THERE WON'T BE a Big 5 player selected in the first round of the NBA draft for the fifth consecutive season. In fact, only 18 Big 5 players have been taken in the first round since 1985, the first year of the lottery.
The lottery came not long after ESPN. Once some of the best local high school players got a look at the Atlantic Coast Conference and the other major conferences on television, it was that much more difficult to keep the best local high school players in the city.
So, Rasheed Wallace, from Simon Gratz, went to North Carolina, instead of Temple or Villanova. Wallace was a lottery pick. The Morris twins, from Prep Charter, went to Kansas. Marcus and Markieff will each be selected in the first round on Thursday.
Back in the day, there were no high school players in the draft, few early entries, no international players. Thus, it has become more difficult to get into the first round.
Since 1985, the Big 5 has had some serious players, including two national players of the year. So, it is not as if there has been no talent in the city.
It has been clustered in two programs - Villanova and Temple. Those two schools account for 13 of the first-rounders. Since the NBA began, Villanova (40) has the most NBA players, followed by Temple (33), La Salle (22), Saint Joseph's (17) and Penn (12).
Anytime one uses the word "best," it can almost always be debated. But, if you go by points scored and All-Star appearances, two reasonable measuring sticks, the best NBA player from the Big 5 in the lottery era is Temple's Eddie Jones.
His 14,153 points are far more than anybody else. He was on three All-Star teams. Only one other player during this time frame has made an All-Star team. Jones was incredibly consistent, a 17- to 20-point scorer for seven seasons with great range and an explosive finish.
In fact, if you go back in history, only one player from a city school ever scored more NBA points than Jones. Villanova's legendary Hall of Famer, Paul Arizin, scored 16,266 points and made 10 All-Star teams.
Only four players have scored more than 10,000 points. The other two are La Salle's Larry Foust (11,198) and Temple's wondrous point guard, Guy Rodgers (10,415). Rodgers also had 6,917 assists. Why he is not in the Basketball Hall of Fame is an enduring mystery.
La Salle's Tom Gola (7,871 points) is the only other Hall of Famer who played at a city college. He was a good NBA player and one of the best in college history.
