View Full Version : Need some help for a school paper
Hey guys... so I'm writing a paper on some of the players who skipped or only took 1 year of College to go into the NBA and didn't make it. I have a few names down but not many, can you guys think of any other players who are now nobodies after flunking out of the NBA after skipping/not finishing college? Thanks :downspin:
mogrovejo
10-01-2009, 08:44 PM
What do you mean by didnt' make it? Out of the league after a couple of seasons?
kamikazi_player
10-01-2009, 08:57 PM
I just checked on wikipedia on the NBA draft 2003, and there's an NBA player named James Lang who went out of high school straight to the NBA draft. He was waived on December of the same year.
Unholy Turkey
10-01-2009, 08:59 PM
Sebastian Telfair
I would also say that these athletes rely more on athleticism rather than skill.
kamikazi_player
10-01-2009, 09:01 PM
Sebastian Telfair
I would also say that these athletes rely more on athleticism rather than skill.
He's still playing in the NBA, he saying NBA players that are not in the NBA.
kamikazi_player
10-01-2009, 09:02 PM
It really is amazing what players like McGrady, KG and LeBron have done. But for every 1 player that is successful at the NBA level coming out of college there are 15 players who threw away a free education at a top school to bounce around the league.
Forgot to mention Kobe
Unholy Turkey
10-01-2009, 09:07 PM
He's still playing in the NBA, he saying NBA players that are not in the NBA.
Oh, gotcha, my bad. :nope
mogrovejo
10-01-2009, 09:23 PM
Jackie Butler couldn't talk while playing.
Gerald Green was actually lucky to avoid college, he probably would have never been drafted in the 1st round. He's not a nobody just yet but he'll soon be.
The first McHale's draft pick after losing all those picks due to the Joe Smith affair was Ndudi Ebi.
Jonathan Bender is apparently trying a comeback. He had an interesting life after leaving the NBA.
Eddie Griffin is the obvious case of someone who could have used some more maturing before entering the league. Or Shawne Williams. Chris Washburn is another one.
DaJuan Wagner is still trying to play, I heard.
I just checked on wikipedia on the NBA draft 2003, and there's an NBA player named James Lang who went out of high school straight to the NBA draft. He was waived on December of the same year.
He was playing in the D-League for the Utah Flash last season.
dallaskd
10-01-2009, 09:24 PM
Darius Washington. Led Memphis to the Elite 8 his sophmore year. All-Conference USA and honorable mention all american. left early for the nba. didnt get drafted. tried out for several teams but never made it in the nba. could have been a good player if he stayed at memphis.
You guys are awesome, thanks!
monosylab1k
10-01-2009, 11:12 PM
Leon Smith
Looking for some more players... any players who didn't finish college that suffered career ending injuries?
kamikazi_player
10-01-2009, 11:55 PM
There's a player in the NBA 2001 NBA draft namded Ousmane Cisse, came right out of high school. He was the 47th pick of the NBA draft, injured and joined the globetrotters. He made an attempt but only played one game with the Magic.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ousmane_Cisse
kamikazi_player
10-01-2009, 11:59 PM
Leon Smith was a 29th pick for the San Antonio Spurs, who came out of high school. first round 29th pick, but got into trouble and like taking pills a little too much.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Smith
wekko368
10-02-2009, 01:47 AM
Looking for some more players... any players who didn't finish college that suffered career ending injuries?
Shaun Livingston had the knee injury. Steve Francis had that quad injury with the Rockets and hasn't played anywhere since. Based on your criteria, I'm not sure if Darius Miles counts too.
There was a guy named Ndudi Ebi who came directly out of high school (in Houston) and was a first round draft pick by Minnesota in 2003. He plays somewhere in Europe now.
Hornets1
10-02-2009, 02:59 AM
Del, try Jay Williams
baseline bum
10-02-2009, 03:10 AM
Rodney White is probably the biggest bust to fit your description that I can think of coming in lately (a guy Jordan was dying to draft along with such greats as Kwame Brown and Darius Miles who Jordan was also in love with :lol )
iManu
10-02-2009, 08:31 AM
I really like the idea of this paper. Last year, I met a young tubby kid who said they wanted to play line in the NFL.
Now normally, we would all think this is cute... but in this economy? So I said,
"Shut the fuck up, Kid."
iManu
10-02-2009, 08:35 AM
Kidding... kidding...
But man, the statistics are against them. NCAA says 1 in 100 athletes may go on professionally. With the current economic fears. You know it's got to be less than that.
ginobili's bald spot
10-02-2009, 08:57 AM
You guys forgot the biggest failure of them all. Corleone Young.
hater
10-02-2009, 09:42 AM
why waste time writing a whole paper just type 2 words, Kwame Brown
Culburn369
10-02-2009, 09:52 AM
why waste time writing a whole paper just type 2 words, Kwame Brown
& 2 more, Pau Gasol...& then the number, 15.
tee, hee.
JamStone
10-02-2009, 09:54 AM
A couple notes on a few guys that have been mentioned or will be mentioned...
DerMarr Johnson - not entirely fair to say he didn't make it without at least making mention that after his rookie season, he got into a car accident and broke his neck. He was never quite the same after that.
Dajuan Wagner - similarly, Wagner had some kind of stomach ulcer disease that I believe took away most of his intestines.
Jonathan Bender - also had some kind of degenerative disease in his knee that really forced him out of the NBA.
Now, this is not to say that they would have made it big if those health situations were different, especially with Bender because he had been in the league for a while. But, I think it's important to note that those injuries or health issues played a part at least a little bit.
I think many of the names have already been mentioned, but you could even extend it to players that left after their sophomore season who still weren't ready for the NBA, like Erick Barkley, Marcus Taylor, Will Avery.
One name I do think should be mentioned is Lenny Cooke. He was a high school stud and considered a NBA superstar in the making in high school. But he also thought too highly of his talent. I believe it was the summer of 2001 where Cooke as the top dog at one of those ABC camps and then faced a sophomore kid named LeBron James. LeBron pretty much made Lenny look like a middle school kid. After that, Cooke's confidence was never quite the same. He foolishly declared for the 2002 NBA draft and went undrafted.
An interesting twist you could put on the paper might be mentioned how there were some high school and college freshmen that were thought very highly of that stayed in college all four years that ended up hurting their NBA stock and perhaps careers, like Felipe Lopez, Jerod Ward, and Jawad Williams.
DeadlyDynasty
10-02-2009, 09:55 AM
Joe Forte
Bukefal
10-02-2009, 12:36 PM
Darius Washington. Led Memphis to the Elite 8 his sophmore year. All-Conference USA and honorable mention all american. left early for the nba. didnt get drafted. tried out for several teams but never made it in the nba. could have been a good player if he stayed at memphis.
Yeah, he was with the Spurs a few years ago. Something must have happened behind the scenes because I thought he was the Spurs' back up point guard. It's a shame, he must have just gotten some bad information.
Darius is a Macedonian now and plays for my country. He signed with Galatasaray BC in Turkey this summer after his workouts with Memphis Grizzlies. He still tries to get in the NBA, I hope he can, its a great player.
I met him in person this summer in my hometown in Macedonia, while training with the national team.
Morg1411
10-02-2009, 03:27 PM
why waste time writing a whole paper just type 2 words, Kwame Brown
:lol
cobbler
10-03-2009, 01:18 AM
why waste time writing a whole paper just type 2 words, Kwame Brown
The question was asked about who didn't make it. You know as in cut. Not in the league. Failed to make a team.
Kwame has been in the league 8 or 9 years and earned well over 25 million dollars. His last years salary alone was 9 mil. Kwame's major fault is that he never lived up to being a #1 pick. That is MJ's fault for inaccurately evaluating him. He is nothing more than a mediocre or backup center and he has filled that role and made a fantastic living doing so. While he may not have lived up to expectations, he has certainly made it non the less.
Culburn369
10-03-2009, 03:52 AM
Hey, hater, you just got yer clock cleaned, dummy.
tee, hee.
JamStone
10-03-2009, 10:41 AM
Heck, he made about $25 million with the Lakers alone. After they traded for him, they re-upped him for another 2 years.
Culburn369
10-03-2009, 10:50 AM
Heck, he made about $25 million with the Lakers alone. After they traded for him, they re-upped him for another 2 years.
& then traded him in for a Gasol. What a beaut!
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