As I have said before, I don’t have very many heroes. I try to see everyone for their humanity and try not to raise one person above another.

But Zach Feinstein, he’s different.

Zach has a dream. He just completed his junior year at Washington University in St. Louis with a double major in Systems Engineering and Applied Mathematics. Engineering and counting won’t play a big role in Zach’s future, however, if things work out the way he hopes.

Zach has applied for and received a spot on the list of players eligible for the National Basketball Association Draft on June 26 in New York. If you have not completed your college eligibility, you need to apply to have your name in the draft pool. Luckily for Zach, the NBA approved his application despite one hitch.

He doesn’t play basketball. Hasn’t since the third grade. The fact that he’s 5-8, 130 and has a double major in engineering and math at Washington might have something to do with it.

That hasn’t stopped Zach. He dreams of taking his mad pickup basketball skills to the NBA, and the league has given him the opportunity. I just feel bad that he won’t be at Madison Square Garden next month to hear his name called.

He’ll be in China doing research. Hopefully research about dunking on Yao Ming.