Enjoy the kid while you can

[steverocks35]

One name: Ryan Minor.

He stayed one year too long. He went from a surefire top 20 pick to a second rounder, and didn't make an NBA roster. I would never make that mistake if it was possible to be a first round draft pick.

 

[NickZepp]

One name: Ryan Minor.

He stayed one year too long. He went from a surefire top 20 pick to a second rounder, and didn't make an NBA roster. I would never make that mistake if it was possible to be a first round draft pick.

Ended up making the MLB though and stayed with it the rest of his life. He probably made more in baseball then he would basketball at that time.

 

[skyvue]

Ended up making the MLB though and stayed with it the rest of his life. He probably made more in baseball then he would basketball at that time.

And became the answer to a classic trivia question while he was at it.

 

[steverocks35]

Ended up making the MLB though and stayed with it the rest of his life. He probably made more in baseball then he would basketball at that time.

For guys who aren't also MLB prospects it's probably a good idea to get a guaranteed NBA contract.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Ended up making the MLB though and stayed with it the rest of his life. He probably made more in baseball then he would basketball at that time.

his rookie deal would have been around 2 mil in the NBA .. (for 3 years) .. (or more) ..

he didn't make a 1 mil in all his years playing baseball combined ..

 

[NickZepp]

his rookie deal would have been around 2 mil in the NBA .. (for 3 years) .. (or more) ..

he didn't make a 1 mil in all his years playing baseball combined ..

I thought he made more than that. But I didn't realize how bad he was outside of that one year.

He did stick with baseball as a coach though. I remember him playing basketball for the OKC Cavs in the late 90s too

 

[TINY]

One name: Ryan Minor.

He stayed one year too long. He went from a surefire top 20 pick to a second rounder, and didn't make an NBA roster. I would never make that mistake if it was possible to be a first round draft pick.

Willie Warren was the one that always comes to my mind. He was likely a lotto pick after freshman year.

ironically he may have been better off staying another year after his sophomore year to try to improve his stock.

 

[NickZepp]

How few players did we have that even got NBA looks from like the 90s till Griffin Bros? Even late Tubbs didn't have near the NBA talent he had in the 80s.

Blake was the first first rounder since Mookie Blaylock. There really weren't even a lot of others that got many looks from the NBA despite that we won a lot of games. We've won a bit less the last 10 years and we'll end up having 3 first round picks. And have an undrafted guy that is probably gonna play his way to being a key role player for the Lakers for a long time most likely. Strange that this era has produced some of the best NBA talent.

 

[daqman]

One name: Ryan Minor.

He stayed one year too long. He went from a surefire top 20 pick to a second rounder, and didn't make an NBA roster. I would never make that mistake if it was possible to be a first round draft pick.

how do you know he was a "surefire top 20 pick"?
players don't just magically lose their nba basketball talent.

 

[steverocks35]

how do you know he was a "surefire top 20 pick"?
players don't just magically lose their nba basketball talent.

Because I was alive back then and followed basketball very closely, both NCAA annd NBA, especially OU players. Pretty much every expert had him as a top 20 pick if not a fringe lottery pick.

 

[daqman]

Because I was alive back then and followed basketball very closely, both NCAA annd NBA, especially OU players. Pretty much every expert had him as a top 20 pick if not a fringe lottery pick.

maybe they were wrong.
you don't just magically lose your nba talent.

 

[BCSooners]

I guess the Christmas truce is over

 

[Salt City Sooner]

Because I was alive back then and followed basketball very closely, both NCAA annd NBA, especially OU players. Pretty much every expert had him as a top 20 pick if not a fringe lottery pick.

I’ll back you on this one. I remember Red Auerbach in an interview saying that he was going to be Boston’s pick had Ryan declared, & IIRC they had a top 15-ish slot.

 

[daqman]

here's a quote from an article from the daily oklahoman back in 96

"I hear teams are interested in me playing the 2 (shooting guard position)," Minor said.
Scouts see Minor's primary flaw as matchup problems defensively. Is he physical enough to defend a forward or quick enough to defend a shooting guard?

he was kinda like jalon moore today.... good college player but based on his measurables...not able to play the position he would have to play in the nba.
and that didn't change from minor's jr to his sr year.

 

[steverocks35]

maybe they were wrong.
you don't just magically lose your nba talent.

He didn’t lose his NBA talent. He was the first or second player drafted in the second round by the Sixers. I have no idea why they took him because they didn’t have a roster spot for him. It was a much stronger draft class than the previous year.

 

[steverocks35]

I can’t believe people are arguing that Ryan Minor should have stayed after his junior year. It’s common knowledge that it was a big mistake. Even the Wikipedia article says he was projected as a possible lottery pick.

 

[daqman]

I can’t believe people are arguing that Ryan Minor should have stayed after his junior year. It’s common knowledge that it was a big mistake. Even the Wikipedia article says he was projected as a possible lottery pick.

well...he stayed for a reason. i honestly don't remember why.
i just never believed the "projected lottery pick" hype.
and i think that's obvious based on his actual draft position and nba "career"...

 

[WaymanFan]

well...he stayed for a reason. i honestly don't remember why.
i just never believed the "projected lottery pick" hype.
and i think that's obvious based on his actual draft position and nba "career"...

We can't live in hindsight, but Ryan Minor returning for his senior year was clearly a mistake. I don't think he would have been a lottery pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, but there is a zero question he would have been a 1st round pick. He wound up being drafted fairly early in the second round in 1996, but there was a clear drop-off in his play during his senior season. As such, it negatively impacted his draft position. He wound up focusing on baseball and became the answer to a trivia question. Had he left for the NBA after his junior season, he would have at least been GUARANTEED a 3-year multi-million-dollar contract as a 1st round pick. 2nd round picks are guaranteed nothing. I always felt bad for him for making that decision since it cost him 7-figures...not something many of us on this board would pass up.

 

[WichitaSooner]

here's a quote from an article from the daily oklahoman back in 96

"I hear teams are interested in me playing the 2 (shooting guard position)," Minor said.
Scouts see Minor's primary flaw as matchup problems defensively. Is he physical enough to defend a forward or quick enough to defend a shooting guard?

he was kinda like jalon moore today.... good college player but based on his measurables...not able to play the position he would have to play in the nba.
and that didn't change from minor's jr to his sr year.

He was nothing like Moore. Minor was the conference POY as a junior and scored almost 24 per game while shooting 40 percent from 3 on 5.5 attempts per game. Moore averaged 11 per game as a junior and only attempted two threes per game. Moore is a terrific athlete who lacks the basketball skills needed to play his position. Minor was not a plus athlete by NBA standards but was very skilled and did just about everything well.

People don’t “lose talent” by coming back for another season, but they can hurt their stock if they don’t play as well, especially if other teams expose weaknesses in their game after having a year to prep for them. There are all kinds of examples. Carson Beck was thought to be a candidate to be a high first round pick before this season. Rattler was in a similar situation three years ago. No one is saying they suddenly became less talented, but their play dropped them far down draft boards. Obviously in football, guys don’t have the option of coming out till they are three years out of high school, but you get the point.

For every guy who comes back and improved from being a top 15 pick to a top 5 pick, there are multiple guys who come back and hurt their draft stock.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Because I was alive back then and followed basketball very closely, both NCAA annd NBA, especially OU players. Pretty much every expert had him as a top 20 pick if not a fringe lottery pick.

this is 100% correct ..