Barry Jacobs is back with a tremendous look at ACC early-entry candidates over the years. Great chart!
OLD BEFORE THEIR TIME
ACC Players Who Went Pro Early
Nine ACC players left early to place their names in consideration for the
2005 NBA draft. That's nearly twice as many as in any previous season. Five men
departed the ACC's noble wooden floors, or rather groves of Academe, in 2002.
The big 2005 loser was the big winner during the actual basketball season.
North Carolina lost four players -- freshman Marvin Williams and juniors Raymond
Felton, Sean May, and Rashad McCants -- to the NBA's lucrative luster. No ACC
program had previously lost more than three players to the draft in the same
year. Duke enjoyed that dubious distinction in both 2002 and 1999, and bounced
back each time to win at least 26 games, finish in the AP top 10, capture the
ACC title, and advance to the Sweet 16. If UNC matches those feats in 2005-06,
head coach Roy Williams will be instantly canonized, or his players sent in for
drug-testing.
Counting this year's total, 18 ACC players have left early, or never
matriculated, in the last four years combined. That compares to 34 in the
previous 31 seasons.
Chris Paul is the first early entry from Wake Forest in a dozen years, since
power forward Rodney Rogers took the plunge. Paul figures to be the first of
three ACC point guards taken in the first round of the '05 draft. Rogers went
ninth in '93, just ahead of Lindsey Hunter, a member of the Detroit Pistons,
runnersup in the NBA finals.
Von Wafer is the first Florida State player in seven seasons to skip town
with eligibility remaining, rushing in his case toward immediate, if not
enduring, basketball oblivion.
Clemson (3)
- Will Solomon, jr., 2003
- Sharone Wright, jr., 1994
- Skip Wise, fr., 1975
Duke (9)
- Shavlik Randolph, jr., 2005
- Shaun Livingston, never matriculated, 2004
- Luol Deng, fr., 2004
- Carlos Boozer, jr., 2002
- Mike Dunleavy, jr., 2002
- Jason Williams, jr., 2002
- Will Avery, so., 1999
- Elton Brand, so., 1999
- Corey Maggette, fr., 1999
Florida State (2)
- Von Wafer, fr., 2005
- Randell Jackson, jr., 1998
Georgia Tech (6)
- Jarrett Jack, jr., 2005
- Chris Bosh, fr., 2003
- Dion Glover, fr., 1998
- Stephon Marbury, fr., 1996
- Kenny Anderson, so., 1991
- Dennis Scott, jr., 1990
Maryland (8)
- John Gilchrist, jr., 2005
- Chris Wilcox, so., 2002
- Steve Francis, jr., 1999
- Joe Smith, so., 1995
- Jerrod Mustaf, so., 1990
- Buck Williams, jr., 1981
- Brad Davis, jr., 1976
- Moses Malone, never matriculated, 1974
- Barry Yates, jr., 1971
North Carolina (15)
- Raymond Felton, jr., 2005
- Sean May, jr., 2005
- Rashad McCants, jr., 2005
- Marvin Williams, fr., 2005
- J.R. Smith, never matriculated, 2004
- Joseph Forte, so., 2001
- Vince Carter, jr., 1998
- Antawn Jamison, jr., 1998
- Jeff McInnis, jr., 1996
- Jerry Stackhouse, so., 1995
- Rasheed Wallace, so., 1995
- J.R. Reid, jr., 1989
- Michael Jordan, jr., 1984
- James Worthy, jr., 1982
- Bob McAdoo, jr., 1972
N.C. State (4)
- Josh Powell, so., 2003
- Charles Shackleford, jr., 1988
- Chris Washburn, so., 1986
- Kenny Carr, jr., 1977
Virginia (4)
- Roger Mason, jr., 2002
- Cory Alexander, jr., 1995
- Olden Polynice, jr., 1987
- Gus Gerard, jr., 1974*
Wake Forest (3)
- Chris Paul, so., 2005
- Rodney Rogers, jr., 1993
- Kenny Green, jr. 1985
* Signed with Carolina Cougars of ABA. Not drafted by NBA until 1975.
| ACC Early Departures, By Year Since 1971 | ||||
| 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 |
| 9 | 3$ | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 |
| 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1990 | 1989 | 1988 | 1987 | 1986 | 1985 | 1984 | 1983 | 1982 | 1981 |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1980 | 1979 | 1978 | 1977 | 1976 | 1975 | 1974 | 1973 | 1972 | 1971 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| $ Includes two players who went pro without matriculating. | |||||||||