Schea Cotton's NBA Saga Is a Cautionary Tale for NBA Prospects Everywhere

The story of generational prospects across sports who actually go on to become great players is a relatively short list. Lebron James is remarkable in part because he was so hyped up coming out of high school, and managed to be an even better player than some expected.

For every Lebron, though, there's someone like Schea Cotton, who received almost as much hype but never managed to play in the NBA. Given the remarkable amount of hype around him, though, many naturally wondered what happened to Schea. Here's what we know.

Schea Cotton was a sophomore at powerhouse Mater Dei High School in Orange County in the mid-1990s, and at that time, he was considered one of the most promising prospects in the sport.

In 2019, Schea sat for an interview with NBC Sports in which he discussed precisely how his career went off the rails before it had even really started. At the time, he was promoting a documentary about his life called Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story.

“It’s a humanitarian story," he explained. “I was the No. 1 player in North America in 1995. I was 15, 16 years old and everybody thought I was sure-fire, can’t-miss NBA lottery pick. And the car came off the tracks."

“If it happened to me, it can happen to anybody. I don’t want this to happen to anybody else.”

At just 16, Schea was already considered by many recruiters to be the top NBA prospect in the country.

What came after, though, were injuries that derailed his career, followed by stints at junior colleges and then, eventually, the University of Alabama, where his academic status was repeatedly challenged. When he declared for the 2000 NBA draft, he didn't ultimately get drafted. He played in minor NBA programs and then had several seasons abroad, dealing with bouts of depression in part because this was not the career he had envisioned for himself.

Schea's story is not an uncommon one for high school athletes, even one that shows incredible promise. The journey to professional sports is narrow and treacherous, and very few athletes make it to the end.

“I want them inspired,” Cotton said of the people he wants to watch the movie. “I want them to realize they have to take their education seriously and to be very conscious of their support group. "

"Like they always say, ‘If you want to see your future, look at your circle.’ Take this story very seriously, because if you don’t, it could be you," he continued.

Schea Cotton is now the CEO of Schea Cotton Basketball Academy, where he trains other young basketball players, and hopefully helps them avoid some of the pitfalls he fell into during his career.

“I know I had the talent. I was better than my peers, and they know it,” Schea said. “That’s why they’re giving these interviews (in the documentary)." Whether that was true or not, Schea never got the chance to prove it in the NBA.