Who is the best American athlete never fulfilled his early?

Question

Promise in college,and never made it to the pro's

either through drugs, behavior issues, taking money etc.

I enjoy books on american collegiant scandals and have thought about this a lot....

Answer 1

ralph beard. college scandle definatly would have been a n b a hall of famer. gambling. connie hawkins did get to n b a . and the hall. kevin nash became pro wrestler. would have been bird , johnson , player . through death ernie davis football. basketball player died car crash . boston celtic first round pick.  

Answer 2

The first one that comes to mind is Len Bias, the University of Maryland superstar who was selected #2 in the 1986 NBA draft by Boston.  He decided to celebrate by overdosing on cocaine less than 2 days after the draft.

Another one off the top of my head is Maurice Clarett.  Maybe this is a bad example.  Yeah he was drafted but was one of the first cuts early in camp, and is now in prison.  That kid has got problems.

This one is not bad, but worth mentioning.  Eli Herring of BYU, one of the top rated Offensive Tackles in the country in 1995 and a certain first day pick notified every NFL team that he will not participate in the draft, because his religious beliefs prevented him from playing on Sunday.  None the less was taken in the 6th round by the Raiders (another wasted pick by Big Al)