Top College Players Who Failed in NBA

Real Clear Sports ^

[DemforBush]

-SNIP- Just like the NFL Draft, the NBA Draft is also very much an inexact science. The history of NBA's draft lottery is littered with college glitterati who utterly bombed in the league, and these cautionary tales stretch even as far back as the 1970s. Not taking into account injuries and drug problems that short-circuited careers, here are our Top 10 College Basketball Players Who Failed as Pros. -SNIP-

[DemforBush]

Interesting list, for the most part. I disagree with the selection of Steve Alford, simply because he was never really expected to be an NBA star. He actually did pretty well for himself lasting 3 years in the NBA, IMHO.

The rest of the picks are pretty spot on, though.

[NeverForgetBataan]

Being a KU fan I hate to have to mention this guy, but Greg Ostertag pretty much stunk.

[wideawake]

Compared to the NFL this isn’t as terrible. The amount of time, money and effort put into Marinovich and Leaf boggles the mind.

[wideawake]

Indeed. Ostertag had catlike moves, but not enough focus on drills and fundamentals.

[yarddog]

Joe Don Looney (who was well named) comes to mind.

Randy Johnson (not the baseball player) was the number one draft pick in 1966. He was a QB and probably would have done better if he had not been thrown into the game too soon by a desperate Atlanta Falcons.

There is the other side to the coin too. Bart Starr was just barely drafted. Same for Johnny Unitas, in fact Unitas may not have been drafted at all.

Although Demarcus Ware was drafted high, he was only recruited by one team out of high school.

[yarddog]

Oh, forget it. I just noticed this was about the NBA. I would not walk across the street to watch an NBA game. In fact I would probably walk a mile to not have to watch one.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Ridiculously slow site. Can someone just post the list here for discussion?

[Wayne07]

Harold Miner was one of the most exciting college players I have ever seen. He never hit his stride in the NBA other than the slam dunk competitions...

[Ticonderoga34]

Joe Don Looney (who was well named) comes to mind.

Randy Johnson (not the baseball player) was the number one draft pick in 1966. He was a QB and probably would have done better if he had not been thrown into the game too soon by a desperate Atlanta Falcons.

There is the other side to the coin too. Bart Starr was just barely drafted. Same for Johnny Unitas, in fact Unitas may not have been drafted at all.

Although Demarcus Ware was drafted high, he was only recruited by one team out of high school.

Don't forget Tom Brady who wasn't drafted until the 6th round.

I don't know if this is true or not but I have read that North Caroline recruited Michael Jordan out of high school thinking that he would only be a practice player.

[Migraine]

Jayson Williams (drafted 1st round; didn’t do squat except cause trouble)
Len Bias OD’s on coke before taking the floor in NBA

Ultimate losers

[DemforBush]

10. Pearl Washington
9. Bo Kimble
8. Keith Lee
7. Marcus Fizer
6. Mateen Cleaves
5. Walter Berry
4. LaRue Martin
3. Steve Alford
2. Ed O’Bannon
1. Adam Morrison

[DemforBush]

“Len Bias OD’s on coke before taking the floor in NBA”

That year’s draft (1986) turned out more disasters than just about any I can think of. Len Bias was the most memorable case, but there was also Chris Washburn, William Bedford, Kenny Walker, Walter Berry, Roy Tarpley, etc. All lottery picks, all gone within a few years because of drugs, attitude, or just plain lousy playing.

[DemforBush]

Addendum: Tarpley was actually a pretty good player when he was clean and healthy. Just couldn’t lay off the dope and the booze.

[lex33]

What about Lawrence Moten. He scored a ton of points at Syracuse but never did a thing in the NBA.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Thanks! They shouldn’t have left Chris Washburn off the list, though.

[cherry]

Adam Morrison still has a chance I think....he’s an insulin dependent diabetic and I don’t know what they expected from him....

[conservativebuckeye]

There were actually some good players who were drafted well after those you mentioned. Mark Price, who’s my all-time favorite player, Dennis Rodman, Arvydas Sabonis, Drazen Petrovic and Nate McMillan were all drafted well below those you mentioned.

[11johara28]

This is probably one of the most racist articles I have ever read.

How can you name a black player the number one bust.

A white player should have been named.

Maybe Woody Harrelson or someone like that.

[DemforBush]

Oh, most definitely. I didn’t mean to say there weren’t *any* good picks in the ‘86 draft. Just that an inordinate amount of the top prospects ended up being busts. As you point out, the later 1st round and especially the 2nd round produced some solid players.

[conservativebuckeye]

I hope you didn’t think I was disputing your point. I’ve always found that draft oddly fascinating because I can’t think of another draft that had so many busts among the top 12-15 picks and so many solid players in the late 1st and into the 2nd.