Players that could have had it all!!

[Wurider05]

I was thinking about Isiah Rider the other day and I remember I happy I was when he came to the Hawks. We all know how it ended but more than that I find it sad how someone with so much talent let it go to waste just because he was a jerk. I mean that dude was a phenomenal basketball player on both ends of he floor but he just could not get his head together and get rid of that thug mentality. who else comes to mind in terms of wasted talent in the league?

[AHF]

Len Bias may be the biggest guy.

Shawn Kemp

Derick Coleman

Vin Baker

Roy Tarpley

Micheal Ray Richardson

Eddie Griffin

many others...

[coachx]

Hank Gathers and Len Bias are the 1st to come to mind.

[AnakinJoe]

Chris Washburn and Charles Shackleford. Anyone remember Washburn? Dude looked like something developed in a basketball laboratory. They just forgot to install a chip in his brain. Tremendous athleticism in a 6'11 frame. Shackleford could have been Jermaine O'Neal like. Long, strong, aggressive. I think they both may be wearing state-issued orange uniforms somewhere.

On a completely different perspective, Grant Hill was on the verge of a spectacular career before his ankles (or doctors) betrayed him. He never would have received "street cred" but he would have put up 24/6/6 for about 8 straight years had he been healthy.

[coachx]

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Here is someone who fits but not in the same sense as someone with "thug mentality", Greg Ostertag. I remember Karl Malone would scream at him in practice to put somewhat of an effort into playing. He had the size and athleticism to be a top 5 center in the league, but he was always just a goof and never got his act together. A great person, but man a waste of talent. If he played anywhere close to what he was capable of the Jazz would no doubt have won at least one championship.

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Before Ostertag, Malone was spoiled with the 7'4'' Beastman named Mark Eaton blocking 4 shots a game beside him. Ostertag was never that type of intimidator.

Personlly I never thought Ostertag had the ability to ever be better then say a Will Perdue. Granted Will Perdue got some rings with Jordan.

The problem with the Jazz is the only "athletes" they had on the wing to match up vs. Jordan & Pippen or Drexler & Kersey were Shannon Anderson and Byron Russell. Jeff Hornezack (their best shooter) was a match up nightmare vs. the Bulls and Blazers. Suffice to say Russell and Anderson were not up to snuff vs. Pippen and Air Jordan or Drexler.

This allowed them to shift Ron Harper to the average at best Russell or Anderson, or catch and shoot Hornezack, and let Pippen terrorize John Stockton. If the Jazz had capahble wings it would have been Stockton terrorizing Ron Harper.

[Teeareess]

Good calls on Tarpley and Coleman!

[Spiral]

Grant Hill comes to mind, but not because he was a jerk, he just couldn't stay healthy.

[coachx]

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Grant Hill comes to mind, but not because he was a jerk, he just couldn't stay healthy.

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Good call on Hill. When Jordan retired ,(the 1st time), it was supposed to be Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway to carry the league. (Pre Kobe, Vince, Tracey days)

They both got jinxed with near carrer ending injuries but showed Hall of Fame ability in their early years when healthy.

[Packfill]

Definitely Derrick Coleman. That guy had all world physical and basketball talent/skill but lacked the mental capacity to realize his potential.

Stanley Roberts is another guy that had great skill as an offensive post player but could never get his life and weight under control.

[AHF]

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Grant Hill comes to mind, but not because he was a jerk, he just couldn't stay healthy.

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Good call on Hill. When Jordan retired ,(the 1st time), it was supposed to be Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway to carry the league. (Pre Kobe, Vince, Tracey days)

They both got jinxed with near carrer ending injuries but showed Hall of Fame ability in their early years when healthy.

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Injuries really don't count in my book because it isn't wasted talent as much as it is an unfortunate incident. Before Grant was injured, no one would ever claim he wasted any of his talent because he was one of the most complete players in the game. An unfortunate incident(s) occured that Grant could not control. Grant himself never wasted his talent, the injuries did.

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Guys like Jay Williams are a little more borderline depending on whether you think they are to blame for their career ending injuries.

[TheDude]

in the NBA, vin baker and shawn kemp jump out at me..in the NFL definitely Lawrence Phillips to the Nth degree and to a lesser sort Maurice Clarett.

i don't think anyone in any sport could compare to Lawrence Phillips though....that guy, i swear.

[ncthompson11]

Its a shame to see Jay Williams career end on one night like that. To me he is put in this category for wasting all of his talent. I wish grant and penny would have been the stars of the league more than they were. They were both class acts unlike some of the stars in the league now.

[AHF]

To me the cocaine overdose is clearly a wasted career and the fault of the player.

Once you move from there to the realm of Jay Williams and Bobby Hurley it is a more gray area. I don't think Hurley is at fault but how far is Williams from Hurley...

I agree that guys like Hill, Bowie, McDyess, Penny, are not in any way at fault for their problems and did not really do anything to waste their careers.

[gutz]

Hank Gathers didn't really have a chance. He collapsed and died on the court because of a unknown heart problem. That was completely out of his hands. Eventhough his talent was wasted it wasn't by his own doing like thugs and bums Isiah Rider and Vin Baker.

[skankin_richard]

for me, its basically everyone in the 2000 draft class... Guys like kenyon martin, Stromile Swift, Darius Miles, Marcus Fizer... All of those guys could have been stars in this league, but none of them panned out... geez, 2000 has got to be the worst class ever...

[Wurider05]

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Its a shame to see Jay Williams career end on one night like that. To me he is put in this category for wasting all of his talent. I wish grant and penny would have been the stars of the league more than they were. They were both class acts unlike some of the stars in the league now.

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I think that Jay gets too much credit. He was on his way to being a bust anyway. That accident just took him out sooner. HE wasn't a very good player in the NBA.