New York Knicks all-time draft bust starting 5

New York Knicks all-time draft bust starting small forward: Paul Hogue

From the last decade, we leap back 60 years to the 1962 NBA Draft. The New York Knicks are mired in an impressively bad run of ineptitude, finishing last in their division for 11 out of 12 seasons from the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s. Head coach Eddie Donovan led the Knicks to a 29-51 record in 1961-62, with Richie Guerin averaging 29.5 points per game to lead the way.

Meanwhile, Paul Hogue was the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Final Four in 1962, leading the Cincinnati Bearcats to their second consecutive NCAA title after Oscar Robertson graduated and left for the NBA. The Knicks, armed with the second overall pick, were taking what seemed like a surefire pick.

As a rookie Hogue erupted onto the scene, averaging…7.7 points per game. By his second season, he averaged only 3.2 points per game in six appearances before he was traded to the Baltimore Bullets, playing another nine games before his career ended with a whimper.

Hogue’s career as the second overall pick was recently ranked the third-worst among all second picks by The Athletic (subscription required). It was so bad that we smushed the 6’9″ big in at small forward; if it’s a lineup of draft busts, who says it has to be well-balanced? The most painful part of drafting Hogue is that John Havlicek was sitting there on the board and would have helped to transform the franchise years before Willis Reed and Walt Frazier did.