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Who are college players you thought would be good pros but weren’t?

hailtoyourvictor

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Dec 11, 2012
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Stolen from tMB.

I’ll start with Nik Stauskas. He should at least have been what Duncan Robinson or Jordan Poole are.
 
I thought Denzel Valentine would at least be a solid pro, but injuries have definitely played a part in that.
 
I thought Denzel Valentine would at least be a solid pro, but injuries have definitely played a part in that.
Also being a 6’5 not that athletic 2G who can’t shoot might’ve played a part in that as well,
 
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Also being a 6’5 not that athletic 2G who can’t shoot might’ve played a part in that as well,
Did you see his senior year of college? One of the main reasons I thought he’d stick in the NBA was because he shot 44.4% from 3 on 7.5 attempts a game his senior season, while being one of the most electric passers I’ve ever seen. 19.2/7.5/7.8 is crazy, no player had done it before since they started tracking assists and no player has done it since.

I agree, the wheels came off come the NBA and he was disappointing, but there was a reason he was a lottery pick while being not a great athlete and a senior in college. I didn’t think he’d be a star but with just how goddamn good he was in college I thought he’d at least have a Josh Hart type of roll. At least a role player for a long time.
 
Did you see his senior year of college? One of the main reasons I thought he’d stick in the NBA was because he shot 44.4% from 3 on 7.5 attempts a game his senior season, while being one of the most electric passers I’ve ever seen. 19.2/7.5/7.8 is crazy, no player had done it before since they started tracking assists and no player has done it since.

I agree, the wheels came off come the NBA and he was disappointing, but there was a reason he was a lottery pick while being not a great athlete and a senior in college. I didn’t think he’d be a star but with just how goddamn good he was in college I thought he’d at least have a Josh Hart type of roll. At least a role player for a long time.
he was good cause he was a senior. If he was NBA good he wouldn't have made it to senior year.

He's small for a 2G and he's unathletic. Not really hard to see why he didn't make it. He shot well in college as a senior from a shorter distance and with worse defenders.


He's not half the athlete Josh Hart is.


lol you probably also don't understand how Shawn Respert didn't make it ;)
 
There are a few. Don't think I was expecting perennial all-stars from these guys, but at least productive starters. Definitely thought DerMarr Johnson and Eddie Griffin had all-star potential, however.

Randolph Childress, Wake Forest
DerMarr Johnson, Cincinnati
Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall
Dajuan Wagner, Memphis
Troy Bell, Boston College
Luke Jackson, Oregon
Hasheem Thabet, UConn
Chris Singleton, Florida State
 
There are a few. Don't think I was expecting perennial all-stars from these guys, but at least productive starters. Definitely thought DerMarr Johnson and Eddie Griffin had all-star potential, however.

Randolph Childress, Wake Forest
DerMarr Johnson, Cincinnati
Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall
Dajuan Wagner, Memphis
Troy Bell, Boston College
Luke Jackson, Oregon
Hasheem Thabet, UConn
Chris Singleton, Florida State
Thabeet is up there as an all-time bust. A lot of people might say Kidd-Gilchrist just because he was a #2 pick. He was never going to be a good shooter though and was a limited offensive player overall. His calling card was always defense and that doesn't always show up in the stat sheet.
 
People need to understand the difference between injury and bust lol. I’ve never understood people saying “so and so was a bust” when the said player had an injury that hurt their career.
 
Thabeet is up there as an all-time bust. A lot of people might say Kidd-Gilchrist just because he was a #2 pick. He was never going to be a good shooter though and was a limited offensive player overall. His calling card was always defense and that doesn't always show up in the stat sheet.

Yeah, when I'm looking at the title of the thread, I don't think MKG would qualify. While not a dominant player, he was still decent. He wasn't a bad pro, at the very least I would say adequate.

If the title was for players who had disappointing careers, I could give you hundreds of answers. MKC could qualify as one. I thought Keith Van Horn and Steve Francis would be annual all-stars; sort of similar feelings for Michael Beasley and Marvin Bagley. They didn't live up to my expectations, but they were still very productive players.
 
Throw back. Francisco Garcia, ty lawson, the 2015 duke blue devils, Josh jackson
 
Yeah, when I'm looking at the title of the thread, I don't think MKG would qualify. While not a dominant player, he was still decent. He wasn't a bad pro, at the very least I would say adequate.

If the title was for players who had disappointing careers, I could give you hundreds of answers. MKC could qualify as one. I thought Keith Van Horn and Steve Francis would be annual all-stars; sort of similar feelings for Michael Beasley and Marvin Bagley. They didn't live up to my expectations, but they were still very productive players.
It’s all relative to the poster’s perspective. If he though MKG was going to be a HOF level NBA player then he belongs on this list.
 
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I think by definition you can be considered a bust if you get injured. Someone pays you millions of dollars to be a star and you don't pan out at all you are a bust. It doesn't mean it's your fault but still a bust.
 
I think by definition you can be considered a bust if you get injured. Someone pays you millions of dollars to be a star and you don't pan out at all you are a bust. It doesn't mean it's your fault but still a bust.
I don't agree. I don't call guys busts if they fail due to injury. I don't have Oden as a bust.
 
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Ben Simmons lowkey turning into a bust. Maybe he turns it around, but good god. Develop a gd jumper my guy. You’ve in the nba for 6 years. Also robbed D Mitch of ROY.
 
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You can not call them that. That's fine. Technically, still a bust.
Don’t agree with that, but I’ll concede to you only because you’re a better golfer than me and in my warped view of the world that also makes you smarter than me and also just a better overall person in general.
 
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Don’t agree with that, but I’ll concede to you only because you’re a better golfer than me and in my warped view of the world that also makes you smarter than me and also just a better overall person in general.

Lol, that cracked me up.

On that note I played a charity scramble for church yesterday. It was a deal where they paired you up A,B,C,D and all that. One guy didn't show, another was a senior who was a lefty with a huge slice but played it well, and the other guy was in a wheelchair. The guy in the wheelchair could tee off from the ladies boxes and hit it dead straight every time. He wasn't much help with the irons since he couldn't really get spin on the ball with the angle of course but man was he straight off the teebox. Really cool dude.
 
OP Question: Who were college players you thought would be good pro's but weren't?

Bust isn't an option. I thought he would have been very good.
I take it to mean guys who actually played and weren't good. I take that to rule out the guys like Bias and Oden.
 
Thabeet is up there as an all-time bust. A lot of people might say Kidd-Gilchrist just because he was a #2 pick. He was never going to be a good shooter though and was a limited offensive player overall. His calling card was always defense and that doesn't always show up in the stat sheet.
NBA scouts should have watched this clip and thought how is Thabeet going to perform against grown ass men.
 
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Lol, that cracked me up.

On that note I played a charity scramble for church yesterday. It was a deal where they paired you up A,B,C,D and all that. One guy didn't show, another was a senior who was a lefty with a huge slice but played it well, and the other guy was in a wheelchair. The guy in the wheelchair could tee off from the ladies boxes and hit it dead straight every time. He wasn't much help with the irons since he couldn't really get spin on the ball with the angle of course but man was he straight off the teebox. Really cool dude.
That's amazing! He needs to play flat courses and get use to hitting a Texas wedge. There was a 1 armed guy at our course that played. Probably would be around a C in a scramble.
 
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