Recruiting can be fickle, as it is difficult to project just how successful players will be at the next level. Certain players may have all the skill in the world, but lack the work ethic necessary to continue to thrive against better competition. Other players may have the talent to be successful, but be unable to get out of their own way off the court and be unsuccessful on it as a result. Then other times, talented players may declare for the NBA Draft too early and be unable to gain the necessary polish in time to carve out a successful career. Let's take a look at 10 highly-touted CBB recruits from 2005-2010 who did not pan out as expected and try to understand why.
College: Kansas
College Stats: 10.4/6.3/2.0
Julian Wright was the #8 player in the class of 2005 and committed to the Kansas Jayhawks as a hyped up PF. Through two seasons, he was able to garner Big 12 All-Freshman and All-Big 12 teams before being drafted in the first round in the 2007 Draft.
On the surface, he does not resemble a bust, but he never truly reached his full potential that he was stacked against. In college, he averaged 10.4 PPG and 6.3 REB over two seasons and was drafted based, again, on that upside and potential. He never capitalized on it, unfortunately, and was unable to latch on in the NBA.
College: Ohio State
College Stats: 8.8/4.7/0.3
B.J. Mullens may come as a surprise to some, seeing as how he only played one season in college before he was drafted to the NBA. However, as the #2 player in his class you would like to see him perform better in his lone collegiate year, as well as at least carve out a role in the league, but he has been unable to do so.
He has bounced around in the G-League and is a good cautionary tale to those who may declare before they are truly ready for the league, similarly to Wright.
College: Villanova
College Stats: 8.9/7.0/0.6
Mouphtaou Yarou was a player who was hyped to be a big-time contributor for the Villanova Wildcats as the number 11 player in the class of 2009. The 6'10" big man from Montrose Christian was not able to put it all together, however, as he averaged a rather inefficient 8.9 PPG to go along with 7 REB.
He was not an awful player, but he offered little in the ways of rim protection and was a 49
shooter from the field as a primarily post-up player.
College: UConn
College Stats: 9.8/6.2/1.0
Stanley Robinson was the #18 player in the class of 2006. He did not have a terrible career, but he was rather inconsistent and never became the true superstar that his ranking projected him to be. Over 4 season with UConn, he averaged 9.8 PPG and 6.2 REB, despite being a starter for three of those seasons.
Again, not a bad player by any means, just simply did not live up to his high expectations.
College: Kansas
College Stats: 7.9/2.2/2.2
Josh Selby was another player who was very highly-ranked coming out of Maryland in the class of 2010. He was the #3 player in 247's composite ranking, and a consensus 5-star recruit. He committed to Kansas, but struggled to get on the court due to some off-the-court issues with impermissible benefits. After averaging 7.9 PPG in one season, he declared for the NBA Draft but was unable to catch on with any teams.
College: Mississippi State
College Stats: 11.5/6.1/0.6
Renardo Sidney was a phenom starting in middle school. He was considered by many to be one of the top players in his class as an 8th grader and continued to dominate en route to a #8 overall ranking in the class of 2009.
However, once he got to school at Mississippi State, he dealt with eligibility issues and suspension due to a fight with a teammate. He did not average terrible numbers, as he scored 11.5 PPG and added 6 boards, but he was nowhere near the phenom he was hyped to be.
College: LSU/LA Tech
College Stats: 8.1/5.6/0.6
Magnum Rolle was a highly-touted recruit in the class of 2005, gaining a 5-star ranking and the #17 spot in the class. His career at LSU was unspectacular, however, as he averaged 3.1 PPG over two seasons with the school before transferring to Louisiana Tech.
He was never able to get a consistent role with LSU, but once he had better playing time at LA Tech he averaged a respectable, although still slightly disappointing 13 PPG with the school.
2010.4/6.3/2.0">Ater Majok -
Class of 2008College: UConn
College Stats: 2.3/3.0/0.2
Ater Majok was the #17 recruit in the class of 2008. He was a 6'10 PF out of Virginia and was set to make a big impact at UConn. After redshirting his freshman season due to eligibility issues, he only averaged 2.3 PPG and 3 REB over his career with the Huskies.
He was, somehow, still drafted in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft but has played exclusively overseas since.
College: UCLA/Baylor
College Stats: 2.5/1.7/0.2
J'Mison Morgan was a 5-star, top 20 recruit in the class of 2008 and many thought that he would help restore UCLA to their former glory years. However, he averaged a meager 2.1 PPG in two seasons with UCLA before transferring to Baylor and averaging 3.5 PPG over two seasons.
College: Oklahoma State
College Stats: N/A
Keith Brumbaugh was a sad story, as the #12 player in the class of 2005 never saw the court for Oklahoma State. Brumbaugh had several run-ins with the law over the span of 6 months and had questions brought up about the validity of his ACT test scores.
He eventually was able to get his life straight and played very well for Hillsborough Community College before bouncing around a bit in overseas leagues. He is a cautionary tale to make sure that you are keeping things straight off-the-court as well as on.
