OT-HS to pros

[UofCT]

Been on my mind since nba playoffs are in full swing. What programs were after KG, Kobe, Dwight, josh Smith and some of the other notable NBA stars that went straight to the pros? Only started following recruiting that option was abolished.

Anyone remember?

 

[HU5KIES]

I'm not exactly sure about which players considering which schools, but you can look them up on Rivals .com if they entered the league 2002 or later. I was curious about it myself and LeBron had offers from Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, UNC, and Mich St.

 

[superjohn]

Kobe would have gone to Duke, I always heard that Garnett probably would have signed with us because he was good friends with Ray Ray.

 

[JaYnYcE]

Ohio State or Syracuse for LeBron. He and Melo were good friends and he might have gone there if Melo had stayed there. It's a good thing both elected to go to the draft the year before or no title for our boys that year.


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[aceboon]

Josh Smith was committed to Indiana, KG said on his Beyond The Glory special he was going to go to Mich if he had got his qualifying ACT score in time. With guys like Howard and Bron(moreso Bron) it was so obvious that they were heading directly to the pros that colleges didn't really actively pursue them all that hard.

 

[aceboon]

Ohio State or Syracuse for LeBron. He and Melo were good friends and he might have gone there if Melo had stayed there. It's a good thing both elected to go to the draft the year before or no title for our boys that year.


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Bron would've been the #1 pick as a HS junior, he was never going to college.

 

[Fishy]

LeBron would not have gone to Syracuse or Ohio State - there was never a thought of where he was going to go to school, but if there had been, it would have been decided by Nike. (No one recruited LeBron - for starters, it was clear he was always bound for the pros and second, the NCAA would have laughed if anyone tried to claim he was eligible.)

The two most likely straight-to-the-NBA players to sign with UConn were probably Dirk Nowitski and Tony Parker.

 

[JaYnYcE]

Bron would've been the #1 pick as a HS junior, he was never going to college.

There was an interview many years ago where he commented that he and Melo had envisioned playing together when they competed against each other in high school. It was a few years into his NBA career and it was during March Madness.


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[tcf15]

Josh Smith was committed to Indiana, KG said on his Beyond The Glory special he was going to go to Mich if he had got his qualifying ACT score in time. With guys like Howard and Bron(moreso Bron) it was so obvious that they were heading directly to the pros that colleges didn't really actively pursue them all that hard.

I remember this excerpt from Calhoun's "Dare to Dream" when he was talking about how pointless it is to focus on the what-ifs:

 

[aceboon]

I remember this excerpt from Calhoun's "Dare to Dream" when he was talking about how pointless it is to focus on the what-ifs:

Yea that's been talked about before but Garnett said on that now defunct Fox Sports "Beyond The Glory" series that he was headed to Michigan because he loved the Fab 5.

 

[aceboon]

There was an interview many years ago where he commented that he and Melo had envisioned playing together when they competed against each other in high school. It was a few years into his NBA career and it was during March Madness.


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Bron never had any intention of going to college, that is just lip service

 

[tcf15]

Yea that's been talked about before but Garnett said on that now defunct Fox Sports "Beyond The Glory" series that he was headed to Michigan because he loved the Fab 5.

Oh, I wasn't refuting what you had said. I was just pointing out we could have been in contention for KG. I also love how Jimmy makes KG's reaction seem a bit more grandiose than it actually was.

 

[ju6381]

Oh, I wasn't refuting what you had said. I was just pointing out we could have been in contention for KG. I also love how Jimmy makes KG's reaction seem a bit more grandiose than it actually was.

I don't doubt that was KG reaction at that point. He had not yet blown up at that time, that came the coming summer where he went to the big camp (nike at that time?) and left as Bob Gibbons #1 recruit.

 

[nomar]

The two most likely straight-to-the-NBA players to sign with UConn were probably Dirk Nowitski and Tony Parker.

I think Bynum wins that award.

 

[Cheddie]

(No one recruited LeBron - for starters, it was clear he was always bound for the pros and second, the NCAA would have laughed if anyone tried to claim he was eligible.)

I remember he was driving around in a new ($40K+?) Hummer in high school.

 

[Jerry1714]

JR Smith was another straight to NBA who committed to UNC.

 

[Scoe]

I remember he was driving around in a new ($40K+?) Hummer in high school.

Lebron would have gone to Ohio State if he had to go to college, I do remember that story about he hummer which would have made a lot of sense for him to go to Ohio State.

 

[Scoe]

Amare Stoudamire and Kendrick Perkins both commited to Memphis before declaring for the NBA draft.

 

[Scoe]

Gerald Green-Oklahoma State

 

[aceboon]

Sebastian Telfair - Louisville
Amir Johnson - Louisville
CJ Miles - Texas
Al Jefferson - Arkansas
Kwame Brown - Florida

 

[Scoe]

Darius Miles-St Johns

 

[boog204]

LeBron would not have gone to Syracuse or Ohio State - there was never a thought of where he was going to go to school, but if there had been, it would have been decided by Nike. (No one recruited LeBron - for starters, it was clear he was always bound for the pros and second, the NCAA would have laughed if anyone tried to claim he was eligible.)

The two most likely straight-to-the-NBA players to sign with UConn were probably Dirk Nowitski and Tony Parker.

I remember us recruiting both but didn't think we ever had a shot with either. I thought that Parker was UCLA bound and I remember Dirk and BC (of all places) being linked.