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 From the prom to the pros Prep phenoms haven't found instant success in NBA
Posted: Friday July 02, 1999 01:11 AM
By Desmond M. Wallace, CNN/SI Jonathan Bender now has something in common with both Darryl Dawkins and Kevin Garnett. Not only did all three make the jump from high school to the NBA, but they all were selected with the fifth pick in the NBA Draft -- the highest of any prep player. Bender, who was selected by the Raptors, has his work cut out for him if he wants to equal the professional success of Dawkins and Garnett, but he has impressive credentials. After all, the former Picayune High star averaged 23.1 points, 15.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks during his senior year and broke Michael Jordan's McDonald's All-America Game scoring record this spring. Bender and Chicago prep star Leon Smith, who was chosen by San Antonio with the last pick of the first round, joined an exclusive -- but rapidly growing -- group on Wednesday. Since Dawkins became the first player to go directly to the NBA in 1975, only eight high schoolers have been drafted in the first round. The 1999 Draft was also the second one to feature two first-round prep selections, joining 1996 (Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O'Neal). But even though former prep phenoms such as Garnett and Bryant have achieved NBA stardom, the progress of prep stars making the transition to the NBA hasn't been immediate.
Of the previous six high schoolers drafted in the first round, only Garnett averaged more than 10 points as a rookie. And aside from the first-round NBA crop of prep stars, five other prep stars have been drafted by professional leagues right out of high school. Both Moses Malone (1974) and Dave Dillard (1975) went straight to the ABA, while Bill Willoughby (1975), Rashard Lewis and Korleone Young (both in 1998) were second-round picks in the NBA.
Willoughby averaged only 6.0 points in his eight-year NBA career. Lewis and Young, meanwhile, combined to score just 60 points in their rookie seasons last year.
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