Which Cuse player had the most disappointing career?

[Cuse4]

This isn't meant to bash any player at all... just curious as to what you guys have to say... Obviously Mookie is going to be up there, Jones that is, but lets try to stay away from him... My number one guy hands down has to be Paul Harris. Really feel that he would have been great had he went to Pitt or Uconn. Just not seeing eye to eye with JB really hurt him and his confidence...Other guys up there for me: TRob and Louie... Thoughts?

 

[orange79]

Donte Greene - because it was too short.

 

[sutomcat]

This isn't meant to bash any player at all... just curious as to what you guys have to say... Obviously Mookie is going to be up there, Jones that is, but lets try to stay away from him... My number one guy hands down has to be Paul Harris. Really feel that he would have been great had he went to Pitt or Uconn. Just not seeing eye to eye with JB really hurt him and his confidence...Other guys up there for me: TRob and Louie... Thoughts?

I think Harris would have been a better fit at Pitt than at SU, probably would not have played at UConn. Personally, I think he was vastly overrated in HS.

Could not shoot, was not good at using his body inside, blocked out poorly, did not finish well (might have had more of his shots blocked during his career than anyone in major college basketball history). was a liability rebounding, etc.

I think he could have been a good to great man to man defender, but his athletic ability, like his basketball skills, was overrated. Great hustle, consistent great effort, but his weaknesses, coupled with an astonishing low BB IQ, made rooting for him a bipolar fan's dream.

 

[Eric15]

Winifred Walton

 

[44PRIDE]

If we are talking college careers, I always thought the Mookie Watkins, Terrance Roberts, Demetris Nichols triumvirate was a huge letdown especially considering the hype these three got coming in.

If we are considering pro careers, then its a toss-up between Flynn and Coleman.

 

[igor]

coleman averaged 20 and ten before the heart. larry brown said that dc was the smartest player he ever coached

 

[44PRIDE]

coleman averaged 20 and ten before the heart. larry brown said that dc was the smartest player he ever coached

Coleman truly could've been one of the greatest ever. He had that kind of talent. That's what's disappointing.

 

[stuckinbig11]

This isn't meant to bash any player at all... just curious as to what you guys have to say... Obviously Mookie is going to be up there, Jones that is, but lets try to stay away from him... My number one guy hands down has to be Paul Harris. Really feel that he would have been great had he went to Pitt or Uconn. Just not seeing eye to eye with JB really hurt him and his confidence...Other guys up there for me: TRob and Louie... Thoughts?

Paul Harris ? You have to be kidding me. Paul did more good things in five minutes on the court than many players do in four years. He had a big man's game in a body built like a gorilla (including height). I think the only failure here was your expectation for him.

 

[Gabjon]

Josh Wright hands down!

 

[garnermike]

Going back further, Red Bruin, Tony Scott.

 

[Rocco]

Carmelo Anthony. We needed 3 more NC's.

 

[OttoMets]

Paul Harris ? You have to be kidding me. Paul did more good things in five minutes on the court than many players do in four years. He had a big man's game in a body built like a gorilla (including height). I think the only failure here was your expectation for him.

Well, yeah. But that's kind of the point of this sort of thread (which, unfortunately, is bound to deteriorate into hurt feelings and excessive criticisms of players).

Harris is one of my all-time favorites. But the Post-Standard beat team hyped him from the moment of his commitment and Boeheim told us in summer 2006 that Harris (not Durant or Oden) was likely to be national freshman of the year. So that, plus a pair of NITs and good-not-great numbers for three years does, unfortunately, make his career a bit disappointing. I think he's regarded unfairly by many and think his off-court behavior was overstated (and paled in comparison to many of his teammates).

He's a hustle guy who's got a much higher hoops IQ than many give him credit for. I'm happy he went to SU (though he could've really been something on a defense-first team that played mostly man). But his career was disappointing. Similar to Red Bruin, Devendorf, or any other McDonald's-level guy who never really put it together. (For the record, I'd put Devendorf on this list over Harris: actual McDonald's selection, immensely talented scorer. Never cared to give an effort on defense. And let this sink in for a minute: Lawrence Moten would very likely no longer be Syracuse's all-time leading scorer if Devendorf had allowed himself to stay in school for four years. It's easy to forget what a naturally talented offensive player he was; he never reached his full potential.)

Anyway, this list begins and ends with Winfred Walton. Honorable mention to Terrence Roberts (good guy who had dreadful hands and was overrated in high school) and Mookie Watkins (who had every tool but mental make-up - and great point guard - to be a a dominant college center but who's made a nice professional career for himself).

 

[OttoMets]

Going back further, Red Bruin, Tony Scott.

Good call - Tony Scott and Rodney Walker should probably enter this conversation at some point. And, continuing on the transfer kick, Earl Duncan. All highly-hyped as high schoolers, all potential difference-makers, all transferred away from teams that fell just short of national championships.

 

[HouseOfCuse]

I agree with Josh Wright.

At least Harris, Mookie and Roberts contributed. While frustrating at times they did do some good things and help at times. I don't Wright ever did anything.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I always felt like Roberts had the tools to be a lot more than he was, which was immensely frustrating, but I tip my hat to the guy because he basically gutted out his senior season on one functional knee.

 

[Orangepace]

DeShawn Williams... single-handedly destroyed what started out as a really promising year.. 19-0 start IIRC.. If only he could have kept his in his pants..

 

[oldpinepoint]

DeShawn Williams... single-handedly destroyed what started out as a really promising year.. 19-0 start IIRC.. If only he could have kept his in his pants..

This guy was a cancer and should not be included on any list. It was a blessing that he left the program. You say disappointing, i say his career was perfect. He stays we dont win the NC.

 

[realorange]

Paul Harris ? You have to be kidding me. Paul did more good things in five minutes on the court than many players do in four years. He had a big man's game in a body built like a gorilla (including height). I think the only failure here was your expectation for him.

Paul could also do more damage in five minutes than many players in four years. Few players in SU history have made me come close to losing my mind than Paul. As Tomcat put it, "rooting for him(was) a bipolar fan's dream."

 

[MikeSU02]

This isn't meant to bash any player at all... just curious as to what you guys have to say... Obviously Mookie is going to be up there, Jones that is, but lets try to stay away from him... My number one guy hands down has to be Paul Harris. Really feel that he would have been great had he went to Pitt or Uconn. Just not seeing eye to eye with JB really hurt him and his confidence...Other guys up there for me: TRob and Louie... Thoughts?

TRob was the most disappointing to me, personally. I am going to state, however, that he played through a lot of pain and toughed out a lot of games and I thought he gave a helluva an effort when he was on the floor.

However misguided, I really thought he was going to be a poor man's DC and boy was I wrong. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the effort that he put forth.

 

[Cuse4]

Josh Wright hands down!

true... extremely overrated out of hs

 

[RF2044]

This is an interesting question. I look at it a couple of different ways, depending on how you set the criteria.

If you mean which recruits never panned out given the incoming hype, then Paul Harris is a pretty good choice. He was a solid, three year contributor who put up decent numbers and actually had a very, very good sophomore year playing most of his minutes at 2G, but given that he was one of the top incoming recruits that year and hyped as potentially being able to provide a little of what Carmelo brought to the program, he didn't live up to that. Other candidates in this category for me include: Mike Brown, Tony Harris, LeRon Ellis.

If you're talking about players who transferred after not making an impact at SU but went on to have solid careers elsewhere, then my list changes: Earl Duncan, Keith Hughes, Bobby Lazor, Richard Manning, Rock Lloyd. All of those guys are players who COULD and probably WOULD have helped the program if they'd stayed.

Taking it from the perspective of recruits that I expected a lot from but who just never lived up to my expectations, then Greene, TRob, and Craig Forth.

If the criteria is players who might not have been the most highly rated recruits, but came in with a good opportunity and failed to actualize the potential value they brought to the program [sometimes submarining what otherwise might have been promising squads with their negative presence], then my list would be: Michael Edwards, Josh Wright, James Thues [the one guy on this list who wasn't a negative presence], Dayshawn Wright, Louie McCroskey.

If we're talking about kids who were near misses, then Winfred Walton tops that list, given the impact I imagine he would have had at SU. Edit: Karlton Hines belongs on this list, as well.

 

[OttoMets]

TRob was the most disappointing to me, personally. I am going to state, however, that he played through a lot of pain and toughed out a lot of games and I thought he gave a helluva an effort when he was on the floor.

However misguided, I really thought he was going to be a poor man's DC and boy was I wrong. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the effort that he put forth.

Nah, I was right there with you. He looked like the total package coming out of high school; I thought he'd be an all-time great Orangeman, a 20-10 machine. Warrick with more bulk, better range, and a better handle.

Turned out he couldn't catch and didn't have great touch around the hoop. But he did play hard, especially during the senior year that he grabbed over eight rebounds per game while playing pretty much entirely beneath the rim on a torn meniscus.

 

[Cuse4]

This is an interesting question. I look at it a couple of different ways, depending on how you set the criteria.

If you mean which recruits never panned out given the incoming hype, then Paul Harris is a pretty good choice. He was a solid, three year contributor who put up decent numbers and actually had a very, very good sophomore year playing most of his minutes at 2G, but given that he was one of the top incoming recruits that year and hyped as potentially being able to provide a little of what Carmelo brought to the program, he didn't live up to that. Other candidates in this category for me include: Mike Brown, Tony Harris, LeRon Ellis, Chuck Gelatt, Craig Forth.

If you're talking about players who transferred after not making an impact at SU but went on to have solid careers elsewhere, then my list changes: Earl Duncan, Keith Hughes, Bobby Lazor, Richard Manning, Rock Lloyd. All of those guys are players who COULD and probably WOULD have helped the program if they'd stayed.

If the criteria is players who came in with a good opportunity but failed to actualize the potential value they brought to the program [sometimes submarining what otherwise might have been promising squads with their negative presence], then my list would be: Michael Edwards, Josh Wright, James Thues [the one guy on this list who wasn't a negative presence], Dayshawn Wright, Louie McCroskey.

If we're talking about kids who were near misses, then Winfred Walton tops that list, given the impact I imagine he would have had at SU.

Dayshawn Wright is a great one... often forget about him... i believe he eventually became the first pick in the CBA

 

[RF2044]

Nah, I was right there with you. He looked like the total package coming out of high school; I thought he'd be an all-time great Orangeman, a 20-10 machine. Warrick with more bulk, better range, and a better handle.

Turned out he couldn't catch and didn't have great touch around the hoop. But he did play hard, especially during the senior year that he grabbed over eight rebounds per game while playing pretty much entirely beneath the rim on a torn meniscus.

TRob was incredibly frustrating in many respects. But I agree--he earned a lot of respect from me for playing hard his senior year with the injury--that washed away a lot of the general sense of disappointment I had with him.

 

[orangefan13]

Unibrow one and two get a vote.

One ended up at binghamton (home of the alphas for all you sci fi fans), which turned him to cocaine.
and the
other ended up with a worthless national championship that will someday be withdrawn instead of one here at syracuse who was only lacking a pf and rebounder that year, and a rep of taking college money and being unliked by many.