MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on My Mind) - By having a legitimate shot at making an NBA roster this coming season, Yuta Watanabe has reopened a golden pathway once thought already closed.

With his success both for the Japanese national team and the US NCAA, Watanabe has become a strong contender for a spot on the NBA's Memphs Grizzilies roster, and his journey could prove to be a template for other young Asian talents hoping to, one day, also make it to the Association.

The 6ft 9in (2.05m) forward was a vital cog for Japan in their recent 2-0 run at the fourth window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers, routing Kazakhstan on the road and then beating Iran at home in front of a raucous crowd in Tokyo.

Watanabe shone in both encounters, averaging 17.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocked shots. Together with phenom Rui Hachimura, Watanabe carried the Akatsuki Five to fourth place in their group, just one game behind the Philippines and in a prime spot to challenge for one of the berths in next year's World Cup in China.

Most Asian fans already know Watanabe's tale. The versatile 23-year-old first starred for Japan at the FIBA U18 Asia Championship 2012 as the Japanese finished among the top four teams. He quickly followed this by debuting for the senior national team at the FIBA Asia Cup 2013 in Manila before making his way to the United States and playing for George Washington University.

He stayed at GW for four years, where he progressed into a reliable player and was eventually named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year in his senior campaign. He went undrafted this year in the NBA, but the Memphis Grizzlies picked him up for training camp, paving the way for a likely appearance in the 2018-2019 NBA season. If he does make it, he will be just the second Japan-born player to see action at that level after namesake Yuta Tabuse.

And though nothing is guaranteed in the ultra-competitive NBA landscape, Watanabe is in a unique position not just relative to Japanese basketball but to Asian hoops in general.

How so? Well, even if at least one other Asian is in the NBA - China's Zhou Qi - Watanabe's path has been distinct because he was not discovered through any pro circuit, unlike Zhou and other Chinese before him.

Watanabe trudged on the "straight and narrow" road of going through the US NCAA and then landing in the NBA. He's not the first Asian to try that, but he could be the first one to actually complete it end-to-end.

Remember that Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue, Korea's Ha SeungJin and even Tabuse all didn't go through the US NCAA route. Unlike them, Watanabe had to go through the wringer, so to speak, playing off the end of the bench in his freshman year and then gradually working his way up and proving himself an enticing basketball talent at the next level.

It's a lot of hard work, of course, but it seems to be paying off.

That's something other young Asian talents are taking notice, which is explains how two other high profile Japanese young guns are also in the US trying their luck out. The aforementioned Hachimura will enter his third season with the Gonzaga Bulldogs and is projected to be a breakout star, while youth team standout Chikara Tanaka recently entered the IMG Academy in the hopes of following in Watanabe's and Hachimura's footsteps. In addition, a few Chinese Taipei talents are also in the US system to see if they can make it big - Lin Ting-Chien being the most high profile of them all.

Of course, this path has also had its casualties. Many Asian talents have tried to prove themselves in the US NCAA only to fall by the wayside and fall short of the NBA. One of Watanabe's own countrymen, Keijuro Matsui, is an example. Matsui was the first Japanese native to play in the US NCAA Division in 2005, but he never made it to any NBA team's radar. From the Philippines, both Japeth Aguilar and Kobe Paras tested their fortunes in the US NCAA, but their plans also didn't pan out. Iran's Arsalan Kazemi turned some heads when he saw action for Oregon and Rice University, and though he was chosen 54th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, he never signed and is yet to actually see any lick of action at that level.

Watanabe can change all that, especially with a team like Memphis that prides itself in its defense-first, grit-and-grind style. Watanabe should fit that framework quite well.

On the other end, the young up-and-comers who could benefit from this trail being blazed by Watanabe, aside from compatriots Hachimura and Tanaka and Chinese Taipei stalwart Lin, include Chinese big man Michael Wang and Filipino wunderkinds Kai Sotto and AJ Edu.

If Watanabe does see action in the coming NBA season, he will indeed open the floodgates for Asian talent in a manner we've never seen before.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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