'04 High School Basketball—Where Are They Now?

The High School Class of 2004 produced an astounding number of NBA players, many of them lottery selections. 

Using the rankings provided on Rivals.com, I learned what an amazing year it was for basketball.  Basically, if you were born in 1986, there is a good chance you play in the NBA. 

Here is a tour of what these guys were ranked coming out of college, where they went in the draft, and who should get one more chance to make the NBA.

Ranked 131st coming out of H.S. was Rodney Stuckey, who we all now know as the sharp shooting rookie for the Pistons.  Detroit drafted him 15th in 2007.

Ranked 25th coming out of H.S. was Rajon Rondo, who has made a name for himself this year on the Celtics.  Drafted 21st in 2006.

Ranked first coming out of H.S. was Dwight Howard. First pick in '04.

Ranked second coming out of H.S. was Shaun Livingston. Fourth pick in '04.

Ranked third coming out of H.S. was Josh Smith. 17th pick in '04.

We already have a pretty nasty starting five, but we are far from over.

How about a solid power forward?  Al Jefferson (ranked fourth, drafted 15th in '04).

or Al Horford (ranked 36th, drafted third in 2007).

Were there any other lottery picks? Yes!

LaMarcus Aldridge (r. 16th, d. second in '06), Marvin Williams (r. 11th, d. second in '05), Corey Brewer (r. 31st, d. seventh in '07), Joakim Noah (r. 75th, d. ninth in '07), Rudy Gay (r. 5th, d. eighth in '06), and let's not forget Sebastian Telfair (r. sixth, d. 13th in '04).

Have I left out a few names? Yes, again.  Here are a couple of guys that earned a mention: Jordan Farmar (r. 22nd, d. 26th in '06), Kyle Lowry (r. 28th, d. 24th in '06), and Sean Williams (r. 104th, d. 17th in '07).

To keep you current with the playoffs, there's also Glen Davis (r. 13th, d. 35th in '07).

There are a couple of guys who haven't lived up to their potential to date for one reason or another, such as JR Smith (r. eighth, d. 18th in '04), Robert Swift (r. 14th, d. 12th in '04) and Dorell Wright (r. 12th, d. 19th in '04).

That is almost everyone in the NBA from high school graduating class of '04. One name I left out who went undrafted, but was ranked tenth that year, is Randolph Morris. 

After his freshman year at Kentucky, Morris declared himself eligible for the 2006 NBA Draft. He was not drafted, but because he did not hire an agent, Morris was allowed to return to Kentucky to continue playing college basketball.

At the same time, because the NBA's collective bargaining agreement prohibited him from re-entering into a future draft, Morris was also legally an NBA free agent, who could be signed at any time.

This meant he would be able to leave Kentucky in the middle of the college basketball season if signed by an NBA team.

Morris took advantage of being an NBA free agent, and signed a two-year, $1.6 million contract with the New York Knicks on March 23, 2007, five days after Kentucky was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.

Could this guy actually be better than everyone who was ranked behind him? No.

What us Knicks' fans are hoping is this was one thing Isiah Thomas did half way right.  Isiah brought in many players to the Knicks (over 15) and they never performed great, but you have to believe it wasn't always the quality of the player, but rather a function of the lack of team play.