The truth wasn't that Jake didn't expect to become a starter, it was that in his past life he remembered how well Ed Cota played, so it was normal for him to think that with his current skill level he was the team's reserve.
Also, Jake was very confident that he could get a place in the team after a few games, he could see that Coach Smith seemed pleased with his performance and that his teammates accepted him over time.
So Jake thought that if they played multiple games scoring high points and playing very well, it was impossible for him to be left in the team reserve for long, it was because he was confident he didn't care.
In the team who had the most contact with him among the players, he was a fan of before was Vince Carter, what happened was that Vince had a very good personality and so he was liked by almost every player so Jake couldn't get close to Jake for now.
