Why I am not a fan of guys who are overly athletic
Most of the guys in the NBA have above average level athleticism for NBA guys and average NBA athleticism is pretty great as a college guy. If a guy is only labeled as an athlete than yeah that is a red flag if he is not known to be a hard worker. A super athletic that works hard trumps skills because most skills can be learned. I think the key ingredient is work ethic.
Work Ethic is everything at any level. Hard Work beat Talent when Talent doesn't work hard. I love that quote. Though there are very few super athletes that are hard workers. Most of the hard workers in the nba are the guys who aren't the great athletes.
i think with a elite athlete, they can turn themselves into good players. But if you dont have great athleticism, its hard to be a difference maker in the nba. SO teams are more likely to take a risk on a guy who is less polished but athletic because of upside.
and sorry to hear your day has been boring. I went to the park to shoot hoops for an hour and now im trying to get myslef motivated to go to the gym. I was on a real good streak the last 2 weeks, but sure enough the weekend hits and i havent gone in two days. Did take my dog for a walk on the beach yesterday and there were some hotties laying out. That was cool.
Yeah..i remember the workouts of Carlos Boozer..Guys like Chris Wilcox & Marcus Haislip outplayed him..Scouts were raving about how athletic those guys were..And Boozer was slow..Boozer is a 2 time allstar now and those guys are fighting to remain in the league...
Yeah Boozer is just huge for his position and very skilled, so it really is no surprise he has lasted. Another thing that I don't like about guys that are overly athletic the styles of play they have are more susceptible to injury than guys who aren't. A guy like John Wall who is also very skilled, but his style of play will catch up to him in 5-7 years. His style of play makes me think of Wade.
Wade has a lot of good years and has a ring. We watch and love the NBA for elite skills. NBA players are not known to have a long shelf life but as most grow older and with modern medicine and treatments they are playing longer than the guys in the past. AI can still physically play and he was an elite athete for his size that played hard but did not work hard to fit with others though.
Kobe is an above average athlete who works very hard.
You will always have guys that are athletes and just players in general that have hype but don't end up doing much.
So lack confidence.
Darko is both smart basketball wise and athletic yet he has been terrible for a while.
Wade does have a lot of good years left, but his style of play makes him susceptible to injury. A lot of guys who are overly athletic are great, but once they get hurt it is how they adjust to the game determines how good they will be in the grand scheme of things.
The reason why athletic players are so highly sought is because you can't teach size and athleticism. You can teach a man to box out, shoot the ball etc. And the bottom line is the people drafting these players believe in their skills as coaches and GMs to develop these players. When these athletic guys aren't making improvements it has alot to do with the staff. Wilcox had to play behind Brand for the Clips and we all kno Clip management. Work ethic can be taught aswell. Every basketball team will have that mentor player that makes sure these guys go hard in practice and in every aspect of the game. They hold each player accountable for their effort.
I agree with that. You can't teach speed, size, and power, but you can teach a person the fundamentals of basketball. That is the upside of being an athlete. With that being said, if a prospect hasn't gotten the basics of basketball down by a certain point, and is known only for his athleticism, then there is a problem. The problem is usually with the individual, whether that be work ethic or w/e.. The extremely athletic guys like Josh Smith and JR Smith are the guys with limitless potential because of their athleticism. That already gives them a 1UP, but the main thing that holds them back is their maturity and willingness to put in a lot of work.
On the other hand, some guys are just damned. The guys who aren't athletic and have no size. Some of them succeed in the NBA, but not many at all.. In general though, basketball players are the most athletic type of athlete there is. It is hard to say that a NBA basketball player isn't an athlete. Compared to his peers, he might not be, but he is nonetheless.
its really jus about how u play the game of basketball. Take dirk and paul pierce for example. I dont think that dirk is a very athletic guy and paul pierce certainly isnt. but these guys know their games. they are smart and kno how 2 create space and get their points and be effective. mike bibby is another guy i liken to this. he was never a super athletic player in his younger days. sam cassell wasnt either. u can name alot of great players who got by on smarts.
Dirk is pretty athletic for a 7 footer. There are not many 7 footers who can move like Dirk. I think Josh Smith has been putting in the work but ATL doesn't know how to use him. He was a borderlind All Star on both offense and defense. His problem is he does not have a Kobe work ethic which most people and player don't and his potential is so vast that people expect more from him than other players which happens a lot. The team he is on is too deep for him to get all the touches and be the man like he wants right now. Also he may need to study the game more so that he can score with less effort allowing him to use most of his energy and athleticism on defense. I don't know what JR Smith problem is. He is not only athletic but is a great perimeter shooter with decent handles.
Most of the guys you are picking up are not NBA superior athletes but they are fairly athletic. It would be different if you brought up Kapono, Kolver. These guys do not rely on athleticism at all. Mike Miller is not too athletic but he works hard and can shoot really good. There are only a few players in the NBA who athleticism is very weak even by college standards. Most guys that we say have average athleticism NBA wise are more athletic than your average Joe by far. Melo is not said to be an elite athlete but he dunks still look pretty impressive.
Gerald Green was a guy who just relied on his athleticism and never really stopped to learn the game or improve.
That was his problem.
Had he learn a little bit about the game he could still be in the league so that is where work ethic come in, because there are guys because most NBA players are role player cept for the elite few that are just athletes who can make open jumpers is their star is double teamed.
Moon and Weems are perfect examples.
Josh Smith doesn't have a high basketball IQ which makes it worse for him to go along with his poor work ethic. JR Smith has average at best handles, his problem is also low basketball IQ. Both these guys didn't go to college where it would have helped them become smarter ball players right now at this point in there careers. Both are successful pros, but are underachievers considering the potential they possess(ed).
Someone who used to be really athletic before age kicked in was Ray Allen, back in his Milwaukee days he was athletic.
4 things
1) LLperez, hilarious comment brotha
2) IDK why knicksfan got -8 pts. on his comment i liked it
3) sheltwon your at 500 you've just earned yourself a personal jersey i'll have marcusfizer get right on it
4) tongue-out-like-23...that was one of the worse comparisons i've ever heard...yes lebron is athletic but hes also a much better basketball player than brandon roy
I like guys who are athletic, but I don't like prospects whose best attribute is there athleticism. Any time I read a guy is extremely athletic I see it as a nice way of saying he isn't a good basketball player. I would much rather take a guy who has skills and average athleticism over a guy with loads of athleticism that he may never live up too. Skills will always beat out athleticism in the College and NBA level, much more so the NBA level.
Thoughts??