I'm not talking about busts like Kwame Brown or players who suffered injuries or health problems beyond their control. I'm talking about good players who could have easily been HOF players but just didn't put in the effort and had the work ethic to make themselves great. I think that Derrick Coleman might be such a person. He could have been one of the greatest power forwards of all time and easily a HOF. But he basically had the attitude and work ethic of Cato even though he was probably more talented than Malone. He still had a decent career but not the career he could have had if he cared and tried harder.
Roy Tarpley, Isiah Rider, Stanley Roberts, Benoit Benjamen, Oliver Miller... just off the top of my head.
You've gotta be kidding me... Barkley was listed 6'6" and was playing as a power forward. In reality he was probably closer to 6'5". He had insane athleticism and a nearly incomparable work ethic. He came into the league as a rebounding specialist and developed into an offensive weapon. Every sports analyst in the country didn't think he would amount to anything because of his size. If anything, he OVER-achieved. As for Ray Allen...I think he's playing pretty well up to what he's capable of doing. He's no Kobe or TMac.
Alan Houston Shawn Bradley Christian Laetner Sam Bowie Eddie Jones Nick Van Exel Danny Ferry Bobby Hurley Jacque Vaughn
All right first Barkley: He's had an amazing career for sure and is in the hall of fame so maybe that disqualifies him. But I just feel like the guy could have done more. He was just so talented that he should have won it all sometime and been more than what he was. The Chuckster himself says that he should have taken better care of his body and had less partying. I feel the same way about Ray Allen although he's a different case. Ray does work out hard and take care of himself, but he's just too passive a player when it matters. He's allowing himself to be a Reggie Miller / Richard Hamilton type player when he could be so much more. That's my reasoning for those 2 guys.
that interpretation of his game is way off base. he is a much more complete player and has proven to be the number one player on all his teams at most all times. reggie was not always the best player on his teams, though he is clutch, so it's not a bad comparison cuz miller is one of the better shooting SG's of recent history...but hamilton simply doesn't take over like Ray Allen. Ray Allen isn't one dimentional like those two.
Rasheed. He's about as long and big as Duncan, with better athleticism, and similar touch. Yet he's content to be more of a role player. He's a great defender, but you have to wonder why he doesn't average 20 and 10. He tends to camp outside the 3-point line, and usually only tries to take a game over when he gets mad.
I agree, not sure how I forgot him. A few years back when he was still in Portland, I thought he was more talented than Duncan and had a wider arsenal that he could devastate you with. The real problem, as you mentioned, was that Rasheed never cared about being a Superstar and being mentioned in the same breath as KG and Duncan and other dominant PFs in the league. He's never sought out that kind of role, so I think him being 'content' with just being "one of the guys" will be a major factor in why he will never be remembered as a HOF.
