Originally Posted by
MChambers
Agreed that most were solid players. I'd argue that Chris Jackson didn't do much, but I'm too lazy to look up his statistics. I think Ellison would have been solid, but for injuries.
Just trying to point out that being one of best freshmen of all time is not necessarily a guarantee of NBA stardom. Players mature at different rates and at different times. I think we sometimes forget that.
Can't that argument be made a lot of college stars, freshman or not?
Look at the last 10 years of Naismith winners:
Shane Battier
Jason Williams
T. J. Ford
Jameer Nelson
Andrew Bogut
J. J. Redick
Kevin Durant
Tyler Hansbrough
Blake Griffin
Evan Turner
It's too early to decide on the career of Turner of Griffin, but 1 isn't playing in the league anymore (JWill), 1 is virtually useless now (Ford), 3 are solid role players (JJ, Battier, Hansbrough), 1 is a decent second/third banana (Bogut), 1 is a one-time All-Star that probably won't make it again (Nelson), and 1 is a Superstar (Durant).
And those are the best college players.
While there is a correlation between success in college and success in the NBA, there are so many outliers.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club