1995 draft - why was Joe Smith taken ahead of McDyess, Stack, 'Sheed, KG?

[JohnnySic]

I was around at the time but the reason for Joe Smith being ragarded so highly escapes me. Please aware me. Thanks.

[Overdrive]

He was simply considered the better player + more upside. Nobody thought KG would become what he became. Stack had the most hype, though IIRC.

Can you remember Ed O'Bannon?

[JohnnySic]

He was simply considered the better player + more upside. Nobody thought KG would become what he became. Stack had the most hype, though IIRC.

Can you remember Ed O'Bannon?
Yes. He was good at UCLA.

[Legends66NBA7]

He was the proven college player over all of them.

[QUOTE]Naismith College Player of the Year (1995)
AP Player of the Year (1995)
UPI College Player of the Year (1995)
Adolph Rupp Trophy (1995)
Consensus first-team All-American (1995)
Third-team All-American

[Legends66NBA7]

He was simply considered the better player + more upside. Nobody thought KG would become what he became. Stack had the most hype, though IIRC.

Can you remember Ed O'Bannon?

Just posted about Ed. I remember Raptor fans (the draft was being held in Toronto) were pissed when they picked Damon Stoudamire over him. :oldlol:

[Overdrive]

Just posted about Ed. I remember Raptor fans (the draft was being held in Toronto) were pissed when they picked Damon Stoudamire over him. :oldlol:

Damon Stoudamire. Didn't even think about him. Awesome player and imo alot of wasted potential - his first year was his peak..


Also, it made sense not to take KG first. How many high schoolers turned out become all-time greats by 95 ? Moses Malone and ?

Yeah, he was seen as a 'could become a Shawn Kemp' and not Moses. Super athletic high schooler with size.

[gasolina]

I always found it ironic how the Wolves kept chasing Joe Smith to pair up with KG.

Eventually they did, and then it cost them all those draft picks which ultimately led to KG wasting most of his prime there.


**********************************
Joe Smith was also a super secret player in NBA Live 96 in the SNES. I guess because of timing of the draft, EA couldn't put the current draft class in, but coded them in so you can access them via create a player. Just need to type last names "Garnett, Stoudamire, O'Bannon, Stackhouse, Edney, Reeves". You could also get Jordan and Barkley this way too, and some legends (Oscar Roberston comes to mind)

Pretty sure Joe Smith should be there, but typing Smith doesn't get you anything. Only after the season did someone tell me you have to type "J. Smith" to make it work.

Effin wasted a season w/o Joe Smith

[Rake2204]

He was the proven college player over all of them.



Also, it made sense not to take KG first. How many high schoolers turned out become all-time greats by 95 ? Moses Malone and ?

I remember Ed O'Bannon was also supposed to go pretty high too.Yep. In addition, there was a little extra uncertainty surrounding Garnett because he was literally stepping from high school to the NBA. Malone spent a few years in the ABA first (though he was still pretty dominant) and even Shawn Kemp toiled around in community college for a year before the Sonics picked him up in '89.

So yeah, with Garnett being the first guy trying to go straight to the league in 20 years, the hype was still there (because the thought was, "If this kid's good enough to skip college altogether, he must be legit") but there was a little bit of an unknown in terms of development and impact.

Takes me back to the days where it was expected that a high schooler spend his first few years playing low minutes with little expectations. Now we're ready to crucify a one-and-done if he's not blowing up the spot right off the bat.

Don't have a ton of super interesting thoughts on Smith, other than him just being "The Guy" that year in college hoops (like Elton Brand, Antawn Jamison, Tyler Hansbrough, etc.) Kinda makes sense. Six-foot-ten, can shoot, power finisher, averaging 21 and 11 at Maryland.

Either way, pretty entertaining and star-studded rookie game that year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxpwQeINtgE#t=1m26s

[gasolina]

Either way, pretty entertaining and star-studded rookie game that year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxpwQeINtgE#t=1m26s
Thanks for the link. Lots of pros there who had good careers.

Was Ed O'Bannon even in that game?

[kurple]

First decent thread I've seen on ISH in a while!

[90sgoat]

I know nothing of Smith's college career, but in hindsight both Garnett, Jermaine O'Neal and Kobe dropped too low. Drafting was different back then, teams drafted for immediate production not potential 4-5 years down the line.

Garnett was also very skinny and classified as a small forward, so teams that needed a power forward would not look at Garnett and think he was their man.

[senelcoolidge]

I remember watching Joe Smith in college. He was good, but I never saw him as anything amazing. He did have some big games in college that year before the draft. He had an NBA game, decent mid range and solid inside player. It seem like his game always stayed the same. He never really improved, so he was just a good player, role player. I guess it just one of those drafts with no real clear cut #1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CoirDbmQhs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx84347uDB8

[Overdrive]

Don't have a ton of super interesting thoughts on Smith, other than him just being "The Guy" that year in college hoops (like Elton Brand, Antawn Jamison, Tyler Hansbrough, etc.) Kinda makes sense. Six-foot-ten, can shoot, power finisher, averaging 21 and 11 at Maryland.

Either way, pretty entertaining and star-studded rookie game that year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxpwQeINtgE#t=1m26s

Those midrange heavy PFs always shine in college, but rarely become top NBA players as they were projected. Christian Laettner made it to the Dream Team over Shaq on midrange jumpers.

Had to re-check the draft, because of that vid. Finley was #21, Bodiroga was also drafted by the Kings. I think he would've fared well in the NBA.

[Rake2204]

Thanks for the link. Lots of pros there who had good careers.

Was Ed O'Bannon even in that game?O'Bannon did not make the roster. At that point, the rookie game setup was pretty simple: eight rookies from the East vs. eight rookies from the West. Beating out O'Bannon for a roster spot that night was:

Damon Stoudamire
Jerry Stackhouse
Rasheed Wallace
Eric Williams
Alan Henderson
Kurt Thomas
Bob Sura
George Zidek

For the sake of completion, here's the West:

Tyus Edney
Michael Finley
Antonio McDyess
Joe Smith
Arvydas Sabonis
Brent Barry
Kevin Garnett
Bryant Reeves

West was pretty loaded, in hindsight.

Every dunk from that night's game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwgtAoH1j-M

[Real Men Wear Green]

Back then NCAA dominance was valued over athletic potential. Dice, for example, was doing 14 and 11 as a soph while Smith was a 20-10 soph. Dice was a lot more explosive but that wasn't seen as being as important as what Smith managed to do. KG was the first of the modern wave of hs-to-pros and it was still considered extremely risky to draft a high schooler. There was no thought of drafting him that high.

[JohnnySic]

Back then NCAA dominance was valued over athletic potential. Dice, for example, was doing 14 and 11 as a soph while Smith was a 20-10 soph. Dice was a lot more explosive but that wasn't seen as being as important as what Smith managed to do. KG was the first of the modern wave of hs-to-pros and it was still considered extremely risky to draft a high schooler. There was no thought of drafting him that high.
Yeah, this is true. Teams weren't drafting on "upside" just yet.

[imdaman99]

I think GMs wanted immediate dividends in case they were ever on the hot seat. I'm sure they worried about their jobs.

Joe Smith did have some awesome games in the NBA, I remember he shot like 14-15 in 1 game. But he never panned out. Stack got the most hype because he was a Carolina guard that reminded some people of someone else because of his athleticism :oldlol:

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Should be noted Sheed used to beat his ass when they matched up in conference.

[Rake2204]

I think GMs wanted immediate dividends in case they were ever on the hot seat. I'm sure they worried about their jobs.

Joe Smith did have some awesome games in the NBA, I remember he shot like 14-15 in 1 game. But he never panned out. Stack got the most hype because he was a Carolina guard that reminded some people of someone else because of his athleticism :oldlol:That memory's so random that I felt moved to go search his game logs to find the performance in question, haha.

I came up with a 10-for-11 game against Denver in '99 (http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199902050DEN.html) and a 13-for-16 against the Sixers in 2006 (http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200602240MIL.html).

Either way, I'm impressed that of all the things that could stick out about Joe Smith, it was a random night where he made most of his shots.

[JohnnySic]

That memory's so random that I felt moved to go search his game logs to find the performance in question, haha.

I came up with a 10-for-11 game against Denver in '99 (http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199902050DEN.html) and a 13-for-16 against the Sixers in 2006 (http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200602240MIL.html).

Either way, I'm impressed that of all the things that could stick out about Joe Smith, it was a random night where he made most of his shots.
What sticks out to me was his nickname.....No Ordinary Joe........Smith. Simple, yet effective.

[inclinerator]

he was good,

[kav23]

If Tim Duncan entered the 1995 draft, he'd have been the #1 pick. I wonder how long he would've stayed with the Warriors. Imagine Tim being the mentor to Steph, Klay, Draymond at the beginning of their careers.

[IncarceratedBob]

People forget the drug issues that KG had