I noticed that St. John's has been quite the pipeline for Euro/overseas league and minimal NBA impact in recent years. Just was wondering thoughts on this- I have named some players. How better off would 1. they have been and 2. the program have been if they stayed? Comment on any.
1. Moe Harkless- roughly 10-year NBA career with minimal impact and no team as of right now. Known as defense "specialist" with best years with the Blazers for a couple seasons. If he stays, does he develop more well-rounded skills? Does team take next step? He has not been that great of a pro despite lottery pick.
2. Jakarr Sampson- undrafted, talented for us and had a few nice seasons bouncing back and forth between NBA and d-league. Now playing overseas.
3. Marcus Lovett- undrafted, talented but often injured for us, no d-league only Euro
4. Shamorie Ponds- great player for us, undrafted after big NBA thoughts. Short stint with Raptors and has bounced around D-league. Nothing of note to show for it.
5. Justin Simon- decent player for us, rated highly out of HS, short stint in d-league and then overseas.
6. Julian Champagnie- great player for us, early to tell but bounced between NBA and d-league, appears to be settled in d-league right now.
The common thread seems to be thinking NBA and eventually burning out and not reaching potential because of lack of patience. I guess in terms of money it worked out for Moe and how he snuck into first round however, these others have not been as lucky. And the program has faltered and unable to replace them. No consistency and we end up back to square 1 in each season. We are not a blue blood that has 5 stars each season coming in and committed to replenish the program. I would say both the player and program have not benefitted from the poor-decision making.