I chuckle when I think back on all the players that have been compared to Michael Jordan and then who proceeded to fall flat on their face when they joined the NBA.

There was LaBradford Smith, a terrific athlete who had a good, if not great, college career at Louisville. He was a first round draft pick back in the 1980s for Dallas I believe or maybe it was Washington. Another great athlete who just wasn't a good basketball player.

Then there was Roy Marble, who played on some good Iowa teams in the eighties. I believe he was a first round draft pick, but "off the court troubles" derailed his career.

And who can forget Harold "Baby Jordan" Minor, who played at USC and then in the NBA for Miami and Cleveland. I think he was a high first round pick for one of those teams, but while he was a terrific athlete he couldn't dribble, he couldn't shoot and he had no concept of how to play with out teams. He quickly fell out of the league.

And then there was JaRon Rush I think his name was (brother of Kareem, who plays for Charlotte who played for a couple of years at UCLA before disappearing. He had a huge reputation coming out of high school, but again, the "off the court" troubles killed any kind of career he might have had. He's a guy I thought might resurface.

remember all the next Larry birds.

rest in peace.