All-time underachievers

[nkdlunch]

remember laphonso ellis?

[ambchang]

remember laphonso ellis?

Guy was hurt real bad. Came back, redefined his game, and had a couple of more games. Sad story really.
Bo Kimble? Billy Owens?

[shelshor]

I still love to rag on Cherokee Parks
And I was expecting much better from Bryant "Big Country" Reeves

[wildbill2u]

what about Lloyd Whatisname. He was touted as the best player ever to come off the courts of New York, got into trouble, never went to college, but was finally brought to the Spurs under Jerry Tarkanian.

Speaking of underachievers, Tarkanian. a legendary college coach at UNLV only lasted about 6 weeks in the NBA>

[Supergirl]

underachievers are not supposed to win rings.. he won.. so he's achieving

Which is exactly my objection to including Rasheed Wallace on this list. Had he stayed in Portland and continued to spiral downwards, he would have been perfect for this list. But he moved to Detroit, and gave them that extra piece they needed to win a ring in 2004. They wouldn't have won it without him, IMO.

[Supergirl]

I still love to rag on Cherokee Parks
And I was expecting much better from Bryant "Big Country" Reeves

And if we're including Cherokee Parks, we gotta include Mikki Moore, too. Two 7 footers multiple teams expected to be great, but who were all disappointed.

[Kori Ellis]

I'd include Cherokee Parks somewhere on the list because he was a 12th overall draft pick and was a bust. But Mikki Moore was undrafted, so he can't be an underachiever. Just getting to the NBA is a great achievement by an undrafted player.

Olowokandi is high up on my list because he was a number one overall pick and he just seemed not to care enough to play hard. I know he's talented enough because I've seen him have monster games. But he's just doesn't care to try. Now it looks like he's underachieved his way right out of the NBA and will end up playing in Europe.

[JamStone]

I didn't read the whole thread, but here are a few of mine that may not have already been mentioned:

Glenn Robinson: had a solid career, even a few all-star seasons, but out of Purdue, people were calling him a future Hall of Famer.

Walt Williams: the "Magician" was one of my favorite players, he could do everything on the court and I thought he had the talent to be similar to Magic Johnson, plus he could shoot lights out. I don't know why he couldn't get to that next level of greatness.

Joe Smith: I saw Rasheed Wallace get discussed, which in some parts is fair, but Joe Smith was drafted higher than Rasheed in 1995 and was regarded as the better player by many. If Rasheed is anywhere close to being an underachiever, what is Joe Smith?

Ed O'Bannon: I'm relunctant to mention O'Bannon, because I don't really think he under-achieved as much as he over-achieved in college. I just think people, most notably the Nets, valued his talent more than they should. He just wasn't that good. He was a winner, but not very good.

Ron Mercer: I think he could have been great.

Calbert Cheaney: He could have had a career similar to what Michael Redd is starting to have.

Brad Daugherty: classic under-achieving big man.

Danny Manning: Call it the curse of the Clippers, he should have done more in his NBA career.

[samikeyp]

Ron Mercer: I think he could have been great.

a lot of Spurs fans did too.

[ducks]

lebron james

[ShoogarBear]

Brad Daugherty: classic under-achieving big man.

WTF?

He averaged 19 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.7 apg for his career, including three straight 20-10 years. Played in 5 All-Star games, wsa third-team All-NBA in 1991-1992. The only reason he didn't make more All-NBA teams is he played during the Hakeem-DRob-Ewing heydays, and his career was abruptly cut short by back injuries.

[Supergirl]

I'd include Cherokee Parks somewhere on the list because he was a 12th overall draft pick and was a bust. But Mikki Moore was undrafted, so he can't be an underachiever. Just getting to the NBA is a great achievement by an undrafted player.

Olowokandi is high up on my list because he was a number one overall pick and he just seemed not to care enough to play hard. I know he's talented enough because I've seen him have monster games. But he's just doesn't care to try. Now it looks like he's underachieved his way right out of the NBA and will end up playing in Europe.

Good points. Cherokee Parks was the #12 pick? Wow. Yikes. Man, I hope that exec has lost his job. And Kandi was the #1 pick - I forgot that. He should be ranked the #1 underachiever, on that basis, along with Darko.

[dbestpro]

Good points. Cherokee Parks was the #12 pick? Wow. Yikes. Man, I hope that exec has lost his job. And Kandi was the #1 pick - I forgot that. He should be ranked the #1 underachiever, on that basis, along with Darko.

The jury is still out on Darko. Kandi has been tried and convicted.

[SpellCheckChic]

Stinka Dare?

Wait, is this right?

[himat]

So far Sheed should be on that list unfortunantly, but he knows he'll HAVE to play to the top of his ability for the Pistons to be Champs. If he does that he's definantly off the list, but if Sheed stays the same the Pistons will have a bumpy ride this season.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Get off the Danny Manning thing already - see my post on page 2 of this thread.

NO WAY Daugherty underachieved! He was an awesome player! Those Nance-Daugherty-Price teams were great to watch (they could really pass), and but for the fact that they were playing during the NBA's heyday, they might have won something.