In basketball, coaching counts--"fundamentals." As in real life, so does character.
But in the game of basketball, there are several physical attributes that are undeniably critical to success in the sport. I've listed five--and how our Griz measure up.
HEIGHT: Finally! Going into his seventh year, DeCuire has at last recruited a few legitimate bigs. For a program that has historically featured so many good big men--McKenzie, Stroeder, Tinkle, Engellant, Selvig, Qvale, Breunig--we've struggled under DeCuire, with only Akoh as the one bona fide big. Now with Steadman, Bannan and Owens, we go 6'10", 6'9" and 6'8" across the front line, all with talent. This is not only a welcome development, but a rarity in the Big Sky conference, where the recruitment of legitimate bigs is the most difficult task facing any coach. Problem solved!
HEFT: In 1964, Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboys, was co-captain of a national championship football team at the University of Arkansas. And guess what--he was an offensive lineman. At 186 pounds! If that's laughable by today's football standards, the same trend toward greater heft and physicality has transformed basketball as well. Back in the day, Bill Russell played at 215 pounds and Wilt Chamberlain at 250. The late great Nate Thurmond, a contemporary of those two marquee centers, played at 225. Nate had a ribs joint not too far from my office, and one day, when he was actually there dishing up the ribs, I asked him how he'd deal with Shaquille O'Neal, who was then playing at 325. I'll never forget his answer: "I wouldn't."
Recently on this board, GrizRule questioned whether Steadman had maybe lost too much weight, down to 215. I do too. That's the same weight as Bannan, while Henderson checks in at 220. But Tuesday, when we play Arizona, we'll be looking at five players who go 225 or better, with two at 245. My Tarheel bud had me watch Carolina and Kentucky yesterday, and Carolina is massive. They look like a bunch of piano movers. Getting rebounds against those guys when you weigh215--good luck! Of course, I'm hoping with a year in the weight room, some of our bigs can really bulk up next year. I think it's going to be critical.
QUICKNESS: I remember watching an NCAA game v. Oregon in Sacramento back in the 90's. Scooter Christiansen was one of our guards at that time. And as long as he was in the game, we were somewhat competitive with Oregon's much quicker guards. But when he subbed out, we were in trouble. Our kids just couldn't keep up. The disparity in quickness was immediately evident. Of course, quickness was the mantra of the legendary John Wooden. He won his first national championship with a starting five no taller than 6'5". But they out-quicked everybody.
Today? I'd have to say, problem solved! Our two freshmen, Whitney and Beaseley, by themselves put us in Power-Five territory when it comes to backcourt speed and quickness, with Vazquez not far behind. Whitney just took on a McDonald's All-American against Washington and pretty much shut him down--completely in the first half. I think we're in great shape here.
HOPS: Here's a surprising stat for you: The NBA player with the greatest vertical ever was....Wilt Chamberlain! By some three inches, over Michael Jordan and many others. But when it comes to this category, apart from slam dunk contests, I'm not too impressed. Like, golf, where you drive for show and putt for dough, I believe in basketball hops are largely for show. Exhibit A: Steph Curry, who can barely dunk yet is one of the most transformational players the game has ever seen. So for our Griz? I have no idea who has the greatest hops or is the best dunker, and frankly my dears, I don't give a damn.
WINGSPAN: I suspect that this is a metric that is more important than hops, and will soon be seen as such. I know the Warriors are stressing it this year, not only because they evaluate players by wingspan, but because it plays a critical role in both defense and rebounding. As an example: Rajon Rondo, at 6'1", has a wingspan of 6'9". Don't think that doesn't help with his defense. How do our Griz measure up here? I have no idea because those measurements are never listed. But I suspect in the future they will be seen as important as height and weight and be listed as such on rosters.
But in the game of basketball, there are several physical attributes that are undeniably critical to success in the sport. I've listed five--and how our Griz measure up.
HEIGHT: Finally! Going into his seventh year, DeCuire has at last recruited a few legitimate bigs. For a program that has historically featured so many good big men--McKenzie, Stroeder, Tinkle, Engellant, Selvig, Qvale, Breunig--we've struggled under DeCuire, with only Akoh as the one bona fide big. Now with Steadman, Bannan and Owens, we go 6'10", 6'9" and 6'8" across the front line, all with talent. This is not only a welcome development, but a rarity in the Big Sky conference, where the recruitment of legitimate bigs is the most difficult task facing any coach. Problem solved!
HEFT: In 1964, Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboys, was co-captain of a national championship football team at the University of Arkansas. And guess what--he was an offensive lineman. At 186 pounds! If that's laughable by today's football standards, the same trend toward greater heft and physicality has transformed basketball as well. Back in the day, Bill Russell played at 215 pounds and Wilt Chamberlain at 250. The late great Nate Thurmond, a contemporary of those two marquee centers, played at 225. Nate had a ribs joint not too far from my office, and one day, when he was actually there dishing up the ribs, I asked him how he'd deal with Shaquille O'Neal, who was then playing at 325. I'll never forget his answer: "I wouldn't."
Recently on this board, GrizRule questioned whether Steadman had maybe lost too much weight, down to 215. I do too. That's the same weight as Bannan, while Henderson checks in at 220. But Tuesday, when we play Arizona, we'll be looking at five players who go 225 or better, with two at 245. My Tarheel bud had me watch Carolina and Kentucky yesterday, and Carolina is massive. They look like a bunch of piano movers. Getting rebounds against those guys when you weigh215--good luck! Of course, I'm hoping with a year in the weight room, some of our bigs can really bulk up next year. I think it's going to be critical.
QUICKNESS: I remember watching an NCAA game v. Oregon in Sacramento back in the 90's. Scooter Christiansen was one of our guards at that time. And as long as he was in the game, we were somewhat competitive with Oregon's much quicker guards. But when he subbed out, we were in trouble. Our kids just couldn't keep up. The disparity in quickness was immediately evident. Of course, quickness was the mantra of the legendary John Wooden. He won his first national championship with a starting five no taller than 6'5". But they out-quicked everybody.
Today? I'd have to say, problem solved! Our two freshmen, Whitney and Beaseley, by themselves put us in Power-Five territory when it comes to backcourt speed and quickness, with Vazquez not far behind. Whitney just took on a McDonald's All-American against Washington and pretty much shut him down--completely in the first half. I think we're in great shape here.
HOPS: Here's a surprising stat for you: The NBA player with the greatest vertical ever was....Wilt Chamberlain! By some three inches, over Michael Jordan and many others. But when it comes to this category, apart from slam dunk contests, I'm not too impressed. Like, golf, where you drive for show and putt for dough, I believe in basketball hops are largely for show. Exhibit A: Steph Curry, who can barely dunk yet is one of the most transformational players the game has ever seen. So for our Griz? I have no idea who has the greatest hops or is the best dunker, and frankly my dears, I don't give a damn.
WINGSPAN: I suspect that this is a metric that is more important than hops, and will soon be seen as such. I know the Warriors are stressing it this year, not only because they evaluate players by wingspan, but because it plays a critical role in both defense and rebounding. As an example: Rajon Rondo, at 6'1", has a wingspan of 6'9". Don't think that doesn't help with his defense. How do our Griz measure up here? I have no idea because those measurements are never listed. But I suspect in the future they will be seen as important as height and weight and be listed as such on rosters.
