The NBA has been home to plenty of elite ball handlers, but in all fairness, point guard Marques Hayenes was on another level. But Maggette was the best all-around player on the floor against a favorite team that had Kentucky recruit Ryan Hogan. Averaged 19.4 points, 5 . Either way, they never really "made it" as a pro. 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. He played a total of 15 games in the NBA and played in now-defunct leagues such as the IBL and BSN. Yeah, right. "Normally, when a kid is thinking about something like this, you'll hear about it, said Youngs high school coach. 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.". He also attracted the biggest of stars as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony attended some of his high school games. You cant find her Wikipedia article on the internet. For the last three seasons hes played for three different teams in the Chinese Basketball Association. He is a Final Year Engineering student. Basketball scorers start young. 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. That's how real it was." 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. David Steele. 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. Complex Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Right after his junior prom, Tyler announced he was dropping out of school and heading overseas to start his pro basketball career. 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. 3. Demetrius Hook Mitchell may have only been 5-foot-9, but the man who could jump over a Volkswagen was a legend on the playgrounds of Oakland. When you're known by just two letters--as in "KG"--you have to be something special. 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. 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. There might be a player or two in here you've never heard of. Texas (575 Athletes) California (399 Athletes) Florida (389 Athletes) Illinois (308 Athletes) New York (299 Athletes) Georgia (294 Athletes) How Tall is POP Star I Cant Breath Singer Bebe Rexha? You were drawn to Estaban. Some of them are legends of the playgrounds; others are individuals whose lives werecut way too short. 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. His unstoppable offensive drives, clutch defense, dominating physicality and sheer will to win are an almost incomparable combination; and only playing some great Spurs and Warriors teams in the NBA Finals over the years has prevented "The King" from owning more than three crowns at this point in his career. Despite his stock at an all-time low, he declared for the draft and was taken in the second round by the Grizzlies. Fat chance. Teenage almost-seven-foot Chris Washburn doing it was like seeing man walk on the moon. Despite my best defensive efforts, Latta was able to score 54 points against my team, the future 4A State Champions. In alphabetical order, here are 10 Super 5 candidates to watch. 18 pick in the 1973 draft, yet on account of a contract dispute, Lewis never played a single game in the NBA. McCain grew up in Sacramento and spent a majority of his life in the . 'Estaban.' The only thing I could think was, There can't be eight players better than him. Almost literally, because he resembled no player more than he did Shaquille O'Neal. In February2017, I dragged a friend from Charlotte down to Sumter, S.C., an unsuspecting town in the middle of the state. That's where I saw him, Wearing straight-back cornrows, he was laced in a Tracy McGrady Nike Swingman jersey with a oversized grey tee beneath it, a gleamy gold chain with a matching medallion, shin-length jean shorts (Hey, that was the wave back then), and a pearly white pair of mid-top Air Force 1s. The 6-foot-3 senior guard committed to Duke earlier this year. How Tall Is WWE Beast Cody Rhodes? Telfair was arguably the most famous basketball player in the New York City area in the early 2000s. Bill Bender is a national college football writer for The Sporting News. USA Today has named its top high school player since the 1982-83 season. 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. Sean Marbaugh, Cathedral: The student manager got a chance to suit up on senior night and made the most of it by scoring a basket in the fourth quarter of a 67-55 win over Zionsville. 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?) Oh, heck no. 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. Some ballers opted not to enter the league for monetary reasons (back in the day, most NBA players made meager, five-figure salaries). 4 in MaxPreps Top 25 rankings. Two days after being taken by the Celtics, Biasdied of a cardiac arrest brought on by a cocaine overdose. 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. Jared McCain is a prominent face in high school basketball. The 10th is Chris Walker who struggled as soon as he finished high school. And, man, he was mean out there, almost menacing, grimacing and snarling as he imposed his will on you. Only twice has a player won the award two times: LeBron James and Greg Oden. These guys peaked in high school as they were great players who just werent able to translate their skills to the pros. There's been an ongoing debate for years, even decades, on whether the "one and done" rule in the NBA should be liftedor if in fact, basketball players should spend even more time in college. Only two members of the Fab Five II would go on to play in the NBA: Maceo Baston and Maurice Taylor. He dominated the Georgia basketball scene that year, leading. She also won awards including Iowa Miss Basketball, Gatorade State Player of the Year, and the McDonalds All-American title. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. It didn't take long to see that it was. There weren't. best high school basketball player that never made it. However, there is another group of players who were better served in going to college than skipping it. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. I just shot at the one in the middle. Sean Deveney. Untimely deaths have turned a few hoop dreams into nightmares. Nicknamed 'Benji'. Behind Bates, Ypsi Prep Academy begins the season ranked No. Here's a Butler that no NBA team wanted serving them. Kevin Love 6. On the other hand, she can currently make a respectable living as a college player. He played college basketball at Norfolk State and was even drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1968, yet chose to return to the more lucrative operations he ran in Harlem. Considering he is often credited with inventing the cross-over as well as the spin move to the bucket, we truly wish he had chosen the other life. The No. 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. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Markelle Fultz, is currently enduring what has become a Philadelphia 76ers' rite of passage: spending his rookie year watching from the sidelines as he rehabs an injury. 'Whatever seed we are, we're ready': Is there room for Cleveland among the East elite? As it stands, Selby has played 38 games in the NBA and 31 games in the D-League although he has found some success overseas. 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. He would play only 103 games in the NBA and his career was over by the age of 23. We all know what happened when Oden went pro as he was drafted by the Blazers first overall in 2007. He played one year in Israel and one year in Japan before being drafted in the second round in 2011 by Charlotte. Cooke's story is proof positive there is a very thin line between achieving athletic greatness and being mired in obscurity. Bryant lead the "Aces" to the Pennsylvania state title in '96, and in 2010, the school named their new gymnasium for the hoops legend. Heck, there was no YouTube. He was by far the best player to come out of Oakland. 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. 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. He added six rebounds, four assists and one steal in 32 minutes, attempting double-digit 3 . 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. Telfair also had various run-ins with the law including multiple arrests for possession of weapons. Clark started playing basketball at age five. But then Jackie decided he was too good to go to the University of Tennessee and declared for the NBA Draft. He was rated 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. I'd never seen such a blend of speed, power and ferocity on the court. In 2014 he grew tired of the NBAs minor league system and headed back overseas. 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. 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. After bouncing around myriad high schools in two states, he enrolled at a private school in Orlando for his senior season. 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. Whether it was bad luck, bad advice, or tragedy, here are the top 5 football / basketball players who never made it in their professional sports league. Tadd Haislop. Tyreke Evans 3. These four players, and many more, skipped college to jump straight from high school to the NBA to great results. Bill Bender. Despite being an unathletic, overweight and undersized power forward, the Cavs thought he was worthy of the top pick of the 2013 draft. 9. But I had seen what I needed to see: the most impressive display of human athleticism Ive ever witnessed in any athletic competition or showing. 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. I vividly remember his first post-stretch action being a rebound off a teammate's missed warm-up jumper. It should be noted that the tragic tales of the likes of Hank Gathers and Benji Wilson will be left off the list, as their circumstances went far beyond anything basketball related. IHSAA boys hoops: Avon defeats Danville 61-49. Aside from throwing down monster dunks, he was also known for blocking the shots of opponents much bigger than him. 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. A post shared by Caitlin Clark (@caitlinclark22). 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 1984, as a senior, he was the Parade Magazine co-player of the year with none other than Danny Manning.