The Lenny Cooke Documentary airs TODAY on Showtime

If Telfair went to college he wouldn't of made it to the NBA, he knew he had to get the money.

I thought Lance was done for when he went to Cincy and then didn't play that year in Indy.

The next few people in NYC are Isaiah Whitehead, Khadeen Carrington (both going to Seton Hall) and Chris McCollough (Syracuse). Let's see what happens
 
awwsome said:
goldenchild9 said:
Lenny would've been a force in the league with the right supporting system.

Kid was a PROBLEM. Potential through the roof.

If a team took a chance on him in that draft, he'd be averaging at least 14 and 5 right now.

This is one of the best sports docs I've ever seen too.
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Lotta hyperbole there, he was great for his age and had a lot of potential but nobody knows if he would've been a force or what his numbers would be.

We've seen more guys then I care to remember with hype get to the league and not pan out, Lenny is just more mystified because he never even got that far.

Also if he was that much of a can't miss prospect, a team would've at least took him in the 2nd round ala Lance Stephenson
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Seen dude play up close and personal several times.

Difference between Lance and Lenny is that one went to college, the other took almost 2 years off from HS and had health questions hovering over his head.

Saw Lance play against my HS alma mater several times too, Lenny was a better player at the same age. He was #1 in the nation at the time over LeBron and Carmelo for a reason. Kid was super talented.

If Lenny had gotten drafted, didn't melt down and soaked up that professional level training he would've been a factor.

Beast on the boards, could bang in the post, could shoot from outside, could handle the ball and you could run an offense through him because of his passing ability.

Him and Lance had similar games, except Lenny was bigger and better earlier.
 
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Sad story.
He needed a mentor.
Agents, entourage and hustlers gave him bad advice.

This happens all the time unfortunately. It just sucks for Lenny cuz he could go toe to toe with future all stars
 
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goldenchild9 said:
awwsome said:
goldenchild9 said:
Lenny would've been a force in the league with the right supporting system.

Kid was a PROBLEM. Potential through the roof.

If a team took a chance on him in that draft, he'd be averaging at least 14 and 5 right now.

This is one of the best sports docs I've ever seen too.
Click to expand...

Lotta hyperbole there, he was great for his age and had a lot of potential but nobody knows if he would've been a force or what his numbers would be.

We've seen more guys then I care to remember with hype get to the league and not pan out, Lenny is just more mystified because he never even got that far.

Also if he was that much of a can't miss prospect, a team would've at least took him in the 2nd round ala Lance Stephenson
Click to expand...

Seen dude play up close and personal several times.

Difference between Lance and Lenny is that one went to college, the other took almost 2 years off from HS and had health questions hovering over his head.

Saw Lance play against my HS alma mater several times too, Lenny was a better player at the same age. He was #1 in the nation at the time over LeBron and Carmelo for a reason. Kid was super talented.

If Lenny had gotten drafted, didn't melt down and soaked up that professional level training he would've been a factor.

Beast on the boards, could bang in the post, could shoot from outside, could handle the ball and you could run an offense through him because of his passing ability.

Him and Lance had similar games, except Lenny was bigger and better earlier.
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Spot on. Repped. Did you see him at Old Tappan or when he was in NY?


PMatic said:
Wasn't Lenny older than most in his HS class too? He was like 20. :lol:
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He was only a year older than his class. Similar to JR Smith.
 
Saw him play in Jersey, Gauchos, Riverside and Rucker.

My cousin was a top 10 Jersey State Prep recruit at the time too.

Lenny's listed at 6'6" but he has to be taller than that. He handled the ball and passed like a guard, similar to Lance, but he operated like a PF in the post.
 
I saw Lenny play in person as well even though I was real young and don't remember that much but he was a beast.

I just think you're discounting the difference in the level of competition between HS/AAU/Streetball leagues and the NBA

I've seen NBA bums come through Streetball leagues/Rucker and look like 1st teamers

Don't even get me started on how many guys put up crazy numbers in HS/AAU to be playing the D-League/Europe or worse.

You're also acting like he didn't have the chance to show his talent multiple times after going undrafted yet still didn't end up on a NBA roster

Wasn't like there were super red flags around him besides the 2 year break or he was blackballed. If he was a can't miss guy, he still would have ended up in the L.

Lenny definitely looked more like 6'8 than 6'6 though.
 
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Bassy would've been a much better player if he went to college and played under Pitino or Calipari like he was supposed to.

As a PG, learning discipline and how to use your talents to run a team on a higher level is a must. Can't just jump straight playing with teenagers to the professional level when you play the most demanding and nuanced position on the floor.

There's never been a successful HS to NBA PG.

Even if CP3 jumped straight from HS to the league, he still wouldn't be half the player that he is today.
 
Livingston would have been successful if his leg didn't almost detach from his body, he had all the tools
 
The HS/streetball to the league is a HUGE jump. Always arguing with my people about that. Even street legends like Skip end up being NBA journeymen....but with Lenny's physical ability and natural feel for the game, I def think he could've at least been on a Boris Diaw type level if he had NBA level training and exposure and was able to stand up to it mentally.

I was surprised that he didn't get picked up after his summer league stint.

As a raw product, he was clearly better than guys that went to college and ended up playing in the L.

I think the biggest knock on his was his mentality.

 
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awwsome said:
Livingston would have been successful if his leg didn't almost detach from his body, he had all the tools
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Very true almost forgot about Shaun.

But even as a 6'7" PG, he struggled adjusting to the NBA learning curve at the 1 position.
 
^Hey I'll try to do for that for you. I found another short story about Lenny at ABCD camp in 01 in one of my slam magazines. Former Dookie Dahntay Jones was a counselor at the camp and played him 1 on 1 and just dominated him.
 
Looking back at all these 2002 Rankings, most services had already dropped Lenny lower. Was that because of the year off?
 
Your senior year (+ the summer before) is arguably the most important.
 
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