Since the 2006 rule prohibiting players from going straight from high school to the NBA was instituted, it has been constantly debated and scrutinized. For those of you who do not support the rule, here are some of the success stories of players that made the jump and landed just fine…
#8 Jermaine O'Neal
Despite an outstanding HS career at Eau Claire HS in South Carolina, O’Neal’s basketball career almost ended before it began after scoring poorly on the SAT’s. But after some mentoring by his HS coach, he straightened out and was chosen as the #17 pick in the '96 NBA Draft. After playing minor minutes off the Portland bench over his first 4 seasons, Jemaine blossomed into a perrenial All Star and elite level shot blocker in Indiana.
Career Stats: 14.2 ppg, 7.5 rebs, 1.9 blk
