Image via Complex Original
To even get to the point in life where you're an NBA bum is pretty remarkable. Not everyone wakes up in Eddy Curry's shoes (if the repo man didn't take them away already). To get to the NBA, you need to start somewhere, and due to today's NBA draft rules, that place is in college gymnasiums and arenas around the country. For college stars, success is certainly not guaranteed at the next level, and there are a few tell-tale warning signs for NBA failure. For instance, if he's a hyper-athletic player with no stand-out basketball skill *ahem* Tyrus Thomas *ahem*, or if he's simply a shooter who plays ball at Duke *cough* Christian Laettner *cough*, he should be on bust-alert. Read on for 10 Signs Your Favorite NCAA Player Will Be a Bum in the NBA.
10. He's only good at one thing.
Busts: Hasheem Thabeet, Jimmer Fredette
Ah, the classic one-trick pony. Being really good at one part of the game can lead to college stardom. Hasheem Thabeet rode his blocking ability to the Big East Player of the Year award and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 Draft, and Jimmer Fredette's electric shooting range earned him the Wooden Award, Naismath Award, the Adolph Rupp Trophy, the Oscar Robertson Trophy, as well as the No. 10 pick in the 2011 Draft.
It's a shame that the mantles of these guys are fuller than their NBA stat sheets. It would be nice if Thabeet learned one post-move or how to play defense without fouling, and it would be great if Jimmer knew how to do anything else besides flicking his right elbow. The NBA is a complex, difficult league, and having a varied skill set to match the league's demands is the only way to true stardom.
9. "Toughness" is his strongest attribute.
Busts: Tyler Hansbrough, Mateen Cleaves
Don't get it twisted—having a "tough" mental exterior is essential in athletics. Being able to take hard fouls, complete grueling workouts, and handle criticism cannot be undervalued. At certain points, athleticism and skill becomes moot—the game is left to those with stronger mental barriers. But those "certain points" don't make up the whole of the game, and furthermore, a player's career. Honestly, being hard-nosed or even masochistic on the court doesn't even matter if you're getting taken to work by someone with a superior blend of athleticism and skill. Then you just look like a foolish try-hard, or a "Hansbrough."
8. He's considered a "project" at the NBA level.
Busts: Michael Olowokandi, Fab Melo
When he's talked about in NBA terms as a "project," it really just means "he should've stayed in school longer." Ever since the NBA started preventing high schoolers from entering the draft and John Calipari monopolized the new one-and-done college landscape, freshmen and sophomores who would otherwise need extended seasoning are coming out. They're trading the long-term riches of a prosperous and lengthy NBA career for the short-term gain of becoming a 20-year-old millionaire. If your favorite college baller still needs another post-move or a better jumper before becoming an impact NBA talent, the reps and in-game experience he'll get in college are literally priceless.
Former Duke guard Gerald Henderson Jr. is a prime, but widely understated example of #StayInSchool. The son of former NBA player Gerald Henderson Sr., the junior Henderson could've declared for the draft after his sophomore season—he scored 12.7 PPG in 26.2 MPG for Duke, and had an NBA-ready body. Henderson stayed in school for one more season, improved his shooting (he went from being a 31 percent 3-point shooter on 1.9 shots per game to a 33 percent 3-point shooter on 3.3 shots per game, and increased his free-throw percentage by six points), and become a lottery pick en route to a decent NBA career thus far.
7. He's a tweener for his position.
Busts: Pervis Ellison, Jonny Flynn
Basketball can be a bit awkward for these types of players. They're either not big enough to be a power forward, or not fast enough to be a small forward, or they're a shooting guard stuck in the diminutive body of a point guard. Their careers will be marked by "too" and "not enough:" too small, too big, not enough size, not enough quickness. Those physical shortcomings may be masked in college, but in the NBA, they're sure to be exploited.
6. He has a substance abuse problem.
Busts: Chris Washburn, Chris Herren, Michael Beasley
Hey Marshall Henderson fans, listen up. Tell your boy to watch Chris Herren's 30 For 30 episode, because as Rick James let us all know, cocaine is a helluva drug. Experimenting with recreational or even hard drugs isn't exactly taboo in college, but then again, a college student who wants to be an accountant doesn't depend on his or her body to make a living. For athletes, what you put into your body is what you'll get out of it, and if that involves an addicting substance, then being an NBA bum isn't the only thing to worry about, because being an actual bum is much worse.
5. He couldn't stay healthy in college.
Busts: Greg Oden, Sam Bowie
If he can't stay healthy for a 40-game college schedule, there's little chance of him making it through an 82-game NBA regular season. Before Greg Oden's college career even started, he had surgery on his wrist to repair ligament damage from his high school season. Never mind that the kid has degenerative knees that has allowed him to play a mere 88 NBA games since 2008—he's never once been truly healthy. Another 7-footer with bad legs, Sam Bowie sat out two whole seasons in college due to shinbone injuries, and (surprise) continued to have career-killing leg problems in the NBA. With these players, an extensive injury history before reaching the NBA is a sure sign of future NBA failure.
4. He gets pegged as the "next" *insert Hall of Fame superstar here*
Busts: Randy Foye, Eddie Griffin
Expectations can crush the psyche of a young athlete, especially if they're unfounded. NBA draft analysts hype up each class of draftees to get fans excited enough to consume their product (draft guides, television specials, blog posts), and often times, they're overrating former NCAA stars just for the sake of it. We've already explored this issue in-depth, but Dick Vitale calling Randy Foye the next Dwyane Wade or Eddie Griffin drawing comparisons to Kevin Garnett set these players up for failure before they even stepped on an NBA court.
It may be flattering for a college player to be likened to an NBA superstar, but all that really does is cause everyone to judge the rest of that players career on the special merits and achievements of said NBA superstar. Those expectations already weigh heavily on greats like LeBron and Kobe (please SportsCenter, no more Jordan vs. LeBron infographics)—imagine how Randy Foye feels?
3. He's not as athletic as the next guy.
Busts: Joe Alexander, Adam Morrison, Shawn Bradley
The jump from college ball to the NBA is drastic for all rookies, but being able to turn in productive minutes off of athleticism alone while the technical and mental side of the game develops is a luxury that these players never had. Former West Virginia swingman Joe Alexander may have had an All-Big East quality first-step and finish, but in the NBA, that drive was mirrored and stopped by NBA quality athletes. The most determined and ambitious players will improve skill sets and find niches to remain in the NBA, while the Adam Morrisons of the world will become more renown for their cheerleading than their actual play. If your man is already struggling against more athletic defenders, then you might want to hop off the bandwagon before he declares for the draft.
2. He's all athleticism and no skill.
Busts: Tyrus Thomas, Marvin Williams
Unlike the last set of bums, these players are all-athleticism and no skill. They'll show flashes of the raw athleticism that made NBA scouts and GMs drool in pre-draft workouts, turn in a few All-Star caliber nights, and maybe even fleece a franchise or two into handing them large contracts on the basis of potential rather than track record (both Tyrus Thomas and Marvin Williams managed to get 5-year, $40 million deals from the Bobcats and Hawks respectively). But when their careers are all over, they still won't have that mid-range jumper that they never worked on in high school, college, or the NBA. What a waste.
1. He's a shooter who goes to Duke.
Busts: Danny Ferry, Christian Laettner, Art Heyman, William Avery, Trajan Langdon
The most notorious sign in NCAA men's basketball, the curse of the Duke shooter has yet to be shook. Going as far back as 1963 AP National Player of the Year award winner Art Heyman to mega-bust Christian Laettner, if you're a Duke shooter, people expect you to fail at the NBA level. And—let's not hold back here—if you're a white Duke shooter, you're taken down another notch, because your athleticism isn't seen as NBA quality. J.J. Redick has managed to prove doubters wrong to become a solid NBA rotation player through combining his legendary shooting ability with impressive weight-room habits and max-effort defense, but the adage remains constant: Duke shooters don't become NBA stars.
