Pierce dropped because he was considered a "tweener" and a scorer without great athleticism. Pierce didn't have especially good handles, was not considered a great passer and was thought to be too small to finish inside. He was considered a post-up shooter.
While some of that is true, Pierce also was plagued with the tag of mentality soft as when the biggest game of the year came up, he disappeared, namely his horrendous showing in the NCAA tournament that year.
With LaFrentz and Pierce, the Jayhawks were favorites to breeze through the regionals and straight through the Final Four to a title. But Pierce was a no show for that second round game against Lamar Odom and Rhode Island and it cost his reputation big time.
That's why Pierce was so driven to prove the teams who passed him over were wrong. They questioned his heart more than they questioned his skill and it ate at him terribly.
When Pierce wasn't chosen second in that draft the announcers were shocked. When he wasn't chosen third they were more shocked. And so on it went with the announcers constantly questioning why he wasn't being selected and always referencing that KU/URI game.
Until I see a link telling me otherwise, that is what I remember about the whole incident. And I remember it like it was yesterday because after the Duncan draft lottery fiasco, I thought Pierce dropping into our laps at 10th was the beginning of a turnaround in Celtic luck and history. How little did I realize that I was right but that that luck wouldn't pay ultimate dividends for 10 years. But at least Pierce got to have the last laugh over Odom.
I don't know where some of this is coming from but it could not be any further from the truth.
Unathletic tweener?
Uh, watch this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BAzagOYYP0Paul Pierce was considered a swingman..IOW, he could play the 2 or the 3. That's NOT a tweener, and it proved to be true. Not only that but it was/is considered a plus if you can play more than one position at a high level, which also proved to be true. I never once heard the word tweener about Paul Pierce.
Mentally soft and didn't show up for the big games?
Are you crazy?
Aside from coming in second in the McDonalds All-American dunk contest (unathletic?), he tied Michael Jordans record for points with 28. Garnett won MVP of that game, however, Pierce was one of three players whose jersey was stolen before the game and he had to wear someone elses jersey. The announcers half the time didn't know who was scoring and I'm sure that the MVP voters had the same problem.
Pierce played in three conference tournaments and was the MVP of two of them.
He won MVP of tournaments in Hawaii, Madison Square Garden, and Chicago.
He scored 15 straight points on Senior night to beat Kelvin Sampsons Sooners. Sampson called a time out and slapped PP on the butt when he ran by the bench. Pierce was 14-17 for 31 pts in that game, making sure the Seniors (and himself) went out with a win.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/jun/01/former_teammates_laud_pierce/Against Rhode Island he was 9-19 for 23 pts and 5 assists. I wouldn't call that a no show.
The year before against Arizona he was 9-13 for 27 pts and 11 reb. That season he scored in double figures in 30 straight games and led the team in scoring in all 6 post season games. That's as a sophomore playing with 4 future NBA players all older than he was.
I mean, really.....where does this stuff come from?