10. Andrew Bogut, Utah
The hype: The Australian number one pick was the obvious choice. He was the Player of the Year and led the nation in double-doubles with 26. The Bucks had no other choice but to pick this lock of a big man.
The result: Hardly of a good pick. Bogut is just averaging 11.9 ppg in his three years with the Bucks and forced Milwaukee to pick Yi Jianlian out of China to give him a challenge. So far, no good.
9. Steve Francis, Maryland
The hype: Francis mirrored Marbury so much while in college; a quick point guard from the East Coast who was done after his freshman year. He averaged 17 points his one year as a Terp.
The result: You know money was talking really loud to him when he made his decision to go pro. Just imagine how good the Terps would have been had he stayed, shoot, they won the national championship the following year! He came out strong in the NBA, but became a stats player. A guy who scored a lot of points, but didn’t win a whole lot in Houston. He is now on the Knicks with Marbury. See they do mirror each other quite well.
8. Stephon Marbury, Georgia Tech
The hype: Starbury was beyond hype. He was a breath of fresh air in college basketball. He was a quick scorer who took control of games. He was so good that he was a one-and-done player averaging 18 points a game in his freshman year. Who could blame him though. He had one of those crossovers that screamed a million dollars.
The result: Marbury was drafted by the the Bucks then traded to the Timberwolves where he teamed up with KG. Minnesota fans wet their pants simultaneously with the thought of those two playing together. But off-the-court troubles sent him packing to numerous teams. He has a hefty price tag for his talent, but was never taken serious when it came to championship talks.
7. Joe Smith, Maryland
The hype: The Maryland Terps were a threat every game with Smith on the floor. He had a smooth jumper with height and pure physical talent. He was a 20-10 guy in college and was supposed to be even better in the pros.
The result: Well, not so fast. The top pick in the draft is not supposed to end up a journeyman after his third season. He struggled with his place on a roster and only averaged 11.9 points a game in his career.
6. Calbert Cheney, Indiana
The hype: Cheney was a smooth stroker from Indiana who came out the same year as Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal. So it was a strong class, no?
The result: The Bullets took Cheney with the sixth pick in the draft. He was fun to watch in college, but when he got to the pros, he only mustered up 9.5 ppg career average.
5. Nearly the entire 2002 lottery class
The hype: Despite an already weak class as is, it still had talent. Although much of the talent came from either foreign countries or high school; however, of the college players that did come out of this class, it was a bit of a let down. There was Jay Williams and Mike Dunleavy from Duke, Drew Gooden from Kansas, Dajuan Wagner from Memphis, Chris Wilcox from Maryland and Caron Butler from Connecticut.
The result: Of all of those players metioned above, Butler is the only player who is a difference maker for his team (the Wizards). Williams gets a get out of jail free card because he never really played much, but Dunleavy, Gooden, Wagner and Wilcox are hardly doing anything.
4. Keith Van Horn, Utah
The hype: Van Horn was the great white hype. He was fundamentally sound and was coachable, or at least I’d like to think so. At Utah, Van Horn averaged 20 points a game for a national title contender. Suffice it to say, he was Adam Morrison before Adam Morrison. Van Horn just did it better the first time around…and never cried.
The result: He must have done something right because he’s getting paid very well right now and he’s not even an NBA roster. You have to give props to that in some way or another. But aside from that, Van Horn never really lived up to a No. 2 overall selection from the Nets. (Seems like there is a theme here from the Nets, don’t you think?). He’s been on eight different rosters while averaging 16 points a game for his career. I’m going to miss him because no matter how pale I get, he’ll always be a shade lighter. Plus you can’t knock a player for wearing knee-high socks.
3. Adam Morrison, Gonzaga
The hype: Ah, the Van Horn replica. Morrison won over the nation (not exactly sure why) with his head-down-then-pull-up-a-jumper type of play for the Zags. He got unworthy comparisons to Larry Bird and cried after the Zags were beat in the NCAA tourney. He scored a bunch of points but not a whole else.
The result: Overrated comes to mind when I see Morrison and his ridiculous mustache. His aforementioned head-down-then-pull-up-a-jumper type play was easily figured out from NBA defenses, which is the main reason why he barely even plays now.
2. Ed O’Bannon, UCLA
The hype: Oh boy. O’Bannon was one of those sleek, basketball-comes-easy-to-me type players. The south-paw drifted and steered UCLA to the national championship in 1995 and averaged 20 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. A lock for the New Jersey Nets, right? WRONG!
The result: This isn’t even fair. I shouldn’t even say anything about how poor his pro career was. It only lasted two and a half seasons with the Nets and Mavericks. He only averaged 3.7 points per game and was out of the league by the time was just 24. Damn.
1. Derrick Coleman, Syracuse
The hype: Coleman was taken first overall in the 1990 draft out of Syracuse where he named Big East Player of the Year his final year in college. He was billed as one of the next great power forwards and set an NCAA record for most career rebounds with 1,537.
The result: Coleman may have had a decent career (16.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg) and was the 1990 Rookie of the Year, but when you become expendable (being traded from the Nets to the Sixers with a couple of no-namers for SHAWN BRADLEY!) it says a lot about what type of player you are. He became a journeyman by the end of his career playing for four different teams (Nets, Sixers twice, Hornets and the Pistons).
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