Rivals Crossover Series: Who could've thrived in other sport?

As we continue the Rivals Crossover Series this week, the national football and basketball analysts answer a roundtable question. This one is to name one person you scouted who you think could have excelled at the other sport.

MORE CROSSOVER SERIES: Who would've been better at football, Zion or LeBron? | The top 10 football-basketball combo prospects | The top 10 football-basketball combo schools

No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2003): LeBron James vs. Ernie Sims

No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2004): Dwight Howard vs. Adrian Peterson

No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2005): Gerald Green vs. Derrick Williams

No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2006): Greg Oden vs. Percy Harvin

No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2007): Michael Beasley vs. Jimmy Clausen

No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2008): BJ Mullens vs. Terrelle Pryor

No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2009): John Wall vs. Bryce Brown

No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2010): Josh Shelby vs. Ronald Powell

No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2011): Austin Rivers vs. Jadeveon Clowney

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Some people may laugh at this one, but a hill that I'm always going to be willing to die on is that Willie Cauley-Stein could have played in the NFL as a 7-foot tall wide receiver. Going to Kentucky to play basketball and turning himself into an NBA Lottery pick has certainly turned out to be the right choice. He'll have made $20 million by the time he's 27 years old, and he likely has at least another six or seven years left in him at the NBA level.

I'm telling you, though, I saw that kid play wide reciever at Olathe (Kansas) Northwest during his senior year and he was an absolute freak of nature. He wasn't just catching fades, either. He was going over the middle, he was catching slants and outrunning guys to the end zone. He caught 64 balls for 1,265 yards and 15 touchdowns while earning first team All-Class honors. Darren Sproles is the best high school football player I've ever seen in 25 years of living in Kansas City, but WCS is the most unique.

During his high school days, Montrezl Harrell displayed ferocity and violence, and that is why I would have loved to have seen what he could have done on the football field. He turned out just fine as a basketball standout, averaging over 18 points and seven rebounds for a Los Angeles Clippers’ unit that will compete for the NBA championship this summer - that is if the season resumes.

People should not be built like Harrell and have the coordination and quick-twitch abilities that he showcases. We are talking about a 6-foot-7, 240-pound behemoth that can stand head-to-toe with a fast-breaking LeBron James and hold his ground. Throw in his 7-foot-4 wingspan and 9-foot-1 standing reach, and it would be hard to imagine Harrell not wreaking havoc as a defensive end. Maybe he would have been the next Julius Peppers (he grew up just a 30-minute drive from where Peppers did). Or maybe he would have looked a lot like this past NFL Draft’s wonder man, Javon Kinlaw.

For me it’s Glen “Big Baby” Davis because I remember him as an elite defensive linemen with amazing balance and athleticism. And he was athletic enough to play running back in high school as well. At LSU, he would have grown into an elite defensive tackle who could chase the passer and run plays down. He might have been better at football than hoops.

Dorial Green-Beckham was a fantastic basketball player who could have been a big-time player if he focused more on that sport than football, even if he was the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2012 football rankings. The five-star receiver clearly had lots of potential on the football field - and some of it was never realized for one reason or another - but after one look at Green-Beckham playing basketball it was clear he could have made an impact on the hardwood.

Green-Beckham can handle the ball well, he can get to the rim and finish in a crowd, he has nice touch around the basket, he’s super athletic and he also has a great feel posting up, leaning on the defender and then scoring with a turnaround jumper or fading away. It would have been really interesting to see what would have happened over the long term if Green-Beckham focused more on basketball, because he had a lot of special skills.