The first time Kansas center Joel Embiid played basketball on U.S. soil, his high school teammates laughed.

In the same game, Embiid got hit in the stomach by a guard's pass, tripped and fell coming off a screen, and had the ball bounce off his foot when he was trying to dribble past a defender.

Fresh off a plane from the African country of Cameroon, Embiid had arrived at Montverde Academy—a prep school in Florida—knowing little English and even less about basketball. As a child, he had focused on volleyball and soccer.

Still, at 6'9", with the wingspan of a pterodactyl and the footwork of a ballet dancer, it was obvious to coach Kevin Boyle that he had landed a treasure in the 16-year-old Embiid—no matter how awkward he appeared in his first informal practice at the school.

When Montverde's players snickered at yet another clumsy play by their gargantuan newcomer, Boyle blew his whistle and motioned for Embiid to get a drink of water.

As Embiid walked away, Boyle summoned his players to center court.

"Laugh all you want," he said, "But in five years, you're going to be asking him for a loan, because he's going to be worth about $50 million."

Boyle chuckles when recalling the story.

"I told them, 'You have no idea how good that kid is going to be.'"

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Less than three years since that day in 2011, Embiid—now a 7-foot college freshman—is the starting center for a Kansas team that has won or had a share of nine straight Big 12 regular-season titles.

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The thought entering the season was that Embiid's teammate, Andrew Wiggins, would be the No. 1 pick in next summer's NBA draft. But lately the scouts that line the walls at KU's practices concede that Embiid could be in the mix for that top slot, too. At the very worst, he's expected to go in the top five.

"We need to play him all the time," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "But the more he plays, the less time he's going to spend in Lawrence."

Lofty praise for someone playing just his third year of organized basketball. Still, as much progress as he's made since arriving from Cameroon as a high school junior, the excitement about Embiid exists for the same reason it did back in that practice gym at Montverde.

It's not about how good Embiid is now. It's about how good he could become.

"I'm not even thinking about the NBA right now," Embiid told Bleacher Report. "People have been saying that I'm playing good, but I don't think so. I'm not even close to being good yet. I'm not even close to being where I want to be."

If the last few years are any indication, Embiid will get there sooner rather than later.

Within a year he went from playing on the JV squad at his high school to being ranked among the top 10 college prospects in America by virtually every recruiting service. He studies film of his idol, Hakeem Olajuwon, one day and then mimics one of his post moves to perfection the next.

About a month ago, Self gave Embiid a tape of former KU shot-blocker Jeff Withey and told him to watch it. A week later Embiid swatted seven shots—all after halftime—in the Jayhawks' win over UTEP.