James White vs a Jumping Myth (article)

[kooldude]

Pardon the judgement, but getting this kind of height on a reach is far more difficult than most people seem to think.

Doug Thomas holds the current (mind you unofficial) high touch record at 13 feet. That is a few inches higher than James White could touch. This is higher than anyone in the NBA could touch. And he's got the record, so if he can't, nobody can.

A question: Does this even count? If he could only touch as high as 13', could he actually touch the top itself?

I wonder if Manute Bol could've done it. He had a standing reach of 10'3".

then Wilt could have beaten that record (unofficially). He used to be able to dunk on a 12 foot rim back in college.

[Taiwan Killa]

^except Durant isn't that athletic. Oden had a better vertical than him.

Exactly. But he has the perfect length and height. Cuz a bigman is too heavy to do it. If you put Josh Smith's jump into Durant's body you'd get a guy who can make change.

[Doctor MJ]

-= original quote snipped =-



then Wilt could have beaten that record (unofficially). He used to be able to dunk on a 12 foot rim back in college.

You're saying that someone that can dunk on 12 feet can necessarily jump above 13 feet?

[Doctor MJ]

-= original quote snipped =-



Exactly. But he has the perfect length and height. Cuz a bigman is too heavy to do it. If you put Josh Smith's jump into Durant's body you'd get a guy who can make change.

Josh Smith's jump is based on the muscles that give him a different a different build than Durant. Not saying it's impossible, but it's not that easy.

This is a pet peeve of mine. I'm 6'8", and have had so many people tell me "Man if I was your height I'd be in the NBA". It pisses me off, because when I was *their* height, I had excellent coordination, solid speed, and a well above average vertical leap. The marvel of the Dwights/Shaqs/Wilts of the world isn't so much their size but the fact that they are so athletic at that size.

[kooldude]

-= original quote snipped =-



You're saying that someone that can dunk on 12 feet can necessarily jump above 13 feet?

well, a ball's diameter is a little less than a foot and Wilt was dunking so he has to rise the ball completely over the rim to dunk it. And he could do it repeatedly so I think he could rise and go over 13 feet if it was strictly a vertical jump.

[kooldude]

-= original quote snipped =-



Josh Smith's jump is based on the muscles that give him a different a different build than Durant. Not saying it's impossible, but it's not that easy.

This is a pet peeve of mine. I'm 6'8", and have had so many people tell me "Man if I was your height I'd be in the NBA". It pisses me off, because when I was *their* height, I had excellent coordination, solid speed, and a well above average vertical leap. The marvel of the Dwights/Shaqs/Wilts of the world isn't so much their size but the fact that they are so athletic at that size.

a random question, are the mods and knowledgeable members on this board, employees of the NBA or historians or just hardcore fans?

[Doctor MJ]

-= original quote snipped =-



well, a ball's diameter is a little than a foot and Wilt was dunking so he has to rise the ball completely over the rim to dunk it. And he could do it repeatedly so I think rise and go over 13 feet if it was strictly a vertical jump.

But you don't have to have your hand on the very top of the ball to dunk it.

[Taiwan Killa]

-= original quote snipped =-



Josh Smith's jump is based on the muscles that give him a different a different build than Durant. Not saying it's impossible, but it's not that easy.

This is a pet peeve of mine. I'm 6'8", and have had so many people tell me "Man if I was your height I'd be in the NBA". It pisses me off, because when I was *their* height, I had excellent coordination, solid speed, and a well above average vertical leap. The marvel of the Dwights/Shaqs/Wilts of the world isn't so much their size but the fact that they are so athletic at that size.

I know I'm not sure how to word this.

Basically if you want to have someone who can accomplish the feat you need a small with the height of a big. And also someone with freakishly long arms. Durant pops into my head, but obviousely he's not gonna do it because he doesn't have the muscles and tendons.

But if someone ever were to do it I bet they'd look like Durant, body, arm wise.

[kooldude]

-= original quote snipped =-



But you don't have to have your hand on the very top of the ball to dunk it.

true but even with a curved grip, the fingers are nearly at the upper point of the ball especially with Wilt's large hand. And instead of gripping, his fingers will fully extend vertically instead of flowing over the ball.

[Doctor MJ]

-= original quote snipped =-



a random question, are the mods and knowledgeable members on this board, employees of the NBA or historians or just hardcore fans?

Of the regulars, I'd say the vast majority are just fans but there are a few who are trying to make a living at it. Professionals, some of them relatively big names, do posts sometimes. And of course some really big names lurk.

[Doctor MJ]

-= original quote snipped =-



true but even with a curved grip, the fingers are nearly at the upper point of the ball especially with Wilt's large hand. And instead of gripping, his fingers will fully extend vertically instead of flowing over the ball.

Hmm. I just have a hard time buying that you have to jump a foot above the rim to be able to dunk. That's not my recollection at all.

[kooldude]

-= original quote snipped =-



Hmm. I just have a hard time buying that you have to jump a foot above the rim to be able to dunk. That's not my recollection at all.

I could be wrong but the way I look at it, is the ball has to be fully above the rim to dunk with your fingers in an inwards position. Then you would have move your wrist to lower the ball into the basket. The ball is a little less than a foot and if Wilt were just jumping straight up with his finger fully extended, unlike when dunking, he can make up for the extra foot.

Edit: I'm an idiot, made a mistake. ignore what I said HAHA

Edit 2: Nvm, I thought I had the mistake, didn't. I still could be ultimately wrong but not about the mistake I thought I made.

[Doctor MJ]

Just remembered, last year during the dunk contest, wasn't the whole thing with Howard's sticker dunk that he wanted them to raise the basket to 12 feet so he could dunk on that? And Howard's a guy who even in the best of conditions probably only makes 12'6" one in ten times or so. Unless he was just hoping and praying that he be able to slide in a weak dunk on the 12 foot rim, I'm thinking that Howard could dunk the ball on 12 feet pretty easily.

And that fits in with what I remember: if you can get 3 or so inches above the rim, you can dunk it. Anyone have opinions on this? I have to confess it's been a long time since I've done anything like dunking, so maybe I'm confused.

[kooldude]

Wilt said he had a 48-50 vertical and he's 3 inches taller than Dwight. He at least had comparable athleticism with Dwight from the stories.

[D.Brasco]

To dunk you only need to be able to reach at least 3 inches above the net.

[Doctor MJ]

Wilt said he had a 48-50 vertical and he's 3 inches taller than Dwight. He at least had comparable athleticism with Dwight from the stories.

Right but Wilt did not have a 50 inch vertical. There are some things claimed of him within the realm of debate, but that one's just pure exaggeration. There's actually a quote around here somewhere of someone raving up his jumping ability in college while putting vertical at 26 inches I believe. Now I have no problem believe that Wilt's vertical was actually 30-35 inches, and I wouldn't think you crazy if you thought it was a bit higher, but 50 inches is just obscene.

[Taiwan Killa]

-= original quote snipped =-



Of the regulars, I'd say the vast majority are just fans but there are a few who are trying to make a living at it. Professionals, some of them relatively big names, do posts sometimes. And of course some really big names lurk.

What do you mean trying to make a living? I mean you can't really break in the business unless you're a player. Not as a fan.

Who are the relatively big proffesionals?

And who are the really big names? All that I'm aware of is Gilbert Arenas.

[Doctor MJ]

-= original quote snipped =-



What do you mean trying to make a living? I mean you can't really break in the business unless you're a player. Not as a fan.

Who are the relatively big proffesionals?

And who are the really big names? All that I'm aware of is Gilbert Arenas.

Trying to break in as journalists/scouts/statisticians. Guys who come to mind: JonathanG, icness, and TheSecretWeapon.

"relatively big professionals", I was thinking in the stat community. Though if you want to see those guys post consistently, the APBRmetric board is where they congregate.

"really big names", I was thinking of players like Arenas. Juan Dixon and Jamal Crawford come to mind as well.

[HoopsGuru25]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wXY9_2yb6GA

That's kinda freakish...

That rim can't be 10 feet. If it is then that guy's vertical is probably over 50 inches.

[Taiwan Killa]

-= original quote snipped =-



Trying to break in as journalists/scouts/statisticians. Guys who come to mind: JonathanG, icness, and TheSecretWeapon.

"relatively big professionals", I was thinking in the stat community. Though if you want to see those guys post consistently, the APBRmetric board is where they congregate.

"really big names", I was thinking of players like Arenas. Juan Dixon and Jamal Crawford come to mind as well.

Hm alright. What is the APBRmetric board?

BTW it's cool that those guys breaking into the business post here. I hope it happens. It seems like some RealGM members know so much more than members of the media. Especially the ones who try or claim to know all about a whole bunch of sports. I bet Tsherkin knows more about basketball than 95% of the media. And the 5% are players who get knowledge from being around the game for so long.