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What if....players?

BuffLuke80

BuffLuke80

Well-Known Member
I was thinking about this for whatever reason, boredom I guess? Anyway, I was thinking about players, in whatever sport, would've been had they not got injured, in trouble, or anything else. There have been so many it's kinda hard to narrow it down. Bo Jackson is an easy one, dude was a Goddamn nightmare. Who else? I'd probably put Mike Tyson in there, not for just what he was convicted of, but he wasn't the same dude after Buster Douglas kicked his ass. Even though he's a HOFer, no telling what Bill Walton would've done had he not all the foot problems and what not. Len Bias is also a no brainer. I guess I can't leave out Muhammad Ali because of prison time and many consider him the best of all time, what if he didn't do that time? I know most of those guys are established and recognized, I'm talking about a little bit of both. Jim Brown is another one that still had gas in the tank that left early for a better cause. I know I'm forgetting some but those come to mind. What say you? Mods, move this to the Pub if need be, I was reading the football board and forgot to switch over, my bad.
 
The comps for Len Bias in the NBA that I frequently see are James Worthy or Dominique Wilkins as an off the ball scorer. His loss probably cost the Celtics some championships, and they certainly would’ve been a better foil to the dominance of the Bulls during that time. On a cultural level, Bias’ death was a symbolic low point for the urban east coast, and amped up the disastrous war on drugs in the mid to late eighties.

I think Dwight Gooden could’ve been a top ten all time great pitcher if not for his drug use.
 
Those guys are all over the place and we have had our share locally.

What kind of numbers would Terrell Davis have put up had he not had his knee blown out on a freak play? Antonio McDyess dominated before knee injuries.

The old ABA (American Basketball Association for those too young to remember) was full of talented players who killed careers with a straw and white powder.

The biggest example was David Thompson who was the player Michael Jordan said he wanted to pattern his game after. DT was able to jump over almost anyone and do amazing things in the air. He wasn't able to overcome his addiction to nose candy which resulted in him blowing out a knee dancing at Studio 53. Thankfully he was later able to overcome the addiction but he was never the same player.
 
Being that he’s my all time favorite non CU player and he played for my favorite NFL team, the obvious one is Michael Vick.

These next three are minor but ones I’ve thought about.

- Darrell Scott if someone was able to get his mindset about being healthy/focused right.

- Tyler Hansen if he didn’t get the Dan Hawkins treatment

- Marcus Depree
 
Not so famous, but closer to home…I was so bummed when Donnie Boyce broke his leg (badly) at the very end of season. Still got drafted (late) and took a long time to heal and debute…but was only a short time in the NBA…did a stint for the Globegrotters. Would have loved seeing him play in the league without having been injured.
 
Kenyon Martin and Grant Hill. Both had nice careers, but both could have been all-time guys if not for injury.

First guy I think of with basketball, though, is Bernard King. Destroyed his knee right as he'd hit his peak and was the top bucket getter in the NBA.
 
Bread said:
Being that he’s my all time favorite non CU player and he played for my favorite NFL team, the obvious one is Michael Vick.

These next three are minor but ones I’ve thought about.

- Darrell Scott if someone was able to get his mindset about being healthy/focused right.

- Tyler Hansen if he didn’t get the Dan Hawkins treatment

- Marcus Depree
Click to expand...

The 30 for 30 on Marcus Dupree is one of my favorites and is so aptly named. And despite all the issues that prevented him from coming remotely close to what he could have been he seems totally at peace, just driving a truck these days.
 
George Edward "Rube" Waddell


MLB statistics
Win–loss record193–143
Earned run average2.16
Strikeouts2,316
In 1905, Waddell won a Triple Crown for pitching. He finished with a 27–10 win–loss record, 287 strikeouts, and a 1.48 earned run average (ERA). It was Waddell's fourth consecutive season to finish with 20 or more wins.
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*Arguably better pitch than Cy Young in that era, but…

Waddell's career wound through a number of teams. He was notably unpredictable; early in his career, he once left in the middle of a game to go fishing.[2] He also had a longstanding fascination with fire trucks and ran off the field to chase after them during games on multiple occasions.[3] He would disappear for months at a time during the offseason, and it was not known where he went until it was discovered that he was wrestling alligators in a circus.[4] He was easily distracted by opposing fans who held up puppies, which caused him to run over to play with them, and shiny objects, which seemed to put him in a trance.[5]
Click to expand...
Waddell enjoyed waving his teammates off the field and then striking out the side.
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Greg Oden was a cant miss prospect, but his knees didn't hold up.
Knee and back injuries for Ralph Sampson.
Derrick Rose was an MVP before his injuries.
Drazen Petrovic was a star at 28 before his car crash.
Andrew Luck, concussions and leg injuries stopped his bright career.
Alex Smith had a nice career until a gruesome leg injury and issues rehabbing.
Gayle Sayers.
Robert Edwards had over 1100 yards rushing as a rookie in 1998 but was injured at a Pro Bowl activity and never played again.
Tony Canigliaro gruesome eye injury on the field.
Mike Trout only had 5 healthy seasons.
Payne Stewart died in a plane accident.
Brandon Roy was elite before his injury
Sam Bowie was the poster child for injuries for a decade or two
Brad Daughtery was a 5 time all-star before back problems ended his career at 28.
Monica Seles was never the same after she was stabbed.
Eric Lindross was forced to retire at 25.
But for my dollar, it's Bo Jackson. Could have been a hall of fame NFL player and who knows in baseball if he wasn't playing after a hip replacement.
Second would be Ernie Davis. Heisman trophy winner was diagnosed with leukemia right before his first NFL training camp. I mean, his nickname was The Express!

Not a player, but Jim Valvano passed at 47 - young in terms of college basketball head coaches
 
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I have said it before, but Kordell Stewart with the right coaching in modern offenses would be a superstar.

Andrew Luck is also a great call. Legitimately the best QB prospect of the 21st century IMO, but the Colts could not keep him upright.
 
Falconetti said:
Not so famous, but closer to home…I was so bummed when Donnie Boyce broke his leg (badly) at the very end of season. Still got drafted (late) and took a long time to heal and debute…but was only a short time in the NBA…did a stint for the Globegrotters. Would have loved seeing him play in the league without having been injured.
Click to expand...
Trying to think of the CU guard (think it might have been Richard Robie) who passed up a likely late 1st round draft choice in the NBA to come back to CU for his senior season only to have a devastating knee injury. Was never the same again.
 
Duff Man said:
I have said it before, but Kordell Stewart with the right coaching in modern offenses would be a superstar.

Andrew Luck is also a great call. Legitimately the best QB prospect of the 21st century IMO, but the Colts could not keep him upright.
Click to expand...
Slash in either the RichRod, Chip or Briles college offenses would have been a Heisman.

I don't think people fully appreciate how great he was. Even won an AFC Offensive POY in a traditional offense playing as a pocket passer.
 
Duff Man said:
I have said it before, but Kordell Stewart with the right coaching in modern offenses would be a superstar.

Andrew Luck is also a great call. Legitimately the best QB prospect of the 21st century IMO, but the Colts could not keep him upright.
Click to expand...
++++ on both of these.

NFL coaches now know what to do with a QB who has Kordell's skill set, and arguably he was even more talented than some of the top guys now. Better passer than Lamar Jackson, etc.

Luck is the perfect example of fit being everything for young QBs. With a competent organization he could have been a HOF contender.

Along those lines David Carr who got drafted by the expansion Houston Texans and ended up sacked a league record 76 times his rookie year and 249 times in 5 years with the Texans. He probably still ducks and braces for the hits in his sleep.
 
Buffnik said:
Slash in either the RichRod, Chip or Briles college offenses would have been a Heisman.

I don't think people fully appreciate how great he was. Even won an AFC Offensive POY in a traditional offense playing as a pocket passer.
Click to expand...
If they had even started the conversion from option QB one year earlier at CU I would have loved to have seen the results.
 
Duff Man said:
I have said it before, but Kordell Stewart with the right coaching in modern offenses would be a superstar.

Andrew Luck is also a great call. Legitimately the best QB prospect of the 21st century IMO, but the Colts could not keep him upright.
Click to expand...

Buffnik said:
Slash in either the RichRod, Chip or Briles college offenses would have been a Heisman.

I don't think people fully appreciate how great he was. Even won an AFC Offensive POY in a traditional offense playing as a pocket passer.
Click to expand...
I am not old enough to have been able to watch Kordell while possessing actual football knowledge but from all the clips and old tapes I’ve watched of him, I feel like he would have been a better passing version of Lamar Jackson. Probably not a crazy take though
 
Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.

With Zambrano the Cubs could have had a run of dominant pitching to rival what Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz did for the Braves.

The way Dusty Baker wore them out likely precipitated the transition to religiously monitoring pitch counts and innings limits.

Wood recovered OK, and still had a very nice career, but he could have done twice as much of his arm had held up better. Prior was even better than Wood, and never got it back after his first surgery.
 
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