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Pro Athletes who never lived up the hype?

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DarkJediKnight

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I wanted to discuss Pros who came into their respected league with a ton of hype from their juniors/college and basically fizzled early.



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Eric Lindros. Was supposed to be THE guy in the NHL to take over from Gretzky and Lemieux. He showed early promise and then fizzed away in his mid 20s. What a dissapointment!

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I don't think there's anything else that needs to be said on the Doc.

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Viktor Kozlov. Had the physical size and skills of a Mario Lemieux (maybe not the on-ice vision). One of the best skaters, shooters of his generation. He should have been a consistent 100 point man. Many expected him to work hard once he made the NHL but he never did. Being a millionaire made him lazy; he tossed his career away. He will still dazzle you in highlights with unbeleivable moves. Anyone who saw the 2006 olympics know what he can do. Too bad those moments are extremely rare.

Since I mainly follow Hockey and Baseball, I'll let you all cover the other sports.
 
Ryan Leaf

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It's still hard to imagine that in the 1998 draft, there was a big debate over whether or not Leaf or Peyton Manning should have been the #1 pick in the draft.
 
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"The next Mario Lemieux." Alexander Daigle.

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"The net detective." Poor Jim Carey. He might have actually had a decent career if he wasn't forced to face the Pens in just about every playoff series in the mid-90s.
 
zesty said:
It's still hard to imagine that in the 1998 draft, there was a big debate over whether or not Leaf or Peyton Manning should have been the #1 pick in the draft.
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kind of like the Rick Mirer vs. Drew Bledsoe debate.

Ronabo said:
As a Cincinnati Bengals fan I'll say Ki-Jana Carter
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don't forget Big Daddy.
 
As a Cincinnati Bengals fan I'll say Ki-Jana Carter

Now it's kinda unfair to judge the guy since he was injured the first time he ever touched the ball in the NFL. But still, he never came back from it and perform to his potential.

Eric Lindros kinda is similar, as he was always plagued with concussions.
 
Rick Ankiel. Top prospect in all of baseball roughly 5 years ago. He came up and pitched well for a year but he absolutely lost it when he started in the play-offs. Couldn't find the strike zone and got lit up. Classic head-case. His pitching career is now over and he has converted to an outfielder in the Cards' minor league system
 
Andre Ware (now a color commentator for the Texans).

Just one in a long line of failed (NFL players) who won the Heisman
 
storybook77 said:
Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway

He started off well but ended up just being a role player instead of a superstar.
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Yeah being from here I had to hear all about him in college and how he was going to be the next great player, so much for that.

But he did give us little penny so I guess it is ok
 
Rashaan Salaam
Ki-jana Carter
Tim Couch and a bunch of other top QB draft picks (akili smith, cade mcnown, etc)
Darko is a bust considering Detroit could've taken Melo instead
Lawrence Phillips
Olowakandi
Kwame Brown
Big Country
Rick Mirer
Joey Harrington
Mike Mamula
Danny Ferry
Joe Smith
Sam Bowie
Tim Biakabutuka
 
Patrick Ewing
He was supposed to lead the Knicks to a title but instead all he did was whine and occasionaly dunk on Vlad Divach
 
Jack Random said:
Patrick Ewing
He was supposed to lead the Knicks to a title but instead all he did was whine and occasionaly dunk on Vlad Divach
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I don't think a member of the 50 greatest players in history would really belong in this thread.
 
Damon Stoudamire
Eric Montross
Shawn Bradley
Penny Hardaway

There is more, but these are the ones I can think of right now.
 
Jack Random said:
Patrick Ewing
He was supposed to lead the Knicks to a title but instead all he did was whine and occasionaly dunk on Vlad Divach
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What? Patrick Ewing was just another casualty of the MJ era. He most certainly lived up to his hype, but Jordan and Co. were ridiculously good for a long time. Only retirement gave other teams a chance (Houston).
 
Forgotten Ancient said:
What? Patrick Ewing was just another casualty of the MJ era. He most certainly lived up to his hype, but Jordan and Co. were ridiculously good for a long time. Only retirement gave other teams a chance (Houston).
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I agree w/ this post. A lot of good players got over shadowed by MJ.
 
LordMaji said:
Damon Stoudamire
Eric Montross
Shawn Bradley
Penny Hardaway

There is more, but these are the ones I can think of right now.
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Was there really all that much hype for Damon, though? I mean, I don't remember him being billed as anything special and I followed UofA pretty closely back then.
 
Michael Jordan. I saw the guy play for the Wizards and to be honest I wasn't very impressed. I saw Tracy McGrady that night as well and he seemed to have almost Kobe like abilities. I think that McGrady fella will go very far in the NBA.
 
bionic77 said:
Michael Jordan. I saw the guy play for the Wizards and to be honest I wasn't very impressed. I saw Tracy McGrady that night as well and he seemed to have almost Kobe like abilities. I think that McGrady fella will go very far in the NBA.
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I wanted to discuss Pros who came into their respected league with a ton of hype from their juniors/college and basically fizzled early.
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:)
 
bionic77 said:
Michael Jordan. I saw the guy play for the Wizards and to be honest I wasn't very impressed. I saw Tracy McGrady that night as well and he seemed to have almost Kobe like abilities. I think that McGrady fella will go very far in the NBA.
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MJ before the whole Wizards thing was amazing compared most if not all players now.

Sorry to hear you had to see MJ at the end. :(
 
bionic77 said:
Michael Jordan. I saw the guy play for the Wizards and to be honest I wasn't very impressed. I saw Tracy McGrady that night as well and he seemed to have almost Kobe like abilities. I think that McGrady fella will go very far in the NBA.
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no, no, it would have been more effective to focus on his baseball career.
 
LordMaji said:
Damon Stoudamire
Eric Montross
Shawn Bradley
Penny Hardaway
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That is a pretty weak list. Damon Stoudamire might have been an overachiever. For more than a couple years he was a great player. Eric Montross was never supposed to be anything either. He was a role player on a great college team. He was your basic big post guy with no skills. Shawn Bradley was a long-shot hope of being able to put some muscle on him so he would be stronger. It never happened, but he was a good role player who has contributed to many teams. Penny had a few great years (see the Shaq effect), but like many players injuries and time caught up with him. If you have 3 great years in any league you are not a bust or a failure, let alone the NBA where nowadays they draft kids who have no business in the league on promise and they almost never deliver.
 
levious said:
no, no, it would have been more effective to focus on his baseball career.
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Wasn't that more of an intramural thing? I thought he wasn't good enough to be a professional?

Well he may not have succeeded as an athlete, but I hear he is a loving and faithful husband. And that is really the most important thing at life. Good thing he succeeded at family life.
 
Alucard said:
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"The net detective." Poor Jim Carey. He might have actually had a decent career if he wasn't forced to face the Pens in just about every playoff series in the mid-90s.
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This is the one that baffles me still to this day. He starts out so on-fire that he wins the Vezina, and then after that he's not really even hacking it in the minors.
 
BigGreenMat said:
That is a pretty weak list. Damon Stoudamire might have been an overachiever. For more than a couple years he was a great player. Eric Montross was never supposed to be anything either. He was a role player on a great college team. He was your basic big post guy with no skills. Shawn Bradley was a long-shot hope of being able to put some muscle on him so he would be stronger. It never happened, but he was a good role player who has contributed to many teams. Penny had a few great years (see the Shaq effect), but like many players injuries and time caught up with him. If you have 3 great years in any league you are not a bust or a failure, let alone the NBA where nowadays they draft kids who have no business in the league on promise and they almost never deliver.
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QFT. Weak list.

Mateen Cleaves and Robert "The Tractor" Traylor were much better examples. Pay attention next time.
 
There is no Eric Lindros picture Eric Lindrossy enough for this thread. Eric Lindros is the very peak of "Pro Athletes who never lived up to the hype".
 
In NYC Hoops, there can only be one...

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Stay off the roads please before the draft..

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ugh

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DCX
 
SnakeswithLasers said:
How about Chris Webber?
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not sure, tough to label him a bust. His career has taken a sort of Larry Johnson (basketball player, not NFL player) arc. He's had a full productive career at high levels at times.

Stephon Marbury would be one I'd think.
 
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