High-Schoolers Not Always Ready for NBA

- The Season's Over -

High-Schoolers Not Always Ready for NBA

June 21, 2007

The uniform was a bust, and so was Korleone Young

David Stern’s minimum-age restriction for players hoping to enter the NBA Draft is discriminatory. As Andrew so eloquently stated in ETB’s All-Youngin’ Team article, “what other employer could get away with banning qualified applicants of legal age based on the specific date of their birth?”

Having said that, there have been some colossal busts over the years before Stern put the kabosh on going straight from high school to the pros. The good people at Winning the Turnover Battle took the time today to name their Top 10 High School to NBA Busts. Take a look at the whole article, but here’s just two excerpts, purposely chosen to dog on ETB’s two flagship franchises:

7. Korleone Young: 1998, 40th pick by the Pistons

When your high school coach describes your decision to declare for the NBA draft as “a total surprise”, more often than not that is a bad sign. Nonetheless the Pistons used the 40th pick on Young, and their payback has been nonexistent. Young appeared in only three games for the Pistons and has since played in Canada, Australia, China, Russia, Israel, and Italy.

6. Ndudi Ebi: 2003, 26th pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves

Ebi was an intriguing shot blocking prospect when he came out in 2003 and to this day he is still just that, a shot blocking prospect. The sting of the Ebi pick is amplified by the fact that it was the Wolves first selection in the first round after the Joe Smith debacle that cost them five picks. Ebi appeared in only 19 games for the Wolves and has since signed with the Mavs, who may be hoping to pull off a reclamation project similar to the one they were able to pull off with former high school to NBA flop DeSagana Diop.

Check out the other eight players to make their list here.

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