College Basketball: LeBron James & Preps to Pros Who Would've Changed a Program

Kevin Garnett was the first player in 20 years to go from high school in to the NBA when he made the jump in the 1995-96 season. Nine years later, the NBA barred preps players from entering the draft until their graduating class had been removed for a year.

During that nine year span, prep players were taken number one overall three times. It produced two Rookie of the Year winners(Amar'e Stoudemire and LeBron James) and countless all-stars.

What if the rule was put into place before Kevin Garnett blazed a trail for future preps to pros stars?

Here are 10 preps to pros that would have changed college programs.

Kobe Bryant: Duke

Kobe has made it clear, if he had gone to college it would have been Duke, to play for Mike Kryzewski. As successful as Duke has been, what would Duke have looked like with Kobe in Durham for the 1996-97 season.

The Blue Devils were a tournament team, but they were eliminated in the second round by Providence. Move over Trajan Langdon, 'nuff respect to the Alaskan Assassin, but the Black Mamba would have taken over that team.

Kobe may have carried that Duke team to the national championship as a freshman.

Kevin Garnett: Michigan

KG never seriously considered college as he had problems getting a qualifying score on the ACT or SAT, so this school choice is purely speculation. It seems like a logical fit though, not far removed from the Fab Five era that took the young basketball world by storm. Garnett would have been great in Ann Arbor.

The 1995-96 Wolverines recruiting class would have been almost as awesome as the Fab-Five with Garnett joining Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock. Bullock, Garnett and Traylor teaming with Maceo Baston and Maurice Taylor would have surely gotten the Wolverines past the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Eddy Curry: DePaul

Talk about two parties that need each other. Curry had signed a letter of intent to go to DePaul, but ultimately declared for the 2001 NBA Draft. 

The Blue Demons, as they were still known then, would surely have been better than the 9-19 they were without Curry. At least the school would have had an NCAA appearance and Curry would have had a little more time to hone his skills before adult life came calling.

Amar'e Stoudemire: Memphis

Considering Stoudemire and his brothers' living conditions, it is certainly understandable why he made the jump to the NBA. Prior to entering the draft, he had committed to Memphis.

Stoudemire would have joined a 23-win Tigers team that already had Rodney Carney and Chris Massie. Amar'e could have feasibly helped carry them to the Final Four or further.

Dwight Howard: North Carolina

The 2004-2005 North Carolina Tar Heels won the national championship. Had Howard attended they may have been the greatest team in college basketball history. Howard stated in his own blog that had he gone to college it would have been to Chapel Hill.

D-12, teamed with Raymond Felton, Sean May, Rashad McCants and Marvin Williams would have been nearly unbeatable.

Tracy McGrady: Kentucky

T-Mac is a Big Blue fan. He stated that he roots for the Wildcats, because if he had gone to college that is the school he would have chosen. .

Well, the Wildcats won the national championship without him in 1997-98. But McGrady would have obviously started over Allen Edwards at the small forward position. Alongside Nazr Mohammed, Scott Padgett, Wayne Turner and Jeff Sheppard, McGrady would have made the Wildcats one of the better NCAA champions.

Rashard Lewis: Houston

Before Rashard Lewis became the poster child for the upcoming amnesty clause, he was a stand out performer from Alief Elsik High School in Houston, TX. 

Lewis is a proud Texan who has been trying to get back to play in his home city since he has been in the league.

So, it seems to make sense to reason that he would have played for the University of Houston. The program hasn't been relevant since the Phi-Slamma Jamma days of Hakeem Olajuwon. Lewis would have possibly delivered the team to the NCAA tournament.

Darius Miles: St. John's

Miles had committed to the Red Storm, but he chose not to attend and entered the draft in 2000. He was the first prep to pros to make first team All-Rookie. His career was disappointing from that point on.

Had he gone to St. John's, the Red Storm would have almost certainly been much better than the 14-15 they were that year. Miles would have teamed with Omar Cook and Anthony Glover, not too intimidating, but a nice college team.

Shaun Livingston: Duke

Livingston was committed to play at Duke. That 2004-05 Duke team could have used him as they were eliminated in the Sweet 16. Livingston would have fit in well with JJ Redick, Daniel Ewing and Shelden Williams.

Instead, Livingston has struggled to recover from a horrific knee injury he suffered early in his career.

LeBron James: Ohio State

LeBron had several schools listed as possibilities, but Ohio State seems like the likely choice here. Any team LeBron went to in any major conference would have become a national championship contender.

LeBron would probably have flirted with suiting up in football for the Buckeyes as well. The Bucks were just 14-16 that year. James would probably have made them somewhere in the neighborhood of 27-7 with a nice tournament run.

Then, just like the pros, he would have left an Ohio based team to fall apart in his absence.