Post a picture of a random athlete who at one point was considered an "up-and-comer" but has fallen completely off the face of the earth.

They get no positive or negative press whatsoever and for all you know may have died in their sleep and you didn't know it. (Not Bush, not vick, not Clemens, etc)

This is a semi-retro thread.

I'll start with a recent yet forgotten athlete.





Aaron Brooks. Once they found out he was family, the media overhyped this guy to the point of absolute ridiculousness. Short stint with the Raiders before the league determined he was the next never-was.

12/19/2007 12:24:07 AM

99% of formers NCSU basketball players

12/19/2007 12:26:52 AM

Harold Miner. Might as well be known as the human one year wonder. Did win 2 dunk contests before evaporating like water vapor in a petri dish under a heat lamp set to medium intensity.

Actually starred in a commercial where he was quoted as saying "I don't want to be the next someone... I want to be the first Harold Miner"

How's that working out, Harold?

[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 12:40 AM. Reason : a]

12/19/2007 12:28:42 AM

I traded a Batman vs the Predator #II comic book for a '91 Topps Stadium Club Phil Plantier card in the second grade.

The Plantier card is probably worth less than the protective cover I placed it in.

The comic book is probably worth its weight in salt right now.

Phil Plantier doesn't even make my top five list of Phil's behind

1) Phil Collins
2) Phil Jackson
3) Puxatawney Phil
4) Phil Donahue
5) Phil Niekro

12/19/2007 12:33:22 AM

Bates Battaglia

This guy was actually part of the nationally acclaimed red-hot playoff line entitled the "BBC".

Battaglia-Brindy-Cole


Thank god he opened a bar for us to remember his 2 week legacy by.

12/19/2007 12:36:46 AM

Double dip - Todd Day and Lee Mayberry. They were supposed to form one of the best backcourts in the central division after Ricky Pierce and Paul Pressey went elsewhere. They lasted like four years and won a total of 107 games together.

12/19/2007 12:53:03 AM

patrick jeffers

i seriously thought he would be our #1 WR for a long time

12/19/2007 1:04:26 AM

For some reason I thought any Broncos RB....



Olandis Gary here....Mike Anderson is still in the league I think? Quentin Griffin, Tatum Bell, the list goes on

12/19/2007 1:07:27 AM

scoonie penn



miles simon



khalid reeves

12/19/2007 1:07:58 AM

Hideki Irabu



Larry Johnson and Grandmmamma!

[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 1:12 AM. Reason : ...]

[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 1:14 AM. Reason : red x]

12/19/2007 1:12:03 AM

Mike Williams

Dominant receiver with USC.

Virtual washout in the NFL.

[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 1:12 AM. Reason : ]

12/19/2007 1:12:18 AM

get treetwista in here

12/19/2007 1:14:20 AM

larry johnson was WAY too big to be considered an up and comer

he had a few good years

and grandmomma was pretty big at the time

12/19/2007 1:20:35 AM

I don't think Larry Johnson qualifies. I got the vibe that this thread was more about "busts." LJ was the man in Charlotte.

Sure, nobody talks about him anymore, but that's because he is retired. Nobody talks about most retired players.

[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 1:25 AM. Reason : ]

12/19/2007 1:21:50 AM

Eh well LJ was a #1 pick and never lived up to the hype.

He was a 'tweener really. Too small to play PF and not quick enough for SF.

12/19/2007 1:25:28 AM

Glen Davis Oliver Miller

[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 1:25 AM. Reason : I mean, he was a top 10 pick]

12/19/2007 1:25:34 AM

BIG MOTHERFUCKING JELLY

12/19/2007 1:28:37 AM

12/19/2007 1:30:44 AM

aha robert tractor traylor

12/19/2007 1:31:46 AM

schea FTW

12/19/2007 1:32:14 AM

12/19/2007 1:34:08 AM

My bad for fucking up the thread....here are a few then from bball:



AJ Guyton....what a stroke he had. Sort of surprised he couldn't cut NBA ball.



Preston Shumpert...again amazing shooter who had decent size and balled out at Syracuse.



Khalid El-Amin for NyM410.



Mateen Cleaves, who I actually liked as a player

[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 1:37 AM. Reason : ballers]

12/19/2007 1:36:41 AM

12/19/2007 1:36:57 AM

wait, wrong Courtney Brown...

12/19/2007 1:41:21 AM

eddie griffin RIP

calbert chaney

12/19/2007 1:42:05 AM

12/19/2007 2:09:23 AM

The Bird Fidrych.


Got hurt, but was the 1976 AL ROY, finished 2nd in Cy Young voting, won 19 games, threw 24complete games, and led the AL with a 2.34 ERA. Got hurt and bounced around for a few years, never was as good as that year.

12/19/2007 3:47:39 AM

the reason the heisman trophy is a joke to me....

Rivers had him dominated in everything except TD passes.

Ever since then, regardless of the bias of rivers being a wolfpacker, the whole best athlete in college football thing is bullshit. How many Heisman winners go undrafted? He just had great personnel around him.
Even Fitzgerald as a WR had more impressive numbers.....

[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 5:40 AM. Reason : at least they got it right this year. Teabow is the best athlete in college fb ]

12/19/2007 5:33:36 AM

Randolph Childress, did he even make it to the NBA?

[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 7:29 AM. Reason : better pic]

12/19/2007 7:28:23 AM

He was nasty for a couple of years.

12/19/2007 10:48:44 AM

The Weinkster.

Great in college, broke several records, led Seminoles to an unbeaten season and a couple championship games. Won the Heisman.

And then in the NFL he was a joke basically. I think he's out of the league now

12/19/2007 11:09:35 AM

12/19/2007 11:17:21 AM

he was till last week


A better example would be this guy



Jeff Lewis... The panthers traded a 3rd and 4th round pick for him and he was suppose to be our franchise's savior.

He didn't start a single game for Carolina and was out of the league 2 years later.

12/19/2007 11:18:12 AM

hey he led the panthers to a victory in the 2006 season over the lions when delhomme was hurt

John Fox apparently had a lot of confidence in him

he completed 4 out of 7 passes and was the only quarterback to play in the game

(talking about weinke)

[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 11:20 AM. Reason : .]

12/19/2007 11:20:10 AM

steve avery wasn't a bust.


but i think one we are all forgetting who sums this thread up to a T is...



Jay Williams from Duke

12/19/2007 11:38:15 AM

at least he had an excuse though




Pretty sure he worked for ESPNU at some point

12/19/2007 11:42:25 AM

yeah, i know, it was a terrible accident but that doesn't filter him out of this thread...he's still lost and forgotten. #2 pick, retired jersey...

adding on to this list of forgotten stars...


Akili Smith - was supposed to save the Bengals
Jay Fiedler - a couple decent years in Miami before falling into a black hole

and my personal favorite...



[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 11:46 AM. Reason : add]

12/19/2007 11:44:34 AM

Billy Owens

3rd pick in the 91 draft ahead of such players as Dikembe Mutombo and Greg Anthony...also picked ahead of:



Stanley Roberts...when him and Shaq were both at LSU, Roberts was the one who was supposed to have the long professional career where he dominated the paint...off court shit fucked him up though

12/19/2007 11:45:38 AM

This guy helped Indiana get the the final game of the NCAA tourney before losing to Maryland



then no one ever head from him again.

12/19/2007 11:49:23 AM

12/19/2007 12:15:09 PM

12/19/2007 12:24:55 PM

Chris Leak. Supposed to be the best thrower ever coming out of HS. I don't know where he is right now.


Eric Crouch. Didn't wanna play WR.

12/19/2007 12:38:59 PM

Quote :

"Jay Williams from Duke"

I usually trust Bill Simmons on the NBA but,

Quote :

"One more thing: Years from now, we will remember "Yao Ming over Jay Williams" the same way we remember "Bowie over Jordan," "Traylor for Nowitzki," "Carroll for McHale and Parish," "Aguirre over Thomas" and every other great draft day blunder in NBA history. I'm not just predicting it, I'm guaranteeing it."

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/020627

12/19/2007 1:05:39 PM

Quote :

"Chris Leak. Supposed to be the best thrower ever coming out of HS. I don't know where he is right now"

http://www.allamericanfootballleague.com/

12/19/2007 1:20:37 PM

^Not to change the subject, but I just looked on the website and there is no team in NC. Wasnt there suppose to be an AAFL team to play at Carter-Finley?

12/19/2007 1:53:22 PM

^they probably wanted to test the waters in 6 markets they knew would generate some buzz (Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma...) and if their product was a success then they will expand.

I like the idea of having the players play for the teams in their respective regions (Leak in Florida) and the fact that they are only getting players who completed degrees from said universities and those surrounding. The level of the game won't be as flashy but i still see it being quality football.

12/19/2007 2:00:43 PM

Simmons wouldnt have been that far off if williams doesnt get hurt. yao is good. jay williams owuld have been a yearl all star.

jared jeffries plays for the knicks. decent sized contract too

not sure if this thread is for busts or guys that had respectable careers. brooks isn't exactly a bust.

12/19/2007 2:09:40 PM

yeah its kind of swaying between the two.

A lot of the guys i noted have been busts, but i think the original concept was to name guys that excelled in mediocritity (aaron brooks, jay fiedler, etc) and then disappeared

12/19/2007 2:12:45 PM

yeah, I think busts have been overdone.

Jay fiedler is a good example.

Dajuan Wagner, Jimmy King

12/19/2007 2:16:04 PM

alexander daigle


dairus miles


Ki-Jana Carter


Rashaan Salaam

12/19/2007 2:56:01 PM