Some draft picks that you swore couldn't miss

[shadowgrin]

I wikied Ed O'Bannon and this is interesting:

attended UCLA. He had little impact, however, at the beginning, as he tore his anterior cruciate ligament. He was told he might not be able to walk properly again, but eighteen months later, after receiving a graft from a cadaver , he returned to playing basketball and became the team leader

The dead muscle finally gave up on him when he turned pro.

[boshalladay]

Gerald Green was going to be the next Tracy McGrady. I was so angry when he said he didn't want to play in Toronto.

[dopeboy]

Bill Walker. Before injuries expectations were extremely high. Now it's under question mark will he be able to establish himself in the NBA.

[Andrew]

I was actually going to say Jay Williams but given the circumstances I didn't think it was appropriate....

Perhaps, but then it was his decision to ride that motorcycle. He's not a bust in the traditional sense, somewhere between the tragedy of Len Bias (since Williams still has his life) and the run-of-the-mill collegiate star-turned-bust when success didn't translate to the next level.

[The X]

Admittedly, I thought Jay Williams was a very safe, can't miss prospect. That's even after a very average rookie season.

[Mayerhendrix]

I was going to say Michael Olowokandi and Kwame Brown, but I forgot this was a thread about players who were initially expected to actually be GOOD before everyone found out they were useless.

For people who are following the NBA summer league play, Hasheem Thabeet has been getting hammered for his poor gameplay. Bust of the draft class in the making, perhaps?

[Andrew]

Possibly, but it was no secret that he's raw offensively coming into the Draft. Could be a case of too many expectations, too soon.

[The X]

Yeah, everybody knows Thabeet was a big stretch at 2. He's no Roy Hibbert, that's for sure . I thought Grizzlies would do the smart thing & either trade down or take Harden to add another talented wing.

[Mayerhendrix]

Fran Vazquez ought to be on this list at the very top. Everyone had him pegged as 'the next great European big' but he didn't even make it to this country.

In all seriousness though, it might be a bit of a gamble to say it but I think it's a fair call to put Jermaine O'Neal on this list. Some guys I'd also put in for consideration...

DeMarr Johnson/DaJuan Wagner -- These guys were hyped HUGE in high school and even did fairly well enough in college to get drafted pretty high. Then they just fizzled out. Johnson through a series of moronic accidents, Wagner through some issues involving a defective colon?

Channing Frye -- Remember when this kid started out great, and really made a good early shot to challenge for ROY consideration?

And probably the best of all, right up there with Kwame Brown and the likes, not for the poor quality of what he actually achieved but because it was so much less than what was expected of him -- Christian Laettner.

[The X]

Frye was garbage all along. Didn't know why people liked him so much. Thought Knicks should've grabbed Granger at 8. Then again, I was thinking Raptors would take Granger had 9 (& again instead of Joey Graham) & the Lakers should take him at 10 (although I did have an inkling they were taking high schooler Bynum).

I wouldn't put Jermaine O'Neal on the list. He was a legit All-Star for most of those years in Indiana. From memory he was also picked number 17 I believe in that super strong 1996 Draft, so hard to say a pick that low turning into an All-Star bigman is an underachievement.

[benji]

Frye had an incredible rookie season.

O'Neal took too many crappy jumpers to ever be an actual star.

I do agree that everyone you mentioned BUT the Lakers should've taken Granger. It was like Pierce in his dropping.

[jonthefon]

Pavel Podkol-just kidding. That pick really turned out frickin' great. Can you believe that according to Nellie the senior, Cuban wanted Donnie Nelson to draft the dude at #5?

Anyway, what does Thabeet project to if he "works out"? The Grizz didn't have much choice, considering how Rubio was shitting the bed and they were practically set with Conley, Mayo and Gay to really have Harden. And after that, they didn't have too many options that wouldn't be considered serious stretches. Jordan Hill? Yeesh. Tyreke Evans? Same boat as any other guard.

[The X]

Either trade down a few spots & pick up best talent or just take Harden at 2. Mayo wants to eventually move to PG anyways. Conley was always a mammoth stretch at 4 a couple of years back. He'll make a good backup PG though.

[Mayerhendrix]

Frye was garbage all along. Didn't know why people liked him so much. Thought Knicks should've grabbed Granger at 8. Then again, I was thinking Raptors would take Granger had 9 (& again instead of Joey Graham) & the Lakers should take him at 10 (although I did have an inkling they were taking high schooler Bynum).

I wouldn't put Jermaine O'Neal on the list. He was a legit All-Star for most of those years in Indiana. From memory he was also picked number 17 I believe in that super strong 1996 Draft, so hard to say a pick that low turning into an All-Star bigman is an underachievement.

Frye had an incredible first 3 months in the NBA. Did extremely well in November and December, and even the first half of January. But by the All-Star break, teams seemed to have realized that he actually had talent and put pressure on him -- after all, there's not anyone else much in New York who's talented enough to need defensive coverage. After that his career just didn't show those same trends of hope as it did in the beginning.

At absolute best, the Grizz could've hoped for Hasheem Thabeet to become a Dikembe Mutombo type player, but it's unlikely to happen. The more likely comparison will be Hasheem Thabeet to a 'poor-man's' Ben Wallace. And when you're calling someone a POOR man's version of Big Ben it's not giving them much credit at all.

[Calamaro]

Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor is not a bad player at all, but I expected more from him. He won the rookie of the year award averaging 15 and 10. But, then he played just 26 games during his sophomore season. And then he became a good rebounder and shot blocker but never developed a solid offensive game. I remember I thought "What the hell are they doing" when Orlando selected Howard instead of Okafor.

[hova-]

Frye was garbage all along. Didn't know why people liked him so much. Thought Knicks should've grabbed Granger at 8. Then again, I was thinking Raptors would take Granger had 9 (& again instead of Joey Graham) & the Lakers should take him at 10 (although I did have an inkling they were taking high schooler Bynum).

I wouldn't put Jermaine O'Neal on the list. He was a legit All-Star for most of those years in Indiana. From memory he was also picked number 17 I believe in that super strong 1996 Draft, so hard to say a pick that low turning into an All-Star bigman is an underachievement.

Frye had an incredible first 3 months in the NBA. Did extremely well in November and December, and even the first half of January. But by the All-Star break, teams seemed to have realized that he actually had talent and put pressure on him -- after all, there's not anyone else much in New York who's talented enough to need defensive coverage. After that his career just didn't show those same trends of hope as it did in the beginning.

At absolute best, the Grizz could've hoped for Hasheem Thabeet to become a Dikembe Mutombo type player, but it's unlikely to happen. The more likely comparison will be Hasheem Thabeet to a 'poor-man's' Ben Wallace. And when you're calling someone a POOR man's version of Big Ben it's not giving them much credit at all.

Just like everybody overrated and hyped Ben Wallace after the Pistons' runs for the title, now everybody seems to underrate the things he has achieved. This guy is a four-time defensive player of the year. His timing and anticipation for blocks was one of the best Ive seen considering his height of only 6-9. The important part of his game was his excellent athleticism for someone considered a big man. Surely he hasn't achieved anything after leaving the Pistons but he was still an All-Star back in the days and just could not maintain his A game (at least he developed an "A-game" ... I mean this guy wasnt even drafted)

[benji]

There's also the fact that Wallace is still a quite good and useful player in a backup role when he can be on the court as he's shown for Cleveland the last two years. He was overpaid by the Bulls at age 32 based on what he had accomplished prior. He was no longer worth the value of his contract but that doesn't mean he's a terrible player.

Based on what I've seen of Thabeet in college, if he can be the Wal-Mart brand of prime Ben Wallace, I'll be surprised.

[shadowgrin]

The important part of his game was his excellent athleticism for someone considered a big man.

Too bad that was the only thing he depended on for his A-game.

[Mayerhendrix]

Wallace's achievements during the glory years are mitigated by the fact that he's a lazy, unmotivated fuck.

[Andrew]

Wallace's achievements during the glory years are mitigated by the fact that he's a lazy, unmotivated fuck.

Post the big payday, at any rate.

[SAAB]

1. Jason Gardner= Beast basketball player, an Arizona all-time great, didnt even get drafted... (tearing it up overseas, however)

2. Juan Dixon= One of the greatest college ballers of all time, had a couple decent seasons, been rather subpar since

3. Hollis Price= Pretty good guard in college, didnt amount to anything

[The X]

A second rounder whom I thought couldn't miss was Duke's Chris Carrawell....I honestly thought the Spurs had made another big steal in 2nd Round with the 41st pick in the 2000 Draft....he didn't even make the team

[J@3]

1. Jason Gardner= Beast basketball player, an Arizona all-time great, didnt even get drafted... (tearing it up overseas, however)

2. Juan Dixon= One of the greatest college ballers of all time, had a couple decent seasons, been rather subpar since

3. Hollis Price= Pretty good guard in college, didnt amount to anything

Haven't you been banned like 5 times? At least your IP matches someone who was.

[kevC]

[dascoot]

Bryant (Big Country Reeves)- this dude was a beat in college ball and then got to the NBA and stunk it up for the Vancouver Now Memphis Grizzlies.


Kwame Brown- I heard this guy was compared to KG. hasn't really proved anything to me.


Darko Milicic- was selected before Melo, DWade and Bosh. Hasn't really impressed me yet even though there are worse players than him in the league.