Best collegiate players whose pro careers didn't pan out

[From France]

Maybe Mosqueda-Lewis as well, if we're picking on UConn players.

Add Saniya Chong

 

[triaddukefan]

Add Saniya Chong

No offense to Ms. Chong, but this thread was trying to focus on the best collegiate players. Like high first round picks.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Add Saniya Chong

Yeah...no. KML was the #3 overall pick in her draft class, much more was expected of her.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Let's just be really real. Just about everyone from Stanford but Nneka. (and I very much hope, and expect, Brink to be another exception.)

Well...I'll give Appel a pass, since she was pretty much physically wrecked before she started her pro career.

 

[azfan]

Let's just be really real. Just about everyone from Stanford but Nneka. (and I very much hope, and expect, Brink to be another exception.)

Nicole well not a superstar but had an 11-year career in the W. It would be interesting to know since inception the average length of a career in the league but I would venture a guess that in winning a championship and other awards such as most improved Nicole Powell certainly had a career above average.

Powell she won state titles at Mountain Pointe High School in Tempe and basketball and badminton of all things.

Her coaching career took her to Grand Canyon for 3 years where she was successful. She's really struggled at Riverside and I have my fingers crossed that this struggle doesn't damage her ability to continue forward in the profession.

 

[azfan]

There is a laundry list of players who were Elite college players but their pro career did not measure up. Just off the top of my head, I have:

Alana Beard/Duke
Shameka Christon/Arkansas
Tan White-Mississippi State
Monique Curry/Duke
Sophia Young/Baylor
Lindsey Harding/Duke
Alison Bales/Duke
Ashley/Courtney Paris/Oklahoma

Beard had a 15-year career in the W. That in and of itself is pretty remarkable. She also like Nikki Powell won a championship and was DPOY twice-consecutively- and nine times was on the first or second all defensive team.

So perhaps not a super superstar but a tremendous defensive player and let's face it what percentage of players in the W last 15 years?

 

[bballnut90]

Let's just be really real. Just about everyone from Stanford but Nneka. (and I very much hope, and expect, Brink to be another exception.)

A lot of Stanford players had nice careers but never panned out to the level of success they had in college or were able to sustain careers at a high level. Chiney/Wiggins both were great as rookies but never improved much beyond that.

Pohlen had one brilliant collegiate season and carved out a couple of good years but wasn’t expected to do much.

Pederson had the tools to be a much better player than she evolved into. Good inside out skills, mobility and range at 6-4. She seemed to peak as a sophomore or junior.

Powell was a stud in college and had a decent pro career but wasn’t the all around star most thought she’d become.

 

[bballnut90]

There is a laundry list of players who were Elite college players but their pro career did not measure up. Just off the top of my head, I have:

Edna Campbell/Texas
Stephanie White/Purdue
Sonja Henning/Stanford
Ruth Riley/ND
Jenny Mowe/Oregon
Stacey Dales/Oklahoma
Alana Beard/Duke
Shameka Christon/Arkansas
Tan White-Mississippi State
Monique Curry/Duke
Sophia Young/Baylor
Lindsey Harding/Duke
Alison Bales/Duke
Ashley/Courtney Paris/Oklahoma

Young had a great pro career. Harding, Christon, Beard, Riley, and Curry also had strong careers that spanned over a decade and they had some great seasons.

Agree on Bales, she was a beast collegiately. White I think could’ve had a better career if she wasn’t in the 1999 class where everyone was overshadowed by the ABL additions.

 

[baggerbob]

Yeah...no. KML was the #3 overall pick in her draft class, much more was expected of her.

KML didn't have the size, or guickness to excell in the WNBA. She was a shooter, and not much else, so she reached her potential.

 

[bballnut90]

I hate to post this, but Morgan Tuck was a great college player who had a tough go in the W. A lot of that was her knees, I'm sure.

Also, Megan Walker was a high draft pick who never blossomed. Maybe she will yet make it.

Connecticut Sun drafting Tuck and Banham at #3/#4 has to be 2 of the worst picks in hindsight considering the next 5 picks were Powers (consistent double figure scorer), Jonquel Jones (2021 MVP), Kahleah Copper (2021 Finals MVP and All Star), Courtney Williams (All Star) and Tiffany Mitchell (consistent for 10ppg).

Ironically they made a couple of finals runs built around Jonquel Jones and Williams despite not drafting them. They got Williams for virtually nothing the next year but traded Chelsea Gray away to get Jones. Banham has been able to stick as a role player and Tuck lasted a couple of years as a role player before ultimately retiring after 5 years.

 

[bballnut90]

KML didn't have the size, or guickness to excell in the WNBA. She was a shooter, and not much else, so she reached her potential.

Playing in UCONN’s system hid a lot of her short comings, but she never got into better shape to improve at the next level. She was always a strong passer too, but it is hard to be a successful shooting specialist without being quick.

 

[bbsamjj]

Young had a great pro career. Harding, Christon, Beard, Riley, and Curry also had strong careers that spanned over a decade and they had some great seasons.

Agree on Bales, she was a beast collegiately. White I think could’ve had a better career if she wasn’t in the 1999 class where everyone was overshadowed by the ABL additions.

Agree that a lot of the players you listed had very nice pro careers. Given how competitive the league is, anyone who is able to stay in the league for around a decade has had a very nice career, imo.

But I especially need to single out Beard. She is potentially the greatest perimeter defender EVER in the league (not counting Catchings as solely perimeter). A two time DPOY (which amazingly happened in the last 3 years of her career). She was named to an all defensive team NINE times. Sure she didn't score as much in the later years of her career, but she was still playing at an incredibly high level for more than a decade in the league.

Meanwhile, Ruth Riley was the 2003 WNBA Finals MVP!

 

[bballnut90]

Agree that a lot of the players you listed had very nice pro careers. Given how competitive the league is, anyone who is able to stay in the league for around a decade has had a very nice career, imo.

But I especially need to single out Beard. She is potentially the greatest perimeter defender EVER in the league (not counting Catchings as solely perimeter). A two time DPOY (which amazingly happened in the last 3 years of her career). She was named to an all defensive team NINE times. Sure she didn't score as much in the later years of her career, but she was still playing at an incredibly high level for more than a decade in the league.

Meanwhile, Ruth Riley was the 2003 WNBA Finals MVP!

Beard was a great scorer until injuries in 2010/2011. She never was a DT caliber player (which many thought she’d be in the pros) but she had a stellar career. Especially when you compare her to the previous and following #2 picks (Tan White and Chantelle Anderson).

Sophia Young was 4x All WNBA too and helped lead her team to the finals in 2008.

 

[JJTB]

Was always disappointed in how it ended for Ann Strother at UConn and in the WNBA.

 

[triaddukefan]

Connecticut Sun drafting Tuck and Banham at #3/#4 has to be 2 of the worst picks in hindsight considering the next 5 picks were Powers (consistent double figure scorer), Jonquel Jones (2021 MVP), Kahleah Copper (2021 Finals MVP and All Star), Courtney Williams (All Star) and Tiffany Mitchell (consistent for 10ppg).

Ironically they made a couple of finals runs built around Jonquel Jones and Williams despite not drafting them. They got Williams for virtually nothing the next year but traded Chelsea Gray away to get Jones. Banham has been able to stick as a role player and Tuck lasted a couple of years as a role player before ultimately retiring after 5 years.

Off the top of my head that was the 3rd dumbest trade in the history of my life.

 

[MilfordHusky]

There is a laundry list of players who were Elite college players but their pro career did not measure up. Just off the top of my head, I have:

Edna Campbell/Texas
Stephanie White/Purdue
Sonja Henning/Stanford
Ruth Riley/ND
Jenny Mowe/Oregon
Stacey Dales/Oklahoma
Alana Beard/Duke
Shameka Christon/Arkansas
Tan White-Mississippi State
Monique Curry/Duke
Sophia Young/Baylor
Lindsey Harding/Duke
Alison Bales/Duke
Ashley/Courtney Paris/Oklahoma

As others have noted, Beard was a 2x DPOY who gave even the great Maya Moore trouble. She was a key player on the L.A. championship team. I think she missed 2+ seasons with injuries, but she was quite good.

 

[bballnut90]

Off the top of my head that was the 3rd dumbest trade in the history of my life.

What were the top 2?

 

[triaddukefan]

What were the top 2?

1. Dallas trading Herschel Walker to the VIkings (Jerry Jones is still laughing)

2. New Orleans trading their entire draft class and a first round pick the following year for Ricky Williams.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

There is a laundry list of players who were Elite college players but their pro career did not measure up. Just off the top of my head, I have:

Edna Campbell/Texas
Stephanie White/Purdue
Sonja Henning/Stanford
Ruth Riley/ND
Jenny Mowe/Oregon
Stacey Dales/Oklahoma
Alana Beard/Duke
Shameka Christon/Arkansas
Tan White-Mississippi State
Monique Curry/Duke
Sophia Young/Baylor
Lindsey Harding/Duke
Alison Bales/Duke
Ashley/Courtney Paris/Oklahoma

Okay a few on this list had pretty darned good careers. Riley, Currie, Young weren't world beaters but all were good players who did well for their teams and made names for themselves in the league. Beard is one of the best defensive players in league history and just because she never put up huge numbers doesn't mean she didn't measure up.

Also, and I'm not just saying this, but Tan White played 10 years and averaged 8.1 points per game. Anyone who sticks around the WNBA that long did something right.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Wow, a lot of memories here. Yes, a lot of folks were better than some remember. I think there is a perception that if they were a great star - and only very good in the W - they were some kind of failure.

As noted by an early poster, the pool of players is so small, that only a few of the collegiate stars are WNBA stars, which does not however make them failures.

 

[Forego]

Charlie Collier comes to mind. A number 1 overall pick who couldn't make it and I don't think it was due to any devastating injuries.

Collier made a verbal commitment to UConn and later changed her mind and committed to Texas. I can’t help feeling that UConn would have prepared her for the WNBA better than she was.

Although not first round draft pick, Megan Gustafson, won virtually every player of the year award as a senior at Iowa, struggled in her first year in the WNBA. She appears to have improved her game in Europe and is now playing for the Mercury. I wish her well for a pro career.

 

[Britt87]

Beard was a great scorer until injuries in 2010/2011. She never was a DT caliber player (which many thought she’d be in the pros) but she had a stellar career. Especially when you compare her to the previous and following #2 picks (Tan White and Chantelle Anderson).

Sophia Young was 4x All WNBA too and helped lead her team to the finals in 2008.

Sophia Young came out of nowhere and led Baylor to their first championship and was a top WNBA player for years.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

One player that hasn't been mentioned yet is Amanda Zahui B. A dominant scorer a rebounder for Minnesota, she hasn't done much in the WNBA. She has a 39/29 in a game against Iowa in the Big 10. She just got traded from the Mystics for Queen Egbo.

 

[BlueDevils]

I thought Kayla Pederson was going to have a solid WNBA career. I was wrong.

 

[Txhoopsalot]

I’d say Collier was a bit of a disappointment as a college player. I am a Texas fan who was not that sorry to see her leave a year early. I don’t know how much Geno could have gotten her to develop more.