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Great College players...Not so great in NBA

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Well, when you tear an ACL it's hard to perform. Thought he had a pretty good rookie year though.

 

He was okay. He made 3rd team All-Rookie which is a little bit disappointing considering he was the 3rd player chosen. He averaged 11.8 PPG 2.9 Reb and 2.1 Asst. However, he only shot 37% from the field. Not awful numbers but not great--he does probably deserve another season or 2 before being labled that big of a bust.

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He was okay. He made 3rd team All-Rookie which is a little bit disappointing considering he was the 3rd player chosen. He averaged 11.8 PPG 2.9 Reb and 2.1 Asst. However, he only shot 37% from the field. Not awful numbers but not great--he does probably deserve another season or 2 before being labled that big of a bust.

 

 

Yes he does.

Bobby Hurley - Duke....car wreck

Keith Lee - Memphis...great skills...didn't have the body.

Dajuan Wagner (6th pick in 2002 by Cleveland out of Memphis)

This kid was highly touted coming out of high school after scoring 100 points in a game but never lived up to his NBA potential.

 

If I remember, first he had a knee injury, then some kind of digestive-track disease or something. I tried to locate him this past year, but couldn't.

I'll throw a name out there.

 

One of the top 3-5 greatest collegiate players ever. David Thompson.

 

No way his NBA career came close to matching his collegiate career.

True although he did score over 10,000 points in the ABA and NBA. David Thompson was probably in the top five of college basketball players I have seen play in my era.

 

Alcohol and cocaine cut all of this short.

I think his name was Billy McCaffrey (Spelling?). He played on Duke's 1st championship team and then transferred to Vandy where he was a great player!

All of these players were dominant college players, but NBA duds:

 

Kenny Walker

Steve Alford

Milt Wagner

Lancaster Gordon

I'm not so sure about Simon. Sure he was MOP of the 1997 tourney but he wasn't ever as highly a touted player as say Vaughn, Simien, O'Bannon or Montross. He was an All-American in 1998 but I really feel like that was what the 1997 team accomplished--I just never felt like he was as good as he got credit for.

 

Miles, last I heard, was averaging 25 ppg in the Dleague....I know its the D-league..but 25 ppg is solid anywhere...no reason he couldn't get a shot in the league...must be something holding him back

I'm not so sure about Simon. Sure he was MOP of the 1997 tourney but he wasn't ever as highly a touted player as say Vaughn, Simien, O'Bannon or Montross. He was an All-American in 1998 but I really feel like that was what the 1997 team accomplished--I just never felt like he was as good as he got credit for.

 

I could be mistaken but I thought Simon made some All-American teams in '98.

For UK I think the biggest bust might have been Cotton Nash. Here's a guy who was All-American his last two years and all everything for UK all 3 years. He never did anything in the NBA.

 

 

Here are some others that might make the list:

 

Jim McDaniels of WKU.

 

Sidney Wicks of UCLA.

 

Dwayne Scales or Durand Macklin of LSU.

 

Walter Berry of St Johns.

 

Steve Alford of IU.

 

Dennis Scott of Georgia Tech.

 

Hubert Davis of UNC.

 

Mike O'Koren of UNC.

 

Mark Macon of Temple.

I'm not so sure about Simon. Sure he was MOP of the 1997 tourney but he wasn't ever as highly a touted player as say Vaughn, Simien, O'Bannon or Montross. He was an All-American in 1998 but I really feel like that was what the 1997 team accomplished--I just never felt like he was as good as he got credit for.

 

I could be mistaken but I thought Simon made some All-American teams in '98.

 

He did make some All-American teams like I said in my quote. However, he never was really considered a great pro prospect and wasn't even selected until the 2nd round. I guess he does fit the mold of great college players that weren't great pro players--he just wasn't a pro bust (which is kind of what this thread turned into) because not that much was expected out of him in the NBA.

I'll throw a name out there.

 

One of the top 3-5 greatest collegiate players ever. David Thompson.

 

No way his NBA career came close to matching his collegiate career.

 

Uh...Thompson is in the Hall Of Fame.

Donald Williams 92 NCAA tourney MVP

Phil Ford - The best college point guard that I have ever seen play. Ford was a three-time consensus All American who started for the Olympic champion USA team in 1976 following his sophomore season. I had UNC, but the four corner offense was a thing of beauty with Ford running the point. Ford averaged 11.6 ppg and 6.4 apg before retiring from the NBA in 1985.

 

Bill Walton - The best college center that I have seen play. Injuries severely limited his effectiveness in the NBA, although he did have a few good seasons.

Sam Bowie - Another great college center whose injuries put a major dent in his NBA career. I always felt that Bowie was very underrated as a defensive player.

 

J. J. Redick - Great college guard a mediocre NBA player at best.

 

...and so is Walton.

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