Top 5 biggest player busts or trouble makers in the top 4 USA sports.

[datek23]

THis topic could include players that are currently playing and or not playing anymore. Could range from Football, Ice Hockey, Basketball, and Baseball. Call also include collge players or High Schools players that never really panned out. Here is mine list.

1). Hands down King of all busts. Ryan Leaf. In college was unstoppable with a missle cannon and accuracy of a arm. This guy had it all. Size, Arm, and confidence. In the Pro's he still had the tools but only one drawback. He was not a team player. In his rookie year when the hazing is ritual for rookie players, Ryan Leaf would start curseing and telling veteran NFL players in San Diego. He start bossing around veteran players and start telling coaches how to do things. In a matter of weeks Leaf lost the locker room. The most important thing in sports is the locker room, if they respect you they will play for you. Doesn't matter who the coach is if the locker room thinks you are a bitch and a punk they will make sure that everyone knows that you are that and will give a half ass effort especially in Ryan Leafs case .

| Passing | Rushing |
+----------+-----+---------------------------------------+-----------------+
| Year TM | G | Comp Att PCT YD Y/A TD INT | Att Yards TD |
+----------+-----+---------------------------------------+-----------------+
| 1998 sdg | 10 | 111 245 45.3 1289 5.3 2 15 | 27 80 0 |
| 2000 sdg | 11 | 161 322 50.0 1883 5.8 11 18 | 28 54 0 |
| 2001 dal | 5 | 45 88 51.1 494 5.6 1 3 | 4 -7 0 |
+----------+-----+---------------------------------------+-----------------+
| TOTAL | 26 | 317 655 48.4 3666 5.6 14 36 | 59 127 0 |
+----------+-----+---------------------------------------+-----------------+

.

2). Second goes to Isiah Rider. Has been out of the league for 4 years now however this player could have been playing past 40. Isiah Rider was a gifted player on the flloor and was very difficult player to guard. However Mr. Rider thought he was all world basketball. After maybe incidents in hundreds of being late, mouthing off, not giving 100% effort, not running the correct plays and etc, the NBA had enough of his antics. No NBA team wanted him anymore even if he was in the top 20 players in the league. Single Handling caused several NBA teams to lose their locker rooms because of all his bullshit.

3). Troy Davis of Iowa State. In college football Troy Davis was unstoppable. Led the nation for couple years and was the runner up. I watched this guy player and I was in disbelief how good he was in college and always wondered what happened to him. I am sure most of you know who Troy Davis is.

College Highlights
1996 - First team All-American
1996 - Finished 2nd in Heisman voting
1995 - First team All-American
1995 - Finished 5th in Heisman voting
1996 - Led nation in rushing yards per game
1995 - Led nation in rushing yards per game

Went to the NFL and was never able to break out like he did in college. THis is his stats in the NFL

+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Rushing | Receiving |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year TM | G | Att Yards Y/A TD | Rec Yards Y/R TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 1997 nor | 16 | 75 271 3.6 0 | 13 85 6.5 0 |
| 1998 nor | 14 | 55 143 2.6 1 | 16 99 6.2 0 |
| 1999 nor | 16 | 20 32 1.6 0 | 7 53 7.6 0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| TOTAL | 46 | 150 446 3.0 1 | 36 237 6.6 0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+



4). Shawn Abner. One of the highest touted players ever in baseball. #1 pick of the Mets. Abner was the ulmiate pretty boy. All his teammates hated this guy. Abner was more worried about stealing follow teammates wifes and girlfields than playing baseball. He was know as the ultimate pretty boy and was the ultimate seducer. I looked at this guy, I have no idea what the ladies see in him. Down below is a picture of him.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/shawn_abner_autograph.jpg

Drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round (1st pick) of the 1984 amateur draft

His stats are on the link below,

http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/abnersh01.shtml.

A true punk.

5). Lawrence Phillips- Out of Nebraska and the national title, Phillips was a true thug in uniform. Never wanted to listen to anybody and locker room cancer worse than Ryan Leaf. Was only interested in being a hoodlum. This guy had nothing but talent on him but wasted away like so many other players.

Honorable mention: Tommy Frazier, Shawn Respert, Randrolph Childress, Falloon in ICe Hockey, Terrell Owens, Cade McNown, J.J. Stokes, Forte of NC, and so many more.

Let me know if their is someone I have missed, A lot of you will say Terell Owens but he will play again really soon and if can keep his mouth shut he will be alright.

I am sure I have missed more high profiled cases, let me know if this is an accurate list. Have a good day.

[The Great One]

I think it;s hilarious on ESPN's 25 biggest draft busts or something along those lines when they got to Lawrence Phillips and they said some thing like this:

"#5 Lawrence Phillips, he ran over defenders (pause) and women"

I thought that was hilarious whenwatching it. I love his latest incident in California. He was playing pick-up park football with some teens. Keep in mind this guy is now over 30 years old. He accused them of stealing something from him. So he took his car and tried to run over them with his car. Funny shit.

[bigboydan]

what about marice clarret. this guy was nothing but trouble from the start.

heres a summery of his career:

had one good great year as a freshman in college.
the guy snitches out his own school.
then he sues the NFL for early entry to the draft.
then he gets cut
then he has that huge squable with the packers when they brought him in.
then he turns to to a life a crime, and becomes a stick up man.

lets keep with the ohio st. theme here.

another one would be art schlichter

[Bill Dozer]

Maurice Clarett has to be on there for NFL.

How about Kwame for NBA? Has there been more expected from an NBA #1 pick?

[The Great One]

I disagree on Maurice Clarett because he was a third round draft pick. Not to mention overated at Ohio State as he missed a handful of games and also had an unbelievable line and all-around team.

[The Great One]

Actually, if you want to get down to it, there is at least one guy every year in every draft that is labled a "bust". Thats a pretty good top 5 though. Shawn Bradley comes to mind and chris Washburn too. Steve Emtman was the #1 overall pick in the NFL draft. There's Tony Mandarich, Tim Couch, Akili Smith, and numerous baseball players that are top 10 picks that never even appear in a regular season game. You just don't hear about them because the baseball draft is not televised and just about every baseball propect starts in the minor leagues for at least 2 or 3 years coming out of high school.

[wageringblog]

Roy Tarpley as honorable mention maybe? Was there anyone else in any league who was given more chances, only to screw up every single time? Ok, maybe Steve Howe...

[Willie Bee]

Who can forget Brien Taylor, the #1 overall pick in 1991 by the Yankees? I know George Steinbrenner hasn't forgotten him, or his mom/agent

[datek23]

Actually, if you want to get down to it, there is at least one guy every year in every draft that is labled a "bust". Thats a pretty good top 5 though. Shawn Bradley comes to mind and chris Washburn too. Steve Emtman was the #1 overall pick in the NFL draft. There's Tony Mandarich, Tim Couch, Akili Smith, and numerous baseball players that are top 10 picks that never even appear in a regular season game. You just don't hear about them because the baseball draft is not televised and just about every baseball propect starts in the minor leagues for at least 2 or 3 years coming out of high school.

Shawn Bradley had a ok career. He was accurate with free throws, ok rebounds and great shot blocker. So a ok carrer will escape the heat a player bust has.

Steve Emtman was not a bust buy any means. He was stellar for the colts but he got hurt and very bad. I don't judge a player who got hurt when he was a proven commodity in college and in the pros before he got hurt.

Tim Counch has a okay career but teams have given up on him.


I agree with Mandrich, he was the incredible Hulk from Michigan State. When I first seen him on SI, I never seen a human being so massive and big.

Chris Washburn another bust, got into drugs.

Alaki Smith another bust but seemed to not get heat since he played for a aweful Bengals team for all those years.


Actually there is several baseball and Hockey players that never panned out. So many of them that I can't even count. Basketball and football are easiler to remember because they are the most popular sports with most people watching them in college and know them offhand when they get drafted.

.

[datek23]

what about marice clarret. this guy was nothing but trouble from the start.

heres a summery of his career:

had one good great year as a freshman in college.
the guy snitches out his own school.
then he sues the NFL for early entry to the draft.
then he gets cut
then he has that huge squable with the packers when they brought him in.
then he turns to to a life a crime, and becomes a stick up man.

lets keep with the ohio st. theme here.

another one would be art schlichter

art schlichter should be banned from SBR if we ever find out he was on here. A tyical con man that used sports to seduce people and take advantage of them from Ohio state to the pros.

Chuck Long-Heisman runner up

Andre Ware-Unstoppable in college, pathetic in the Pros.

A lot of people will give a lot of comfort zone for Chuck Long and ANdre Ware because every true sports fan knows it doesn't matter who you put in the Lion uniform, they will be just plain bad. This why we don't hear much about Chuck and ANdre that much because everyone knows the Lions situation. lol how funny is that.

[bigboydan]

Who can forget Brien Taylor, the #1 overall pick in 1991 by the Yankees? I know George Steinbrenner hasn't forgotten him, or his mom/agent

i didn't forget about this kid at all.

he got hurt in some bar room brawl, and hurt his shoulder.

[Willie Bee]

Andre Ware-Unstoppable in college, pathetic in the Pros.

Was waiting for his name to come up. Nothing but a statistical wonder of the run-&-shoot.

How about Todd Marijuanavich, er, Marinovich?

[datek23]

Was waiting for his name to come up. Nothing but a statistical wonder of the run-&-shoot.

How about Todd Marijuanavich, er, Marinovich?

One of the few unstoppable quaterbacks in college one of them is Andre Ware. THe numbers he put up was just sick if anyone can remember those years. How bout his other "bust" teammate friend David Klinger. Klinger appeared on SI and the curse of SI got the best of him. I remember Klinger throwing 11 0r 13 touchdowns in one game against I believe. I will look it up.

Nov. 17, 1990: Houston quarterback David Klinger throws a record 11 touchdown passes in an 84-21 victory over Eastern
Washington.

Another bust. Huge numbers but all busts.

I do remember Todd Marijuanavich, he played for Raiders. Here is some info that I have found out.

In 1991 he left USC to test the waters of the NFL draft, finding a home in the first round with the Los Angeles Raiders and signing a 3 year, $2.27 million dollar deal. He left the NFL after his first season while facing even more drug charges. After his departure Marinovich had stints in the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League but was always followed by drug problems and even rape charges. He was also charged with attempted murder of his drug supplier.

In May 2005, Todd Marinovich was arrested in a public bathroom in Newport Beach, California, after being found with apparent drug paraphernalia.

[datek23]

Maurice Clarett has to be on there for NFL.

How about Kwame for NBA? Has there been more expected from an NBA #1 pick?

Maurice Clarett got all the hype since High school, the most hype up player in recent years in any sports to tell you the truth. THe kid was nothing but trouble and caused his own dimise in sueing the NFL. It is easy for a high school player to go pro in baseball, hockey, or basketball, but no way in football. NFL has strict safeguards on that issue. THere is just so much difference from Being the best in High School to even the most mediocore college football teams. By saying that, High schools players should never attempt sometthing like Clarett did, its just not a winable situation. Do you think a High School kid or teenagers mind will be able to stand a chance adjust to the brute force of play or the hard core antics of locker room hazing for a young mind with 40- 50 grown men trying to take advantage of a young player. Just the mental abuse is enough. Heres the typical sceneorio for a young player,

1). A rookie, is always 100% of the time will get some sort of mild to severe hazing. Here a an example

New Orleans Saints
Football
In a hazing similar to a gang "jump-in," rookie Cam Cleeland suffered an eye injury when bashed with a bag of coins, and rookie Jeff Danish was sent through a window and hospitalized for stitches. Danish sued the Saints, teammate Andre Royal, an assistant coach and five other players, seeking damages from the team of more than $650,000. The lawsuit against the Saints and six of the defendants was settled; terms were kept confidential.

if want to read more here is a link that only shows reported case, unreported cases make up anywhere 95-99% of the true number.

http://espn.go.com/otl/hazing/list.html

2). Team will look at you as a punk and a sissy as I stated about the Ryan Leaf issue.

3). Older players will purposely try to advantage of the younger players mind on the field and off the field.

4). THis is not including coaches and assistant coaches. THen you have to worry about coaches critizing your every move.

5). THen you have to worry about all your new found friends and trouble lurking. Friends that you never thought you had will start coming up to you and no matter what you are critized by everyone from one form to another.

THere are many more situations but this is just a glimmer in what happens when a young player thinks he is a gods gift to sports.

[datek23]

I put a poll for everyone. I did Troy Davis as the biggest bust in my eyes I did Ryan Leaf first since that is the unamious #1 decision by everyone. I just believe all the attention Troy Davis got in College and all the stats he put up in those years it is very clearly that he was a statistical bust.

[Illusion]

How about Harold Miner. Wasn't he supposed to be baby Jordan, lol.

[The Great One]

In regards to Steve Emtman, I must say this. I am a big Colts fan and in a 2 year period, the Colts drafted Emtman and Quinton Coryatt back-to-back in the 1993 draft and #1 and #2 and the very next year, drafted Trev Alberts somewhere around number 5. None of the three worked out at all. Yes, injuries played a key at some point, but Emtman was far from dominant in his short career in Indy. Yes, he was very dominant at Washington, but not as a Colt. This is about the time, when teams really started moving to speed and quickness over size also whick kind of creates a segway to:

Andre Ware and David Klingler. They shined in college because at the time defenses haven't seen the run-and-shoot too much and had no answer for it. But it didn't take defenses long in the NFL to figure that out. It's kind of like today's Texas Tech team that puts up ridiculous numbers but their QB's never see the NFL field. 15 years ago, these same guys would be top 5 picks.

[The Great One]

How about Harold Miner. Wasn't he supposed to be baby Jordan, lol.

Yeah, thats kind of like when Duke recruits a tall white guy, everyone likes to call him the next Christian Laetnner except hetro-sexual.

In Harold's defense, he was exciting to watch in college.

[datek23]

How about Harold Miner. Wasn't he supposed to be baby Jordan, lol.

He looked like Jordan A media made superstar of hype after he won the Slam Dunk contest and played with having his tongue stick out like Jordan did. Nothing but hype.

Here is his stats if anyone is interested

http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=MINERHA01

[makadonska]

Ryan Leaf For Me.

[bigboydan]

i'm suprised nobody mentioned steve howe in this thread.

this guy was banned like 7x's from the MLB for drugs.

[datek23]

Steve Howe had a ok career played 12 years. Descent player and great BS. Can you really call Steve Howe a bust especially if he found ways 7 times to get back into the league after several failed drug tests. This guy is a ICON in getting his job back same with Billy Martin back in the day. Got fired 5 times from the Yankees and was such a smooth talker he smooth his way back into jobs like Howe did. If you have good people skills who will make it out in life regardless how uneducated someone might be.

[datek23]

Maurice Clarett got all the hype since High school, the most hype up player in recent years in any sports to tell you the truth. THe kid was nothing but trouble and caused his own dimise in sueing the NFL. It is easy for a high school player to go pro in baseball, hockey, or basketball, but no way in football. NFL has strict safeguards on that issue. THere is just so much difference from Being the best in High School to even the most mediocore college football teams. By saying that, High schools players should never attempt sometthing like Clarett did, its just not a winable situation. Do you think a High School kid or teenagers mind will be able to stand a chance adjust to the brute force of play or the hard core antics of locker room hazing for a young mind with 40- 50 grown men trying to take advantage of a young player. Just the mental abuse is enough. Heres the typical sceneorio for a young player,

1). A rookie, is always 100% of the time will get some sort of mild to severe hazing. Here a an example

New Orleans Saints
Football
In a hazing similar to a gang "jump-in," rookie Cam Cleeland suffered an eye injury when bashed with a bag of coins, and rookie Jeff Danish was sent through a window and hospitalized for stitches. Danish sued the Saints, teammate Andre Royal, an assistant coach and five other players, seeking damages from the team of more than $650,000. The lawsuit against the Saints and six of the defendants was settled; terms were kept confidential.

if want to read more here is a link that only shows reported case, unreported cases make up anywhere 95-99% of the true number.

http://espn.go.com/otl/hazing/list.html

2). Team will look at you as a punk and a sissy as I stated about the Ryan Leaf issue.

3). Older players will purposely try to advantage of the younger players mind on the field and off the field.

4). THis is not including coaches and assistant coaches. THen you have to worry about coaches critizing your every move.

5). THen you have to worry about all your new found friends and trouble lurking. Friends that you never thought you had will start coming up to you and no matter what you are critized by everyone from one form to another.

THere are many more situations but this is just a glimmer in what happens when a young player thinks he is a gods gift to sports.

I found an article on hazing

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Feb-21-Tue-2006/news/5985564.html

Feb. 21, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

A SPECIAL REPORT : HAZING

As authorities investigate allegations that a Sierra Vista High School hazing incident turned into sexual battery, former local student athletes defend hazing as a traditional rite of passage in sports. Said one: "Hazing is supposed to be fun, not a violation of somebody."

By MIKE KALIL and TODD DEWEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL


Clark County School District officials say they are unaware of even minor hazing incidents in schools, much less anything as serious as allegations this month's that a high school basketball player was attacked.

But former student athletes from 10 high schools across the district paint a different picture of the prevalence of hazing.
Advertisement

In interviews last week, former players for teams at Basic, Bonanza, Centennial, Chaparral, Cimarron-Memorial, Clark, Durango, Las Vegas, Sierra Vista and Valley high schools detailed their experiences hazing underclassmen.

And although hazing is illegal in Nevada and banned in schools, the graduates defended the practice as a positive rite of passage deeply rooted in sports tradition.

"It's humorous, and a little cruel, but you think, hey, you know what, they (the seniors) did the same thing to me a couple years ago," said former Centennial wrestler Chris Fletcher, 20, who acknowledged throwing clothed, younger wrestlers into showers and duct-taping others to chairs.

Whether they pummeled younger athletes, forced them to perform chores, or embarrassed them by pulling down their pants or some other prank, the graduates maintained that their behavior only temporarily hurt their targets.

"They didn't enjoy it while it was happening, but they enjoyed it when they were varsity players and got to do it," said Ronald Tekpho, 20, who played football and ran track for Valley before graduating in 2003.

Many of the former athletes expressed disgust with allegations surrounding a Feb. 3 incident at Sierra Vista that has left six basketball players facing expulsion and felony charges.

The players are accused of pinning down a younger teammate while at least one of them penetrated his rectum with fingers.

"Hazing is supposed to be fun," Tekpho said, "not a violation of somebody."

Asked to elaborate on "fun" types of hazing, Tekpho described spraying a locker with a water hose while a junior varsity player was trapped inside.

"He was screaming, 'It's cold, it's cold! Let me out of here!' " said a chuckling Tekpho, a Community College of Southern Nevada student who aspires to be a police officer. "We let him out. We weren't going to let him die in there."

Playing varsity football for Chaparral in the late 1990s, Steve Puterski and his teammates had one rule after randomly choosing a younger athlete to haze.

"There was no hitting in the face or the groin," said Puterski, now a 25-year-old journalist in Greeley, Colo. "We just basically beat them in the arms and legs, so they'd be sore but not seriously hurt."

Puterski says he was similarly hazed years earlier as a junior varsity player.

"They all just kind of took a turn. It was like a senior's privilege," he said. "Maybe 10 or 15 guys would come and give you three or four licks each, then they'd help you up, and one of them would give you a ride home. It was just a tradition."

Basic High School varsity players had a method for choosing hazing targets, using dates of birth as a guide for when to drub younger players.

"My sophomore year the varsity players gave me a birthday beatdown. It was a tradition," says former Basic football player Ruben Carrillo, who graduated in 2002.

At Valley, juniors and seniors on the baseball team patterned their hazing by tracking underclassmen's mistakes on the field.

"They weren't beatings, just initiation. They all got to punch you once for every error you made," says Keith Nicholson, 20, Valley class of '04.

Cameron Johnson, now an outfielder for CCSN's baseball team, said he and other underclassmen at Las Vegas were tied to bleachers and trees and then released five or 10 minutes later.

"They tied us up and stuff just for fun. They were just messing around," he said. "Nothing was ever done to hurt kids or anything like that, though."

CCSN freshman pitcher Mike McClaren went to Sierra Vista his first three years of high school. There, he says he witnessed players getting "swirlies," where a person's head is dunked into a toilet that is then flushed.

"It only happened one year and I got out of it," he said.

CCSN freshman outfielder Brandon Trodick said he was hazed as a freshman at Cimarron-Memorial, then hazed others as an upperclassmen on the Spartans baseball team.

On the team's first road trip his freshman year, he and other first-year players were forced into a bathroom and had buckets of ice cold water thrown on them. Trodick also had his clothes taken from his room and thrown into the pool on the trip.

"I knew it was going to happen. I was just waiting for it," he said. "It was all good."

As a senior, Trodick said he shaved the heads of underclassmen, and he also willingly had his own head shaved.

Interviews with seven former female athletes indicate girls might be less likely to engage in hazing.

When asked about hazing, the girls described practical jokes they played on schoolmates. But the tricks usually targeted male athletes their own age rather than their younger, female counterparts on junior varsity teams.

"There was some hazing going on, but it wasn't anything dangerous," says Jenny Lenhart, 20, a UNLV nursing student who ran cross-country for Durango before graduating in 2004. "We feathered this one athlete's car and rubbed peanut butter all over this one guy's truck."

Knowledge of the experiences the male players described appears not to have traveled far.

The district's athletic director, Bill Garis, said he could not recall a single allegation of hazing the past three years.

Five school board trustees said they've not received complaints of even minor hazing during their tenures, some of which span 12 years.

If hazing is happening, district leaders said, no one is reporting it.

"My guess is that the person who has been hazed and ridiculed is usually too ashamed to bring something like that forward or make it public," said Trustee Larry Mason.

District police, who are tasked with investigating crimes on campus, also said they were unaware of any hazing reports.

Echoing other players, Puterski said the hazing he took part in was outside the presence of coaches.

"The coaches would just let us go change, and they'd go in their office," he said.

But after a freshman complained to his parents about a beating, Chaparral freshmen coach Marshall Hanson took a hard-line stance against hazing.

"He just came in and said, 'This is going to stop. We're going to have a coach in the locker room now. Do it again, and the principal will find out and you'll be suspended for a game,' " Puterski recounted.

Several longtime local coaches and administrators said they've encountered few hazing incidents in Southern Nevada but probably because most aren't reported.

"In my career, I didn't see any outwardly blatant hazing incidents, but that doesn't mean they didn't happen," said Larry McKay, former school district athletic director who retired recently after 30 years working in local high school sports.

"If this one student at Sierra Vista didn't step up and report it, it might have gone unnoticed there."

Longtime Durango basketball coach Al LaRocque said he doesn't view the Sierra Vista allegations as hazing.

"It's more like sexual misconduct. Hazing is making the underclassmen carry the balls."

Review-Journal staff writer Antonio Planas contributed to this report