Complex Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Thornton, which played in the second game against King, had its team loaded with athletes that year, featuring future college stars Melvin Ely (Fresno State power forward), Antwaan Randle El (Indiana quarterback) and Napoleon Harris (Northwestern linebacker). During her junior season, she averaged 32.5 points, seven rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.2 steals per game as she guided Dowling Catholic High School to a 17-8 record and a spot in the Iowa Class 5A playoffs. But it was never meant to be in the NBA for Cisse, despite being drafted #46 overall in the 2001 by the Denver Nuggets, as hecouldn't stay healthy and bounced around, getting released by one NBA team after another until heading overseas. Our staff picks includeone of the greatest basketball players of all time, but there are a few cautionary tales in the mix too. My friend gave me the kind of look one would expect from a person who had just seen a human defy physics. 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. Sara Jane Harris. Wagner was the No. Heck, there was no YouTube. Though Bryant was drafted #13 overall by the Charlotte Hornets, of course, such an obscure franchise was beneath Kobe's destined greatness, so he promptly engineered a curious trade to the Los Angeles Lakers (for Vlade Divac?) 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. And, man, he was mean out there, almost menacing, grimacing and snarling as he imposed his will on you. Everyone remembers the Fab Five of Michigan but did you know there was a Fab Five II? Some of these high school phenoms did decide to go to college but they still werent able to relive the glory from their high school days. But with Korleone, it was a total surprise. Young would be a second round pick of the Pistons in 1998 but played a total of 15 minutes in the lockout-shortened season before being cut. Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens, was Rafer Alston 's launching point for an incredible career that evolved from the AND1 Mixtape Tour all the way to the 2009 NBA Finals. The Capital Centre didn't react with an "ooohhhhh,"but with an explosion of "WHOAAAAAAA! (This time, it included me, as I was again seated behind the same basket he slammed on). LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady are all examples of when the prep-to-pro process works out. 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. Those Spurs went on to win the 2007 NBA title, defeating LeBron in his first Finals appearance. Perhaps the singular flaw on KG's resume is the fact he "only" won one title; but still, KG is an all-time great. best high school basketball player that never made it. The game meant something to us, but it was everything for him. Seconds after throwing down a vicious alley-oop during the 1990West Coast Conference tournament championship game, Gathers unexpectedlycollapsed. He played in a total of 105 games in the NBA and another 25 games in the Chinese Basketball Association. There might be a player or two in here you've never heard of. I just shot at the one in the middle. He then suffered the Portland-itis that so many other Blazers have suffered as recurring injuries kept him off the court. Seriously, that's how you had to do it. But Maggette was the best all-around player on the floor against a favorite team that had Kentucky recruit Ryan Hogan. There's almost nothing else to remember from Chris Washburn's basketball career, except him posing with Len Bias after they were picked back-to-back in the 1986 NBA Draft, or maybe him lounging on the Warriors' bench before or after one of his suspensions. 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 . Only twice has a player won the award two times: LeBron James and Greg Oden. She is getting popular day by day. 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. Yeah, right. But the team played with just five eligible varsity players after a fight during a game last . When Bailey was 14 years old, Indiana coach Bob Knight saw him play and said, Damon Bailey is better than any guard we have right now. He decided to stay local and went to UNLV where he was good but played against inferior competition in the Mountain West Conference. 1. Best High School Boys Basketball Player in Every State 2022: West By Tony Adame on October 24, 2022 Twitter Stadium Talk's annual preseason list of the best high school boys basketball player in all 50 states is upon us, and we're trying something new and exciting this year by dividing the stories up into regions. It wasn't the best decision for each one, but for a select group of superstars, skipping college paid off. 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. It is currently unknown who her companion is. The San Antonio Spurs drafted him first overall in 1997. 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. 3 min read Chet Holmgren, the top high school player in the country, has been named the 2021 Morgan Wootten Boys High School Basketball Player. Oh, heck no. Oden would enroll at Ohio State where he was a dominant two-way player and led the team to the National Championship game. Washburn showed glimpses of his dominance at both ends, the way it tends to happen in all-star games that loaded with talent trying to show off. The 'Punks'section of Slam Magazine and maybe ESPN's 'SSA'were the primary ways we caught wind of big-time hoopers elsewhere. It featured Rashad Anderson, UConn's all-time leading 3-pointer shooter and former USC standout and first-round NFL Draft pick wide receiver Mike Williams, but he was easily their best player. He played a total of 15 games in the NBA and played in now-defunct leagues such as the IBL and BSN. She has amassed more than 10 thousand followers on her Instagram site. In the 2010s, seeing high schoolers do things beyond their sizes is almost commonplace. Born in the Dominican Republic, Lopezs family moved to New York when he was 14 and he enrolled at Rice High School in Manhattan. She also won awards including Iowa Miss Basketball, Gatorade State Player of the Year, and the McDonalds All-American title. The No. I remember he dunked the ball so hard on a fast-break, the portable goal just collapsed to the ground. Instead of going to University of Maryland in 1974, Malone joined the NBA's then rival pro basketball league, the ABA, famous for its multi-colored balls and players with outrageous '70's hair styles. Basketball scorers start young. And even then you heard about players a lot more than you saw them. "It's like playing with your brother in the backyard," said Panguitch coach Clint Barney. Bryant, the son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, was regarded as the top high school player in the entire nation in 1996 when coming out of Lower Merion High School in the Philadelphia suburb of Ardmore. Despite my best defensive efforts, Latta was able to score 54 points against my team, the future 4A State Champions. The most vivid thing I remember was how fast Jamison would get his shot off after catching a pass. Greg Oden did in fact spend a year in college after being hyped up as a future superstar in the NBA. These prodigies are so unique that when we catch them early on, it's always more special than if we discover them with the rest of the masses. And one more player was drafted but never made it to any teams -- he died at age 20 in his own bed while sleeping. Conversely, the five listed as becoming bigger stars in the pros somehow exceeded the hype that was bestowed on them coming out of high school. But at that peak, he was years before his time. Maggette, a Fenwick (Oak Park, Ill.) star on his way to Duke and the NBA, dominated Deerfield with 27 points, 15 rebounds and three steals. Bennett ended the 2016-17 season in Turkey but was cut after his team won the championship. The first thing that came to mind upon watching him was this: Magic Johnson's head on Michael Jordan's body. Howard practically fulfilled the selection by taking the 2008-09 Magic all the way to the NBA Finals. "The common pushback against the absurdity that is a Zion Williamson high school highlight video is the level of competition facing Spartanburg Day School. The third-ranked player, Korleone Young, played 3 NBA games. Here's a Butler that no NBA team wanted serving them. How Tall is POP Star I Cant Breath Singer Bebe Rexha? Brandon Jennings 5. At O'Dea, Wrenn averaged astronomical per-game-numbers for an entire season; 22 points, over eight boards and seven assists. 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. Caitlin was born on January 22, 2002, in Des Moines, Iowa, and is currently 19 years old. Either way, they never really "made it" as a pro. Candler was 12-for-17 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line to finish with 28 points, eight rebounds and three assists. (July 2022 update: Since the publication of this list in July 2020, 13 of the players on the list have been selected in the NBA Draft, including a No. Clark stands tall at a height of 5 foot 11 inches. Wrenn was the 1998 Washington (state) high school player of the year playing for O'Dea High, a Catholic all-boys school in Seattle's famed "First Hill" district. Lance . 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. 2. But in the final seconds, with his U.S. team's win in hand, Washburn got the ball in the open court, on the same side of the floor as Jordan had. 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. Now, I've got a moment to compare with that. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. Bailey could never live up to the hype that Coach Knight bestowed upon him and he would play in the CBA before retiring in 2003. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year and went on to be named an All-Star six times, earning $161 million over a 14-year career. I have no idea how many points Williamson scored that day, but I do remember being disappointed when the game turned into a blowout. 1 prospect, was outplayed by an unknown player named LeBron James who would then supplant Cooke as the top player in the country. The first high school player to be drafted straight out of high school was Tim Duncan of Rock Hill High School in South Carolina. Bryant lead the "Aces" to the Pennsylvania state title in '96, and in 2010, the school named their new gymnasium for the hoops legend. His last known basketball activity was a tryout with the Warriors D-League team in 2016. Know All About His Life! It was a Golden Age in Central Ohio hoops in the 1990s. Which is a shame because the guy was insanely talented. For every teenage phenom that comes along, there are many who go into the pros at a young age and they clearly aren't ready for the added responsibilities that come with being a pro athlete. Mayo AKA Grocery List was the consensus top player of the Class of 2007 and ahead of such players as Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and James Harden. During a summer camp Cooke, the then No. 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. Some of them are legends of the playgrounds; others are individuals whose lives werecut way too short. 1 overall pick and an NBA champion) Caitlin Clark is an accomplished basketball player born and raised in Iowa, USA. Below is our take on the 30 greatest basketball players to never play in the NBA. The volume of his talent is staggering, even breathtaking. She also finished the season with the fourth-highest points per game average in Iowa history. These four players, and many more, skipped college to jump straight from high school to the NBA to great results. Shes a stunning basketball player with a well-built body. 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 Tyreke Evans 3. That's like saying a Lamborghini isn't as impressive because it's sharing the road with Volvos and Subarus. Despite being an unathletic, overweight and undersized power forward, the Cavs thought he was worthy of the top pick of the 2013 draft. Tippit, the quarterback of the football team, played on basketball and football teams that are a combined 33-3. Type above and press Enter to search. I could tell you what happened next, but I'd rather show you. Oden lived up to his billing in college, leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to the National Championship game. And even though phone and computer screens set what seemed to be unreasonable expectations, my own eyes could not believe what they saw. He probably scored 30-plus points, and I'm not sure I ever saw him put the ball on the floor. Telfair is 32 years old and last played in the NBA in 2014; however, his 40-year-old cousin, Stephon Marbury, has a better shot at rejoining the NBA than Bassy does. Selby became the highest-ranked player to ever join Bill Self at Kansas but his college career got off to an inauspicious start after he was suspended for receiving improper benefits. Press Esc to cancel. The Tigers coach, John Calipari, then revoked Wagners scholarship after the season to force him to go to the NBA so Coach Cal was pulling the one-and-done long before he got to Lexington. All eight players went on to play in the NBA. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. For this piece, let's take a look at the 10 best basketball players to never play in the NBA. Jordan really didn't top that one until the 1988 NBA dunk contest maybe. 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. 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. That meant more time on the bench for the main attraction. Meanwhile, we all know how Kevin Durant fared. That also is where the aforementioned indelible moment happened. Selby was one of the best players to ever come out of the DMV area and he was the No. Caitlin was born on January 22, 2002, in Des Moines, Iowa, and is currently 19 years old. He was so skilled that the Lakers even selected him in the NBAs 1971 hardship draft. Hes looking at a future of second-rate foreign leagues and G-League appearances. We were playing Salem at our small gym with a brick wall that was about 10 feet off the baseline. Salem won the state title, and Brunson surprised a few of us by choosing Temple over Kentucky. After one year at USC Mayo joined the NBA where he wasnt the star that many expected but was still a serviceable role player. Swift then transferred to the dully named Highland High School where he had to win a court battle to be eligible to play. Mayo became the first player in 10 years to be banned by the NBA. And Washburn took off and threw down the exact same dunk. It certainly seemed at the time as if only Jordan himself could even have matched that any time in our lifetimes. 4. IHSAA boys hoops: Avon defeats Danville 61-49. 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. These guys seemed destined for greatness, but they peaked in high school 15 Basketball High School Phenoms Who Never Made It In The NBA. In fact, Oden was ranked as USA Today's top high school player since the 1982-83 season, which means he was ranked higher than the likes of Kevin Garnett and LeBron James. For those who think Julius "Dr. J" Erving is all that, keep in mind that Erving never won an NBA title until the 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers acquired the late great Moses Malone to replace the lesser great but also late Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins at center. I remember listening to Weaver's first high school game against Lancaster on the radio. Dylan Moles, Greenfield-Central: The 6-3 senior and Marian recruit went for 29 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals on 9-for-13 shooting from the field and 9-for-9 from the free-throw line in a 69-53 win over Plainfield in the final regular-season game. They either flamed out in college or flamed out in the pros which means the highpoint of their basketball careers came as teenagers. Thislegend preceded LeBron in Ohio, and it was just as big at the start. You were drawn to Estaban. The basketball player was born to Brent and Anne Nizzi Clark, her sisters.