After playing tons and tons of NBA 2K11 on Association mode (Go Bulls!) I decided to finally man up and go for the big leagues: My Player mode. Being brand new to the franchise, I initially scared myself away from this since i was terrible at the game and had to start out with such a crappy overall player. After a couple months of getting used to the game though, I feel I'm in a better place to actually give this a shot and William Higgs was created. 
 
So, first things first, I went with an athletic shooting guard (in the mold of say a Dwyane Wade). The name is my middle and last names respectively, no other significance. My starting skills were, to be kind, pretty awful as a 39 overall. However I decided that my best bet would to be the Dribble Course drill so I could try to build up my speed since it's the most expensive stat to buy. 
 
Seven drills in and it was NBA Combine time. My shooting was still pretty poor, but I was a bullet up and down the court with a speed rating of 84. Made it a little easier to get things going on the fast break and to drive the lane. Still, I had to learn the hard way that the only shots I had any business taking were ones that were WIDE OPEN. Have to say, this was still pretty tough on Pro difficulty (I'm nowhere near ready for anything higher). Overall I had an ok Combine, nothing special. It was good enough to get me picked up in the Draft, although I missed the first round. Got picked up by the Miami Heat as the 2nd pick of the 2nd round, so I guess it could have been worse. 
 
The draft was just the beginning though. Getting picked by the Heat, I joined their Summer Circuit roster as a starter. This went much, much better for me than the combine and the extra drills allowed me to get my shooting skills to a more acceptable level throughout the summer. Working through the four game stretch was grueling, but ultimately rewarding as the Heat saw enough potential in me they not only placed me on their roster, but as 7th in the rotation. That's just two places away from the starting lineup. Needless to say, I was pretty happy with that, especially having come as a second round draft pick.
 
My first game in the NBA was a bittersweet affair. I did fairly well with the limited minutes I was given (12 mins), but managed to injure myself somehow towards the end of the game. This unfortunately resulted in my missing the next 7 games. Once I was recovered though it was back to business as usual. Management clearly must see something in me because they pushed me right back into the rotation and every game that goes by my minutes are increasing. At about 5 or 6 games played I'm up to 22 minutes per game. Which is great because being drafted by the Heat, I figured I had little to no chance to become a starter over their premiere SG, Dwyane Wade himself. However, it seems in my current team they have Wade at point and Mike Miller at the 2. This definitely leaves me room to grow and improve and have a stab later on at the starting lineup. Not bad for a second round pick, people are starting to take notice. 
 
One of the more important people to take notice would be one Mr. Michael Jordan who decided that I was the rookie he wanted to become an ambassador for his brand. Nothing else really has come of this yet, but you have to start somewhere right? Here's to hoping for a shoe deal in the near future. There are still lots of games ahead of me in the season and with each game my skills will improve. It's a long road though. Starting out as a 39 overall wasn't easy and even being a 50 overall now is still tough, but it's getting better. By the time I hit the All-Star break I'm hoping to be in the running for Rookie of the Year, but I have to work on my fundamentals a bit more before I make any grandiose claims. We'll see what the next month on the calendar brings and as long as I can stay healthy I'll stay on the rise.