December 14th, 2005

All-American Disappointments: Part Two

An All-American player doesn’t usually see himself on the All-Disappointment team.  An All-American college player assumes that he is going to have a long NBA career.  But is that what happens in reality?

By my humble estimates, in the past 10 seasons of NCAA 1^st and 2^nd Team All-American selections, 23% have NOT gone on to bigger and better things in the big boys’ league, the NBA.  These stats includes last year’s selections, where the only 2 that aren’t in the League yet are current NCAA seniors J.J. Redick and Dee Brown (who more than likely will both find themselves on NBA rosters after they graduate).

So who are the great disappointers of the past 10 seasons you ask?  Read on.

Part Two: 2001-2005

Check out Part One (1996-2000)

Joseph Forte - North Carolina – 2001 1^st Team All-American

2001 was another rough year for 1^st Team All-Americans, what with 3 out of the 5 selections currently out of the NBA.  The first of these is former Tar Heel standout Joe Forte.  A 2001 first round draft pick of the Celtics, Forte played only 8 games with Boston that season and 17 with Seattle the following year.  He played a grand total of 125 minutes in the League, scoring a whopping total of 30 points.  So at the age of 22 Forte found himself out of the NBA.  After averaging 11.9 points per for the NBDL champs the Asheville Altitude, Forte has recently signed with Apollon Patras of Greece’s top league.  In 2 games in Greece Joe is averaging 11.5 points and 3.5 assists per game.

Casey Jacobsen – Stanford – 2001 1^st Team All-American, 2002 2^nd Team All-American

Jacobsen just recently found himself off of an NBA roster.  After playing his first 2 seasons with Phoenix, the Suns traded Casey to the Hornets part way through last season (Casey’s third in the league).  He has currently played 234 NBA games averaging 5.9 points per game.  This season he has taken his show on the road, to Tau Ceramica Vitoria in Spain, one of the top teams in Europe.  Tau has three other former NBA players on its roster – Kornel David, Travis Hansen & Predrag Drobnjak – along with Raptor draft pick Roko Ukic and top NBA draft prospect Tiago Splitter.  Jacobsen is averaging a modest 6.7 points per game through the team’s first 11 Spanish League games, and only 4.6 points in its 6 Euroleague games.

Jason Williams – Duke – 2001 & 2002 1^st Team All-American, 2002 consensus Player of the Year

The fact that Jason Williams isn’t still playing in the NBA has nothing to do with his skill level.  After being the second overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft (behind Yao Ming), Williams had a solid rookie campaign with the Bulls, averaging 9.5 points and 4.7 assists and earning 2^nd Team All-NBA Rookie honors.  Injuries sustained in a horrific motorcycle accident the summer after his rookie year has put his basketball career on hold.  Williams is working hard at a comeback, but he still isn’t 100% over 2 years after the crash.

Troy Bell - Boston College – 2001 & 2003 2^nd Team All-American

Troy had a stellar college career with the Eagles that saw him graduate with averages of 21.6 points, 4 boards and 3.5 assists through his four years in college.  He has only played 6 NBA games and 34 minutes total due to injuries and the fact that he is a “tweener” (not a point guard, too small for the shooting guard spot).  He played 2 games in Spain last season, averaging 3 points per game.  He played 1 pre-season game with the Hornets this year and hasn’t been heard from since.

Steve Logan - Cincinnati – 2002 1^st Team All-American

A 2002 second round pick of Golden State, Logan has yet to play a minute in the NBA.  He played in the ABA before moving overseas.  He is currently starring in Turkey, averaging 20.3 points (second in the league) and 5 assists (fourth in the league) per game.  He has recently been suspended two games for insulting a referee.

Sam Clancy - Southern California – 2002 2^nd Team All-American

Another 2002 second round pick, Clancy also hasn’t seen an NBA court.  He missed the entire 02-03 season with a knee injury.  He went on to the CBA where he was an All-League performer and Defensive Player of the Year.  He played last season in Spain before getting a tryout with the Blazers this pre-season.

Jason Gardner - Arizona – 2003 2^nd Team All-American

The diminutive Gardner didn’t even get drafted by an NBA team, perhaps his size scaring off teams.  He has since bounced around Europe, playing in Slovenia, Belgium and finally this season in Israel’s top league.  In four games this year he is averaging 13 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per.

Hollis Price – Oklahoma – 2003 2^nd Team All-American

Price also went undrafted and has bounced around in Europe.  He played his first 2 pro seasons in France, making the all-star team both years.  After playing this past summer with the Houston Rockets’ summer league squad, Price has moved to Germany.  He is averaging 14.8 points, 3.5 boards & 3.6 assists for Alba Berlin this year.

Andre Emmett - Texas Tech – 2004 1^st Team All-American

Scoring 7 points, playing 8 games and 28 minutes total in the NBA thus far, Emmett has disappointed.  However, he is currently playing well in the D-league, averaging 18 points and 6.5 boards for the Austin Toros.

Blake Stepp - Gonzaga – 2004 2^nd Team All-American

A late 2004 draft choice of Minnesota, Stepp hasn’t made it into the big show yet.  Blake started his career in Serbia, with his team winning the league championship.  Stepp caught on with Cleveland’s summer league team this past summer before going back overseas, this season playing in Spain.  In 3 games this year he is averaging 10 points and 2.3 assists per game.

So who are the worst offenders on this list of top 20 disappointers (for the first 10 read part one)?  Here they are in my estimation:

10.Jason Williams

9.Miles Simon

8.Joe Forte

7.Chris Carrawell

6.A.J. Guyton

5.Troy Bell

4.Trajan Langdon

3.Steve Logan

2.Jason Gardner

1.Hollis Price