Cooke was once the top prospect in the nation but that may have been because he was so much older than everyone else. It could be Williams' lack of desire or competitive fire, or maybe he didn't get a chance, sometimes it's as simple as that. 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. He went for 24 points, six rebounds and three steals in a 69-39 win over Wood Memorial. Vinnie Iyer, "Before she starred at North Carolinaand was later drafted No. The No. 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. Not only was the wiry Jamison taller than most on the court, he was quicker too. That was near the end of the regular season in 1990. Cooke's story is proof positive there is a very thin line between achieving athletic greatness and being mired in obscurity. A post shared by Tadd Haislop (@taddhaislop) on Feb 18, 2017 at 12:03pm PST. High school basketball player videos, pictures, profiles, and high school basketball recruiting information. She started every game she played in as a freshman in 201617, contributing to her teams 195 record and trip to the state quarterfinals with game averages of 5.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.25 steals. 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. 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. We held the lead deep into the second half before he decided he'd had enough. The scant highlight clips available in those prehistoric days for videoshowed a kid who looked like the next evolutionary stage of the game. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. Caitlin Clark Early Life. Caitlin was born on January 22, 2002, in Des Moines, Iowa, and is currently 19 years old. 1 overall pick to be sent down to the D-League. How Tall is Popular Singer and Star Actor Nick Lachey? 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. 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. Know Her Career And Life! 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 . Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. Oden was already being called the next Patrick Ewing or the next Tim Duncan when he was just 16 years old. 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. He was the best player on his varsity team when he was just in 7th grade. We will revisit some of these players as we look at 15 high school phenoms who never made it in the NBA. He was a lottery pick by the Supersonics but spent most of his first two years on the bench. Cell phones throughout that crowd were set in video mode and trained on Williamson before he even finished his stretches. David Steele. In recent years, Howard has dampened his stature as an NBA pro. The top-two ranked, Al Harrington and Rashard Lewis, combined to play 32 NBA seasons and appear in over 2000 games. He attempted suicide while with the Mavs after he swallowed 250 aspirin tablets and he told police I am an Indian fighting Columbus! Dallas would cut him and he wouldnt make his NBA debut until 2001 with the Hawks. Caitlin keeps her focus on her goal at all times. However, there is another group of players who were better served in going to college than skipping it. For head coach Kristin Meyer of West Des Moines Dowling High School, Caitlin started all four years. You cant find her Wikipedia article on the internet. He played a total of 15 games in the NBA and played in now-defunct leagues such as the IBL and BSN. 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. However, Ryan did have his moment in the sun, starring at John Jay High in Brooklyn, where he averaged 26 points a game as a guard with a deadly shot during the late 1970s. I vividly remember his first post-stretch action being a rebound off a teammate's missed warm-up jumper. 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. 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. Best move: Uses a hesitation dribble to free the defender then shoots a 3-pointer or blows past for a lay-up. Iowa Womens Basketball Point Guard Caitlin is confirmed to be 19 years of age. USA Today has named its top high school player since the 1982-83 season. The National Basketball Association is known for its history ofphenomenal players. Hes looking at a future of second-rate foreign leagues and G-League appearances. The San Antonio Spurs drafted him first overall in 1997. Players who made the most successful jumps from high school to the NBA, The paths of KD and Kyrie: How one month changed three franchises and two superstar legacies, Morant to miss two games after video with gun, Grizzlies' Clarke tore Achilles, out for season, 'Not going out this way': Nets, down 28, stun C's, Kerr touts 5-0 homestand: Dubs 'turned a corner', KD: Mavs tilt, Kyrie meeting 'just another game', Sources: Dragic joining Bucks for rest of season, Nets filling out big-man depth with Noel signing, Isaac has surgery on adductor, done for season. After being named Mr. USA Basketball in 1990, Knight recruited Bailey to play for Indiana. Know All About His Life! Yeah, right. Unfortunately, while Los Angeles offered Hammond $50,000 to sign as a rookie, there was just one problem: Hammond was making more money than that on the street, dealing drugs and shooting dice. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. On the other hand, she can currently make a respectable living as a college player. 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. 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. Gabriella Brooks and Liam Hemsworth Were Spotted Together Following Miley Cyrus Release Of A Song About Him. 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. She has been one of the basketball players in the United States who is on the rise. We also made sure that any aspect about her is included in this post. 2 overall pick in the 1986 draft and that was as close to the NBA as Bias would ever get. Michael Dyer Dyers freshman year at Auburn not only brought NFL potential but also a national championship. 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. Press Esc to cancel. She doesnt appear to share anything about her private life with others, though. At 26.6 points per game, Caitlin set the Iowa freshman record and led NCAA Division I scoring in 202021. Although he played college ball at Cal State LA, Lewis is most notable forbeing arguably the greatest California streetball legends of all time. There was asixth-grader in Columbus who could dunk, and his name put it over the top. 7. Seriously, that's how you had to do it. The ironically nicknamed "Black Jack" Ryan represents the only "great white hope" of this list. 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). 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 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. 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. Complex Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. There might be a player or two in here you've never heard of. But when the Nets told Ryan to hone his skills in the NBA's former minor league, the CBA, Black Jack gave up his pro playing aspirations and gave up on the game altogether. The 10th is Chris Walker who struggled as soon as he finished high school. She has amassed more than 10 thousand followers on her Instagram site. On November 25, 2020, she made her collegiate debut for Iowa, scoring 27 points in a 96-81 victory over Northern Iowa. I remember he dunked the ball so hard on a fast-break, the portable goal just collapsed to the ground. On the day before his senior year at Simeon High School, Wilson was shot and killed, sending shockwaves through the city of Chicago and the rest of the country. He now plays for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the G-League and averaged 5.9 PPG in 2016-17. He was a 14-time All-Star and a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. He was a good four-year starter in college, but hardly lived up to the hype he built in high school. Her zodiac sign is Aquarius, based on the day of her birth. 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. Oftentimes, you'd go into an AAU game, having never laid eyes on your opponent before opening tipoff. 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. 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. We take an in-depth look at the greatest high school hoopers ever, and how their stats compare. Shooting guard Fields became the first sophomore high schooler to play in the "Best of the Best" all-star game with the likes of Garnett and future NBA superstar Allen Iverson, and he justified the selection by becoming the number three all-time leading scorer in Chicago public league history. There are other players like J.R. Smith, Kendrick Perkins and Monta Ellis who also went the prep-to-pro route and churned out serviceable NBA careers. Unfortunately, Gathers also had an abnormal heartbeat and it proved to be something even he couldnt overcome. Nick Fazekas-Ralston Valley High School- Mr. Basketball-Colorado" for the 2002-03 season along with being a two-time 4A classification player of the year. . No, that isn't comedian Carrot Top, that's NBA flame-out Robert Swift, a great high school player that managed to get Garces High School (Bakersfield, CA) ranked in the USA Today top 25 teams during the 2002-03 season. (Michael A. Schwarz-USA TODAY Sports) Dwight Howard created a legendary resume in high school, especially his senior year in 2004. Of course, Williamson is not just a great athlete; hes a great basketball player. Tyreke Evans 3. Now, I've got a moment to compare with that. 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. That's like saying a Lamborghini isn't as impressive because it's sharing the road with Volvos and Subarus. Lamborghinis are known for their luxury and class in addition to their performance and speed. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. "Like dating, the Internet has taken the mystery out travel basketball. Caitlin began playing basketball when she was a freshman in high school and quickly established herself as one of the top players at her school. Bassy remains the only pure point guard to be drafted straight out of high school and the movie He Got Game was loosely based on Telfair among other players. Telfair also had various run-ins with the law including multiple arrests for possession of weapons. Some ballers opted not to enter the league for monetary reasons (back in the day, most NBA players made meager, five-figure salaries). Favorite athlete: Stephen Curry. He was selected in the first round of the 2003 draft (26th overall) by the Timberwolves, but was never suited for the pros and wound up playing overseas for one obscure team after the next. 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. She also received the most weekly Player of the Week honours in the Big Ten Conference with five. He was the No. 1 entry. 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. Whether or not he actually finished high school is up for debate as he didnt qualify academically at the University of Florida. 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. With Providence visiting Independence for a pivotal conference game one night, my buddies and I decided to go see if the hype was real. 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. 1 player in the nation according to Rivals for the Class of 2010. She also finished the season with the fourth-highest points per game average in Iowa history. All eight players went on to play in the NBA. But it became clear very soon that Bailey had peaked in high school. Top Basketball States. Meanwhile, we all know how Kevin Durant fared. Sometimes, it's a maturity issue, other times, players' skills are simply too raw and it's clear they could have used some more time in college or in a developmental league rounding out their game. Standing about 6-8 and about 230 or 240 pounds, he looked like a grown man, and I had no clue who he was. The closest the shooting guard ever came to the NBA was playing in the Summer League for the Boston Celtics. A legend of Rucker Park, Hammond destroyed opponents with his thunderous jams and smooth shot. Luke McBride, Norwell: The senior became Norwells all-time leading scorer with 24 points and eight rebounds in a 48-46 win over Homestead. The bleachers at the Sumter Civic Center were full by the time Williamson's team took the floor for pregame warm-ups. Like Antoine Walker and Juwan Howard before him, Smith was thought to be the next All-Star big man to come from Chicago. Williams wound up being a "Summer League" player, when real ballers want to hoop in the winter and spring. 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. Charlie fouled Brunson from behind, pushing him into the brick wall, and he fractured his wrist. 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. 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. The NBA has been home to plenty of elite ball handlers, but in all fairness, point guard Marques Hayenes was on another level. For 15 year old Ryan Chian, love of basketball won't fade away. The man who was once dubbed The Spanish Michael Jordan reached his peak at just the age of 14. He waspronounced dead later that evening at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital. 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. This is who we would take. Dominique Murphy, East Chicago Central: The 6-5 sophomore scored 34 points on 13-for-19 shooting with six rebounds and two steals in a 76-58 win over Andrean. 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. 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. Aside from throwing down monster dunks, he was also known for blocking the shots of opponents much bigger than him. It didn't disappoint. Herman "Helicopter" Knowings Image via Complex Original Accolades: One of 24 ESPN Rucker Park Legends The. Like many of the players on this list, Cisse switched schools, finishing up at St. Jude Catholic High. When I was a freshman at Independence HighJamison was a senior at Providence, our archrival in just about every sport. Caitlin was born on January 22, 2002, in Des Moines, Iowa, and is currently 19 years old. 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. After the 2005 draft, the NBA's collective bargaining agreement ended the prep-to-pro pipeline. 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. COMPLEX participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means COMPLEX gets paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites. Eventually, the Boston Celtics selected him with the No. Kevin Love 6. 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. 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. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. He would eventually move on to play in the CBA before retiring in 2003. Born in the Dominican Republic, Lopezs family moved to New York when he was 14 and he enrolled at Rice High School in Manhattan. Young's ego couldn't abide going to college, and while he did get selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 40th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, his injury prone and bench-riding career soon went nowhere. "Moments usually stick with you longer than stats, which is why on the surfaceit makes no sense to mention Chris Washburn in a conversation about the best high school players anybody ever saw. Bennett ended the 2016-17 season in Turkey but was cut after his team won the championship. Wagner was the No. After being named Mr. Basketball USA in 1990, Bailey joined Knight in Bloomington, Indiana. 'Whatever seed we are, we're ready': Is there room for Cleveland among the East elite? Swift has swiftly faded into obscurity, fodder for lists such as this. 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. His post-career life (as well as his college and NBA days) proved that his peak was at age 17. 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. Her date of birth is not known. 3. Fast forward to the Capital Center in Landover, Md., in late March, at the Capital Classic. 2. Sun-Times Player of the Year. The nights watching tournament games at the State Fairgrounds in Columbus affectionately known as the 'The Barn' were the best. Here are SN's staff picks: "I will always be indebted to my sophomore year biology teacher for noting my passion for basketball and asking if I'd like to go along with him to see the 1976 Dapper Dan Roundball Classic. Young was a talented small forward from Kansas but even his high school coach was surprised he opted to skip college. But Baldwin is also . The game meant something to us, but it was everything for him. 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. Big mistake. I beat my defender baseline and went up for a layup, but turned my back to him to avoid the contact before flipping the ball over my shoulder. How Tall Is WWE Beast Cody Rhodes? With that in mind, heres a look at the nine best players who fit this description. How Tall Is Celebrity Singer Paula Abdul? Top opponent: Jason Drake Jr., Ferndale. Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. So I've seen nearly every great basketball talent as a high schooler for the past four decades: Ewing, Mourning, Garnett, Davis. --and five NBA titles later, the rest is history. They arent All-Star caliber players but they still made tens of millions of dollars and proved right in their decisions to skip college. 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. But Bryant's still not good enough to top this list. It was impossible to watch anybody else on the court. Tyler remains the first and only player to not only skip college to turn pro, but he skipped part of high school as well. Buta lack of inner motivation proved to be a distraction, and the closest Ryan ever came to the NBA was a tryout he had with the then-New Jersey Nets in 1990. 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. 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. Our staff picks includeone of the greatest basketball players of all time, but there are a few cautionary tales in the mix too. 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. 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. 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). 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. He was by far the best player to come out of Oakland. Telfair was arguably the most famous basketball player in the New York City area in the early 2000s. I could tell you what happened next, but I'd rather show you. "We talked about the legend in the cafeteria. 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. He started in the McDonald's game and the Capital Classic, then nearly on a par with the McDonald's game in national prestige. Malone didn't need college; his last two years in high school, his team didn't lose a single game, taking back-to-back state titles in Virginia. 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. 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. Despite his stock at an all-time low, he declared for the draft and was taken in the second round by the Grizzlies. How Tall is POP Star I Cant Breath Singer Bebe Rexha? Jordan really didn't top that one until the 1988 NBA dunk contest maybe. His last known basketball activity was a tryout with the Warriors D-League team in 2016. He played in a total of 105 games in the NBA and another 25 games in the Chinese Basketball Association. Untimely deaths have turned a few hoop dreams into nightmares. From then until I moved out of Pittsburgh in 1993, I went to the Dapper Dan every year. Maggette was smooth and fun to watch doing everything on the floor." -. Caitlin won the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award 13 times, a conference record. I'd never seen such a blend of speed, power and ferocity on the court.