Thank God that Greg Oden didn't turn out to be Felipe Lopez. Remember him? If you got the November 28, 1994 issue of Sports Illustrated he was the veteran of exactly one college game who appeared on a cover heralding the return of the Big East. The funny thing is that SI was right on the money about the conference's return to prominence they just couldn't have been any more wrong about the player bringing it there. Ray Allen, Allen Iverson, Kerry Kittles...some pretty decent college hoopers who didn't play some of their home games in Jamaica. But Lopez? One of the biggest busts ever.
A highly sought after high school senior, Lopez's stock rose even more when he outdueled future Razorback Kareem Reid for the New York City and New York State High School basketball championships while at Rice and generated tons of local publicity by choosing to stay at home and go to St. John's. Teamed with fellow blue-chip recruit Zendon Hamilton, Lopez was supposed to trigger a resurgence for the Red Storm. He didn't and although he finished with the third most career points of any Johnnie he never came close to fulfilling the mammoth expectations he received along with that SI cover. He still got picked 24th in the first round of the 1998 draft and became the first Dominican in the NBA but never got beyond journeyman status and was out of the league after the end of the 2002 season.
Where is he now? Playing for Michael Ray Richardson, the subject of a feature article in today's New York Times, as a member of the Albany Patroons of the CBA. The 32-year old averages about 10 points per game for the club which also features ancient Michigan alum Sean Higgins, another former Johnnie Reggie Jessie and two players, T.J. Thompson and Jamario Moon, who receive A+'s on a midseason report card from the confusingly monikered Professor Duffy of the Troy Record. Confusing because the guy who wrote the article is named Mike Dyer, I can't argue with the grades.
Bill Finley, who wrote each of the Times articles, puts Lopez's chances of returning to the NBA at somewhere between hell and no but the ship be more positive for Micheal Ray. A flamboyant drug abuser during his NBA career, Richardson snorted his way through Europe after being expelled by David Stern before finally getting his life on the straight and narrow. A community relations gig with the Nuggets led to the CBA job and he's earning rave reviews and the honor of coaching the American Conference All-Stars. Could he end up on a NBA sideline?
Phil Jackson, George Karl and Bill Musselman went from coaching the Patroons to coaching N.B.A. teams, and all three were hired in Albany by General Manager Jim Coyne.
“It’s going to happen,” Coyne said. “Someone is going to give him an N.B.A. job as an assistant. From there? Who knows? Goofy things happen in the N.B.A. That’s part of the vicissitudes of life.”
Who would have thought back in November 1994 when Lopez was the peach of the basketball world and Micheal Ray was doing coke off the belly of an Italian stripper that they would both find themselves contributing to a CBA team in Albany circa 2007?
Calling Lopez one of the biggest busts ever is a huge overstatement. Yes, he didn't live up to the hype. But he had a very good college career, something resembling a pro career, and actually improved as he went along in college. Not quite up to expectations, but "bust" in my mind looks more like Demarr Johnson, Luther Wright, or Mickey Curley. Lopez was closer to Gerald Wallace in college (though certainly not the pros.)
Posted by: Kashetreya | February 07, 2007 at 01:26 PM
It's the devil of expectations Kashetreya. Lopez never lived up to his so no matter how decent his college career turned out, he's a bust. The same way A-Rod's been a bust with the Yankees and Marbury with the Knicks. Time passes and numbers don't tell the whole story. In New York, Lopez was a god, the subject of an article in the New Yorker even before the SI one and never lived up to the hype. That's what I meant when I called him a bust, wasn't even taking his pro career into account.
Posted by: The Feed | February 07, 2007 at 01:46 PM
He was one of the biggest busts ever. He was way more hyped than Luther Wright or Mickey Curley or any of the other players that you mentioned. That's why Ryan Leaf is one of the biggest busts in the NFL. Same thing. The better a guy is in college, and the worse he stinks in the NBA, that makes him a bigger bust! I followed Seton Hall closely back in the day. Luther Wright was an average (at best) college player, he was just a big load. In the NBA, he was a disaster. Felipe had a HUGE upside in the NBA based on a storied college career, but he flopped.
Posted by: Joe | February 07, 2007 at 02:41 PM
The Troy Record is one of the worst newspapers in the history of mankind.
Posted by: GTB | February 07, 2007 at 03:06 PM
I agree I expected more out of Lopez in college and the pros, but I put a lot of fault right in the lap of Brian Mahony. He had no offense; just dribble down clear out and let Lopez try something it was gross to watch. If Carnesecca could have coached Lopez, I think he would have improved greatly playing in Queens.
Nice article can't wait till Rodney Hampton signs with the Firebirds this year and makes a push to re-enter the NFL....
Posted by: SD Jones | February 07, 2007 at 04:48 PM