Kansas basketball: 5 Jayhawks who didn’t live up to the NBA hype

These Kansas basketball stars were NBA busts.

The Kansas Jayhawks are one of the true blue bloods in college basketball, producing many winning teams and elite players. Stars like Wilt Chamberlain and Paul Pierce have suited up for the Jayhawks and gone on to have great NBA careers.

Playing for Kansas basketball isn’t a lock for NBA stardom, however, as these five players will attest. Let’s take a look at five Jayhawks who ended up as NBA busts.

5. Kansas basketball NBA busts: Raef LaFrentz

One of Pierce’s teammates at Kansas, LaFrentz was one of the most dominant big men in college basketball. A two-time All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year, LaFrentz appeared to be a future star at the professional level.

LaFrentz was taken third overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1998 NBA Draft, ahead of Pierce and other future stars like Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and Dirk Nowitzki. A knee injury limited LaFrentz to just 12 games in his rookie year, but he did appear to show some promise in his second year, participating in All-Star weekend as a member of the Sophomore team.

The highlight of LaFrentz’s career was leading the Western Conference in shot-blocking in the 2001-02 season, the one accomplishment of note in a solid ten-year run as an NBA player. LaFrentz was a fine rotational player but never became the franchise type of guy the Nuggets thought they were getting at No. 3.