firemanBk
The Manslayer
I've been watching a lot of past drafts recently just kind of going through the busts and steals and also the times where teams made the exact right choice. It got me thinking about who were the most hyped prospects pre-pro (so say in College or HS) in each sport in my lifetime and how they've turned out as pros.
LeBron James (Basketball) - Easily the most hyped player in any sport I've seen in my lifetime. LeBron was being hyped to the moon by pretty much every sports publication by junior year in HS. Selected #1 overall in the 2003 draft (in a top 5 that includes 4 first ballot hall of famers! and arguably the biggest bust in NBA history as well) LeBron lived up to every bit of the hype and became one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Andrew Luck (American Football) - Andrew Luck was widely considered the most hyped NFL prospect since John Elway nearly 30 years prior. Elway went on to become a Hall of Fame QB so the expectations were through the roof for Andrew to have a similar career. The Colts were even willing to dump one of the greatest players to ever play the game in Peyton Manning off of a broken neck thinking he was likely washed and Luck provided an easy way to move forward with a new franchise QB. Luck was selected #1 in the 2012 NFL draft. Luck seemed to be developing into a fantastic QB in his time with the Colts and made 4 pro bowls but their inability to provide him good protection led to Luck piling up injuries quickly which eventually led to an early retirement in 2019 shortly before his 30th birthday. Honestly, Luck retiring so early really sucks and I would love for him to return to the League again. He was already a great QB and was developing into an amazing one. I know Washington was flirting with the idea of luring him out of retirement so I'm hoping he does one day.
Stephen Strasburg (Baseball) - Baseball is kind of weird cause you pretty much never hear about anybody before they're drafted. The MLB draft is pretty much a non-event, likely due to the Minor League system since many top picks don't make it to the Majors till years later. So it's very, very rare we ever hear about any baseball prospects on a very public level until they've spent some time playing minor league ball. Strasburg was a rare case where scouts and pros were hyping him to the moon before he has even played minor league ball. He was selected #1 overall in the 2009 MLB draft and after some time in the minors made his debut in the summer of 2010. Strasburg was an instrumental part in the Nationals 2019 World Series victory winning World Series MVP and had an amazing run in that 2019 playoff in general. Outside of that though, while he's not quite a bust, his career has been fairly disappointing. Riddled with injuries and only making 3 All Star games in 12 seasons, Strasburg is far from the best pitcher in the majors and hasn't come close to the future hall of famer expectations placed on him before his debut. Currently he has the Nationals saddled with possibly one of the worst contracts in all of sports.
Sidney Crosby (Hockey) - Easily the most hyped hockey prospect in modern times and possibly ever, Crosby was selected #1 overall in the NHL Draft and while he has struggled a bit with injuries during his career he has captured 3 Stanley Cups and 2 MVPs and is considered one of the best NHL players of all time.
Freddy Adu (Soccer/Football) - US Media pretty much never talks about soccer so it was pretty crazy when sports magazines and TV would not shut the hell up about this 14 year old can't miss prospect. "The Next Pele" might be the biggest bust in sports history. He basically wound up being a journeyman and never came close to becoming the mega star he was projected to be. Like not even glimpses of it before injuries or anything he was just a complete flop. Idk I'd need the soccer heads on here to confirm how Adu was viewed on an international level back when he was 14. Was it just in the US he was getting hyped like that? It's so crazy to me that everyone else I mentioned at least had some success and Adu alone wound up being such a bust in every way. There's also the speculation about his actual age but that's not confirmed
Anyway, sorry for the essay
Some of the older heads can mention a few different names if they want and might even disagree with some of the ones I've listed for other names. Reggie Bush & Mike Vick are two of the ones I thought of but I feel like their hype wasn't close to Luck's.
I really wanna know if Adu was even hyped like that abroad.
LeBron James (Basketball) - Easily the most hyped player in any sport I've seen in my lifetime. LeBron was being hyped to the moon by pretty much every sports publication by junior year in HS. Selected #1 overall in the 2003 draft (in a top 5 that includes 4 first ballot hall of famers! and arguably the biggest bust in NBA history as well) LeBron lived up to every bit of the hype and became one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Andrew Luck (American Football) - Andrew Luck was widely considered the most hyped NFL prospect since John Elway nearly 30 years prior. Elway went on to become a Hall of Fame QB so the expectations were through the roof for Andrew to have a similar career. The Colts were even willing to dump one of the greatest players to ever play the game in Peyton Manning off of a broken neck thinking he was likely washed and Luck provided an easy way to move forward with a new franchise QB. Luck was selected #1 in the 2012 NFL draft. Luck seemed to be developing into a fantastic QB in his time with the Colts and made 4 pro bowls but their inability to provide him good protection led to Luck piling up injuries quickly which eventually led to an early retirement in 2019 shortly before his 30th birthday. Honestly, Luck retiring so early really sucks and I would love for him to return to the League again. He was already a great QB and was developing into an amazing one. I know Washington was flirting with the idea of luring him out of retirement so I'm hoping he does one day.
Stephen Strasburg (Baseball) - Baseball is kind of weird cause you pretty much never hear about anybody before they're drafted. The MLB draft is pretty much a non-event, likely due to the Minor League system since many top picks don't make it to the Majors till years later. So it's very, very rare we ever hear about any baseball prospects on a very public level until they've spent some time playing minor league ball. Strasburg was a rare case where scouts and pros were hyping him to the moon before he has even played minor league ball. He was selected #1 overall in the 2009 MLB draft and after some time in the minors made his debut in the summer of 2010. Strasburg was an instrumental part in the Nationals 2019 World Series victory winning World Series MVP and had an amazing run in that 2019 playoff in general. Outside of that though, while he's not quite a bust, his career has been fairly disappointing. Riddled with injuries and only making 3 All Star games in 12 seasons, Strasburg is far from the best pitcher in the majors and hasn't come close to the future hall of famer expectations placed on him before his debut. Currently he has the Nationals saddled with possibly one of the worst contracts in all of sports.
Sidney Crosby (Hockey) - Easily the most hyped hockey prospect in modern times and possibly ever, Crosby was selected #1 overall in the NHL Draft and while he has struggled a bit with injuries during his career he has captured 3 Stanley Cups and 2 MVPs and is considered one of the best NHL players of all time.
Freddy Adu (Soccer/Football) - US Media pretty much never talks about soccer so it was pretty crazy when sports magazines and TV would not shut the hell up about this 14 year old can't miss prospect. "The Next Pele" might be the biggest bust in sports history. He basically wound up being a journeyman and never came close to becoming the mega star he was projected to be. Like not even glimpses of it before injuries or anything he was just a complete flop. Idk I'd need the soccer heads on here to confirm how Adu was viewed on an international level back when he was 14. Was it just in the US he was getting hyped like that? It's so crazy to me that everyone else I mentioned at least had some success and Adu alone wound up being such a bust in every way. There's also the speculation about his actual age but that's not confirmed
Anyway, sorry for the essay
Some of the older heads can mention a few different names if they want and might even disagree with some of the ones I've listed for other names. Reggie Bush & Mike Vick are two of the ones I thought of but I feel like their hype wasn't close to Luck's.
I really wanna know if Adu was even hyped like that abroad.
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there was quite a bit of talk about him eventually being the best player from that team.
