From: m1wcc00@fed.frb.gov (Wayne C. Cook)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro
Subject: Re: Debunking the standard myth was Re: Couple of thoughts..
Date: 21 Aug 92 12:52:33 GMT
	<M1WCC00.92Aug19112309@mcfss2.fed.frb.gov>
	<1992Aug20.030142.20284@random.ccs.northeastern.edu>
Organization: Federal Reserve Board
In-reply-to: gary@ccs.northeastern.edu's message of 20 Aug 92 03:01:42 GMT

In article <1992Aug20.030142.20284@random.ccs.northeastern.edu> gary@ccs.northeastern.edu (Gary Duhaney) writes:

   In article <M1WCC00.92Aug19112309@mcfss2.fed.frb.gov> m1wcc00@fed.frb.gov (Wayne C. Cook) writes:
   >In article <55727@olivea.atc.olivetti.com> rsmith@strobe.ATC.Olivetti.Com (Russ Smith) writes:
   >
   >   >/   leapers. There aren't too many Len Biases who can skywalk, and shoot
   >   >/   the lights out(yes I know there aren't any Len Biases). The question is
   >   >/   why is this the case, genentics or development?
   >   >
   >WC:   >Genetics.
   >
   >Russ:
   >   So its just preordained you're either a leaper or a shooter, but you can't
   >   be both? It sounds a little fishy to me. 
   >
   >WC: Didn't say that.  It's preordained with regard to leaping and preordained
   >    what kind of touch you have and it's preordained what kind of rythm you
   >    have and on and on.  You can be born with the ability to do all of these
   >    things well. 

G   Even if that is true, one still has to work hard to develop the ability.
a   It's like when you first started playing ball if someone touched you
r   it messed up your shot completely.  After a while you were able to
y   take a hit from a stronger player and still be able to put something up.
|   Look at most of the best scorers and shooter, they still get a fairly
|   good shot off after being hacked.  You also don't wake up and one day
|   use the ability to it's max.

Yeah, that's fairly obvious.
   
   >Russ:
   >   Sounds a lot more like a process
   >   of development where you spend more time doing one thing than you do the
   >   other. I learned to play on the playgrounds, I never played in a gym
   >   until I was in 8th grade. I'm not a great shooter, my whole game is off
   >   the dribble take the ball to the hole. This is how we play on the playground
   >   and its precisely why I'm not a great shooter. I also had a 30" vertical
   >   jump as a sophomore in highschool before I developed jumpers knee(patellar
   >   tendinitis) and lost a fair bit of spring.
   >
   >WC: Did you become a better shooter as your vertical declined?  That's your
   >    theory right?

Gary:   Seemed to be yours. 

WC:  No.  You're confused.

Gary:   He's saying he that going to the hole is what he
        worked on.

WC:  Yeah, genius.  Make the correlation.  If his thing was going to the hole
     and he has this decent verticle helping him to succeed, then when that 
     verticle diminishes, his inside game diminishes.  So he either contin-
     ues with a weaker game or starts changing his emphasis in an attempt to
     keep up.  Ergo, by his theory, his increased concentration on a relatively
     more outside focused game should improve his shooting because according
     to his theory, it's a process of development where success is dependent 
     upon spending more time doing one thing than another.


   [stuff deleted]

   >Russ:
   >   Look do me a small favor, spend 2 hours playing 2 on 2 volleyball in
   >   the sand. then wake up the next day and feel the burn in your calves
   >   and thighs. Now do this 6 months out of the year all through jumior
   >   high and highschool. You seriously think it won't increase your leap?
   >   Thats why there's a lot of skywalkers in So Cal volleyball, there are
   >   at least 3 white guys now on the pro tour with 38" or better jumps,
   >   and 38 is flying, there's not that many in the NBA better than that.
			   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   >
   >WC: 3 guys.  Well that supports my statement that their are a few white guys
   >    that can jump.

Gary:   No it doesn't, read what the guy said.  Major-leapers are few and far
   between, and as far as I've seen and anyone has proven, no "race" has
   a monopoly.

WC: My viewpoint is not based solely upon "major leapors".  I pointed out that
    blacks jump better than other races.  But, there are more black major
    leapers than others too.

   >Just like there are some blacks that can't.  And, as I

Gary:   Make that just like there are few blacks that can.

WC:    Yeah Gary, you're right.  There are only a few blacks that can
       jump well.  Hard to imagine how this whole discussion got
       started, huh?
         

 >    said before, no, I don't think a million years of jumping around in the
   >    sand will help anyone jump significantly better.  Nope.