SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Moses Malone is the first high school player to go directly to the NBA and then be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

He might not be the last, not with the likes of Kobe Bryant, Darius Miles, Tracy McGrady and Kwame Brown going directly from high school to the NBA. But all of these players are light years away from accomplishing what Malone did in becoming one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time.

But they do have an advantage over Malone. They've arrived in the NBA at a time, or in the case of Brown -- the first ever high school player to go No. 1 in the draft -- when the league is filled with players in their age group.

"Moses went into a league where there were men," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, a fellow class of 2001 inductee with Temple coach John Chaney, of Malone's entrance into the ABA. "The (high school) guys who are leaving today are going into a much younger league. To do what Moses did was phenomenal, based on his background, the time and history. It's amazing what he has done."

Malone said Friday he couldn't believe he was being inducted and was in awe of the situation, especially once he got to Springfield. He went from Petersburg High (Va.) in 1974 to the Utah Stars of the old ABA. He ended up playing for the ABA's St. Louis Spirit, the NBA's Buffalo Braves, Sixers, Bullets, Hawks, Bucks and Spurs. That's why it was fitting that he chose former ABA legend and Sixers teammate Julius Erving to be his presenter Friday.

But Malone sees a different game than when he played in the '70s, '80s and early '90s. He doesn't see the traditional big men outside of Shaquille O'Neal. He said the big men are mostly shooting jump shots. But the major difference is the younger players who come in more aggressive, get paid more and, in some instances, are skipping college more now than ever.

"Those high school guys are going to be good," Malone said. "I love high school players. I was a high school player, but the difference is these guys get three- to four-year guaranteed contracts. They can learn the game and most of these guys are coming in to learn the game."

Malone said Brown would have a harder time than he did because of the attention being paid to a No. 1 pick. The exposure on the Washington Wizards, because of Michael Jordan's return this season, will put even more pressure on Brown.

"It’s easy being a 6-10, 7-foot first-round pick," said the former Sixers' center. "It'll be a difficult test for him."

But Malone never envisioned his career would be celebrated in Springfield -- 27 years after he left high school.

"I never thought I'd be a Hall of Famer, never thought I'd be here," Malone said.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.