Hoop Teens: From High School to NBA riches?

This is the first in a five-part series reviewing the NBA draft since 2005.

The 2005 NBA draft was the last one to allow entry to players directly out of high school. Nine of the 60 selections in that draft turned out to be preps. The final nine players to turn pro from high school are: Martell Webster (No. 6 overall), Andrew Bynum (No. 10), Gerald Green (No. 18), C.J. Miles (No. 34), Ricky Sanchez (No. 35), Monta Ellis (No. 40), Louis Williams (No. 45), Andray Blatche (No. 49),  and Amir Johnson (No. 56).

Of the nine, Sanchez is the only one not currently in the league. Webster, Bynum, Miles and Ellis are regular starters for their respective teams while Green, Williams and Blatche are complimentary players. Johnson, on the other hand, has yet to make a meaningful dent in the NBA. Here are brief capsules on each player:

Martell Webster: One of the key players on a young Portland Trail Blazers team. Webster (AP photo below) broke out in the 2007-08 season when he started 70 of the 75 games he played in and averaged a career-high 10.7 points a game. His growth was slowed this past season as he missed the entire year with a severe foot injury.

Martell Webster was the first of nine high schoolers taken in the 2005 NBA draft, the last one allowing direct entry into the league.

Andrew Bynum: Fresh off his first NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, Bynum is one of the NBA’s top young centers. His breakout came in 2007-08 when he averaged a double-double. Injuries,  though, have limited him to just 85 regular-season games the past two seasons.

Gerald Green: Currently with the Dallas Mavericks, his fourth NBA team. Injuries and inconsistency have limited Green’s career minutes per game average to just 16. His best season came in 2006-07 with the Boston Celtics as he averaged 10.4 points a game mostly coming off the bench. Green’s biggest achievement as a pro is winning the 2007 NBA slam dunk contest.

C.J. Miles: Coming off his best pro season as he started all 72 games he played in for the Utah Jazz. Playing more minutes than ever before, Miles averaged 9.1 points a game for a Jazz team that shares the ball well.

Ricky Sanchez: Had signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Memphis before changing his mind and entering the 2005 draft. The Trail Blazers drafted him but immediately dealt him to the Denver Nuggets for the rights to Jarret Jack. Sanchez played on the Nuggets’ summer league team but failed to make the NBA squad. Most recently was playing in the Puerto Rican league, CBA and NBDL.

Monta Ellis: Probably the most accomplished of the ‘05 high schoolers drafted, Ellis (AP photo below) is one of the NBA’s rising stars. He established himself as a starter in his second season and is an explosive scorer who fits the Golden State Warriors’ run-and-gun style to a tee. Averaged 19+ per game over the last two seasons, despite playing in just 25 games last season due to injury. Ellis won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for the 2006-07 season.

Monta Ellis' scoring average increased by almost 10 points per game from his rookie season, earning him the NBA's Most Improved Player award for 2006-07.

Louis Williams: Has improved his scoring average in every season with the Philadelphia 76ers, including a career-high 12.8 this past season. Could break into the starting lineup next season if point guard Andre Miller leaves free agency. Williams could benefit from bulking up and working more on his ballhandling and passing skills.

Andray Blatche: Coming off the best season of his career, though it came out of necessity with the Washington Wizards having numerous injuries. Averaged 10 points and 5 rebounds in 2008-09, but for a player who’s 6-11 and 248 lbs., Blatche is considered somewhat soft and unsure of what type of player he wants to be. There are also questions about his motivation.

Amir Johnson: Has a 3.7 career scoring average in just 135 career games. Johnson remains a project at the pro level. The Detroit Pistons apparently ran out of patience and dealt him to the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason. The fresh start may help Johnson turn his career around.

The group of nine has mostly stayed out of trouble, though there have been some off-court issues which have raised maturity concerns. While rehabbing a knee injury this past season, Bynum was photographed at a Playboy party hoisting a playmate. Ellis irked Warriors personnel by lying about an ankle injury before the start of last season. He originally said he was injured playing a pickup game in August but it was later revealed that a low-speed moped accident caused the damage. Riding a moped was in violation of his contract and Ellis was suspended 30 games by the team, though he wouldn’t have played in those games anyways because of the injury. Finally, Blatche had an embarrassing arrest in August 2007 where he was charged with sexual solicitation. Blatche has also been cited before for driving on a suspended license and in his rookie year was the victim of an attempted armed carjacking. Blatche suffered gunshot wounds but recovered to appear in 29 games that year.

Here are the number of selections in the ‘05 draft based on experience (first-round total in parenthesis):

- High School: 9 (3)
- Freshmen: 1 (1)
- Sophomores: 7 (4)
- Juniors: 11 (9)
- Seniors: 18 (9)
- Foreigners: 14 (4)

Going with my simple classification of underclassmen as sophomores and lower, that means that roughly 28% of the 2005 draft was underclassmen. And that’s not even taking the foreign players into account, many of whom are just as young in most cases.

Forty of 60 players selected were on NBA rosters at the end of the 2008-09 season, including 16 starters. Three starters were taken in the second round: Ellis, Miles and the  Minnesota Timberwolves’ Ryan Gomes.