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After four years, Cam Reddish has been a below-average to bad NBA player, and really wasn't all that great in college either. However, he has a highlight or two a game that still convinces some that he has untapped potential, and there's a vocal contingent of fans who believe a team just needs to let Reddish have an expanded role to blossom into a good player.

I was wondering if there's any pre-2000s player who fit that description? Guys like Jimmer Fredette couldn't cut it in the NBA, but at least their fans could point to an amazing college career as evidence. Who were some players of yesteryear who retained support almost entirely based upon the aesthetics of their game despite not even being good in college?

PS: This is my try at making an interesting topic on the PC board.

Corey Brewer is the optimistic comparison.

Bounces around with multiple teams during his rookie contract [Brewer played with Minnesota, Dallas and Denver] then finally figured it out [the writing is on the wall for Reddish]. Brewer somehow put together a 50-piece for Minnesota in 2014 and was an integral part to the best Timberwolves Team between KG's Departure and Butler's Arrival.

Both players were high picks as well [#7 for Brewer and #10 for Reddish] but the comparisons stop there.

Brewer was a defensive maestro who competes and is hard working but simply lacked the understanding and skills to ever become a good offensive player.

Reddish has a high on-ball skill ceiling offensively but has lacked passion since his Duke days.

Jonathan Bender jumped from high school to NBA directly, so doesn't fit exactly, was a similar player to Reddish in measurements and skill set, he had very injury plagued career, but he never also really materialized his talents.

I feel like there were a bunch of centers who were never actually good but were valued for looking the part - being center sized and reasonably coordinated. IMO those guys are the best historical comparison as for most of the league's history those were the most in-demand position type, while now position versatile mid-sized players like Reddish are the most in-demand position type.

Reddish will always get plenty of chances as he looks the part of a good player at the most in-demand position type.

I feel like Earl Clark kind of hung around as a potential guy

And of course, Magic Randolph

Deshawn Stevenson was a hyped prospect during his time with the Jazz and early Washington ,coming straight out of high school. The aesthetics he had in Utah stuck out like a sore thumb and was noticeably different from the Howard Eisleys, Jeff Hornaceks, Stocktons that was normally presented in Utah.

Qyntel Woods was a very excited about talent when he reached Portland, he received a ton of Tracy McGrady comparison due his skillsets and athletic build.

Moochie Norris was always someone talked about as if he could have been a fringe All-Star in Houston, but "had to deal with a steep depth chart" behind Francis & Mobley.

Tyrus Thomas had a solid year at LSU w/Glen Davis, but had highlight plays that always made people think he was an untapped superstar in the making. Thomas at times when he was engaged had a high motor and insane end to end floor speed of someone who made it seem like he had the capability of doing anything he wanted on Offense & Defense.

I would say he's a worse version of JR Smith. When I watched him play at Duke, I was surprised at how ineffective he was with a prime Zion and RJ Barrett. With all the attention they attract on the defensive end, this guy, the sweet shooter that people think he is, gave them a shooting split of 35/33/77. I haven't seen a shooter who shot this bad in college and still got picked in the lottery.

Even today, he hasn't really improve. Of course, there will be nights, just any NBA player, who can go off. Cam Johnson in his rookie year (23) was already a better shooter than he is right now (23); I don't think this Cam will be better than that Cam by the time this Cam turns 26.

It's hard find a direct comparison, but there's certainly a mold of players through the years that have had similar trajectories.

Strong high school scouting, failure to translate into college, picked high in the NBA to rekindle the initial talent.

So to me that's someone like Dajuan Wagner, top high school recruit, really didn't get off the ground in Memphis and never was able to put it together in Cavs. Teams didn't wait to find out and see with Dajuan, and it feels that way with Cam going forward.

There are probably better examples where a high school recruit has received a lot of shine from being attached to another draft prospect. As I certainly think Zion played a part in his draft stock and exposure.

In his short time with the Knicks he actually bought in to mostly taking it to the rim and shooting threes. He showed improvement there in his second season with us.

His agility really is impressive but doesn't translate much to the defense end. He mostly gambles for steals getting in passing lanes. I do think he still has trouble accepting his role, but it was clear thibs never liked him.

It's kinda nuts how much a highlight reel fools you with him because his game really is aesthetically pleasing. Not perfect but after thinking about it a bit, Chris Douglas Roberts comes to mind.

Mavrelous wrote:Jonathan Bender jumped from high school to NBA directly, so doesn't fit exactly, was a similar player to Reddish in measurements and skill set, he had very injury plagued career, but he never also really materialized his talents.

Bender's injuries are an excuse. He was never that good to begin with. It would be like Mo Bamba getting injured last year, and his die hard fanbase declaring he was on the path to stardom if not for those darn injuries.

JimmyFromNz wrote:
So to me that's someone like Dajuan Wagner, top high school recruit, really didn't get off the ground in Memphis and never was able to put it together in Philly. Teams didn't wait to find out and see with Dajuan, and it feels that way with Cam going forward.

The Wagner comp sort of fails because his NBA career was destroyed by illness before it really started

andyhop wrote:

JimmyFromNz wrote:
So to me that's someone like Dajuan Wagner, top high school recruit, really didn't get off the ground in Memphis and never was able to put it together in Philly. Teams didn't wait to find out and see with Dajuan, and it feels that way with Cam going forward.

The Wagner comp sort of fails because his NBA career was destroyed by illness before it really started

Yeah understandable, my memory was more creative with how much time he spent on the floor. It was a lot less than I recalled, and taking it a step further his college career was better than I remembered. Bad example when plenty more relevant ones out there.

I guess i must just have some random subconscious hatred of Dajuan...

Bol Bol seems like someone who would fit this. He has a cool looking game, puts up highlights, but has trouble sticking anywhere. His college career was short (although he did look like a good in those games).

Is Kwame Brown too severe of an analogy

henshao wrote:Is Kwame Brown too severe of an analogy

For Kwame yes

Clyde Frazier wrote:In his short time with the Knicks he actually bought in to mostly taking it to the rim and shooting threes. He showed improvement there in his second season with us.

His agility really is impressive but doesn't translate much to the defense end. He mostly gambles for steals getting in passing lanes. I do think he still has trouble accepting his role, but it was clear thibs never liked him.

It's kinda nuts how much a highlight reel fools you with him because his game really is aesthetically pleasing. Not perfect but after thinking about it a bit, Chris Douglas Roberts comes to mind.

It's hard to find someone who did somewhat terrible in college and got picked in the lottery. CDR had a great career in Memphis (almost won a NCAA title if it wasn't for free-throws), and he was a second round pick. Jarrett Culver did not pan out similar to Reddish, but he still had a really solid career in Texas Tech.

All the comparisons, high school aside, had really good careers in college. Reddish seems to be the only one who struggled in college and was still viewed highly in the NBA draft.

Wallace_Wallace wrote:

Clyde Frazier wrote:In his short time with the Knicks he actually bought in to mostly taking it to the rim and shooting threes. He showed improvement there in his second season with us.

His agility really is impressive but doesn't translate much to the defense end. He mostly gambles for steals getting in passing lanes. I do think he still has trouble accepting his role, but it was clear thibs never liked him.

It's kinda nuts how much a highlight reel fools you with him because his game really is aesthetically pleasing. Not perfect but after thinking about it a bit, Chris Douglas Roberts comes to mind.

It's hard to find someone who did somewhat terrible in college and got picked in the lottery. CDR had a great career in Memphis (almost won a NCAA title if it wasn't for free-throws), and he was a second round pick. Jarrett Culver did not pan out similar to Reddish, but he still had a really solid career in Texas Tech.

All the comparisons, high school aside, had really good careers in college. Reddish seems to be the only one who struggled in college and was still viewed highly in the NBA draft.

Yeah with CDR I was merely thinking of play style, not college/draft position. Reddish was a top 5 prospect out of high school and went to Duke. 1 and done players with that much pedigree tend to be lottery picks regardless of how they play as freshmen.

Cam was a 22/5 player even in high school. We're literally waiting for the first time he plays great at any level lol.