Such was the case when my Tampa Raptors, a rag-tag, best of the rest team, consisting of a band of players not good enough to be scooped up by Nike or adidas' summer outfits. Tyler remains the first and only player to not only skip college to turn pro, but he skipped part of high school as well. Smith's off-the-court shenanigans are far more interesting than his fizzled pro hoops career. Her father participated in baseball and basketball at Simpson College. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. Others achieve college stardom. Was Manigault the original "G.O.A.T"? But Maggette was the best all-around player on the floor against a favorite team that had Kentucky recruit Ryan Hogan. "It's like playing with your brother in the backyard," said Panguitch coach Clint Barney. Montverde Academy . Duke has been viewed as the leader for his services for a long time, and the Blue Devils hope to add him to a class that already includes two top-10 players on this list. Williams wound up being a "Summer League" player, when real ballers want to hoop in the winter and spring. Thislegend preceded LeBron in Ohio, and it was just as big at the start. Standing about 6-8 and about 230 or 240 pounds, he looked like a grown man, and I had no clue who he was. He probably scored 30-plus points, and I'm not sure I ever saw him put the ball on the floor. 5. With the playoffs underway, it's time to see who stands out as the best of the best so far. Damon Bailey was LeBron James before LeBron James, in the sense that he was so hyped up as a high school prospect and he drew tens of thousands of fans to see him play. Everyone remembers the Fab Five of Michigan but did you know there was a Fab Five II? Mayo became the first player in 10 years to be banned by the NBA. Players who made the most successful jumps from high school to the NBA, The paths of KD and Kyrie: How one month changed three franchises and two superstar legacies, Morant to miss two games after video with gun, Grizzlies' Clarke tore Achilles, out for season, 'Not going out this way': Nets, down 28, stun C's, Kerr touts 5-0 homestand: Dubs 'turned a corner', KD: Mavs tilt, Kyrie meeting 'just another game', Sources: Dragic joining Bucks for rest of season, Nets filling out big-man depth with Noel signing, Isaac has surgery on adductor, done for season. Like many of the players on this list, Cisse switched schools, finishing up at St. Jude Catholic High. He played one year in Israel and one year in Japan before being drafted in the second round in 2011 by Charlotte. (Feb. 20-25), Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. She doesnt appear to share anything about her private life with others, though. Oh, heck no. "It feels relaxing and just feels good to play," said Chian. That pretty much sums up the professional "career" of Cisse, who lead Montgomery Catholic High School in Alabama to a state title in 1999. Avon defeats Danville 61-49 on Friday, February 24, 2023. Who is IHSAA boys basketball player of the week? Almost literally, because he resembled no player more than he did Shaquille O'Neal. Between 1995 and 2005, these nine future NBA All-Stars (including two future Hall of Famers) decided to skip college and head directly to the league. He was rated the No. Except now he's got Magic Johnson's head on Karl Malone's body, and it's even more frightening." But when the Nets told Ryan to hone his skills in the NBA's former minor league, the CBA, Black Jack gave up his pro playing aspirations and gave up on the game altogether. Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list, NBA Power Rankings: Kevin Durant's return could rock the West. Nick Birdsong. First with the Timberwolves, where he never quite had the supporting cast to go all the way, and then with the Celtics, where he teamed with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to bring the C's their 17th championship. The National Basketball Association is known for its history ofphenomenal players. The Philadelphia 76ers selected Raymond Lewis with the No. Oden lived up to his billing in college, leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to the National Championship game. Salem won the state title, and Brunson surprised a few of us by choosing Temple over Kentucky. We held the lead deep into the second half before he decided he'd had enough. High school basketball player videos, pictures, profiles, and high school basketball recruiting information. 1 forward in the Class of 2012 while attending Findlay Prep in Nevada. He was a good four-year starter in college, but hardly lived up to the hype he built in high school. Big mistake. And one more player was drafted but never made it to any teams -- he died at age 20 in his own bed while sleeping. I was in the hunt for the starting point guard slot, a battle I'd eventually lose a couple games into the state AAU tournament at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Orlando. I had the unfortunate pleasure of guarding her while I played for Dorman High School. Bill Bender is a national college football writer for The Sporting News. Maggette was smooth and fun to watch doing everything on the floor." You were drawn to Estaban. Get your votes in by noon Friday for our high school boys basketball player of the week for Feb. 20-25: Cast your vote in the poll at the bottom of the article or click here to vote.. Trey . Dakota Candler, South Knox: The 6-5 senior made the game-winning three-point play in the final seconds as South Knox defeated Pike Central 60-58. Caitlin Clark Early Life. Herman "Helicopter" Knowings Image via Complex Original Accolades: One of 24 ESPN Rucker Park Legends The. Let there be no doubt; LeBron James is the greatest player to transition from high school (the coed St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, Ohio) directly to the NBA. After one year at USC Mayo joined the NBA where he wasnt the star that many expected but was still a serviceable role player. The 6-foot-3 senior guard committed to Duke earlier this year. Shes a stunning basketball player with a well-built body. When you're known by just two letters--as in "KG"--you have to be something special. 3 ranked played in the Class of 2001 and had a solid year in college as he averaged over 21 PPG for Memphis. What happens if an high school basketball star decides to throw a "direct to the NBA Draft" party and no one decides to show? He had not turned 18 yet. After bouncing around myriad high schools in two states, he enrolled at a private school in Orlando for his senior season. She also received the most weekly Player of the Week honours in the Big Ten Conference with five. 9 in the next summer's NBA Draft. Here are SN's staff picks: "I will always be indebted to my sophomore year biology teacher for noting my passion for basketball and asking if I'd like to go along with him to see the 1976 Dapper Dan Roundball Classic. Type above and press Enter to search. Selby would start just 11 games at Kansas and the team seemed to perform better when he didnt play. Shooting guard Fields became the first sophomore high schooler to play in the "Best of the Best" all-star game with the likes of Garnett and future NBA superstar Allen Iverson, and he justified the selection by becoming the number three all-time leading scorer in Chicago public league history. He played for four teams in four seasons and even Michael Olowokandi lasted nine seasons in the NBA. There are other players like J.R. Smith, Kendrick Perkins and Monta Ellis who also went the prep-to-pro route and churned out serviceable NBA careers. There was actually an HBO movie made about Manigault starring Don Cheadle entitledRebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault. However, Ryan did have his moment in the sun, starring at John Jay High in Brooklyn, where he averaged 26 points a game as a guard with a deadly shot during the late 1970s. "Moments usually stick with you longer than stats, which is why on the surfaceit makes no sense to mention Chris Washburn in a conversation about the best high school players anybody ever saw. Buta lack of inner motivation proved to be a distraction, and the closest Ryan ever came to the NBA was a tryout he had with the then-New Jersey Nets in 1990. By. Selby was one of the best players to ever come out of the DMV area and he was the No. At Benjamin Franklin High in New York City, shooting guard Manigault set a record by scoring 57 points in one game in the late 1950s. 7 recruit in his class would average all of 3.7 PPG in two seasons with the Gators and declared for the 2015 NBA Draft. The top-two ranked, Al Harrington and Rashard Lewis, combined to play 32 NBA seasons and appear in over 2000 games. 1. Top Basketball States. Hes looking at a future of second-rate foreign leagues and G-League appearances. Here then, is the man, the player, LeBron James, who defeated the aforementioned Lenny Cooke and derailed Cooke's career while elevating his own stature that led James to being drafted number one by Cleveland in 2003. When it came to dribbling the basketball, Haynes was a revolutionary; considered by many to be the greatest dribbler in the history of the game. Jerryd Bayless 4. Press Esc to cancel. Oden would enroll at Ohio State where he was a dominant two-way player and led the team to the National Championship game. Mike DeCourcy. Moses Malone, Petersburg (Va.), 1974 The first high school player to go directly to the professional ranks, Malone was a two-time Parade and Scholastic Coach All-American while leading Petersburg to a pair of Virginia state championships. Some ballers opted not to enter the league for monetary reasons (back in the day, most NBA players made meager, five-figure salaries). Ward didnt even become a starter until his senior season and by then the luster off his Naismith award had worn away. The Mavs were probably a bad fit for Smith, as they were coached by Don Nelson, an old-school type who was particularly hard on rookies. Aside from throwing down monster dunks, he was also known for blocking the shots of opponents much bigger than him. She started every game she played in as a freshman in 201617, contributing to her teams 195 record and trip to the state quarterfinals with game averages of 5.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.25 steals. Caitlin has played basketball since she was very little. Fans of 1A boys basketball may feel a sense of dj vu as last year's top contenders, region rivals Panguitch and PIute, are set to face off again. So I've seen nearly every great basketball talent as a high schooler for the past four decades: Ewing, Mourning, Garnett, Davis. As a senior he led the Mustangs to a 25-2 record and a state championship after an undefeated regular season and semi-finals appearance the previous year. Chris Washburn's one moment makes him my choice." A Lamborghini is a Lamborghini, and Williamson is a Murcilago with a 6.2 L V12 engine. As I was sitting on the baseline under the very basket he threw it down on, covering the game for the Black Explosion student paper, I was one of the few who refrained from oooh-ing, but not because the dunk hadn't earned it. Young was a talented small forward from Kansas but even his high school coach was surprised he opted to skip college. Of the 44 players who have been drafted straight out of high school, Robert Swift remains the only white player to go from prep-to-pro. 2 overall pick in the 1986 draft and that was as close to the NBA as Bias would ever get. Fast forward to the Capital Center in Landover, Md., in late March, at the Capital Classic. In his 1985 recruiting class he was perceived to be better than Glen Rice, Danny Ferry, Sean Elliott, Pervis Ellison, Rod Strickland and Roy Marble - all who went on to have NBA careers. That's how real it was." A summer league stint with the Boston Celtics is the closest Cooke would ever get to the NBA and a pair of torn Achilles tendons ended his career by the age of 25. Pee Wee Kirkland, another legend of Rucker Park, made a name for himself in two highly distinct ways: as a drug kingpin and superstar basketball player. For 15 year old Ryan Chian, love of basketball won't fade away. I left the game that night feeling lucky to have seen that caliber of player in person but also anguished knowing that I'd be seeing a lot more of Antawn Jamison in the future." We take an in-depth look at the greatest high school hoopers ever, and how their stats compare. Throughout the regular season, many Oklahoma high school girls basketball stars made their cases for consideration of The Oklahoman's Super 5 Player of the Year. 3. If only he couldve put basketball before everything else. These are players we continue to talk about; continue to use as a measuring stick for any and all players who take the hardwood at the games highest level. Top opponent: Jason Drake Jr., Ferndale. I had no motivation to attend beyond my simple desire to verify the internet sensation with my own eyes. He last played professionally in 2007 in Argentina. I don't mean potentially better, I mean better today. Bailey was LeBron before LeBron and had over 40,000 people coming to watch his high school games which remains an all-time attendance record. Therefore, in most of these cases, as you shall discover, college probably would have been a good idea for the player in question. I already knew I wanted to be a sportswriter; seeing all those great players on one night made me realize I wanted to write about basketball more than any other sport. Either way, while these talented basketball players never made it to the National Basketball Association, they certainly had the game required to do so. Only twice has a player won the award two times: LeBron James and Greg Oden. Meanwhile, we all know how Kevin Durant fared. Cooke went up against his rival in a one-on-one game in 2001 and was soundly schooled, and for some inexplicable reason, allowed that one game to determine his fate forevermore. McDonald's All-American. Hes been arrested multiple times and has been charged with reckless driving, unlawful possession of a shotgun, and an armed home invasion. In recent years, Howard has dampened his stature as an NBA pro. SHARE High school boys basketball: Orem continues unlikely 5A tourney run, bounces Lehi to advance to semifinals. Jerry West is one of the most accomplished players in NBA history. Manning ended up winning the MVP with 20 points; Washburn scored 18. Brad Pinkerton. And it's really not close. But Bryant's still not good enough to top this list. As the top-ranked recruit in his class, Ward was expected to be the next Chris Webber but he wasnt even the next Juwan Howard or Jalen Rose. Born in the Dominican Republic, Lopezs family moved to New York when he was 14 and he enrolled at Rice High School in Manhattan. Weve watched our fair share of ESPNs 30 for 30 documentaries, yet few affect us as much as, BENJI, the story of Ben Wilson, Chicagos pride and joy and the best high school basketball player in the country. Basketball scorers start young. I just shot at the one in the middle. All eight players went on to play in the NBA. He attempted suicide while with the Mavs after he swallowed 250 aspirin tablets and he told police I am an Indian fighting Columbus! Dallas would cut him and he wouldnt make his NBA debut until 2001 with the Hawks. Cooke did have good times, first at Lane High in Brooklyn and then he moved on to La Salle Academy in Manhattan. For this particular list, we take a look at those basketball phenoms that are termed "Prep-to-Pro," meaning thatno college was deemed necessary for this or that particular player to achieve success in the National Basketball Association. It's unfortunate Ebi didn't make it in the NBA. These four players, and many more, skipped college to jump straight from high school to the NBA to great results. Caitlin was born on January 22, 2002, in Des Moines, Iowa, and is currently 19 years old. Trey Buchanan, Westfield: The junior guard had a career-high 32 points on 10-for-15 shooting from the 3-point line in a 59-32 win over Frankfort. On the day before his senior year at Simeon High School, Wilson was shot and killed, sending shockwaves through the city of Chicago and the rest of the country. Caitlin won the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award 13 times, a conference record. Inside Her Life! O.J. Sun-Times Player of the Year. Some context: less than three months before the Capital Classic, in mid-January 1984, top-ranked North Carolina beat fifth-ranked Maryland at Cole Field House, and the win was capped in the final seconds by one of Michael Jordan's most legendary dunks , a swooping breakaway rock-the-cradle jam, silencing the building except for a collective "oooooooohhhhh.". Teenage almost-seven-foot Chris Washburn doing it was like seeing man walk on the moon. --and five NBA titles later, the rest is history. When he was just 14 years old, legendary Indiana coach Bobby Knight declared that Bailey was better than any point guard his college team had. Cell phones throughout that crowd were set in video mode and trained on Williamson before he even finished his stretches. Well never know. The ironically nicknamed "Black Jack" Ryan represents the only "great white hope" of this list. She also won awards including Iowa Miss Basketball, Gatorade State Player of the Year, and the McDonalds All-American title. The WCAC was the best high school league in the country, as at least 3 teams were nationally ranked. After being named Mr. Basketball USA in 1990, Bailey joined Knight in Bloomington, Indiana. The 'Punks'section of Slam Magazine and maybe ESPN's 'SSA'were the primary ways we caught wind of big-time hoopers elsewhere. There weren't. And few ever played the game with such passion as Kevin Garnett, who transformed the culture of not one, but two NBA franchises. Know All About His Life! In addition, she also retains the award of Iowa Gatorade Player-of-the-Year in 2019 and 2020. There was asixth-grader in Columbus who could dunk, and his name put it over the top. His NBA career was even more of a letdown as he played for just four seasons and averaged 5.8 points per game. Favorite athlete: Stephen Curry. He would eventually move on to play in the CBA before retiring in 2003. It wasn't the best decision for each one, but for a select group of superstars, skipping college paid off. It is currently unknown who her companion is. McBride now has 1,822 career points going into the sectional. The Trail Blazers saw Oden's career dwindle, with his knees never being able to hold up. The bleachers at the Sumter Civic Center were full by the time Williamson's team took the floor for pregame warm-ups. Dominique Murphy, East Chicago Central: The 6-5 sophomore scored 34 points on 13-for-19 shooting with six rebounds and two steals in a 76-58 win over Andrean. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. Cooke was apparently so intent on going pro after high school that he never even bothered taking the SAT or ACT which are required for college. You cant find her Wikipedia article on the internet. He is a Final Year Engineering student. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. Needless to say they did it without Butler, who never did learn much about that work ethic. Eventually, the Boston Celtics selected him with the No. Believe me, I tried. For this piece, let's take a look at the 10 best basketball players to never play in the NBA. I have no idea how many points Williamson scored that day, but I do remember being disappointed when the game turned into a blowout. A 2008 documentary that follows the lives of 8 of the best high school basketball prospects at the time leading up the 1st annual Boost Mobile Elite 24 Hoops Classic at Rucker Park. Luke McBride, Norwell: The senior became Norwells all-time leading scorer with 24 points and eight rebounds in a 48-46 win over Homestead. Of the 10 players who started in the 2013 Jordan Brand Classic, nine of them were either drafted or are currently in the NBA including Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker. The most vivid thing I remember was how fast Jamison would get his shot off after catching a pass. MISHAWAKA MARIAN (41): Dareon Thornton 3 2-2 10, Deaglan Sullivan 7 5-6 21, Jackson Price 1 0-0 3, Deuce Owens 1 0-0 2, Zion Rhoades 1 3-4 5 TOTAL: 13 10-12 41 Watch James make one routine trip down the court and the whole package hits you at once: the size, the skills, the awareness, the competitiveness. We were playing Salem at our small gym with a brick wall that was about 10 feet off the baseline. No descriptions of Caitlins future boyfriend have emerged on the internet. There's no big tragic story behind Williams' failures; he appears to have not been good enough, at least for any teams to believe in him to sign him and actually play him. Maggette was smooth and fun to watch doing everything on the floor." -. Graham made a spot start for the Spurs on Thursday, finishing with 18 points on 5 of 10 shooting. The first thing that came to mind upon watching him was this: Magic Johnson's head on Michael Jordan's body. Well, teams lie and Cooke went undrafted which forced him to play in minor leagues like the NBDL and USBL. In 2017 and 2019, she won two gold medals in the FIBA Americas Tournament and the FIBA World Cup Tournament with Team USA. But then it all went downhill for Fields, who fractured a bone in his neck before his senior year playoffs. Although he played college ball at Cal State LA, Lewis is most notable forbeing arguably the greatest California streetball legends of all time. During a summer camp Cooke, the then No. From there, it soon became clear that not all was right with Smith and he clearly wasn't ready for the rigours and responsibilities of being a professional athlete. For those of us who did attend a university, we know the unmatched experience and knowledge that going to college provides a young person's mind, and life in general. Telfair played for nine NBA teams in 10 years and spent some time overseas as well, never living up to the incredible hype. Although he never strutted his stuff in the NBA, Haynes played in two separate stints for the Harlem Globetrotters, mesmerizing the crowd with his style, pizzazz, and insane handle. He would play only 103 games in the NBA and his career was over by the age of 23. Coincidentally, Dawkins also skipped college, but never became the pro on Malone's level. And even though phone and computer screens set what seemed to be unreasonable expectations, my own eyes could not believe what they saw. He was selected in the first round of the 2003 draft (26th overall) by the Timberwolves, but was never suited for the pros and wound up playing overseas for one obscure team after the next. Oden lived up to his billing in college, leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to the National Championship game. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. But imagine an alternate reality where injuries had kept one of these gifted, highly scouted prospects from ever becoming an NBA player. He was seen as the surer thing between he and fellow top prospect Kevin Durant, whom many felt wouldn't last in the NBA due to his lanky frame. ARLINGTON, Texas - For Arlington Martin High School, Tuesday was the biggest game of the post-season.. He died of natural causes back in 2015 at the age of 89. 9. His problems off the court were worse than his problems on it as in 2014 he pleaded guilty to battery for punching his ex-girlfriend. Welcome to The Whistler News, your go-to source for the latest news and trends across a wide range of categories, including Application, Business, Celebrity, Dating, Entertainment, Event, Food, How To, News, Questions, Streaming, Technology, Trending, and Uncategorized. Swimming in National Player of the Year awards just a year after Kevin Garnett's successful leap from high school to the NBA, Bryant made the none-too-surprising decision to turn pro himself. There is no comparison to me, Gary Payton, Antonio Davis, Greg Foster or Brian Shaw.. Some players found themselves a little too drawn to the hustler lifestyle. He attacked the rim like it had stole something from him. She was leading in the nation in assists (214), points (799), points per game (26.6), made field goals (266), and made 3-pointers (116), and second in assists per game (7.1) and 3-pointers per game (3.87). He was a two-time All-Star in the Israeli League and at the age of 26 he could still get one more opportunity in the NBA. Swift would play a total of 97 games in the NBA and experience more problems off the court. Seriously, that's how you had to do it. Last week, we unveiled our top high school basketball team in each state and today we are digging . The No. Our two best players wound up signing with Florida State and East Tennessee State. Her 799 points set a freshman record, while her 39 points in one game broke a previous school mark. I mashed up some of what I captured for an Instagram video. For head coach Kristin Meyer of West Des Moines Dowling High School, Caitlin started all four years. With Providence visiting Independence for a pivotal conference game one night, my buddies and I decided to go see if the hype was real. A stint with the 76ers summer-league team would be the next-closest Young would get to the NBA and he would toil in various minor leagues around the world. Two days after being taken by the Celtics, Biasdied of a cardiac arrest brought on by a cocaine overdose. In 2014 he grew tired of the NBAs minor league system and headed back overseas. Right after his junior prom, Tyler announced he was dropping out of school and heading overseas to start his pro basketball career. But before we get to that, here are a couple more losers: Here's a perfect example of a young hoopster who should have attended the college he committed to; in Ndudi Ebi's case, it was the University of Arizona, a strong basketball program.
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best high school basketball player that never made it