Players who stay in college for four years haven't exactly been in vogue in the 21st Century NBA. Despite that fact, the Chicago Bulls took a chance on Kansas senior Kirk Hinrich with the seventh overall pick in the 2003 draft, and they haven't regretted it for a second.
Hinrich's outstanding college career made him a likely lottery pick, but some scouts wondered where he would play in the pros after spending time at point guard and shooting guard at Kansas. The Bulls decided to play him at the point, and he repaid their faith in him by averaging 12 points and 6.8 assists a game as a rookie.
Since then, Hinrich has been remarkably consistent. His rebound, assist and steal numbers have been nearly identical each season, while his scoring and three-point shooting have steadily improved. Even better, he's turned into a heady floor leader for the Bulls, impressing USA Basketball officials enough to be named to the national team that will take part in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
As part of a nucleus that includes Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, Hinrich is expected to help make Chicago a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference. So far he's demonstrated the ability to raise his game a notch in the postseason, averaging over 20 points a game in his playoff career.
When it comes to rookie cards, Hinrich will likely always be eclipsed by stars like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in 2003-04 basketball card products. He also only signed autographs for Topps during his rookie year, so he doesn't have big dollar cards in Ultimate Collection or Exquisite Collection like his more famous classmates. Hinrich still has some cool RCs to collect, like his Bowman Signature Edition # 80 and Topps Jersey Edition # KH, both of which are autographed jersey cards.
Kirk Hinrich 2003-04 Rookie Cards
- Black Diamond # 189
- Bowman # 148 - autographed
- Bowman Chrome # 148 - autographed, #'d to 250
- Bowman Signature Edition # 80 - autographed jersey card
- E-X # 88
- Exquisite Collection # 4 - #'d to 225
- Finest # 138 - autographed, #'d to 999
- Flair # 115 - #'d to 500
- Flair Final Edition # 90 - #'d to 799
- Fleer Authentix # 115 - #'d to 1250
- Fleer Avant # 71 - #'d to 699
- Fleer Focus # 135 - #'d to 499
- Fleer Genuine Insider # 120 - #'d to 799
- Fleer Mystique # 89 - #'d to 999
- Fleer Patchworks # 103 - #'d to 799
- Fleer Platinum # 187 - #'d to 750
- Fleer Showcase # 110 - #'d to 1000
- Fleer Tradition # 267
- Hoops Hot Prospects # 116 - #'d to 1000
- Skybox Autographics # 74 - #'d to 1500
- Skybox LE # 117 - #'d to 99
- SP Authentic # 134 - #'d to 999
- SP Game Used # 113 - #'d to 999
- SP Signature Edition # 107 - #'d to 499
- SPx # 133 - #'d to 2999
- Topps # 227
- Toops Bazooka # 270
- Topps Chrome # 117
- Topps Contemporary Edition # 6
- Topps Jersey Edition # KH - autographed jersey card
- Topps Pristine # 119
- UD Glass # 95 - #'d to 250
- Ultimate Collection # 118 - #'d to 750
- Upper Deck # 307
- Upper Deck Finite # 235 - #'d to 750
- Upper Deck Hardcourt # 91 - #'d to 1999
- Upper Deck Honor Roll # 91 - #'d to 2999
- Upper Deck Legends # 128 - #'d to 999
- Upper Deck MVP # 207
- Upper Deck Standing O # 91
- Upper Deck Sweet Shot # 97 - #'d to 999
- Upper Deck Triple Dimensions # 126 - #'d to 1999
- Upper Deck Victory # 107