I always wonder what happened to some players who were great college players who bomb in the pros.

There is some discussion on the Knicks board regarding signing Marcus Fizer, who is in the Developmental League. I remember what a stud he was at Iowa State and then he bombed in stints with Chicago & Milwaukee and finds himself out of the league. I guess he was just a power forward a couple of inches too short.

Another guy who bombed was Erick Barclay, who was a terrific point guard at St. Johns when he teemed with Ron Artest. He left after two years and was a first round draft pick of Portland. He couldn't get off the bench in Portland and was traded to San Antonio where he was cut.

I thought he was going to make a great pro, but there may have been some "off the court" issues.

And how about NYC native and high school vagabond Lenny Cooke. He entered his name into the NBA draft and wasn't drafted and later couldn't even hook on with a Development League team.

Hey Larry -

You trading Jermaine to us or what???

Posted by EnySpree:

What about Bootsy Thornton? He was a really good player for ST. Johns. I think the dude is playing well for a Euro team right now. I just knew he was gonna be a great pro, but I don't even think he got drafted. I saw Bootsy score 40 at St. Johns. The guy was a really good scorer.

[Edited by - enyspree on 03-03-2006 02:46 AM]

Damn. I forgot about him. I never thought he would make a great pro because he was an undersized shooting guard. He did have some big games at St. Johns, though. I remember he had a great game against Duke. That might have been the game where he threw down 40.

A couple of other guys I thought would make good pros but did nothing. I remember when Jumaine Jones came out of Georgia after his sophomore year. He was drafted late in the first round and almost started crying. He was like the last guy left in the green room. He is one of those great athletes who doesn't really have a game.

And Dion Glover out of Georgia Tech I thought was going to be a player. He had a great freshman season then missed his entire sophomore year with an injury, but still entered the draft and was tapped by Atlanta in the first round. He had only a journeman's career and as far as I know he's out of the league.

And what about Darius Miles? He is a guy who stopped improving after his rookie season. His second season stats where identical to his rookie season's. Another athlete one without any kind of game.