Kentucky basketball: 5 Wildcats who didn’t live up to the NBA hype

4. Kentucky basketball NBA busts: Jamaal Magloire

Let’s take a look at another national champion from Kentucky, center Jamaal Magloire. A sophomore on the Wildcats’ 1998 national championship team, Magloire was well known for his impact on the defensive end.

Magloire finished his Kentucky career as the Wildcats’ all-time shot blocker, leaving the program with 288 blocks. Kentucky got four strong years out of Magloire, who graduated and became the 19th overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets.

The early returns were good for Magloire, who quickly found his way into the Hornets’ starting lineup and made the All-Star team in 2004. That would be the peak for Magloire, who slowly declined after that season.

The Hornets dealt Magloire to the Bucks in 2006 for Anthony Mason and a first-round pick, setting off a string of trades and transactions that defined Magloire as a journeyman player. Magloire ended up suiting up for six more teams but started just 38 more games after the 2005-06 season.

This is nothing against Magloire, who did a good job carving out a long NBA career as a reserve big man. Magloire never did live up to his potential coming out of Kentucky, however, some of which he flashed early on as a member of the Hornets.