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The Rise & Fall Of 2002

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Jeff Goodman takes a look at the class of 2002 and finds there are a lot of guys in that star-studded class who just never lived up to their hype.  The guy who emerges in many ways as the cream of the crop?

J.J. Redick.  Check out what Evan Burns says about him:

"J.J. knew exactly what he wanted. He was humble and worked. We were all talking about the NBA and how quickly we were going to get there and he was talking about playing at Duke for four years and getting an education. That's what he told me and look at him now."

Unlike a lot of his cohorts, Redick wasn't planning on an NBA career. He figured he'd end up in Europe and actually took Italian at Duke in anticipation of the move overseas.

One guy who might have benefitted from this collective wisdom is former Illini Jereme Richmond.  What a train wreck his life has become, punctuated by this disgusting episode.

Also mentioned in this article: former UNC star Rashad McCants, who says GMs around the league are "blackballing" him.  Couldn't have anything to do with his sparkling personality, could it?

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