John Thompson dead at 78

#3
#3
RIP

Weird thought, did Ewing waste 3 years of what would have been pro excellence? He was such an athletic beast ages 18-22 and that advantage didn't last long in the NBA. His athletic prime was clearly on the decline by 28. We only got like 4 years of Ewing at the top of his pro game.
 
#4
#4
n_huffhines said:
RIP

Weird thought, did Ewing waste 3 years of what would have been pro excellence? He was such an athletic beast ages 18-22 and that advantage didn't last long in the NBA. His athletic prime was clearly on the decline by 28. We only got like 4 years of Ewing at the top of his pro game.
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Not sure he had a choice back then. The rule has fluctuated, but there weren’t any high school players getting drafted in the 80s and I’m pretty sure the one and dones didn’t really start happening until the 90s. I can’t think of anybody in the 80s that didn’t play their Junior year before declaring for the draft.
 
#5
#5
GAVol said:
Not sure he had a choice back then. The rule has fluctuated, but there weren’t any high school players getting drafted in the 80s and I’m pretty sure the one and dones didn’t really start happening until the 90s. I can’t think of anybody in the 80s that didn’t play their Junior year before declaring for the draft.
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So if you didn't go straight from HS, then you had to stay until junior year? What year did Moses Malone get drafted?

Whether it was the rule or not, my point is that his prime could have been twice as long. Ewing was a good player for a long time, but was great for such a short period.
 
#6
#6
n_huffhines said:
So if you didn't go straight from HS, then you had to stay until junior year? What year did Moses Malone get drafted?

Whether it was the rule or not, my point is that his prime could have been twice as long. Ewing was a good player for a long time, but was great for such a short period.
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I get exactly what you're saying and you're right.

Malone would've been back in the mid-70s. There were a few other guys in the 70s that went straight from high school or some weird JUCO situation to the draft, and then I'm pretty sure it didn't happen again until the mid 90s. I remember them bringing in the one and done rule at some point, but back in the 80s, guys just didn't declare early that much for whatever reason. If you go look at the hardship lists in the 80s, it's usually 10-15 mostly Juniors and an occasional Soph. Can't remember if it was a minimum age thing or what. Pretty sure Jordan, Barkley, Magic, Bird, Dominique etc all played 3 years in college.
 
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#7
#7
GAVol said:
I get exactly what you're saying and you're right.

Malone would've been back in the mid-70s. There were a few other guys in the 70s that went straight from high school or some weird JUCO situation to the draft, and then I'm pretty sure it didn't happen again until the mid 90s. I remember them bringing in the one and done rule at some point, but back in the 80s, guys just didn't declare early that much for whatever reason. If you go look at the hardship lists in the 80s, it's usually 10-15 mostly Juniors and an occasional Soph. Can't remember if it was a minimum age thing or what. Pretty sure Jordan, Barkley, Magic, Bird, Dominique etc all played 3 years in college.
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I don't think it was against any written rule. It just wasn't done during that time period. Reading this made me think of Shawn Kemp. I always thought he went from high school to the NBA. It turns out that he signed with Kentucky, but he didn't qualify. He transferred to a JUCO as you alluded to, but he left after a semester. He declared for the draft at 19 having never played college ball. Kevin Garnett was the first player I remember going straight from high school. I think he went in 95. The flood gates seemed to open after that. I seem to remember Al Harrington, Tyson Chandler, and Kobe all went within a year or two after Garnett.

On the topic of Thompson, that run of Ewing, Mutombo, and Mourning was pretty awesome. Ewing at Georgetown was a few years before my time, but seeing Mourning and Mutombo on the floor at the same time was fun to watch. Georgetown was definitely Big Man U. It was strange seeing that playing style shift when Iverson came a few years later.
 
#8
#8
GAVol said:
I get exactly what you're saying and you're right.

Malone would've been back in the mid-70s. There were a few other guys in the 70s that went straight from high school or some weird JUCO situation to the draft, and then I'm pretty sure it didn't happen again until the mid 90s. I remember them bringing in the one and done rule at some point, but back in the 80s, guys just didn't declare early that much for whatever reason. If you go look at the hardship lists in the 80s, it's usually 10-15 mostly Juniors and an occasional Soph. Can't remember if it was a minimum age thing or what. Pretty sure Jordan, Barkley, Magic, Bird, Dominique etc all played 3 years in college.
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Magic played 2 years in college. Bird was a “5th” year senior but only played 3 years after dropping out of Indiana.
 
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