We didn’t know what to expect when the Phoenix Suns drafted Shawn Marion with the 9th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. He was an extremely athletic small forward from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. “Scottie Pippen with a poorer jump shot,” said one scout.
After playing two seasons at Vincennes University in Indiana, Marion made the jump to Las Vegas. He was on the NBA radar before making the move, but a year at a D-I college increased his opportunity to elevate his draft stock. “The NBA people told me I’d be better off waiting a year,” Marion said at the time.