Tmac in 1999, was an okay scorer, but being the 2nd option behind the poster boy Vince Carter, he was asked to play sort of the point forward...didn't get to display his scoring as much. He handled the ball, he played great defense, he ran the lanes on a fast break with Vince on the other side (every pg's dream) and he would shoot the occasional 3 if it came to him. He was skilled, but still somewhat raw. He wasn't as smooth as he was by 2002. In his 1st year with Orlando, he had a decent jumper, but he still relied a lot on his athleticism. But Tmac had physical gifts that many players don't have...at 6'8 he ran a 4.3 40 yard dash, he had a 42-44 inch vertical, and he had very long arms and big hands. He had all the tools to be a superstar. He had to learn bball IQ, as he was just a defender when he 1st came in with Toronto. He had to learn how to handle the ball well enough to be the point forward type of player. He also had to increase his range and improve his touch to become that elite player Through hard work, he improved in every area of his game, just like Kobe Bryant, KG, Jermaine O'Neal, Rashard Lewis ,etc These guys weren't perfect coming out of high school...they had a lot of potential though. These things don't happen very often...I think Tmac coming straight from high school didn't make it as surprising, since he was only 18 at the time with some great physical tools. But we've seen many come straight from high school or after a year of college and fail miserably. Somebody mentioned Steve Nash, I'll add Sam Cassell, Allen Houston, Gilbert Arenas came out of nowhere in Golden State, same with Michael Redd, Hedo Turkoglu to a much lesser extent, Ginobili and Parker, Dirk, Billups, Gerald Wallace to a much lesser extent, Joe Johnson, Ben Wallace Usually it takes experience and a system that fits to allow a player to become a good to great player. Cassell, Houston, Hedo, Redd, G. Wallace...those guys were good players, and borderline all stars. They weren't great all around players. Tmac, Arenas, Nash, Dirk Joe Johnson, Billups, became very good all around players, thats what makes their stories even more amazing...kind of came out of nowhere and made a big splash. But physical capabilities/gifts, and skill set has a lot to do with it...consistency is the key to becoming great.
In deed, the most similar story to T-Mac's is Arenas. One person not mentioned is Shawn Marion to a lesser extent. He went from a 2nd rounder nobody to a borderline allstar in one breakout season.
Exactly what I was thinking. It will be interesting to see how things turn out next year, but Ariza definitely has the potential. Time will Tell.
haha. lol at the OP. that was exactly what I thought he WAS TRYING to word up with a thread title such as this. But no, he has to say Von Wafer lmao....... TMAC was very different thatn Trevor. He had a much higher ceiling. There's a reason he was offered a max contract after three years in the league.
I'm surprised to see no one mention Monta Ellis or Rashard Lewis, both 2nd rounders. Monta isn't an all star yet. Rashard is a start but not superstar.
Oh yeah, and as much as I hate to say it Carlos Boozer could be one. 2nd round pick out of Duke wasn't projected to be a star.
Stephen Jackson is borderline well he's not a superstar but he's turned out to be more than the role player he was in San Antonio.
i think what u should have asked is who became an all-nba player right away after being a relative unknown
I thought that too. But some poster mentioned he does not have the ball-handling skills and his offensive arsenal is limited and some athletes cant develop those skills late in their career. Basically, what we see of Ariza in the playoffs is what we will see in his Houston tenure. He won't turn ala Tmac...
