Basketball Stars - Where Are They Now?

I was recently reading some basketball recruiting information when I came upon something that I thought was pretty absurd. This site ranks the top prospects in the greater Kentucky area. That's pretty cool - except that it goes down to the class of 2013. The site is ranking 4'7" sixth graders?! Dear Lord. We can now explain what is wrong with amateur athletics (and, more specifically, amateur athletes!).

Seeing this did bring to mind one of my favorite Sports Illustrated issues from my childhood. In the 1986-1987 College Basketball Preview issue, SI ranked the top players in the nation from 6th grade up to 12th grade. I was an 8th grader at the time and remember being irritated that I had not made the list (or even been considered). Given that I'm the same height now as I was then and was probably a better player then - they were correct in not considering me. Here's how the rest of those guys ended up:

12th Grade - Marcus Liberty - Liberty went on to play at the University of Illinois and was a key player on their 1988-1989 Final Four Team. He left Illinois after his junior year and spent 4 years in the NBA - primarily with the Denver Nuggets. By the time he was 25 years old, he was out of the NBA - relegated to playing in exotic locales like Turkey and Sweden. Today, he's 38 years old and plays for the Chicago Rockstars of the ABA (think MINOR league basketball).

11th Grade - Alonzo Mourning - Mourning has had a long, successful career in the NBA. After being named an All-American at Georgetown, Mourning was the 2nd overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He has since played for the Miami Heat and the New Jersey Nets. He is a seven time NBA All-Star, two time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and was a key player on Miami's 2006 NBA Championship team. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Mourning - he's done it all with one kidney since having a kidney transplant in 2003.

10th Grade - Kenny Anderson - Anderson was a three time Parade All-American, McDonald's All American, and Gatorade National Player of the year during his senior year in high school. He went on to Georgia Tech, perhaps the nation's greatest academic and athletic institution (seriously), and entered the NBA after his sophomore season. He was the second overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets and went on to play 14 years in the NBA, last seen with the LA Clippers in 2005. Today Kenny Anderson is the head coach of the CBA's Atlanta Krunk (seriously).

9th Grade - Damon Bailey - Damon Bailey was a four-time all-state basketball player in basketball-crazy Indiana. He led his high school to a state championship during his senior year in front of 41,000 fans in the Hoosier Dome! Bailey played four years at Indiana for coach Bobby Knight and was third team All-American and first team all-Big Ten during his senior year. He played one year in the NBA for the Indiana Pacers and then went on to play several more years in the old CBA (think AAA baseball). He retired as a player and went on to coach his high school, Bedford North Lawrence, before resigning earlier this year. Today he's in the industrial supply business.

8th Grade - Barnabas James - the guy who beat me out for this honor was last heard from in 1991. That year he was recruited by Coach Tim Floyd (now at Southern California) to play at the University of New Orleans but failed to qualify academically. He was last seen playing for Delgado Community College.

7th Grade - Brian Crow - I could not find much about this guy at all. He was from Orem, Utah and the rumors I heard were that he went on to become a successful decathalete later in his high school years.

6th Grade - Michael Irvin - Chicago area player that went on to become "an average high school player" for Christ the King in Chicago.

So...if you remember that issue of Sports Illustrated, now you know what happened to those guys. If you don't remember it, you can at least see the folly of ranking players in the 6th grade!