Chad Ford's top 25 prospects of the century

[bdm860]

This is a very weird list, he's clearly using some "in hindsight" info to rationalize the inclusion of some big names (and also using it to include some big busts that he wanted to include in the list as well) instead of using the actual hype that those players received for their perceived potential.

I think that list looks pretty fair to me, though I do disagree with some entries, that's to be expected with any list.  So what would your accurate list look like?  What do you think are Ford's "weird" entries?

[Donoghus]

Ha...it's a bit ironic.

Darko probably wouldn't crack the top 20 if it wasn't for Chad Ford, himself.

Eh, I read an oral history retrospective on the 2003 draft last year and lots of sources around the different teams were talking about how everyone was gushing over Darko and how great he could be.  Hindsight's 20-20 so it's easy to disregard how widely hyped he was.

Oh, he was definitely hyped and Ford was the one leading the charge from the media side of things.   He did a great deal of pumping up Darko.  Moreso than any other draft pundit I remember at the time. 

[fairweatherfan]

Ha...it's a bit ironic.

Darko probably wouldn't crack the top 20 if it wasn't for Chad Ford, himself.

Eh, I read an oral history retrospective on the 2003 draft last year and lots of sources around the different teams were talking about how everyone was gushing over Darko and how great he could be.  Hindsight's 20-20 so it's easy to disregard how widely hyped he was.

Oh, he was definitely hyped and Ford was the one leading the charge from the media side of things.   He did a great deal of pumping up Darko.  Moreso than any other draft pundit I remember at the time.

I actually found it, it's a pretty good read.  You're right, even now a lot of the quotes about Darko were from Ford, but it includes this gem from Jon Barry:

I remember Joe Dumars saying we're working him out. I think half a dozen of us went over to watch. Dumars, he was telling me this guy is going to be the deal. Said "he's better than Dirk. He's going to be an absolute stud."

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2013/story/_/page/2003-draft-history-1/an-oral-history-2003-lottery-draft

[gift]

I feel like Yao wasn't really that hyped for pure basketball reasons. He was a big question mark and many people wondered if he would turn out to be just a gimmick. I think his size and background made him notable. I actually think he exceeded the general basketball expectations that were around at the time.

I also feel like some others on this list were hyped at some point before their NBA career, but not at the time of the draft. For instance, OJ Mayo was hyped in high school but by the time he was drafted did not have the perception as others on this list.

I'd put Anthony Davis slightly over Durant too. While both had people who saw star potential, I remember more Durant critics than Anthony Davis critics at draft time.

[Celtics4ever]

each prospect's perceived potential

A lot of guys would have different views on their potential though. 

I had a feeling  Darko would not be good.   I also thought Yao would be brittle because of his extreme height.  I think guys over 7-3 are inherently fragile because they are too tall.  I am definitely biased towards US players as well and don't think highly of foreign ballers with some exceptions.   I loved Detlef, Dirk, think Manu is great and loved Hakeem.   I thought Drazen was tough as well.   Duncan grew up playing here at Wake Forest.   I was wrong on Oden most definitely and I was hoping the draft gods would favor us on that one.   Jay Williams was a Duke so I discounted him.    Duke is a great school and college program but their pros are all over the place.   I thought Morrison would be able to at least have a Steve Kerr career and was wrong on that one.

[Donoghus]

I remember how Dick Vitale was screaming at the top of his lungs about how it was basically a crime that Howard was going ahead of Okafor and Orlando would rue the day they did.

[BudweiserCeltic]

This is a very weird list, he's clearly using some "in hindsight" info to rationalize the inclusion of some big names (and also using it to include some big busts that he wanted to include in the list as well) instead of using the actual hype that those players received for their perceived potential.

I think that list looks pretty fair to me, though I do disagree with some entries, that's to be expected with any list.  So what would your accurate list look like?  What do you think are Ford's "weird" entries?

Darko is too high, and only above Anthony because Dumars picked him over Anthony. But Anthony had the bigger hype going in, and most were salivating over his potential.

Then came the unknown Darko and fooled Dumars into picking him, but Anthony was the bigger prospects among them... and the only reason Darko is that high is because Chad Ford has to rationalize Darko's position relative to Anthony as he was drafted first.

Then you have Kwame Brown, I'm not sure if he should've made the list. Yes he went first on that draft, but just the same I don't recall the hype being that big, other than the high school jump issue. I recall many thought the Wizards made a big mistake right there on draft night.

Jay Williams, yes ton of hype... but too high on the list, which I only figure is due to his injury problem. Otherwise he wouldn't be that high.

Chris Paul, the hype I don't recall it being that big as his rank.

Michael Beasley was a much bigger hype than Rose. Even if Rose ended up being picked first.

Nikoloz Tskitishvili shouldn't be on the list.

Dwight Howard also didn't have the big hype the ranking suggest, Okafor had the bigger hype coming in.

O.J. Mayo had a bigger hype than most on that list.

John Wall's hype was very big.

Adam Morrison shouldn't be on the list.

[nickagneta]

Don't forget that Ford has this tier ranking system and I believe he comes out with those tiers based on some sort of metric. If he took all his notes on players dating back to 2000 and just applied the metric, it would probably be the way he is coming up with these rankings.

[Casperian]

I'm surprised Andrea Bargnani didn't make the list. There was a whole slew of Euro's after Dirk that people were really enamored with, but wasn't Barg the first Euro people thought had a legitimate chance of matching Dirk's greatness? His draft class also happened to be in the middle of Dirk's prime years.

#22, the almighty Tskitishvili.

[Moranis]

List is just silly Adam Morrison is #21 on the list.  He went 3rd in the 2006 NBA Draft.  The two people that went ahead of him are not on Chad Ford's list.  Which means he couldn't have possibly had the pre-draft hype that Ford claims or he would have gone #1 or the two guys that went 1 and 2 (Bargnani and Aldridge) would have been on the list.

[BudweiserCeltic]

List is just silly Adam Morrison is #21 on the list.  He went 3rd in the 2006 NBA Draft.  The two people that went ahead of him are not on Chad Ford's list.  Which means he couldn't have possibly had the pre-draft hype that Ford claims or he would have gone #1 or the two guys that went 1 and 2 (Bargnani and Aldridge) would have been on the list.

The problem isn't the draft position, as a team could've simply drafted someone higher than the one the consensus figured had more potential, and was more hyped...

But the inclusion of Adam Morrison is just plain dumb, and I say the only reason it's on the list because Chad wanted to put one of the biggest busts in his list.

[Eddie20]

I'm surprised Andrea Bargnani didn't make the list. There was a whole slew of Euro's after Dirk that people were really enamored with, but wasn't Barg the first Euro people thought had a legitimate chance of matching Dirk's greatness? His draft class also happened to be in the middle of Dirk's prime years.

#22, the almighty Tskitishvili.

And he was drafted so high solely because of D'Antoni's hype.

[budMovin]

I remember how Dick Vitale was screaming at the top of his lungs about how it was basically a crime that Howard was going ahead of Okafor and Orlando would rue the day they did.

Vitale is basketball's version of a now senile Don Cherry.

[byennie]

The Morrison rank is fair. Here is what Draft Express and Ford said about the pick at the time: Ford had Tyrus Thomas ranked #1 on his own board, but that's not what he's basing this on.

DE: The Bobcats made out with what is certainly the best player in the draft right now, as well as possibly the best player down the road as well. Adam Morrison fills their needs perfectly on the wing with his scoring ability and should be a perfect compliment to Gerald Wallace?s versatility to defend either swing position equally well. Morrison?s winning attitude, work ethic and incredibly high skill level will be well appreciated by Charlotte?s staff, so it?s really difficult to see how they could have made out any better here.

CF: Bernie Bickerstaff played it safe again and went with the most proven player in the draft. Adam Morrison will score points and he'll draw fans into the arena. The Bobcats continue filling the team with solid players who have good backgrounds -- and with Morrison they may have found their first star.

[moiso]

Also shocked to see Jay Williams so high. Was he destined to be a top 3 PG?

I'm not.  I know I was one of the guys who thought he'd be awesome.  Basically like Deron Williams in his prime, but with a clean cut Grant Hill like charisma.

I think Dajuan Wagner and Sebastian Telfair are missing from that list.  The main reason why people weren't salivating over them for the #1 pick was because they weren't tall.  Before this recent influx of guards (Rose, Irving, Wall), Allen Iverson was the only #1 pick under 6'7" and the only the 2nd guard (Magic being the other) in like a 30 year span.  You didn't draft guards under 6'7" #1, but people thought of them as the next Iverson and Isiah.

Also thought Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler were more hyped than Kwame Brown ever was.  I felt like Kwame Brown kind of came out of nowhere and had none of the hype the other 2 had.  While Curry and Chandler were rumored to be #1 picks well before their Senior years of high school.

Telfair was famous and charismatic but you can't put a guy drafted 13th on a list like this.  That means there were 12 better prospects in that draft alone.