It’s a hindsight thing, and pretty common. It so happens that Bowie was drafted one spot ahead of the best player ever, so it makes his status as a major bust look that much worse. Bowie’s career was mediocre, and for a #2 overall pick, 11 PPG and 7.5 RPG over ten years is definitely a bust. It’s just made more glaring because Bowie was picked ahead of not only Jordan, but Charles Barkely and John Stockton, as well as a number of other decent-to-good players. Kevin Willis went nine spots behind Bowie and became a better, twice-as-durable version of what Bowie was supposed to be.
Horry’s made a bunch of clutch shots, but I think if you say “greatest clutch playoff performer” it’s fair to object and add MJ’s name. Horry’s hit many individual shots, but he’s never been so much as a second option on any team.
The three players I actually cared about in this draft:
Randolph Morris - Was SO hoping the Hawks would take him and then cut him in training camp. Now I’m just hoping he manages to come back to UK so Tubby can run his ass for 3 months for being stupid.
Chuck Hayes - Undrafted, to no one’s surprise, although I think he could be a good player for someone despite being a bit small for his position. Hardest worker I’ve ever seen, and is practically the definition of a college player.
Kelenna Azubuike - If he could show any emotion whatsoever on the floor, he’d have been taken early in the 2nd. Instead, he’s going to be playing in Europe for a few years before coming back to Lexington to sell insurance.
(And now the countdown to Big Blue Madness begins…)
Can he even return? I know high schoolers can still go and play for a college after being drafted if they don’t sign with an agent (though the team that picked them still owns their rights till something like a year after their class graduates). But even that rule is relatively new; I remember it being implemented in the past few years and I’m not sure if anyone has ever taken advantage of it. When it comes to underclassmen, if they don’t withdraw before the deadline, I thought that’s it, they lose their college eligiblity, even if they haven’t signed with an agent (and I don’t know if Morris did).
No, they can still go back if they haven’t signed with an agent. Dee Brown did it this year because he injured himself and decided it would hurt his draft status.
Morris did sign with an agent, so he’s never paying college ball, and Pat Forde rips him for it on ESPN.com.
According to LEX 18 News and Morris’s high school coach, he never signed with an agent. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, but it leaves the door open. He’d have to repay all the expenses for his pre-draft exhibitions, and then he could come back (if Tubby would take him back.)
He’s lazy, slow and needs a lot of work. Hopefully he’s learned this.
If he only announced it at the last minute, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s all confused.
Actually I’m confused too. I found a FoxSports.com article that said the deadline for underclassmen to withdraw was last Tuesday. Brown did withdraw before that, and since Morris didn’t, he’s done anyhow.
No, that’s the thing. There’s a NCAA rule from 2001 that says if a player goes undrafted, hasn’t signed an agent and repays all expenses, he can return to college basketball. It’s only happened once (a player at UC-Irvine in 2001 or 2002) but it’s possible.
No one’s sure if the announcement he sent through SFX means he’s officially signed with them.
I knew there was a difference between high schoolers and underclassmen, and I thought it was that underclassmen were done if they didn’t withdraw before the deadline, but it looks like you guys are right. As long as they’re completely undrafted (and don’t sign with an agent) they can go back to school, whereas with high schoolers they can go to school even if they are drafted (again, as long as they don’t sign with an agent). Thanks.