Jalen was good, but it was not quite as good as his dad playing with a bum wrist against Feehan, and posting 42 points." 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. 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. Like many of the players on this list, Cisse switched schools, finishing up at St. Jude Catholic High. 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. Inside Her Life! Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. After one year at USC Mayo joined the NBA where he wasnt the star that many expected but was still a serviceable role player. 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. Luke McBride, Norwell: The senior became Norwells all-time leading scorer with 24 points and eight rebounds in a 48-46 win over Homestead. 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. He played for eight different teams and was traded six different times including in the deal that sent Kevin Garnett to Boston. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. Those in the Columbus area who remember watching Weaver play in the '90s will tell you 100 variations of thissame legend. 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. 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. 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). How Tall Is WWE Beast Cody Rhodes? LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady are all examples of when the prep-to-pro process works out. 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. Caitlin has played basketball since she was very little. He was one of the most-touted players to come out of New York in years and won the Mr. Basketball USA award in 1994. 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. The No. His NBA career was even more of a letdown as he played for just four seasons and averaged 5.8 points per game. Unfortunately, Gathers also had an abnormal heartbeat and it proved to be something even he couldnt overcome. --and five NBA titles later, the rest is history. These four players, and many more, skipped college to jump straight from high school to the NBA to great results. How Tall is Popular Singer and Star Actor Nick Lachey? The physical resemblance to Shaq went all the way to his extra-low haircut and the occasional cross-eyed expression (but ended with the notable gap in his front teeth). The most by a freshman since 2000, a gifted woman is the first rookie in NCAA Division I history with 12 30-point games. Big mistake. He last played professionally in 2007 in Argentina. He was a lottery pick by the Supersonics but spent most of his first two years on the bench. Kevin Love 6. 'Whatever seed we are, we're ready': Is there room for Cleveland among the East elite? She therefore embraces her subject of interest with zeal and determination, which is why she is currently becoming more well-liked among basketball fans. Player poll:These are the 3 best boys high school basketball teams in Louisville Top artist to listen to: EST Gee From Mary Travers to Jack Harlow, Louisville loves to support its local artists. Joe "The Destroyer" Hammond Despite never playing high school or college ball, Joe "The Destroyer" Hammond was perhaps the greatest basketball player to ever come out of Harlem. I just shot at the one in the middle. The man who was once dubbed The Spanish Michael Jordan reached his peak at just the age of 14. There are some basketball high school phenoms that simply never take that next step at the pro level, whereas others are even better as pros. In February2017, I dragged a friend from Charlotte down to Sumter, S.C., an unsuspecting town in the middle of the state. Below is the ESPN High School Boys' Basketball Top 25 for the week of Feb. 27, 2023. 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). Unless youre a diehard basketball fan, you probably dont know about the majority of these players. 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. 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. Shes a stunning basketball player with a well-built body. J.J. Redick was one of the best players in Duke basketball history, and he was one of the kings of the college basketball world at the time. These guys peaked in high school as they were great players who just werent able to translate their skills to the pros. 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. With that in mind, heres a look at the nine best players who fit this description. Unfortunately, instead of showcasing his abilities in the NBA, Mitchell was seduced by a life of crime and ended up in prison. Two days after being taken by the Celtics, Biasdied of a cardiac arrest brought on by a cocaine overdose. Ward didnt even become a starter until his senior season and by then the luster off his Naismith award had worn away. 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. She was an incredible shooter and I had NEVER seen handles like that, ever." We all know what happened when Oden went pro as he was drafted by the Blazers first overall in 2007. 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. 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. The streets run ripe with ball players who had the talent but never played in the NBA for various reasons. Smith's off-the-court shenanigans are far more interesting than his fizzled pro hoops career. Wagners hype reached epic proportions when he was billed as a bigger, stronger Allen Iverson right after the former Sixer won the 2001 MVP award. Blake is a football player for Iowa State and is also an athlete. Michael Beasley 2. The NBA has been home to plenty of elite ball handlers, but in all fairness, point guard Marques Hayenes was on another level. Vinnie Iyer, "Before she starred at North Carolinaand was later drafted No. There's a reason the NBA stopped letting kids straight outta high school join the league--because most have been disappointing, as this list will demonstrate time and time again. 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 And Washburn took off and threw down the exact same dunk. For the last three seasons hes played for three different teams in the Chinese Basketball Association. Sun-Times Player of the Year. We held the lead deep into the second half before he decided he'd had enough. Some of them are legends of the playgrounds; others are individuals whose lives werecut way too short. Offensively, there is nobody like him.. 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. Emoni Bates, Jr., Ypsi Prep Academy (Ypsilanti) Preseason favorite to win MaxPreps National Player of the Year honors averaged 32.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals for the 19-3 Railsplitters. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. 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. West began his pro career with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1960. Eventually, the Boston Celtics selected him with the No. Selby was one of the best players to ever come out of the DMV area and he was the No. He was the No. 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. Fields subsequently went undrafted by the NBA in the late 1990s, never achieving the greatness of his teammate KG. Oden was already being called the next Patrick Ewing or the next Tim Duncan when he was just 16 years old. He was so skilled that the Lakers even selected him in the NBA's 1971 hardship draft. Only two members of the Fab Five II would go on to play in the NBA: Maceo Baston and Maurice Taylor. Like the last one, Chris Andersen in 2006, Mayo will get the chance to apply for reinstatement after two years. Favorite . Avon defeats Danville 61-49 on Friday, February 24, 2023. Who is IHSAA boys basketball player of the week? 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. 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. Founded by Sonny Vaccaro in Pittsburgh, that event was the fore-runner of the McDonald's All-American Game. He was then traded to the Mavs but never played a game due to more psychological issues. Oden would enroll at Ohio State where he was a dominant two-way player and led the team to the National Championship game. Thus he didnt enroll until December 2013 but was then suspended 12 more games after it was revealed that he received improper benefits while in high school. Oh, what could have been. 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. They either flamed out in college or flamed out in the pros which means the highpoint of their basketball careers came as teenagers. The top three-ranked players in the Class of 1998 all jumped straight from high school to the NBA. Clark started playing basketball at age five. Greg Oden did in fact spend a year in college after being hyped up as a future superstar in the NBA. The scant highlight clips available in those prehistoric days for videoshowed a kid who looked like the next evolutionary stage of the game. 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. By the time Weaver reached high school, you couldn't get a seat at the gym. 1 forward in the Class of 2012 while attending Findlay Prep in Nevada. There weren't. Caitlin won the IPSWA Miss Iowa Basketball award in 2020. 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. Alston. Averaged 19.4 points, 5 . Go figure: The best high school player performance I saw was on campus when I was a college student attending a game at Evanston's Welsh-Ryan Arena, in Chicago's second-ever City/Suburban Showdown. 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. 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. That's how real it was." Tyreke Evans 3. Since then hes spent his time in the coaching ranks in both Indiana high schools and for the Butler womens basketball team. However, there is another group of players who were better served in going to college than skipping it. When Roselle Catholic boys basketball coach Dave Boff originally envisioned his team for the 2021-22 season, he thought he would have at least two of the top players in the state -- if not the nation. Well never know. 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. Unfortunately, once Wagner reached the NBA his body started to fail him as he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and ended up having to remove half his colon. Whether or not he actually finished high school is up for debate as he didnt qualify academically at the University of Florida. Bryant lead the "Aces" to the Pennsylvania state title in '96, and in 2010, the school named their new gymnasium for the hoops legend. Selby would start just 11 games at Kansas and the team seemed to perform better when he didnt play. High school basketball player videos, pictures, profiles, and high school basketball recruiting information. 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 nearly killed a full phone charge by pressing record each time Williamson touched the ball during the game. Hes looking at a future of second-rate foreign leagues and G-League appearances. Initially, he committed to Louisville after a stellar run at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, but extenuating circumstances prompted him to change his mind and declare for the 2004 draft. Behind Bates, Ypsi Prep Academy begins the season ranked No. 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. Other stories are more positive; some international players elected to ball out and stack paper in their home country instead of making the leap to the States. Either way, they never really "made it" as a pro. This is what I wrote in Sporting News after seeing LeBron James play as a rising junior at the 2001 ABCD Camp in New Jersey: 'Some baby boomers who've got me by a few years make a big deal of the first time they saw The Beatles on 'The Ed Sullivan Show.' Thislegend preceded LeBron in Ohio, and it was just as big at the start. Such was Garnett's maturity that he was able to bypass college and still exceed expectations. The first high school player to be drafted straight out of high school was Tim Duncan of Rock Hill High School in South Carolina. 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. Smith is the only prep-to-pro to ever be drafted by the Spurs as he was taken in the first round of the 1999 draft. Well, teams lie and Cooke went undrafted which forced him to play in minor leagues like the NBDL and USBL. How Tall Is Basketball Player Caitlin Clark? These individuals have broken records, displayed otherworldly talent, and taken the game itself to new heights. 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. 1 overall pick and an NBA champion) Despite never playing high school or college ball, Joe The Destroyer Hammond was perhaps the greatest basketball player to ever come out of Harlem. Fans would always wonder, what if? Was Manigault the original "G.O.A.T"? Inside His Life! With Providence visiting Independence for a pivotal conference game one night, my buddies and I decided to go see if the hype was real. She was the most sought-after student at her high school and rose to fame as a result of her performances in high school athletics. The Philadelphia 76ers selected Raymond Lewis with the No. AIKEN For the first time in its history and in coach Fran Campbell's 39-year stint at the school, the Wren boys . We also made sure that any aspect about her is included in this post. 10. We will revisit some of these players as we look at 15 high school phenoms who never made it in the NBA. 18 pick in the 1973 draft, yet on account of a contract dispute, Lewis never played a single game in the NBA. McBride now has 1,822 career points going into the sectional. He died of natural causes back in 2015 at the age of 89. A Lamborghini is a Lamborghini, and Williamson is a Murcilago with a 6.2 L V12 engine. 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. Her date of birth is not known. The closest he would get to the NBA would be an invitation to the Raptors training camp in 2002 and Ward would play everywhere from the Philippines to Japan to Lebanon during his 13-year pro career. The 10th is Chris Walker who struggled as soon as he finished high school. 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. Consensus college player of the year Michael Jordan doing it was one thing. At O'Dea, Wrenn averaged astronomical per-game-numbers for an entire season; 22 points, over eight boards and seven assists. Her zodiac sign is Aquarius, based on the day of her birth. Standing about 6-8 and about 230 or 240 pounds, he looked like a grown man, and I had no clue who he was. It didn't disappoint. 6. Only twice has a player won the award two times: LeBron James and Greg Oden. 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.