Who Were The Best College Basketball Players To Not Make It In The NBA?
So it’s August and this is somewhat the dead time in hoops. We’re a little bit away from the start of preseason in the NBA, we’re past the July recruiting period, so really all we have are some international trips and any surprise trades. So with that in mind I decided August will be the time to reflect on the past and get yelled at by putting out different blogs involving the best/worst/rankings/whatever. So if you have something in mind, let me know. I started this with the 10 best programs in college hoops from the last 10 seasons.
Today we’re going to go with the best players from the last 10 seasons who haven’t made it in the NBA. By ‘not making it’ we’re going to say either out of the NBA relatively early or relegated to bench/G League type deals. Now, let me preface it by saying these guys are still living out their dreams and being incredibly talented. There’s no doubting that. The other thing to remember here is 10 seasons ago is 2008-09 season, not the 2007-08 season as I’ve had a lot of people ask me about Kansas/Memphis 2008 title game.
So we’ll start with that season and these are the 10 insanely talented college hoops guys that just didn’t make it in the NBA. There are a variety of reasons here as it can be a bad fit team wise, their game doesn’t really translate to the NBA, etc. Let’s get right into it.
10. Sean Kilpatrick (Cincinnati)
This is one that I wasn’t sure whether to count or not, but with Kilpatrick being waived by the Bulls this summer, I’ll throw him on the list. Kilpatrick has been up and down in the NBA and G League after a great career at Cincinnati. He was a consensus first team All-American in 2014 and a 3x All-Conference player. Kilpatrick averaged over 20 per game during his final year at Cincinnati.
9. Nolan Smith (Duke)
Smith was essentially a 3-year starter in Duke and a national champion in 2010. On top of all that he was First Team All-American in 2011, ACC Player of the Year and All-Defensive Team during that season as well. Smith was drafted by the Blazers in the first round before lasting just two years in the league. He’s currently on staff back at Duke and making his way up the coaching ranks.
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8. Greivis Vasquez (Maryland)
One of the most hated players by non-Maryland fans, Vasquez turned into a hell of a player during his time at Maryland. During his senior year he was All-American and ACC Player of the Year after putting up a stat line of 19.6/6.3/4.6. He was consistently a triple-double threat and became the go-to guy during Gary’s final years at Maryland. He did play about 8 seasons in the pros but bounced around for various teams.
7. Jacob Pullen (Kansas State)
One of the most famous beards in the game, Jacob Pullen was one of the guys that helped Frank Martin bring Kansas State to relevance. He was a 2x 3rd Team All-American and averaged over 19 points per game as a Junior. Pullen also played in one of the more entertaining NCAA Tournament games going bucket for bucket with Tu Holloway and Xavier. Pullen went undrafted and played the majority of his career overseas.
6. JaJuan Johnson (Purdue)
One of the more versatile players in college, Johnson was one of the most successful players at Purdue as well. Johnson was a 3x All-Conference member, 1st team All-American, Big 10 Player of the Year and Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year during his time at Purdue. Johnson averaged over 20 points and 8 rebounds during his senior season before being drafted by the Celtics. He played just 36 games in Boston before moving overseas.
5. Russ Smith (Louisville)
Smith had a hell of a two year run at Louisville being a 3rd team All-American as a junior before being the Player of the Year and first team All-American as a senior. He also won a title* in 2013 after averaging over 18 points and 4 assists per game. He was drafted in the 2nd round by the Sixers and played just 27 games in the NBA. He’s currently putting up massive numbers in China.
4. Thomas Robinson (Kansas)
Thomas Robinson was one of the best stories during the 2011-12 season. He lost his grandfather, grandmother and mother all within 3 weeks of each other and then showed up to a game where Kansas held a moment for his family. During that year he was one of the best bigs in the country, being a first team All-American. After playing minimal minutes his first two years he put up 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. He was drafted by the Kings 5th overall but never found a role in the NBA. He’s currently playing in Russia.
3. Scottie Reynolds (Villanova)
Scottie Reynolds is one of the most talented Nova players to come through the program over the last 10 seasons. This is a program that has seen multiple All-Americans and a Player of the Year. Reynolds went undrafted though and never made it in the NBA, playing in the G League before bouncing around various countries to play international hoops. He was a consensus 1st Team All-American back in 2010 after shooting 40% from three and averaging over 18 points per game. He finished his career second in scoring at Nova just behind Kerry Kittles.
2. Jared Sullinger (Ohio State)
Sullinger was a two-time first team All-American during his time at Ohio State. He was drafted 21st by the Celtics but after 4 seasons pretty much fell out of the NBA. There were questions about his weight and if he was in shape, especially after playing just 11 games with the Raptors. Sullinger is playing over China currently trying to make his way back to the NBA. During his freshman year, he was a main reason as to why Ohio State was the No. 1 overall seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
1. Jimmer Fredette (BYU)
There’s no doubting this is the No. 1 pick. Jimmer is one of the best college hoops players of not only the last 10 seasons, but of all time. What he was able to do from a scoring aspect was unbelievable to watch. He got drafted No. 7 by the Sacramento Kings and fizzled out pretty quickly in the NBA. Now at 29, he’s one of the biggest stars in China and I’m jealous that Donnie gets to watch him all the time. He’s someone, who if drafted now, could perhaps stick better in the NBA with his ability to shoot and stretch the floor. Long live BYU Jimmer.