Pro Athletes You Thought Would Be Good/ Thought Would Be Busts

[carter08]

Saw this topic on another forum.

What guys, when they were drafted (NFL & NBA probably, since the MLB draft is less hyped) did you KNOW at the time would be good? Which were you SURE would be busts? & which ones were you wrong about?

I'll start with the NBA. Will post some NFL ones later

Player's I knew would be busts:

Darko
Austin Rivers
Jimmer
Acie Law
Adam Morrison
Dion Waiters (jury still out)
Tristan Thompson (jury still out)

Player's that I thought would be good, who weren't very good:

Royce White
Perry Jones III
Chris Singleton
Hassan Whiteside
Terrence Williams
Oden
Luther Head
T.J. Ford
Shabazz Muhammad (jury still out)
Shane Larkin (jury still out)
Rudy Gobert (jury still out)
Ricky Ledo (jury still out)

[cougartino]

Turned out to be good:
Peyton Manning. Hear me out. I just never thought his frame coming out would hold up under the weight of an NFL season. Boy was I waaay wrong!
Mike Hampton, Astros pitcher who I thought was too small but had a good career
Ken Norton, Cowboys linebacker who like Hampton, I thought was too small to play in the pros. I was wrong.
Kelvin Martin, Like Hampton and Norton, I thought he was too small.
Nate Newton, He played tackle one season and put Reggie White on his azz!
Jim Peterson, Rockets "Ivory Tower" during the Twin Towers era. BTW he was given that nickname by the Rockets announcers.
USFL, okay it only made it three years, but there were some diamonds there and other than the AFL, it fared better than other upstart leagues
Major League Soccer, new soccer only stadiums and good TV package


Turned out to be a bust:
Steve Harris, Rockets guard who a great outside shot but never made it
Randy White, Maverick forward many saw as the next Karl Malone
Tony Manderich, bust as a Packer, serviceable as a Colt
Eric Anthony, Astros youngster with power who never really made it
JD Drew, okay he's has some decent years but nothing like the experts projected
Lawrence Phillips, NO EXPLANATION NEEDED
Jamarcus Russell, SEE LAWRENCE PHILLIPS
Lorenzo White, should have had a bigger impact in the league but I think Jerry "I'm really a joke of a coach" Glanville had much to do with that.
Any Houston Gambler WR who never made it in the NFL. Even the Gamblers 2nd teamers had world class speed (eg. Vince Courville).

[maestro]

I think that the jury should still be out on both Rivers and Shabazz.

Look at how long it took JJ Redick to pan out.

My favorite is how the Rockets media and fans boo'd Robert Horry selection. And I KNEW Sam Cassall was talented, but most did not follow his college careers.

Did anyone outside of Houston really believe Clyde Drexler would be a star?

[FB-fanatic]

Turned out to be a bust:

Tony Manderich, bust as a Packer, serviceable as a Colt


Remember the SI cover:

http://i57.tinypic.com/1phz5t.jpg

[cougartino]

Remember the SI cover:

http://i57.tinypic.com/1phz5t.jpg

The Best Offensive Line Prospect Ever from SI should have been clue #1.