All-Time Wasted Talent Team (BBall Related)

RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
edited February 2006 in Strut Central
Been home sick and really enjoying the basketball related posts.....Who are the players who had all the talent in the world, coulda been some of the all-time greats but for one reason or another never made it?My #1 nominee has to be Chris Washburn.....2 years at NC State....a couple of short stays in the NBA and last I heard he was homeless....should have been one of the greatest big men to ever play the game.I'll also throw Roy Tarpley and Walter Berry in there.....let's hear yours...
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  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    God, we fucking drafted Berry and he did nothing but cry his left handed ass off the whole time.

    Obviously Derrick Coleman would be the captain of this team. Considering the career he has had, one can only imagine what he might have done with a little pride and work ethic.

    Lastly, Arvydas Sabonis mostly cause he wasted his best years playing in Europe when he should have been kicking Kareem's teeth in. Can you imagine that dude healthy?

  • motown67motown67 4,513 Posts
    You know, I actually would NOT put Derrick Coleman on that list. He was Rookie of the Year. He made it to the playoffs 7 times with NJ, Charlotte and Philadelphia. He made one All Star Team. Before he got fat and ran into some injuries he had a run of 3 years in the playoffs with the Nets under Chuck Daly where he was just destroying people. I remember one playoff series, think it was 93 or 94, where he scored, rebounded, blocked shots, just everything. It was amazing. In the 93 playoffs he played 45 mpg, scored 26.8 ppg, and got 13.4 rpg. In 94 he put up similar numbers with 43 mpg, 24.5 ppg, and 14.3 rpb.They didn't make it out of the 1st round, but it wasn't DC's fault. Now you could say with all that talent he could've done better, but if you look at his career overall, it wasn't that bad.

    Someone recently who wasted his talent was Vin Baker who just looked superb coming out of college and then ran into alchol problems. I just read he got picked up by the Clippers for a 3rd I think lease on returnig to the NBA.

  • VIN BAKER
    SHAWN KEMP

    AND SOME OTHER FOLLS TOO.

  • gloomgloom 2,765 Posts
    anfernee hardaway? does he count?

    that dude fell offffff.

  • GuzzoGuzzo 8,611 Posts
    VIN BAKER

    guess who signed with the clippers this week?

  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    The point with Derrick is that he had hall of fame caliber skills and ability but DrWu like discipline and focus. Thus he is the captain of my "wasted" talent squad.

  • yuichiyuichi Urban sprawl 11,332 Posts
    anfernee hardaway? does he count?

    that dude fell offffff.

    because he had injury problems plaguing him. his first couple years in the league with Orlando was kinda special though.

    Darius Miles....if he actually had enough motivation, he woulda been decent.

    Jason Williams....tragic that he couldn't play in the league....he woulda been one of the top guards in the league by now if not for the motorcycle accident.

    Carlos Arroyo....from what i've seen, he seems a bit timid when he's playing with Detroit....maybe i just haven't seen enough games...but the fiery spirit with the Puerto Rico national team seems missing. although a bit of exaggerated to say he is wasted talent, cuz he is far from it.

  • motown67motown67 4,513 Posts


    Darius Miles....if he actually had enough motivation, he woulda been decent.

    Jason Williams....tragic that he couldn't play in the league....he woulda been one of the top guards in the league by now if not for the motorcycle accident.

    You can't say Jason Williams was wasted talent. He had no control over getting in an accident. That's more like never had time to show his talent.

    Darius Miles on the other hand ... ESPN was just talking about him tonight which echoes what I've read about him in the past. The guy is a good guy. Shows up to practice. He just has no idea how to play team basketball. It's one of the big draw backs from jumping straight from high school where he was a star and just got to do anything he wanted. Miles has been in the league long enough that he's not going to learn how to play the game any time soon.

    Shawn Kemp though has to top the list. Guy was freaking awesome and actually developed a game after basically having nothing but speed, athleticism and the ability to dunk on people like they were children. Let it all slip by him. Again though, he had it going for quite some time in Seattle.

    I think Washburn might actually be a better candidate for the list as he never really showed up for the NBA.

  • yuichiyuichi Urban sprawl 11,332 Posts
    say Jason Williams was wasted talent. He had no control over getting in an accident. That's more like never had time to show his talent.

    yea, got kinda delineated there.

  • kennykenny 1,024 Posts
    I would think Stephon Marbury is wasted

    and to my memory, John Starks didn't suck all that bad when he was with the Knicks...he got MJ and Miller on lock at one point

    or was he really that bad since day one ?

  • GuzzoGuzzo 8,611 Posts
    [Carlos Arroyo....from what i've seen, he seems a bit timid when he's playing with Detroit....maybe i just haven't seen enough games...but the fiery spirit with the Puerto Rico national team seems missing. although a bit of exaggerated to say he is wasted talent, cuz he is far from it.

    This reminded me about this guy

  • yuichiyuichi Urban sprawl 11,332 Posts
    Shawn Kemp though has to top the list. Guy was freaking awesome and actually developed a game after basically having nothing but speed, athleticism and the ability to dunk on people like they were children. Let it all slip by him. Again though, he had it going for quite some time in Seattle.

    naw, i wouldn't call him wasted talent. he made millions in the league, has people talking about his dunks til this day, was 6'10" and could dunk with the best of 'em, and he even got some playing time as a fat Trailblazer. That's a pretty good career if you ask me!

  • motown67motown67 4,513 Posts
    It's all in the way you define wasted talent.

    Is wasted talent people who never showed anything in the NBA like Washburn and Miner?

    Is it players who had it but lost it like Kemp?

    Is it guys like Coleman that showed flashes but then faded?

  • yuichiyuichi Urban sprawl 11,332 Posts
    It's all in the way you define wasted talent.

    Is wasted talent people who never showed anything in the NBA like Washburn and Miner?

    Is it players who had it but lost it like Kemp?

    Is it guys like Coleman that showed flashes but then faded?

    If I were to be a little harsh, i'd say all these dudes are wasted talent: J-Rich, Paul Pierce, Ricky Davis, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, the list goes on....all have/had potential to take it to the but never will. they can fill up seats though.

  • theory9theory9 1,128 Posts
    JR Rider
    Joe Smith

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    Dr. Wu,
    Nice call on Sabonis......he is to basketball what Teofilo Stevenson was to boxing....."The Great Unknown".....Could Sabonis have played head to head with Kareem in his prime???

    Could Stevenson have beaten Ali when they were both in their prime.....we'll never know!!

    JR Rider is a good addition too!!

    One guy who probably qualifies because of injury is Bill Walton....GREAT player, BAD TV Analyst!!

  • I think the posterboy for the team should be Len Bias.

    For the all injured team, spelling Penny Hardaway of the bench would be Grant Hill.

    Some of the guys mentioned I don't get...John Starks? He was a good-decent NBA player. Considering he came from bagging groceries and playing in the CBA, we can't expect Jordan. He was an all-star, had some great seasons, and then left. About what you'd expect from a former grocery bagger.

    As for the Ricky Davis, Paul Pierce, et al, they aren't truly wasting their talent. They are playing great basketball...not necessarily TEAM basketball or WINNING basketball, but they are taking full advantage of their individual talent.

  • Bill Walton....GREAT player, BAD TV Analyst!!

    I don't know...who else is gonna exclaim the words "PURPLE HAZE" after a nasty dunk?

    Wasted talent on the Bulls end: Marcus Fizer and Tyson Chandler.
    Chandler will be the undoing of Paxson and the entire organization.
    And they're talking about trading Ben Gordon? EXPEL CHANDLER.

  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    Bill Walton....GREAT player, BAD TV Analyst!!

    I don't know...who else is gonna exclaim the words "PURPLE HAZE" after a nasty dunk?

    Wasted talent on the Bulls end: Marcus Fizer and Tyson Chandler.
    Chandler will be the undoing of Paxson and the entire organization.
    And they're talking about trading Ben Gordon? EXPEL CHANDLER.

    I honestly don't think anyone in the Bulls organization is seriously considering a Gordon trade. That'd be a cool 20 or 30 points off our already meager game totals and who, really, could we get in return?

    Chandler's finally coming around at least. Still, both of our high school Baby Bulls (the other being Eddy Curry) lack the killer instinct that would take them to the next level. They always will be guys happy to be pretty good, and if they ever win a championship, it will be as role players.

  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    Dr. Wu,
    Nice call on Sabonis......he is to basketball what Teofilo Stevenson was to boxing....."The Great Unknown".....Could Sabonis have played head to head with Kareem in his prime???

    Could Stevenson have beaten Ali when they were both in their prime.....we'll never know!!

    JR Rider is a good addition too!!

    One guy who probably qualifies because of injury is Bill Walton....GREAT player, BAD TV Analyst!!

    Why didn't Castro let Teofilio go out and kick some ass. What could have been the problem?

    Walton, unlike Coleman, lived to his potential when he physically could. Dood, was the truth on the court.

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Hello Jaron Rush.

  • Brad Daugherty immedietly comes to mind. He used to run shit back in Carolina, and when he did play in Cleveland, him and Mark Price had the ill inside/outside game. But then his injuries destroyed everthing else.

    Brian Williams was another one that was supposed to be great. He was a free spirit, changed his name to Bison Dele, and got killed by his brother. Shame, cause my man was very talented.

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    Dr. Wu,

    Why didn't Castro let Teofilio go out and kick some ass. What could have been the problem?


    Probably afraid he would defect???

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    Bill Walton....GREAT player, BAD TV Analyst!!

    I don't know...who else is gonna exclaim the words "PURPLE HAZE" after a nasty dunk?


    Don't get me wrong...Walton is entertaining, it's just that he says shit sometimes just for shock value, either that or he has some Grateful Dead Tour flashbacks and says shit like ...

    "Richard Jefferson is the greatest athlete to ever play in the NBA" (Of course later in the game he'll let it slip that Jefferson was his son's roomie)

    Another guy who never made good on his talent was Cherokee Parks....but I let him slide because his sister is the bassist in Nashville Pussy!!!

  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    Bill Walton....GREAT player, BAD TV Analyst!!

    I don't know...who else is gonna exclaim the words "PURPLE HAZE" after a nasty dunk?


    Don't get me wrong...Walton is entertaining, it's just that he says shit sometimes just for shock value, either that or he has some Grateful Dead Tour flashbacks and says shit like ...

    "Richard Jefferson is the greatest athlete to ever play in the NBA"[/b] (Of course later in the game he'll let it slip that Jefferson was his son's roomie)

    Man, that's beautiful. For me, the crazier, the better as far as announcers go. Sure, they may say some off-the-wall shit, but that just makes it more fun.

    The local White Sox announcer used to play on the Red Sox with Carl Yastrzemski (sp?). He didn't play that long and wasn't that good, but never lets an opportunity slip to start a story with, "When I was in the big leagues.." He also is fond of comments such as "I love me some cotton candy."

  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,473 Posts
    It's all in the way you define wasted talent.

    Is wasted talent people who never showed anything in the NBA like Washburn and Miner?

    Is it players who had it but lost it like Kemp?

    Is it guys like Coleman that showed flashes but then faded?

    I guess all of the above to me, though a case like Coleman is particularly bad. Dude was ballin' when he first hit the league, then decided he didn't care and turned into a fat, useless sack of shit with the quickness. That's a waste because he proved he could be dominant and simply chose not to be.

    Kemp was certainly a "wasted" talent when he would play after sniffing yayo--nyuk nyuk nyuk.

    Was Miner ever considered a real NBA talent? I don't remember. All I remember is he won the dunk contest and did little else on the court.


  • Was Miner ever considered a real NBA talent? I don't remember. All I remember is he won the dunk contest and did little else on the court.

    He was drafted high, with the nickname "Baby Jordan," so there were some expectations.

    I'll never forget his final college game, though, when James Forrest of Ga Tech hit his only career 3 at the buzzer to beat USC.

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    Bill Walton....GREAT player, BAD TV Analyst!!

    I don't know...who else is gonna exclaim the words "PURPLE HAZE" after a nasty dunk?


    Don't get me wrong...Walton is entertaining, it's just that he says shit sometimes just for shock value, either that or he has some Grateful Dead Tour flashbacks and says shit like ...

    "Richard Jefferson is the greatest athlete to ever play in the NBA"[/b] (Of course later in the game he'll let it slip that Jefferson was his son's roomie)

    Man, that's beautiful. For me, the crazier, the better as far as announcers go. Sure, they may say some off-the-wall shit, but that just makes it more fun.

    The local White Sox announcer used to play on the Red Sox with Carl Yastrzemski (sp?). He didn't play that long and wasn't that good, but never lets an opportunity slip to start a story with, "When I was in the big leagues.." He also is fond of comments such as "I love me some cotton candy."

    Sounds like Ken "Hawk" Harrelson!!!

  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts

    Sounds like Ken "Hawk" Harrelson!!!

    Yes, yes it is.

  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,473 Posts
    So how much overlap is there between "wasted talent" and "really good college player, not so much in the NBA?" Because in the latter category, you could put people like:

    Randolph Childress
    Christian Laettner (I hate to say it because he's a cock-knocker, but he's probably the best college player I've ever seen)
    Trajan Langdon
    Donyell Marshall (man, I wish this weren't true, but dude's been pretty disappointing for the most part)
    Danny Ferry
    Billy Owens
    Bryant Reeves (aka Fat Country)
    John Wallace

    and many more.
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