Saddiq Bey comes across as the reserved, level-headed, self-reliant type on the surface. He maintains a low profile on social media and keeps his inner circle small. But get to know him a little and suddenly there’s a lot more to unpack. The former Villanova standout and soon-to-be first-round pick leans on spirituality. He’s a loving son and a strong student, having earned a 3.8 GPA as a sophomore. Bey didn’t get hyped for games last season by listening to rappers like Kendrick Lamar or Roddy Ricch. Instead, it was usually the “Joker” soundtrack blasting through his AirPods, along with a collection of oldies such as “Everybody Plays the Fool” by The Main Ingredient and Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life.” He also watches “SpongeBob SquarePants” religiously and might mess around and stream an episode or two on draft day if he can squeeze it in.
表面上，萨迪克-贝给人留下的印象一直是沉默寡言、头脑冷静、独立自主的类型。他在社交媒体上一直保持着低调，维系着自己的小圈子。但要是你多了解他一点，就会发现他身上还有很多东西需要你去挖掘。这位前维拉诺瓦的新秀和潜在的首轮候选人的精神属性一直是他的依仗。他是一个可爱的儿子，也是一个优秀的学生，大二的时候他的平均绩点是3.8。上个赛季，贝并没有通过听肯德里克-拉马尔或罗迪-里奇这样的说唱歌手来炒在赛前预热。相反，他经常听AirPods里播放的《小丑》(Joker)原声带，以及一些老歌，比如The Main Ingredient的《Everybody Plays the Fool》和弗兰克-西纳特拉的《That’s Life》。他会很认真地看《海绵宝宝》，而且一旦能挤出时间，他甚至可能会在选秀日当天抽空瞄上1、2集。Bey is fascinated by philosophy and the human mind, which is fitting for a guy with so many layers. He can dissect Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” He just has a natural curiosity and is more concerned about the why in life. He’s as versatile off the court as he is on it. He can shoot the ball with range. He can put it on the floor a little. He’s a smart, unselfish passer and a good cutter. At the other end, his length and quickness made him one of the better perimeter defenders in the Big East last season.
贝对哲学和人的思想很感兴趣，这正与他这样多层次的家伙非常契合。他能剖析柏拉图的“洞穴寓言”。“他只是天生对此充满好奇，而且对生活中的各种为什更感兴趣而已。他的场内场外都非常全能。他能出手远距离投篮。他也可以做一点持球突破。他是一个聪明的，无私的传球手，一个很好的空切手。在防守端，他的长度和速度使他在上赛季成为了大东赛区最好的外线防守者之一。Versatility like that is coveted in today’s NBA, which is why the 6-foot-8 Bey will hear his name called early in next Wednesday’s NBA Draft. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has the Portland Trail Blazers selecting Bey at No. 16 in his latest mock draft, but some believe the 20-year-old could go as high as No. 9 to the Washington Wizards.
在当今NBA，这样的全能战士令人垂涎，这就是为什么这位身高6尺8的贝将会在下周三的NBA选秀中早早地听到自己的名字。Athletic的Sam Vecenie在最新的模拟选秀中，把被安排给了手持16号签的波特兰开拓者，但是还有一些人认为这位20岁的球员可能在第9就被华盛顿奇才选走了。“I swear, I think he can play some point guard,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. “I think he can play wing, point, two guard. He’s got that versatility that he can defend every position. … I really think his game fits the NBA, much like Eric Paschall.”
Bey’s obsession with knowledge and passion for basketball are hereditary. His mother, Drewana Bey, starred at North Carolina-Charlotte, where she earned team MVP honors in 1997-98. She received her doctorate in educational leadership from Bowie State in 2011 and became a high school principal. Today, she serves as the instructional superintendent of secondary schools in the District of Columbia Public Schools system. She made sports and education priorities in her son’s life.
贝对知识的痴迷和对篮球的热情算是家族遗传。他的母亲Drewana Bey可是北卡罗来纳-夏洛特的球星，在那里她荣誊1997-98赛季的球队MVP。2011年，她在鲍伊州立大学获得了教育领导学的博士学位，并成为一名高中的校长。今天，她担任着哥伦比亚公立学校的中学教学总监。在儿子的生活中，她总是把体育和教育放在首位。“Just watching her work through the ranks and grind from the bottom up since I was a little kid, me having to watch that, I had no choice but to try and follow that because she was my role model,” Bey said. “She always just kept it real with me and tried not to coddle me, and that helped me become the man I am today. She was tough on me when I really needed it, both academically and in basketball. She used to tell me as a little kid to be aggressive, to be tough, not to be soft or the game was going to pass me by.”
“当我还是个很小的孩子的时候，我就看着她通过努力步步提高，并且自下而上地打磨自己。我必须关注着她，别无选择，只能努力追随她的脚步，因为她是我的榜样。”被说，“她对我一直很坦诚，尽量不溺爱我，这帮助我成为了今天的我。在我真正需要鞭策的时候，她就会对我非常严厉，无论是在学业上还是篮球上。当我还是个小孩子的时候，她曾经告诉我要变得有侵略性，要保持强硬，决不能软弱，否则我就会被赛场淘汰。”Bey has maintained that focus over the years. His decision to transfer from DeMatha Catholic to Sidwell Friends after his freshman year in high school had as much to do with academics as athletics. Even after a “gradual” growth spurt during which he sprouted from a 5-foot-8 freshman to a 6-foot-6 senior, Bey didn’t become complacent. He led Sidwell Friends to the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference championship as a junior in 2017. Despite being the Wildcats’ lowest-rated recruit in their 2018-19 class (No. 137 by 247Sports), his hunger for improvement didn’t waver. That work ethic is why he exceeded expectations at Villanova.
多年来，贝一直保持着这样的专注。在高一结束后，他决定从 DeMatha Catholic转投 Sidwell Friends ，这一决定不仅仅出于体育方面的考量，还与学业有关。即使在他从一位5尺8的高一生逐渐成长为6尺6的高四生的过程中，他并没有因此而自满。2017年，这位高三学生带领着 Sidwell Friends获得了中大西洋赛区的冠军。尽管他是2018-19赛季野猫队里招生评分最低的球员(247体育排名仅有137)，但他并没有动摇过对进步的渴望。正是这样的职业道德让他在维拉诺瓦的表现超出了人们的预期。Bey started 29 games as a freshman, averaging 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds. He grew from 6-foot-6 to 6-foot-8. Then, as a sophomore, he emerged as Villanova’s best player, doubling his scoring total to 16.1 points per game while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. That was the fourth-highest percentage in all of college basketball last season, and it’s the highest among forwards and first-round prospects in this year’s draft class. He was named to the All-Big East first team and was an AP All-American honorable mention.
大一时，贝作为首发出战了29场，场均可得到8.2分和5.2个篮板。他的身高从6尺6涨到了6尺8。然后，他在大二时成为维拉诺瓦的最佳球员，场均得分翻倍至16.1分，三分球命中率更是达到了45%。这是上赛季大学篮球联赛中第四高的命中率，也是今年选秀中所有前锋和首轮秀里命中率最高的那位。他荣誊大东赛区一阵，并入选了AP的全美最佳阵容。“I kept saying to our coaches, ‘This kid can’t be for real,’” Wright said. “‘He has to crack as a student, or he has to crack as a person, or he has to crack in terms of his work ethic. He can’t be this good in everything.’ Saddiq was a 3.8 student. He was coachable. He was on time. He kept getting better, and he was one of our hardest-working guys.”
“我一直对我们的教练说，‘这孩子不可能是真的吧，’”赖特说，“‘他要么是个优秀的学生，要么是一个教养很好的人，要么是一个职业道德方面一流的运动员。他不可能事事都做得这么好。作为学生，萨迪克的成绩是3.8。他可塑性很高。他一直很守时。他一直在持续进步，而且是我们这儿训练最努力的家伙之一。”
Leaving school wasn’t an easy decision for Bey. He loved his teammates and coaches. He had built strong relationships with his professors at Villanova during his two years on campus. But Bey’s dream had always been to play in the NBA, and his stock was at an all-time high. This was the right time to take his shot. “Just having the chance to play at that institution and that school, for that team and coach, I thought it was a blessing and everything happens for a reason by God,” Bey said.Since declaring for the draft in June, Bey has been training in the Washington metro area at local high schools such as Takoma Park and Anacostia. Each summer, he’s had a different approach to working on his craft, but he always tries to focus on maximizing his potential in various facets of the game to remain a multidimensional threat at both ends. He’s learned a thing or two about role-playing in the NBA by watching the former Wildcats who came before him.“They’ve been able to show that they can do a variety of things at both ends of the floor,” Bey said. “They’ve been able to plug themselves into different systems and find ways to be successful. Seeing how they’ve been doing that, and adjusting from a 35-game season to an 82-game season, has been inspiring to watch and something I want to strive for.”Many see Bey as a sleeper in this year’s draft class, but that’s not how he views himself. “The phrase I would probably use is ‘chip on my shoulder,’” he said. “I think my whole career, I’ve never been high-touted or not well seen coming into whatever level I played at. But I found the confidence within myself to perform at a high level.”With the draft a week away, Bey won’t allow himself to get too high or too low. He said the event’s pushed-back timeline because of the pandemic just makes him more eager to play “in whatever market or whatever opportunity I have.” When his name is finally called, he thinks he’ll have a similar feeling to when he first committed to Villanova in June 2018. He’ll use that emotion as fuel as he embarks on this new stage in life. Bey will have to prove himself again, but he’s thankful for the opportunity.“I don’t really listen to what other people say,” he said. “I just focus on how much better I’m getting, and how much better I can get each and every day.”
作出离校的决定对贝来说可不轻松。他深爱他的队友和教练。在为期两年的校园生活中，他与维拉诺瓦大学的教授们建立了稳固的关系。但是他一直梦想着进入NBA打球，而现在他的选秀行情攀升至最高点。这是他参选的最佳时机。“能够有机会在这所大学为这支球队和教练打球，我认为这是一种福气，每样事物的出现都是上帝所安安排的，”贝说。自从6月份宣布参加选秀以来，贝就一直在华盛顿都会区当地的高中，例如塔科马公园和阿纳科斯提亚等，进行训练。每个夏天，他都会想方设法提高自己的球技，但他一直尝试着专注于全方面最大化自己的比赛潜力，以保持攻防两端的全面威胁。通过观察在他之前进入NBA的野猫球员的比赛，他学会了如何在NBA中扮演好角色球员。贝说:“他们已经向人们展示了他们可以在球场的攻防两端胜任一切事情。他们能够融入不同的球队体系，找到成功的方法。看到他们是如何做到这一切，如何从一个赛季打35场比赛调整到一个赛季打82场比赛，这一切都令人鼓舞，而也是我一直想要争取的。”很多人都认为他是今年选秀的一大黑马，但他并不这么认为。“我可能会用‘心有芥蒂’这个短语形容自己，”他说，“我想在我的整个职业生涯中，从没有被吹捧过，或者没有被看好过能够达到我现在的水平。但我从内心里对高水准表现的渴望找到了自信。“在距离选秀还有一周的时候，贝不允许自己表现得起伏不定。他说，由于疫情，（NCAA锦标赛）这项赛事的时间被推迟了，这让他更渴望打球，“无论在什么联赛或是得到什么机会”都行。当他名字最终被喊到的时候，他认为自己会有一种类似于2018年6月第一次与维拉诺瓦签约时的感觉。他会将将这种情感视为其在人生新阶段中起航的燃料。他必须再次证明自己才行，不过他很感谢这次机会。“我真的不会去听别人说什么，”他说，“我只是专注于我能变得有多好，以及我每天能变得有多好。”
Saddiq Bey comes across as the reserved, level-headed, self-reliant type on the surface. He maintains a low profile on social media and keeps his inner circle small. But get to know him a little and suddenly there’s a lot more to unpack. The former Villanova standout and soon-to-be first-round pick leans on spirituality. He’s a loving son and a strong student, having earned a 3.8 GPA as a sophomore. Bey didn’t get hyped for games last season by listening to rappers like Kendrick Lamar or Roddy Ricch. Instead, it was usually the “Joker” soundtrack blasting through his AirPods, along with a collection of oldies such as “Everybody Plays the Fool” by The Main Ingredient and Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life.” He also watches “SpongeBob SquarePants” religiously and might mess around and stream an episode or two on draft day if he can squeeze it in.
表面上，萨迪克-贝给人留下的印象一直是沉默寡言、头脑冷静、独立自主的类型。他在社交媒体上一直保持着低调，维系着自己的小圈子。但要是你多了解他一点，就会发现他身上还有很多东西需要你去挖掘。这位前维拉诺瓦的新秀和潜在的首轮候选人的精神属性一直是他的依仗。他是一个可爱的儿子，也是一个优秀的学生，大二的时候他的平均绩点是3.8。上个赛季，贝并没有通过听肯德里克-拉马尔或罗迪-里奇这样的说唱歌手来炒在赛前预热。相反，他经常听AirPods里播放的《小丑》(Joker)原声带，以及一些老歌，比如The Main Ingredient的《Everybody Plays the Fool》和弗兰克-西纳特拉的《That’s Life》。他会很认真地看《海绵宝宝》，而且一旦能挤出时间，他甚至可能会在选秀日当天抽空瞄上1、2集。Bey is fascinated by philosophy and the human mind, which is fitting for a guy with so many layers. He can dissect Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” He just has a natural curiosity and is more concerned about the why in life. He’s as versatile off the court as he is on it. He can shoot the ball with range. He can put it on the floor a little. He’s a smart, unselfish passer and a good cutter. At the other end, his length and quickness made him one of the better perimeter defenders in the Big East last season.
贝对哲学和人的思想很感兴趣，这正与他这样多层次的家伙非常契合。他能剖析柏拉图的“洞穴寓言”。“他只是天生对此充满好奇，而且对生活中的各种为什更感兴趣而已。他的场内场外都非常全能。他能出手远距离投篮。他也可以做一点持球突破。他是一个聪明的，无私的传球手，一个很好的空切手。在防守端，他的长度和速度使他在上赛季成为了大东赛区最好的外线防守者之一。Versatility like that is coveted in today’s NBA, which is why the 6-foot-8 Bey will hear his name called early in next Wednesday’s NBA Draft. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has the Portland Trail Blazers selecting Bey at No. 16 in his latest mock draft, but some believe the 20-year-old could go as high as No. 9 to the Washington Wizards.
在当今NBA，这样的全能战士令人垂涎，这就是为什么这位身高6尺8的贝将会在下周三的NBA选秀中早早地听到自己的名字。Athletic的Sam Vecenie在最新的模拟选秀中，把被安排给了手持16号签的波特兰开拓者，但是还有一些人认为这位20岁的球员可能在第9就被华盛顿奇才选走了。“I swear, I think he can play some point guard,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. “I think he can play wing, point, two guard. He’s got that versatility that he can defend every position. … I really think his game fits the NBA, much like Eric Paschall.”
Bey’s obsession with knowledge and passion for basketball are hereditary. His mother, Drewana Bey, starred at North Carolina-Charlotte, where she earned team MVP honors in 1997-98. She received her doctorate in educational leadership from Bowie State in 2011 and became a high school principal. Today, she serves as the instructional superintendent of secondary schools in the District of Columbia Public Schools system. She made sports and education priorities in her son’s life.
贝对知识的痴迷和对篮球的热情算是家族遗传。他的母亲Drewana Bey可是北卡罗来纳-夏洛特的球星，在那里她荣誊1997-98赛季的球队MVP。2011年，她在鲍伊州立大学获得了教育领导学的博士学位，并成为一名高中的校长。今天，她担任着哥伦比亚公立学校的中学教学总监。在儿子的生活中，她总是把体育和教育放在首位。“Just watching her work through the ranks and grind from the bottom up since I was a little kid, me having to watch that, I had no choice but to try and follow that because she was my role model,” Bey said. “She always just kept it real with me and tried not to coddle me, and that helped me become the man I am today. She was tough on me when I really needed it, both academically and in basketball. She used to tell me as a little kid to be aggressive, to be tough, not to be soft or the game was going to pass me by.”
“当我还是个很小的孩子的时候，我就看着她通过努力步步提高，并且自下而上地打磨自己。我必须关注着她，别无选择，只能努力追随她的脚步，因为她是我的榜样。”被说，“她对我一直很坦诚，尽量不溺爱我，这帮助我成为了今天的我。在我真正需要鞭策的时候，她就会对我非常严厉，无论是在学业上还是篮球上。当我还是个小孩子的时候，她曾经告诉我要变得有侵略性，要保持强硬，决不能软弱，否则我就会被赛场淘汰。”Bey has maintained that focus over the years. His decision to transfer from DeMatha Catholic to Sidwell Friends after his freshman year in high school had as much to do with academics as athletics. Even after a “gradual” growth spurt during which he sprouted from a 5-foot-8 freshman to a 6-foot-6 senior, Bey didn’t become complacent. He led Sidwell Friends to the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference championship as a junior in 2017. Despite being the Wildcats’ lowest-rated recruit in their 2018-19 class (No. 137 by 247Sports), his hunger for improvement didn’t waver. That work ethic is why he exceeded expectations at Villanova.
多年来，贝一直保持着这样的专注。在高一结束后，他决定从 DeMatha Catholic转投 Sidwell Friends ，这一决定不仅仅出于体育方面的考量，还与学业有关。即使在他从一位5尺8的高一生逐渐成长为6尺6的高四生的过程中，他并没有因此而自满。2017年，这位高三学生带领着 Sidwell Friends获得了中大西洋赛区的冠军。尽管他是2018-19赛季野猫队里招生评分最低的球员(247体育排名仅有137)，但他并没有动摇过对进步的渴望。正是这样的职业道德让他在维拉诺瓦的表现超出了人们的预期。Bey started 29 games as a freshman, averaging 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds. He grew from 6-foot-6 to 6-foot-8. Then, as a sophomore, he emerged as Villanova’s best player, doubling his scoring total to 16.1 points per game while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. That was the fourth-highest percentage in all of college basketball last season, and it’s the highest among forwards and first-round prospects in this year’s draft class. He was named to the All-Big East first team and was an AP All-American honorable mention.
大一时，贝作为首发出战了29场，场均可得到8.2分和5.2个篮板。他的身高从6尺6涨到了6尺8。然后，他在大二时成为维拉诺瓦的最佳球员，场均得分翻倍至16.1分，三分球命中率更是达到了45%。这是上赛季大学篮球联赛中第四高的命中率，也是今年选秀中所有前锋和首轮秀里命中率最高的那位。他荣誊大东赛区一阵，并入选了AP的全美最佳阵容。“I kept saying to our coaches, ‘This kid can’t be for real,’” Wright said. “‘He has to crack as a student, or he has to crack as a person, or he has to crack in terms of his work ethic. He can’t be this good in everything.’ Saddiq was a 3.8 student. He was coachable. He was on time. He kept getting better, and he was one of our hardest-working guys.”
“我一直对我们的教练说，‘这孩子不可能是真的吧，’”赖特说，“‘他要么是个优秀的学生，要么是一个教养很好的人，要么是一个职业道德方面一流的运动员。他不可能事事都做得这么好。作为学生，萨迪克的成绩是3.8。他可塑性很高。他一直很守时。他一直在持续进步，而且是我们这儿训练最努力的家伙之一。”
Leaving school wasn’t an easy decision for Bey. He loved his teammates and coaches. He had built strong relationships with his professors at Villanova during his two years on campus. But Bey’s dream had always been to play in the NBA, and his stock was at an all-time high. This was the right time to take his shot. “Just having the chance to play at that institution and that school, for that team and coach, I thought it was a blessing and everything happens for a reason by God,” Bey said.Since declaring for the draft in June, Bey has been training in the Washington metro area at local high schools such as Takoma Park and Anacostia. Each summer, he’s had a different approach to working on his craft, but he always tries to focus on maximizing his potential in various facets of the game to remain a multidimensional threat at both ends. He’s learned a thing or two about role-playing in the NBA by watching the former Wildcats who came before him.“They’ve been able to show that they can do a variety of things at both ends of the floor,” Bey said. “They’ve been able to plug themselves into different systems and find ways to be successful. Seeing how they’ve been doing that, and adjusting from a 35-game season to an 82-game season, has been inspiring to watch and something I want to strive for.”Many see Bey as a sleeper in this year’s draft class, but that’s not how he views himself. “The phrase I would probably use is ‘chip on my shoulder,’” he said. “I think my whole career, I’ve never been high-touted or not well seen coming into whatever level I played at. But I found the confidence within myself to perform at a high level.”With the draft a week away, Bey won’t allow himself to get too high or too low. He said the event’s pushed-back timeline because of the pandemic just makes him more eager to play “in whatever market or whatever opportunity I have.” When his name is finally called, he thinks he’ll have a similar feeling to when he first committed to Villanova in June 2018. He’ll use that emotion as fuel as he embarks on this new stage in life. Bey will have to prove himself again, but he’s thankful for the opportunity.“I don’t really listen to what other people say,” he said. “I just focus on how much better I’m getting, and how much better I can get each and every day.”
作出离校的决定对贝来说可不轻松。他深爱他的队友和教练。在为期两年的校园生活中，他与维拉诺瓦大学的教授们建立了稳固的关系。但是他一直梦想着进入NBA打球，而现在他的选秀行情攀升至最高点。这是他参选的最佳时机。“能够有机会在这所大学为这支球队和教练打球，我认为这是一种福气，每样事物的出现都是上帝所安安排的，”贝说。自从6月份宣布参加选秀以来，贝就一直在华盛顿都会区当地的高中，例如塔科马公园和阿纳科斯提亚等，进行训练。每个夏天，他都会想方设法提高自己的球技，但他一直尝试着专注于全方面最大化自己的比赛潜力，以保持攻防两端的全面威胁。通过观察在他之前进入NBA的野猫球员的比赛，他学会了如何在NBA中扮演好角色球员。贝说:“他们已经向人们展示了他们可以在球场的攻防两端胜任一切事情。他们能够融入不同的球队体系，找到成功的方法。看到他们是如何做到这一切，如何从一个赛季打35场比赛调整到一个赛季打82场比赛，这一切都令人鼓舞，而也是我一直想要争取的。”很多人都认为他是今年选秀的一大黑马，但他并不这么认为。“我可能会用‘心有芥蒂’这个短语形容自己，”他说，“我想在我的整个职业生涯中，从没有被吹捧过，或者没有被看好过能够达到我现在的水平。但我从内心里对高水准表现的渴望找到了自信。“在距离选秀还有一周的时候，贝不允许自己表现得起伏不定。他说，由于疫情，（NCAA锦标赛）这项赛事的时间被推迟了，这让他更渴望打球，“无论在什么联赛或是得到什么机会”都行。当他名字最终被喊到的时候，他认为自己会有一种类似于2018年6月第一次与维拉诺瓦签约时的感觉。他会将将这种情感视为其在人生新阶段中起航的燃料。他必须再次证明自己才行，不过他很感谢这次机会。“我真的不会去听别人说什么，”他说，“我只是专注于我能变得有多好，以及我每天能变得有多好。”
