H00PDREAMS wrote:I don't think it has very much to do with video games. Maybe for the very young folks maybe highschoolers. If you play in high school now a days it seems that kids like to play in the gym more than playing out on the street so their game is 'stale' and homogenous. Kids with any form of skill and or talent these days are aware of traveling teams. So a lot of them are on those teams traveling in the summer. Players like LBJ and Wall spent summers on teams like these. I have an example. There is a kid that is from this town that I am currently living in. He has skill but his game needs polish and some toughness. Many old schoolers were all saying that he could improve his game if he left that gym and hit the playground locally or head north to Chicago to play up there. Unfortunately he did not he stayed continued on with a traveling to team that continued to homogenize his game. Eventually the kid will end up a one trick pony. He was once No.8 prep kid in the nation. Now he rides the bench for UK. Why because tougher more skilled kids are on the team. Toughness and basketball savvy is something you can pick up from streetball. Ask Kobe, Garnett, and Steve Nash.
Yes I do agree for the older players the economy probably has a lot to do with it. When I visit courts in Los Angeles, Nashville, and St.Louis all I see now are local college players, a very few amount of highschoolers, and many YMCA guys (lawyers, doctors, and other professionals) just balling for exercise. No hustlers no "real" street ballers. Maybe when the economy gets better people will have more time to spend on the courts.
I agree.
LBJ did not really have much of a jumpshot when he came into the league.
Walls jumpshot is average at best.
Now back in the days I remember many street ball players who were deadly from anywhere within the half court line. Those players also had to adjust their shots due to the sunlight, the wind, the rain, the snow (yes I said the snow I am not making that up) and also from excessive fouling from the other players who were guarding them.
Their shots still went in though.