Early All-Overrated Team

[tornado]

fine, but he has fallen short of most expectations

[dogsrus]

By season's end I hope to be able to place Darian Norris, Eddren McCain, and other BU guys on this list also.

Well they BOTH did make a "list"......

[tornado]

and both will be happier for it, and apparently so will you??

[dogsrus]

and both will be happier for it, and apparently so will you??

I'm all about personal choices.....how I feel about where they are or how they got there means nothing. Its about THEM not ME. Thats a good lesson for alot of people.

[flipper]

I'm all about personal choices.....how I feel about where they are or how they got there means nothing. Its about THEM not ME. Thats a good lesson for alot of people.

agree.

[tornado]

Beas Hamga......

Beas Hamga lands at yet another D-I!!! Perhaps the single most badly overrated high schooler ever.........pending whether John Riek ever plays much college ball...

http://www.whnt.com/news/sns-ap-bkc--uab-signee,0,7418116.story

[tornado]

I know it's early, and a player can come on strong and maybe still have a good year, but....

Based on performance so far, here is my All-Overrated Team

--BJ Mullen, Ohio State freshman center -- this kid was picked by Lindy's, Athlon's, and numerous other people as 1st Team or 2nd Team All Big Ten.
Thus far, he is averaging 6 pts, 4 rebs and is losing playing time fast to other players. Many predicted he'd even be in the running for College Player of the Year and make the jump right to the NBA after his freshman year.

--Beas Hamga, just left UNLV....sorry to pile on poor Beas...he had a year and a half and couldn't even break into some garbage time at UNLV. A little over a year ago - this guy was a 5-STAR recruit who was pursued by all the BCS boys.

--AJ Price, UConn Sr. guard..some people's pick as Big East POY, and just about everyone's 1st Team All-Big East....but he is struggling, averaging 8.8 ppg, 35% FG%.
I will give the kid a little of a pass, though because of injuries, but those injuries were long ago and this may be the best he gets.

--DeMar DeRozan, USC, 6-6 SF who was supposed to be the 2nd coming of OJ Mayo and also make the jump right to the NBA by next season.
DeRozan is averaging 9.8 ppg in nearly 30 minutes and looks like he might be on the USC roster next year as well.

--lastly, I had to pick at least one Valley player...but there really aren't too many that were that highly hyped to call overrated.
But if forced to I'd go with SIU's Anthony Booker. Booker was rated as high as Top 30 NATIONALLY and is one of the highest rated recruits in the Valley in decades!
Thus far he is struggling...23% shooting from the field, 00% from 3-pt (0-5), 36% from the FT line, 2.9 ppg, though he has had some injury issues.


Honorable Mention...Herb Pope, Festus Ezeli, Tijan Jobe, & the jury is still out on Alex Legion!


Plus:
Coach Moving Squarely Onto the Hot Seat: Jerry Wainwright, DePaul
Coach Moving Squarely Off the Hot Seat: Bruce Weber, Illinois

Lastly...my honest assessment of the Underrated Guy(s) of the Year/Outperformed Expectations:
I'd have to split between Mike Davis & Mike Tisdale of Illinois...they have surprised a lot of people.
And I will admit Champ Oguchi is an Hon. Mention here, as he has outperformed expectations.
By season's end I hope to be able to place Darian Norris, Eddren McCain, and other BU guys on this list also.

I posted this early all-overrated team before the 2008-2009 seaosn - so we've had a couple years to see how it turned out........

Looks like we didn't miss on too many...not even on Wainwright!!
...guys like Beas Hamga, Alex Legion, Anthony Booker, Tijan Jobe, etc....all horribly overrated...remember Hamga was 5-STARS!!! Legion was 4-STARS!!
Booker was ranked as high as Top 30!!!
In fact, not one player on the entire list that looked to be overrated, turned out to prove anyone wrong..
..and my caution with DN & EM was now seen to be warranted...

the last few years many of Illinois' top recruits have faltered and appear to have been overrated...

http://bubravesblogger.blogspot.com/2010/05/look-back-at-best-high-schoolers-from.html

[tornado]

I have a nomination to add to the overrated team of 2009....

http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/mbao_youssoupha00.html

A prep school kid, yet another of the highly touted African big man, Youssoupha Mbao...who was rated as high as #125 nationally...
This Marquette writer said...
"Youssoupha Mbao will get a lot of playing time out of necessity and it will
be interesting to see how they hold up through the rigors of the Big East
season"

http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/916209.html

But in his freshman season at Marquette, it is pretty clear the kid is not only in way over his head, but even had the kid gone D-II he'd have needed a couple redshirt years...
This kid actually made Tijan Jobe, Beas Hamga, and Bawa Muniru all look like Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
...Mbao barely saw the floor even in blowouts...and scored only ONE SINGLE point the entire season, despite playing in 10 games averaging 6 mpg....He did not make a single field goal!!


Now - the kid is transferring to Marshall... I guess they're hoping he'll replace Hassan Whiteside who went pro...

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/breaking/x1972938483/MU-gets-a-7-foot-2-transfer

what's interesting is that a simple search (as always his name is spelled numerous different ways) shows he's played on pro teams

http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/ulebcup/home/on-court/players/showplayer?clubcode=can&pcode=LOR&seasoncode=u2007

http://www.euroleague.net/competition/teams/showteam?seasoncode=u2007&clubcode=CAN

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.solobasket.com/contenidos/ex/promesa/canaria/youssoupha/mbao/jugara/ncaa/marquette/proximos/cursos/c-21263.html&ei=djg3TIeTLZXvnQfQ2qi2Aw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=24&ved=0CHAQ7gEwFw&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522youssoupha%2Bmbao%2522%2Band%2B%2522gran%2Bcanaria%2522%26num%3D100%26hl%3Den

...so how'd he get by without sitting out his first season?? Could it be that going to a BCS school, Marquette made the diff?
In one interview he even said he'd been playing with the pro/club teams since he was 14.

[tornado]

...
--Beas Hamga, just left UNLV....sorry to pile on poor Beas...he had a year and a half and couldn't even break into some garbage time at UNLV. A little over a year ago - this guy was a 5-STAR recruit who was pursued by all the BCS boys....

Hamga is an example of the people who do player rankings being about as far wrong as can possibly be...
Some said he was an instant star or even a one-and-done....and I saw the kid in HS and he did look good, although not as good as some had said...

...after bouncing around plenty and finally landing at UAB the past year and this year - Beas Hamga is finishing his eligibility...and he cannot even get playing time in blowouts..
He was one time the top rated kid in Illinois and a 5-STAR and at UAB as a redshirt 5th year senior - probably in the range of 26 y/o, he's only getting a total of 2 minutes on the court all season and nothing at all in stats..

http://www.uabsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html

[tornado]

I ....Anthony Booker...horribly overrated......Booker was ranked as high as Top 30!!!...

More follwup on the ex-Saluki who went to play for Fred Hoiberg...
after jumping from unable to score at SIU - now he's unable to score at Iowa State...
he's getting only single digit minutes and was against scoreless last night - averaging about 3 ppg, hardly gets a rebound, and hasn't hit a FT.