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Top 10 Careers Derailed PDF Print E-mail

Len Bias

Must have already turned pro or been drafted to make the list. 

by MARK GREY

5.5.09

10. Bobby Hurley - One of the most successful college point guards in history. Also, his 1,076 career assists is still an NCAA record.  After being selected 7th overall, Hurley was involved in a car accident in his rookie year that left him with life threatening injuries.  He returned to the NBA a year later but was never the same player.  Hurley was a classic point guard built in the same mold as Hall of Famer John Stockton, a player who knew how to win.

9. Jay Williams - While at Duke, Williams was the most unstoppable player in the country. There wasn’t a guard in the NCAA who could keep Williams in front of them and he was a threat to shoot the ball as soon as he crossed half court.  The Bulls drafted Williams second overall after his junior year and in just his 7th NBA game, Williams recorded a triple double with 26 points, 13 assists and 14 rebounds.  His rookie season was filled with highs and lows, but he finished the season strong and showing improvement.  In the off-season of his rookie year, Williams crashed his motorcycle and never played in another NBA game.

8. Jerome Brown - By just his fourth year in the NFL, Brown had established himself as the best nose tackle in the game.  Brown was a combination of speed and strength -- not normal for a guy his size.  At the young age of 27, Brown died when he lost control of his Corvette and crashed into a power pole.  As good as Brown was playing, he was still getting better, and there is no telling how good the Eagles' defensive could have become.

7. Pelle Lindbergh - Lindbergh is the only goalie to face the 1980 USA Hockey team and not lose.  After a strong show in the Olympics, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers.  Lindbergh was named to the all rookie team and by his third year in the NHL, he led all goalies in victories and became the first European-born player to win the Vezina Trophy. He also led the Flyers all the way to the Stanley Cup finals with a collection of great post-season performances.  That following season, Lindbergh crashed his car into a wall, killing himself at the age of 26. He had all the tools to become one of the best goalies of all time.

6. Drazen Petrovic - Petrovic was a player way ahead of his time and was the first European player to make an impact in the NBA.  In his first full year as a starter with the New Jersey Nets, Petrovic averaged 20 points a game and was named team MVP on a team that included Derrick Colman and Kenny Anderson in their primes.  In just his second year as a starter, Drazen’s 22 points a game were 11th best in the NBA.  He was one of the most feared shooters in the NBA shooting 45 percent from behind the arc and was named to the All NBA third team.  The summer after his best NBA season, Petrovic died in a car accident at the age of 28.

Sean Taylor5. Sean Taylor - In just a few years in the NFL, Taylor established himself as one of the hardest hitting players in the game.  Taylor was a combination of speed and size that had him on pace to be one of the best safeties to ever play the game.  It took Sean just two seasons to be named to his first Pro Bowl.  While enjoying his best season as a Redskin, Taylor was shot and killed in his home in Florida. His death produced a shock that was felt all across the NFL.

4. Monica Seles
- At the age of 16, Seles became the youngest player to ever win the French Open and was the number one tennis player in the world by 18.  For two years, Seles dominated women’s tennis.  In a 25 month span, Monica won 22 titles and reached the finals in 33 out of 34 tournaments she entered.  She put together an unbelievable record of 55-1 in grand slam tournaments.  At the age of 20, Seles was at the height of her career when she was stabbed in the back by a fan with a 10-inch knife during a match.  After more than two years away from tennis, Seles returned but was never the same.  Seles managed to win nine Grand Slams over her career, but there is no telling how many she would have won without the stabbing.

3. Bo Jackson - Arguably the greatest athlete of the last century, Bo is the only person to ever be named to a Pro Bowl and MLB All-Star game.  After winning the Heisman Trophy, Jackson was the first pick in the NFL draft, but chose to play major league baseball instead.  Just three years into his Baseball career, Jackson not only made the All Star game but was named the game's MVP.  Despite only playing half of the NFL season, Bo more than made his mark on the field.  Bo averaged an amazing 5.4 yards a carry and was a threat to score every time he touched the ball.  Less than a month into his NFL career, Jackson rushed for 221 yards in a Monday night record that still stands.  After just 3 NFL seasons, Jackson’s football career was finished after suffering a career-ending hip injury.  He returned to baseball, but never regained his All-Star form.

2. Ernie Davis - Davis was the first African American to ever win the Heisman Trophy.  By Davis’ sophomore season at Syracuse, he was already regarded as the best running back in the country, leading his team to the National Championship.  In his junior year, he rushed for a record 7.8 yards a carry. After his remarkable college career, Davis was drafted first overall, but would never play in a single NFL game.  In 1962, Davis was diagnosed with leukemia and died a year later at the age of 23.

1. Len Bias - In 1986 at the age of 22, no player in the country had a brighter future than Maryland’s Len Bias.  After averaging 23 points a game and dominating the ACC, Bias was drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan.  His combination of size and athletic ability made him virtually unstoppable.  After a great college career, the Celtics drafted the former Terp second overall in the 1986 draft.  Just two days after being drafted, Bias passed away after a cocaine overdose in his campus dorm room.  Although there is no telling how great Bias would have been, most agree the sky was the limit.      
Comments
Add New Search
jdwalters   |2009-05-28 00:32:51
Jay Williams was great in college, but was arguably a disappointment even before
his injury. Yeah, he had a triple double early on, but he was extremely
inconsistent and was eventually benched for Jalen Rose.

I think that it can
be argued that he should not be on this list, based on the fact that he played a
full season in the NBA and was being labeled as a potential bust. Injury or no
injury, he may have been another great college PG whose skills did not carry
over to the NBA.

I also believe that he was having some depression issues,
pre-accident, but I could be wrong.

Game log from his one NBA season can be
found at http://www.basketball-reference.com/fc/pgl.cgi?pla
yer=willija03&year=2003
bornready  - Other ACC player   |2009-05-17 11:48:03
As good as Bias was I think Chris Washburn from NC State had just as much
potential as Len. Chris was 6'11 could guard all 5 positions and had a great
body.
Bo knows   |2009-05-16 06:37:04
loved watching bo jackson. makes me sad thinking about all the great things he
could've done the rest of his career in football and baseball. one of the
greatest athletes ever even though he played only a short time. the bo knows
commercials were awesome.
Duke fan   |2009-05-16 06:32:30
No offense, but this is ridiculous. Bias was a very good college player, but two
other players his senior year split the NPOY (Walter Berry and Johnny Dawkins),
and a third was picked ahead of him in the NBA draft (Brad Daugherty). He was a
very good athlete - but not on the level of Jordan or James - and possessed a
fraction of their skills. He was a slightly undersized pf in college who would
have had to play sf in the league. As he was a mediocre ball-handler and passer,
I question how effective he would have been.

Len Bias attained mythic status
with his death, but to put him in ahead of folks like Jerome Brown, Sean Taylor,
Drazen Petrovic and especially Bo Jackson and Monica Seles is absurd. Those
players had proven they were great at the highest level - Jackson and Seles
doing things that no one else had done in their sport(s). Bias was a very good
college player who never even won the highest awards or biggest games at a lower
level. He is far more myth than reality.

I did love it when he beat the
Heels, though.
Dukie   |2009-05-16 06:27:40
In 40 years of watching ACC ball, I think Bias had the 2nd most potential of any
basketball player ever from the ACC. He was 6'9 , strong, explosive, and could
shoot it, I think he was a better athelete and shooter than Lebron, James is
bigger, stronger. Bias was as good as Jordon in my book.
Reply | Quote
DD   |2009-05-16 06:24:11
Over the last few years, every time I saw Steve Nash play I couldn't help but
think about how great Hurley could have been with his amazing court vision and
unique play-making.
Blue Devil   |2009-05-16 06:14:32
People really forget how good Jay Williams was.
Emanuela   |2009-05-16 01:39:21
Monica's was definitely the strangest...''stabbed in the back by a fan."
That's an oxymoron right there. But they're all still really tragic.
respect   |2009-05-15 23:31:07
Not to to diminish Len Bias in any way...he was a great college player and would
have been a great pro, but Ernie should probably rate the #1 spot. Only because
the Bias tragedy is more recent, people remember it better.

Both would have
been great pros
Mike  - No Bo   |2009-05-15 15:52:29
Bo could have been the best player to ever play in the NFL if there had been no
Jim Brown, but potentially second best player isn't so bad.
ak   |2009-05-15 11:00:50
sean taylor was the best and will always be remembered in DC and in Miami. He
was a game changer that everyone had to account for on the field.
TMac   |2009-05-13 00:26:10
Monica should have been number one.
Sam   |2009-05-13 00:24:27
I can't necessarily say I feel bad for Len Bias, I feel worse for all of my
fellow Celtic fans to be honest, but I don't look down upon him. Drugs are an
easy thing to get coerced into doing, especially in celebration of something
like getting drafted, and the fact that he OD'd tells me he probably wasn't a
frequent user. It was all probably done in the heat of excitement, so I still
think it's a pretty sad event.
Steve   |2009-05-13 00:11:11
Mike Vick even though he did it to himself
Anonymous   |2009-05-13 00:09:42
When I saw this post I immediately thought of Len Bias. Then I looked at the
list and I forgot about some of the names. Jerome Brown was definately a star in
the making. Drazen Petrovic, Sean Taylor, Monica Seles, and Bo Jackson were
definately at the top of their games when their careers were cut short.
Definately makes you think what could have been.
sad   |2009-05-13 00:06:49
Jerome Brown was an absolute dominator at DT....and the Eagles had one of the
best Front 7's the NFL has ever seen with him, Reggie White and Co.
pete   |2009-05-13 00:03:08
I remember as a little kid watching Dražen Petrović play live. He was
unbelievable. In his debut game for Cibona as a 20 year old he scored 112
points. He lead them to the European title that year. His death in 1993 was
devastating.

And then Jay Williams. He had huge triple-double in like his 7th
or 8th ever NBA game; against Jason Kidd no less. It looked like he was going to
be a superstar. Then of course he went on to rap his motorcycle around a light
pole that summer.
Ray  - Chris Holies   |2009-05-12 12:11:29
I think Chris Holies was destined to be among the all time great catchers in
MLB.
He was a frierce streak hitter and was brought up from Rochester to
Baltimore while he was batting over 350 with almost 30 HRs.He was a great
defencive cather as well.
When Frank Robinson got a hold of him,he took this
streak hitter and played him 2-3-4 games until he got a hit then sat him down
for a game or two completely distroying his rhythem.It wasn't his injury that
derailed him it was Frank Robinson
Ty   |2009-05-12 06:16:06
Honestly, I think Nic Anderson belongs on that list just because his career
didn't tank due to a fatal accident or crime, but a death of his confidence
after missing 4 straight free throws over a span of seconds. Its so unique.
C's   |2009-05-12 06:14:40
Bias was LeBron before LeBron. Put him on the C's and you can pretty much
guarantee another 2-3 banners before the 80's crew was done. It would have
spared Bird and Mchale a lot of minutes, extending their careers. The history of
the NBA (not just the Celtics) would have been different.
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