Throwback: NBA stars that signed with mid-majors out of high school

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On Signing Day, lots of time will be spent discussing the rankings of players the big-time classes and the NBA potential of today’s high school stars. But, every year there are late-bloomers, guys who get overlooked and others who simply keep getting better that go to mid-majors and emerge as NBA stars. Here is a look back at NBA stars who signed with mid-major programs out of high school.

Bossi’s memory: The only time I ever saw Curry play was at the NBPA Top 100 Camp the summer before his senior year and I’ve told this story several times. But the short version is that he could shoot and looked skilled but was incredibly thin, had a slow release on his shot and was overmatched. While he had some high majors starting to kick the tires - Virginia Tech where his father Del Curry starred famously asked him to walk on and redshirt for a year - he was unwilling to wait and went to Davidson, where he played three years.

Bossi’s memory: George was part of a great high school class in California that produced at least nine NBA players and fellow All-Stars like Jrue Holiday, DeMar DeRozan and Klay Thompson. As a high schooler, he wasn’t a total unknown and looked like a really good pickup for Fresno State even though he was a second-teamer for a loaded Pump 'N Run program. He was more of a combo forward in high school who had athleticism but didn’t get to show how truly skilled he was until his arrival at Fresno - which came after initially signing with Pepperdine.

Bossi’s memory: I remember seeing Hayward in the summer before his senior year and thinking that he might sneak his way onto a Big Ten roster if he could convince one of them he was capable of adding enough weight to play as a floor stretching combo forward and to their credit, Purdue did offer him a scholarship. Seeing him as a senior after he had signed with Butler, I thought he would be a star for the Bulldogs. Though I thought he was a great pickup for Brad Stevens, who could have imagined him being a max contract player and NBA All-Star less than 10 years later?

Bossi’s memory: Leonard was an aggressive and athletic player who could defend multiple positions. I remember loving his energy and no-nonsense approach. He wasn’t completely ignored by Rivals.com or any of the ranking services, but he clearly ended up proving to have been underrated and a bit overlooked as he's far exceeded any high school rankings.

I’ll tell you who did see this coming -- those around him, including his high school coach Tim Sweeney, who raved about Leonard when he committed to SDSU in October of his senior year.

"He might be the steal of the entire West Coast," Sweeney told Rivals.com when Leonard committed. "This is a kid that was recruited heavily by the Pac-10 and then schools like Memphis and Marquette came by. The list goes on and on. He is a high, high-major player. I think everyone that has seen him play and continues to watch him play this high school year, I believe, will show he's one of the top players in the nation. San Diego State is getting a great one here. This is a kid that is an NBA player."

Bossi’s memory: Probably the most notorious two-star prospect in Rivals.com history. Lillard had completed high school by the time I came to work for Rivals.com so I don’t know what the story was with his ranking. However, the only time I ever got to see him play was during April of his junior year. I saw him playing grassroots ball in Vegas and wrote in the scouting report I did for college coaches at the time that he was deserving of some high major looks as a slightly undersized shooting guard. But, I never got to see him again and he kind of fell off my radar until he started lighting it up at Weber State.

Bossi’s memory: Of all the mid-major players who went on to stardom, McCollum is the one guy who I have no memory of seeing play. I know that he was the state player of the year in Ohio as a senior, but he managed to fly way under the radar. In fact, I never saw him play until he helped Lehigh spring an upset of Duke in the 2012 NCAA Tournament by scoring 30 points.

Bossi’s memory: Millsap is a guy that I saw during the early years of my scouting career when I was still cutting my teeth. He was very tough, had good skill and played with a tremendous motor. He was also slightly undersized as a power forward but did attract high major attention. He just happened to pick Louisiana Tech because it was close to home and he could make an immediate impact. Looking back he was certainly underrated by the industry, but he wasn’t totally overlooked.

Bossi’s memory: I didn’t get to see all that much of Whiteside, but I do remember him being very quick off the floor and thinking that with his size and athleticism, he could end up a pretty high level player with some added skill. He chose Marshall over Charlotte and the knock on him during high school was that he wasn’t committed to the game and could be a tough personality for a coach to manage, which scared off some ACC programs.