Duke basketball: 5 Blue Devil greats who didn’t live up to the NBA hype

1. Duke basketball NBA busts: Danny Ferry

Another highly accomplished Duke player who never lived up to the hype as a pro was forward Danny Ferry. After a stellar high school career, Ferry came to Duke and helped the Blue Devils reach the Final Four three times as a collegian.

Ferry was a natural scorer, setting the Duke single-game record for points in a game with 58, and took home numerous All-America and all-conference awards. A two-time ACC Player of the Year, Ferry was widely expected to be an outstanding NBA player.

The Los Angeles Clippers selected Ferry with the second overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft but he refused to play for the franchise. After spending his first professional season in Italy, where he averaged 23 points per game, the Clippers traded Ferry’s draft rights to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a deal that netted them Ron Harper and a bundle of draft picks.

The Cavaliers immediately locked up Ferry to a 10-year deal worth $34 million in hopes that he would emerge as the next NBA superstar. Ferry turned into a solid role player for the Cavaliers but only averaged double-figures in points once, a far cry from the dominant potential he showcased in college and Italy.

While Jay Williams and Bobby Hurley had their careers impacted by injury, Ferry was simply a guy who dominated at Duke and didn’t carry that success over to the NBA. Given how high the hopes were for Ferry as a pro he is clearly the biggest disappointment for Duke alums as a pro.

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