Kody Clancy, Scottsburg: The junior guard had 28 points and four steals on 13-for-16 shooting in an 83-47 win over Mitchell and had 15 points in a 50-45 loss to Jennings County. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. Caitlin has 214 assists, which is the most by a newbie in programme history. 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. He probably scored 30-plus points, and I'm not sure I ever saw him put the ball on the floor. A knee injury wiped out his entire third season and by the time he was healthy, the SuperSonics were becoming the OKC Thunder and Kevin Durant was the young superstar. Alston. Shes a stunning basketball player with a well-built body. Whether or not he actually finished high school is up for debate as he didnt qualify academically at the University of Florida. At O'Dea, Wrenn averaged astronomical per-game-numbers for an entire season; 22 points, over eight boards and seven assists. Viraj is a Content Editor currently working at Whistlernews.com, He intended to write on the most recent developments of Entertainment, Sports to News from his own unique angle. Two days after being taken by the Celtics, Biasdied of a cardiac arrest brought on by a cocaine overdose. Eventually, the Boston Celtics selected him with the No. COMPLEX participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means COMPLEX gets paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites. Sean Deveney. Heck, there was no YouTube. Lance . 1 prospect, was outplayed by an unknown player named LeBron James who would then supplant Cooke as the top player in the country. 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. Swift then transferred to the dully named Highland High School where he had to win a court battle to be eligible to play. Inside His Life! He was the best player on his varsity team when he was just in 7th grade. Hes looking at a future of second-rate foreign leagues and G-League appearances. Michael Beasley 2. Led the Tigers to a 28-5 record heading into the Class 4A sectional final. . The first high school player to be drafted straight out of high school was Tim Duncan of Rock Hill High School in South Carolina. Maggette was smooth and fun to watch doing everything on the floor." He also had 14 points, eight rebounds, six blocked shots and three assists in a 57-46 win over Columbus North. However, since breaking Duke's all-time scoring. However, Manigault should be glad he never made it to the NBA, because he became much more famous being a "never made it" as opposed to some obscure player who rode the bench for a couple of meaningless NBA seasons. He now plays for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the G-League and averaged 5.9 PPG in 2016-17. And it's really not close. With that in mind, heres a look at the nine best players who fit this description. Below is our take on the 30 greatest basketball players to never play in the NBA. Below is the ESPN High School Boys' Basketball Top 25 for the week of Feb. 27, 2023. 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. 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 Mar 1, 2023, 4:15pm PST. She is getting popular day by day. He scored 2,124 points in high school and led his team to 50 straight wins. Due to complicated eligibility issues, Cooke opted to listen to agents instead of going to college, but every team passed on him in the 2002 draft. 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. And even then you heard about players a lot more than you saw them. 1 overall pick and an NBA champion) Mike DeCourcy. Dwight Howard's decision to forego college was influenced by KG, who went from high school stardom in Chicago at Farragut Career Academy directly to stardom in the pros. In contrast, the most well-known NBA contracts, according to Go Banking Rates, are worth more than $40 million for an 82-game regular season, or $487,800 per game. (Feb. 20-25), Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Smith dominated at Chicago's Martin Luther King high school as power forward/center, and was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 29th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, but was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Lopez stayed local with his college choice at went to St. Johns where he was solid but unspectacular. It was a Golden Age in Central Ohio hoops in the 1990s. Fields subsequently went undrafted by the NBA in the late 1990s, never achieving the greatness of his teammate KG. Sun-Times Player of the Year. They had to wheel out another one. 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. Blake is a football player for Iowa State and is also an athlete. In this blog post, we are going to talk about the Best High School Basketball Player That Never Made It. It turned out Oden was the one whose body couldn't handle the NBA, as he was seemingly hurt year after year. He would play only 103 games in the NBA and his career was over by the age of 23. He was a 14-time All-Star and a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. In alphabetical order, here are 10 Super 5 candidates to watch. But Maggette was the best all-around player on the floor against a favorite team that had Kentucky recruit Ryan Hogan. By Posted google sheets script get row number In los angeles skateboard deck 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. His post-career life (as well as his college and NBA days) proved that his peak was at age 17. Caitlin has played basketball since she was very little. Because ESPN ranked her as the second best guard, more people started paying attention to what she had to say about the game. In the documentary, Hooked: The Legend of Demetrius Hook Mitchell, former NBA superstar and current Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd said the following: Hook could jump over a building. Telfair played for nine NBA teams in 10 years and spent some time overseas as well, never living up to the incredible hype. 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. It's baffling to think that at one point, Sebastian Telfair shared a Sports Illustrated cover spot with LeBron James and the two were hyped as the two players set to take over the NBA. "It's like playing with your brother in the backyard," said Panguitch coach Clint Barney. And, man, he was mean out there, almost menacing, grimacing and snarling as he imposed his will on you. He was a very good player for the Hoosiers, was a four-year starter and left the school sixth on Indianas all-time scoring list. Only twice has a player won the award two times: LeBron James and Greg Oden. Was Manigault the original "G.O.A.T"? Two significant NCAA Division I freshman of the year honours, the USBWA Tamika Catchings Award and the WBCA Freshman of the Year award, were shared by her and UConns Paige Bueckers. Swift was going to hoop for USC, which probably would have been been the smarter decision. Not only was the wiry Jamison taller than most on the court, he was quicker too. He last played professionally in 2007 in Argentina. Bennett ended the 2016-17 season in Turkey but was cut after his team won the championship. "Like dating, the Internet has taken the mystery out travel basketball. He last played, professionally, in 2005 and was arrested in 2009 for failing to appear in court for a child support hearing. Follow Nonstop Sports Instagram - https://instagram.com/nons. For the last three seasons hes played for three different teams in the Chinese Basketball Association. She also received the most weekly Player of the Week honours in the Big Ten Conference with five. Despite being an unathletic, overweight and undersized power forward, the Cavs thought he was worthy of the top pick of the 2013 draft. He was later recruited by Chicago's DePaul University, but was ruled academically ineligible. Some of them are legends of the playgrounds; others are individuals whose lives werecut way too short. After the 2005 draft, the NBA's collective bargaining agreement ended the prep-to-pro pipeline. He was the No. Smith's off-the-court shenanigans are far more interesting than his fizzled pro hoops career. He was selected 13th overall by the Trail Blazers and his pro career proceeded to be a never-ending shuffle. 6. Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Brad Pinkerton. When you're known by just two letters--as in "KG"--you have to be something special. It is so appropriate that this entry of Fields as a "Never Was" directly follows our previous "Became Bigger"--Kevin Garnett--because the pair were actually high school teammates at Chicago's Farragut Academy. The ball had hit the rim and was rising toward the top of the backboard; Williamson snatched the ball, his head easily above said rim, before gravity had a chance to take effect. His NBA career was even more of a letdown as he played for just four seasons and averaged 5.8 points per game. The 6'4" wing guard was equally good off the court where he maintained over a 3.0 GPA and is also an accomplished piano player. It didn't disappoint. That means getting to see them play in high school. "You know every move each other is going to make . It's unfortunate Ebi didn't make it in the NBA. The bleachers at the Sumter Civic Center were full by the time Williamson's team took the floor for pregame warm-ups. Herman "Helicopter" Knowings Image via Complex Original Accolades: One of 24 ESPN Rucker Park Legends The. Fat chance. Despite my best defensive efforts, Latta was able to score 54 points against my team, the future 4A State Champions. He was on top of every national all-America team and recruiting ranking, along with Manning and John Williams (later known, after a blown-out knee and massive weight gain, as Hot Plate). How good could Wilson have been? 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. Inside Her Life! Wren basketball wins first ever boys state championship, beats Crestwood 56-49. But, Wrenn was a troubled soul, who made emotional--rather than logical--decisions, and spent an uneventful college career bouncing from UConn to Washington, so his making it to the NBA was never really in the cards. That also is where the aforementioned indelible moment happened. The streets run ripe with ball players who had the talent but never played in the NBA for various reasons. Best move: Uses a hesitation dribble to free the defender then shoots a 3-pointer or blows past for a lay-up. 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. By. In fact, in a summer league game, Lewis dropped 52 points against a bunch of Los Angeles Lakers he was still in high school at the time. From then until I moved out of Pittsburgh in 1993, I went to the Dapper Dan every year. 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. Professional journalist for 25 years, contributing writer with High Times magazine and High Times.com since 1993. After one year at USC Mayo joined the NBA where he wasnt the star that many expected but was still a serviceable role player. However, there is another group of players who were better served in going to college than skipping it. Cooke was once the top prospect in the nation but that may have been because he was so much older than everyone else. Tyler remains the first and only player to not only skip college to turn pro, but he skipped part of high school as well. Aside from throwing down monster dunks, he was also known for blocking the shots of opponents much bigger than him. Those players were: 1. How Tall is Popular Singer and Star Actor Nick Lachey? Top 6 High School Basketball Players in California History Guard - Jason Kidd, St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda), 1989-92 Courtesy of The Sacramento Bee Jason Kidd, St. Joseph Notre Dame A four year starter, a two-time state Player of the Year and the National Player of the Year as a senior, Kidd was the most canonized prep in state history. Unless youre a diehard basketball fan, you probably dont know about the majority of these players. 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. A legend of Rucker Park, Hammond destroyed opponents with his thunderous jams and smooth shot. He ran the floor like a defensive back doing the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Mayo became the first player in 10 years to be banned by the NBA. The fact that Bennett went to three different high schools should have been the first sign of trouble but he excelled in basketball at all three. 3 ranked played in the Class of 2001 and had a solid year in college as he averaged over 21 PPG for Memphis. In recent years, Howard has dampened his stature as an NBA pro. Thislegend preceded LeBron in Ohio, and it was just as big at the start. However, he can thank Calipari for not giving him the option of returning to Memphis as Wagner made over $8 million in the NBA and he wouldnt have made a dime had he gotten sick while in college. McDonald's All-American. Top Basketball States. Seconds after throwing down a vicious alley-oop during the 1990West Coast Conference tournament championship game, Gathers unexpectedlycollapsed. 'Man among boys'was not a cliche with him. He decided to stay local and went to UNLV where he was good but played against inferior competition in the Mountain West Conference. Vinnie Iyer, "Before she starred at North Carolinaand was later drafted No. Instead he went to the NBA, where he was a memberof the final iteration of the Seattle SuperSonics (2007-08) before they became the OKC Thunder. During his four seasons at Maryland, Len Bias averaged 16.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, was a two-time ACC Player of the Year, and earned All-American honors in 198485 and 198586. 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. 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. How Tall Is Basketball Player Caitlin Clark? That was near the end of the regular season in 1990. They either flamed out in college or flamed out in the pros which means the highpoint of their basketball careers came as teenagers. He was rated the No. Know All About His Life! "He was a star guard for Salem High, someone we all saw regularly at the Salem YMCA. "The common pushback against the absurdity that is a Zion Williamson high school highlight video is the level of competition facing Spartanburg Day School. Caitlin won the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award 13 times, a conference record. He also set a state record for blocked shots in a game--and he did that in the very first half of his very first game! With his height, physical attributes and skill level, it's not hard to believe that Howard led his high school, the blandly named Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy to a 31-2 record and the 2004 Georgia state title. The closest the shooting guard ever came to the NBA was playing in the Summer League for the Boston Celtics. 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. Malone was a three-time NBA MVP (1979, 1982 and '83), and in 1981 took alackluster Houston Rockets team all the way to the NBA Finals, before Larry Bird and Kevin McHale won their first title with the Boston Celtics. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. He also attracted the biggest of stars as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony attended some of his high school games. The NBA has been home to plenty of elite ball handlers, but in all fairness, point guard Marques Hayenes was on another level. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. Ebi was well regarded after leading Westbury Christian Academy to three Texas state titles, but then the forward made the crucial mistake of thinking he was better than he actually was, and skipped college. With five players ranked in the 2023 ESPN 100 and four more ranked in the 2024 ESPN . LennyCooke was once considered a bigger high school star than our no. 3. Those Spurs went on to win the 2007 NBA title, defeating LeBron in his first Finals appearance. Young was a talented small forward from Kansas but even his high school coach was surprised he opted to skip college. 11 overall by the Detroit Shock in the 2007 WNBA Draft, Ivory Latta was a huge star at York High School. I remember he dunked the ball so hard on a fast-break, the portable goal just collapsed to the ground. Here's a Butler that no NBA team wanted serving them. IHSAA boys hoops: Avon defeats Danville 61-49. When you've put on the "classic" uniform of basketball franchises like Lokomotiv Mineralnye Vody and Bnai HaSharon, who needs the Celtics or the Lakers? (Michael A. Schwarz-USA TODAY Sports) Dwight Howard created a legendary resume in high school, especially his senior year in 2004. Her zodiac sign is Aquarius, based on the day of her birth. Needless to say they did it without Butler, who never did learn much about that work ethic. 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. 10. 3. Everyone remembers the Fab Five of Michigan but did you know there was a Fab Five II? And one more player was drafted but never made it to any teams -- he died at age 20 in his own bed while sleeping. 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. Will Spellman, Center Grove: Spellman had 18 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists as Center Grove defeated Brownsburg 61-60 in a top-10 matchup. In the state tournament shortly thereafter, Burnson had perhaps the greatest performance in Massachusetts high school basketball history: 42 points against Bishop Feehan in the state tournament at Boston Garden. AIKEN For the first time in its history and in coach Fran Campbell's 39-year stint at the school, the Wren boys . In three seasons at Loyola Marymount, 6-foot-7 forward Hank Gathers averaged 28 points and 11.1 rebounds per game and was one of the most dominant forces in college basketball. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Her father participated in baseball and basketball at Simpson College. 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. Now, I've got a moment to compare with that. (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. 15 Basketball High School Phenoms Who Never Made It In The NBA. 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. 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. Press Esc to cancel. The best high school basketball player you ever saw: Sporting News makes its picks, final seconds by one of Michael Jordan's most legendary dunks. He would spend the next three years shuffling between the NBA and the G-League and played a total of 80 NBA games. This is who we would take. 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. There weren't. In 2017 and 2019, she won two gold medals in the FIBA Americas Tournament and the FIBA World Cup Tournament with Team USA. I remember listening to Weaver's first high school game against Lancaster on the radio. The No. Her 799 points set a freshman record, while her 39 points in one game broke a previous school mark. That meant more time on the bench for the main attraction. When I was a freshman at Independence HighJamison was a senior at Providence, our archrival in just about every sport. McCain grew up in Sacramento and spent a majority of his life in the . Our two best players wound up signing with Florida State and East Tennessee State. It certainly seemed at the time as if only Jordan himself could even have matched that any time in our lifetimes. I had no motivation to attend beyond my simple desire to verify the internet sensation with my own eyes. He turned 17 at the end of his freshman year and had to sit out his entire senior year because he was too old to qualify for high school play. Yeah, right. Teenage almost-seven-foot Chris Washburn doing it was like seeing man walk on the moon. And in the early 1990s, I began to cover recruiting camps like the ABCD and then the elite tournaments like the Big Time and Peach Jam. We all know what happened when Oden went pro as he was drafted by the Blazers first overall in 2007. There might be a player or two in here you've never heard of. 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. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. Despite never playing high school or college ball, Joe The Destroyer Hammond was perhaps the greatest basketball player to ever come out of Harlem. The two brothers she has are Blake and Colin. 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. We understand this problem because we have gone through the entire Best High School Basketball Player That Never Made It research process already, which is why we have put together a comprehensive list of the Best High School Basketball Player That Never Made It available in the market today. 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. He wound up whacking me in the head and I saw three goals as I stood at the free-throw line. Philadelphia's other former top picks who have had to sit out their first yearNerlens Noel, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiidhave recovered and blossomed into fine young NBA players, and odds are that Fultz will do the same. I don't remember how many points or how many dunks, but what stood out was his ball-handling skills and ability to spin through traffic with an effortless grace I've never seen at the high-school level since. Almost literally, because he resembled no player more than he did Shaquille O'Neal. He dominated the Georgia basketball scene that year, leading. 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. Brent and Anne Nizzi-daughter Clark's Caitlin is a Clark. 9 in the next summer's NBA Draft. He is also the only player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP despite being on the losing team. Montverde Academy . These individuals have broken records, displayed otherworldly talent, and taken the game itself to new heights. Jerry West is one of the most accomplished players in NBA history. Eventually, Wrenn ran into legal troubles, thus ending his bid at the pros. 'Whatever seed we are, we're ready': Is there room for Cleveland among the East elite? Walker thought that his play in high school would warrant a draft selection in the pros but that wasnt the case and he ended up lasting just one month as an undrafted free agent with the Rockets. MORE: Jalen Brunson is SN Player of Year. Cooke's story is proof positive there is a very thin line between achieving athletic greatness and being mired in obscurity. Bill Bender is a national college football writer for The Sporting News. I have no idea how many points Williamson scored that day, but I do remember being disappointed when the game turned into a blowout. Yet, for all the incredible individuals who left their mark on the NBA, there are those who, while talented enough to play in the league, never got the chance. Is The Famous Actress And Comedian, Aubrey Plaza, Married? For us, we remember when we saw these players for the first time. 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. Bryant lead the "Aces" to the Pennsylvania state title in '96, and in 2010, the school named their new gymnasium for the hoops legend. 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. Cooke declared for the 2002 NBA Draft after three different teams promised him they would draft him. All eight players went on to play in the NBA. David Steele. Sergio Llull Unlike the other players in this list, Sergio Llull still has a chance to make. 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. Washburn, from Hickory, N.C., was 6-11, 230-plus pounds, ran the floor like a forward, handled like someone eight inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter, shook backboards with his dunks and blocked everything in sight. That pretty much sums up the professional "career" of Cisse, who lead Montgomery Catholic High School in Alabama to a state title in 1999. How Tall Is Celebrity Singer Paula Abdul? In the history of the NBA draft, 45 players have been taken directly out of high school. Our staff picks includeone of the greatest basketball players of all time, but there are a few cautionary tales in the mix too. 5. Her zodiac sign is Aquarius, based on the day of her birth. He played one year in Israel and one year in Japan before being drafted in the second round in 2011 by Charlotte. The 10 players listed here either went to college and saw their careers dip, or their pro career just never lived up to what they achieved in high school. 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. 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.". 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. With the playoffs underway, it's time to see who stands out as the best of the best so far. Drafted in the 2000 NBA Draft after putting on a show in numerous high school all-star games he was so spectacular that Michael Jordan endorsed the Clippers taking him near the top of the. Young is another entry on this list who was so good he starred at two high schools--and he did it in two different states; both Wichita East High School (a coed public school in Kansas) and Hargrave Military Academy (a private, all-male boarding school in Virginia). With Providence visiting Independence for a pivotal conference game one night, my buddies and I decided to go see if the hype was real. It is currently unknown who her companion is. 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. The rest is a cautionary tale seen here in this Homage documentary , but for the sake of a modern comparison it felt like watching Derrick Rose and Vince Carter at the same time.

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