Rewind to the 2005-06 NBA season. The Toronto Raptors finished the year with a 27-55 record, good enough for fifth-worst in the league. The No. 5 prospect for the 2006 NBA Draft was a small forward by the name of Rudy Gay.
The Raptors at the time were very thin at the small forward position but had just used a first-round pick on Joey Graham (one pick ahead of all-star Danny Granger) and wanted to address other areas of need.
It just so happened the Raptors won the Draft Lottery that year and had the opportunity to select Andrea Bargnani with the top pick.
Ahead of the draft, Gay was somewhat of an enigma. Considered a bit of a disappointment in college, many scouts weren’t sure how he would project at the pro level.
With his athleticism and lanky six-foot-nine frame, Gay passed the eye test as a future NBA star. He was primed to be a one-and-done player in college but finished his freshman season at the University of Connecticut as the fourth-leading scorer and rarely dominated the competition.
He returned for his sophomore year, where he led the No. 2-ranked Huskies in scoring before bowing out to George Mason in the NCAA Tournament. However, his lack of killer instinct and penchant for disappearing for long stretches left scouts scratching their heads.
Of course, Gay was selected No. 8 overall in a weak 2006 draft class and became a very solid player in the NBA. Ironically, he has evolved into a fourth-quarter specialist and is considered a clutch player, which is a far cry from his play at the college level.
This year there’s a similar player who is also projected to be drafted in the top 10.
Harrison Barnes was also a big-time small forward recruit coming out of high school and was also considered a bit of a disappointment with North Carolina. An excellent shooter, Barnes has been criticized for his inability to take over with the game on the line.
In an attempt to prove he was worthy of the No. 1 overall pick, Barnes stayed for one more season with a stacked North Carolina team. Though his numbers improved slightly, Barnes, like Gay in 2006, no longer looked like a can’t-miss prospect.
Barnes was in Toronto for a pre-draft workout even though the Raptors are picking at No. 8 this year, which is telling how much his draft stock has fallen.
Barnes, at six-foot-eight and 215 pounds, certainly looks like an NBA small forward but for some, such as him and Gay, the college level just isn’t suitable to their games.
The Raptors passed on Gay in 2006 and have been rumoured to be interested this summer via trade, but if Barnes is somehow around when they are drafting on June 28, they shouldn’t pass on another starter at the small forward position.
