for the Prime Prep (yes, that Prime Prep) grad to prove himself in college was mostly low-yield anyway, no matter his eligibility questions to play at SMU.

Want to know how much pre-draft anxiety is produced under the collegiate microscope? Ask Jabari Parker, who "did not look like a top three pick" in Duke's first-round bouncing by Belmont last year. Or Andrew Wiggins, who was skewered after "shrinking" in a second round loss to Stanford.

For international examples, lest we forget Brandon Jennings' Compton to Lottomatica Roma defection in 2008. The slight, scoring lefty serves as the cautionary tale of why the overseas-exodus never materialized after failing to make an impact (all while Fran Fraschilla smiled broadly from his FC Barcelona and CSKA Moscow decorated home). But the Roman Holiday hardly seemed to dent Jennings' draft value, eventually going No. 10 to Milwaukee in 2009. Ditto Dante Exum, who famously and coyly hung up his sneakers for pre-draft closeups last summer, doing enough for Australia, and in private view, to have the Jazz draft him at No. 5.

Whatever transpires with the 18-year-old Congolese American phenom in the next six months, hopefully he stays healthy and is applauded for choosing to, literally, do what was best for him and his family. It may register as an eyeroll-inducing truism, but in Mudiay's case, it rings true.

Born in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), Mudiay's early years were marked with strife: his father Jean-Paul Mudiay passed away when he was a toddler, his mother Therese Kabeya sold coffee and grew vegetables to provide for him and his two older brothers, Stephane and Jean-Micheal, amidst severe violence. After seeking U.S. asylum for her family in 2001, the three boys spent a year apart from Therese in Zambia, before reuniting with her in Arlington, Texas in 2002.

Given that those critical of atypical moves like Mudiay's seem to come from their own self-serving perspective, whether it be SMU coach Larry Brown calling it "a bad decision" (while simultaneously mourning his team's national championship prospects) or the collective media's impending "I told you so!" should Mudiay's injury turn into a lasting hinderance.

Ultimately, perhaps we should save negative judgement of these prep stars for electing the road less traveled.

With 2016 No. 1 top prospect Thad Maker (a seven-footer YouTube certified as REVOLUTIONARY) and his Australian guardian/handler Ed Smith already grumbling about testing international markets—amidst whispers the NBA age limit could push to 20 some day soon—lord knows we'll have ample time to analyze and scrutinize decisions of the next dozen or so high schoolers following in Mudiay's footsteps.