RJ is leading the way - Rising Star: Report Card - promising basketball players at high school, college and pro levels

Basketball Digest, April, 2003 by Brett Ballantini

IN MARCH 2001, A NEW DEPARTment appeared in BASKETBALL DIGEST: "Rising Star." Since then, we've tabbed 17 players as the brightest new stars at the prep, college, and pro levels. Two years in, we're looking back at our first 10 "Rising Stars" to view their progress--and grade our prognostications.

Richard Jefferson, New Jersey Nets (A+): We tabbed RJ as a draft-day steal in the first pages of our November 2001 NBA preview, and since then the forward has blossomed into an NBA star. Proving there was some mettle to our comparison then to Phoenix Suns All-Star Shawn Marion, Jefferson has upped his numbers as a sophomore starter (nearly doubling his scoring and rebounding averages) and proven to be a two-way player of rare skill, liable to leap out of the gym chasing Jason Kidd's alley-oops.

Troy Bell, Boston College (A): Bell continues to produce big numbers with little help from his Eagles teammates. The senior point guard was averaging career-best scoring and assists marks midway through 2002-03.

Dajuan Wagner, Cleveland Cavaliers (A): Wagner was our first prep "Rising Star," and the combo guard has proved us right on both the college (21.2 ppg, 3.6 apg, 2002 NIT MVP, and honorable mention All-American at Memphis) and professional (among the NBA's rookie scoring and assists leaders with the Cavs) levels.

Drew Gooden, Memphis Grizzlies (A-): Gooden was our biggest "Rising Star" cheat, as he already was a lottery lock when we tabbed him in April 2002. That he went on to finish fourth in the country in rebounding (11.4), was a First Team All-American, and led Kansas to the Final Four was a bonus. As a rookie with Memphis, Gooden is doing his best with fewer minutes. And despite a love-hate relationship with new (old) coach Hubie Brown and a glut of Grizzly 4s, Gooden is ranked in the top five in scoring and rebounding among rookies.

Richard Hamilton, Detroit Pistons (B): Rip was destined only for minor stardom with the Washington Wizards, where the tutelage of Michael Jordan seemed simply to influence his offensive ethic. The Pistons don't play that way; for Hamilton to see substantial floor time, he's got to D up. Has he? Yes and no. But he's added about 10 pounds of muscle to his rookie frame and slowly is learning the art of Detroit defense.

Zeljko Rebraca, Detroit Pistons (B-): When we rooted out Rebraca as our February 2002 "Rising Star," we deserved kudos. Since that time, however, Zelly's game has plateaued. A bona fide NBA center on a largely centerless team (in a mostly-pivotless league), the third-year pro simply hasn't made the most of his opportunity in Detroit, a situation further complicated by a recently diagnosed irregular heartbeat. Rebraca's 2002-03 numbers are essentially equal to those of last season, although he has upped his shooting percentage some 50 points.

Michael Bradley, Toronto Raptors (C+): Our very first "Rising Star" ended college on a high note (an unbelievable .692 shooting percentage for Villanova), fell fast in his 2001-02 rookie season (1.2 ppg in 4.5 mpg), and has been making his way back since then, posting extremely good rebounding numbers in relatively limited action.

Dan Dickau, Atlanta Hawks (C): We spotlighted Dickau at pretty much the peak of his basketball career, at Gonzaga in January 2002. His mid-major Zags had busted into college's top 10, and Dickau himself was breaking long-distance shooting records left and right. But it that clippings like ours infected the point guard's head: The Zags were upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and his suspect playmaking and casual defense saw him fall to the bottom of the first round of the 2002 NBA draft. The onetime West Coast Conference dreamboat's poor shooting has now tied him to the cold end of lowly Atlanta's bench.

Marc Jackson, Minnesota Timberwolves (D-): OK, so we blew this one--but it was only our second time out [April 2001]. At the time, the Golden State Warriors rookie was averaging 13.2 ppg and 7.5 rpg en route to being named our 2000-01 Rookie of the Year. With the award in hand, Jackson was heading out to join the Rockets the next fall as a free agent when Golden State swept in and matched Houston's offer. Seventeen games later, his trade value having dwindled to a rose of Spaldings, Jackson was dealt to Minnesota. Since then, he has seen his numbers dwindle to about a third of his rookie production.

Chris Marcus, Western Kentucky (Incomplete): While others slept on the Hilltoppers pivot, Marcus was our top collegiate center two years running. Unfortunately for Marcus, he played in only 19 games in his final two college campaigns, succumbing to an ankle injury in February that ended his college career. While his 16.7 ppg on .547 shooting, 12.1 rpg, and 3.1 bpg in an incredible 2000-01 season merited "Rising Star" status, Marcus' fragility casts significant doubt on his future.