The Lost White Guys
Brent Barry may not be a supurb athlete like a lebron but watch these highlights. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXg-k_1NGMY
This is an interesting topic but I still am confused that even if black people worker harder and have the mentality that they can play ball. The number of white people in the states dwarf black people. I mean just off the one in a million perfect situation there should be more white player that are really good unless the NBA is not set up to showcase a lot of the skills most white players bring to the table. Also it sometimes appears that the best white players in college are unathletic and the athletic white players are just average. If you look at David Lee and Chase Buddinger college numbers, you would not think hey this guy will be a great but Redick and Morrison had great numbers and right now David Lee is the best player of this group and Buddinger will be better than Morrison. I think some of it is NBA ball is about athleticism and confidence and maybe with so many people telling them they can't, some white player give in. Morrison is not a terrible player despite what he shown but I think he confidence took a hit and I don't know if he will ever get a chance to recover. I think had he not been so hyped, he could have been a solid role player.
Right, JJ Redick, David Lee, and Kevin Love seem like the closest thing right now to a white superstar.
If David Lee played better defense and improved his passing game a little more he could be a white star player but the thing is Lee has great athleticism.
Also Hinrich and Blake while not explosive have very good lateral quickness which they use to play very good defense and Blake has long arms.
Had Jason Williams played more consistent he could have been a white star player as well because he was athletic, quick and when he was no he was hard to guard.
also dont know who this guy is but i just found it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgEw5Ah_vrI
check this guy though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgEw5Ah_vrI i posted it but you didnt see it maybe
I'm Casper Ghost white and I can admit that black players in the NBA are tremendously more athletic than white players in the NBA. Doesn't change the way I view the game, it's my favorite sport out of all pro athletics.
And David Lee is very athletic, but a different kind of athletic from say, ahhh, Josh Smith...I mean, it's jsut the way it is, Lee is still successful, but on a different level...
Also jumping high is just one part of the equation, you have to be explosive enough to get up before the other guy or hand in the air a little bit. I went to school with white dudes who had pretty good athleticism but when it can to first step and just blazing quickness, they were average at best. You have to have both to be a NBA elite athlete. We can throw numbers all day but if you have looked at games and stuff in general, you can see a big difference. Brent Barry can jump no doubt about it but for every Brent Barry they are a Jason Richardson, Steve Francis, Antonio Mcdyess, etc
My bad I was trying to think of guys around his draft class they were superior athletes. It is tough because my mine is today's players now.
A lot of super athletic black players don't make it in the NBA.
It take athleticism skill, confidence, and the drive to get better and height and length definitely help.
not really interested in clicking on it, but im guessing its an athletic white player? Anyways, doesnt change anything i have been saying. If whites and blacks are equal athleticlly like some people are saying, then how come there is such a disaparity in how atheltic the white guys vs the black guys in the nba are? SOme suggested its a cultural thing, thus i brought up europe where they play basketball and are predominantly white and come from all sorts of various upbringings with culture out of the equation. ANd where are all these great euro white athletes in the NBA? If whites and blacks are equal, why such a disparity?
I honestly dont know why there is such a disparity maybe because alot of the white athletes play football or baseball. Like i said the fastest guy i know is white. As for the euro than i said Rudy Fernadez shoot ricky rubio is quick the whole spain team is.
No I don't disagree with that statement as written... I do know that athletes come in all shapes and sizes. It doesn't just mean run, jump and shoot. It includes twisting, bending, passing, hitting, catching, rebounding etc, etc. It doesn't just have to be pretty to be athletic.
they will "boom" on me?, well i guess that settles it then, lol. Athletic means all of the above. Speed, explosion, quickness in change of direction, getting off the ground quickly without gathering. But if you know white dudes who will boom on me, then thats cool. I am white by the way.
Ok few things I got to point out in this thread:
1) ABSOLUTELY ridiculous statement that white players aren't as competitive as black players. That's just flat out not true
2) White people are not even close athletically to black people. There are obviously some exceptions, but they are just that--the exception not the rule. For example: I'm white. I played HS Football and I was the only White WR/DB on the team. Not one of the other WR's worked out or ran sprints or anything. I did all those and was not as fast or could not jump as high as my teammates that played the same position. And I'm no slouch athletically. I ran hurdles and did the triple jump for track, played basketball my whole life--It's just the way things are. (Btw a few got D1 scholarships and never hit the gym to train once)
3) "unless the NBA is not set up to showcase a lot of the skills most white players bring to the table. "
I think that hits the nail on the head, Sheltwon. The NBA is more focused on individual iso athletic play now as opposed too being more of a team oriented, shooting league (Which white people tend to excel at a little more)
To answer the OP's question (Or someones) I do think there will be another white superstar in the league within the next 20 years.
Matt Jones
Ricky Prohel
Patrick Jeffers there are/were alot of white WRs As for Running Backs for some reason there arent that many IDK the NFL hates White RBs just like the whole Black Qb thing. Baseball not too many blacks in baseball right now mostly whites,asians and latinos.
NO jumping is defenitly only one aspect of athletism but you guys were talking about dunking so i thought i would post that but thats what im saying. Its not that their isnt a player out there that isnt athletic enough or could be there are things like height, skill, etc that goes into it playing in the nba. Athletism is speed power jumping agility quickness balance fluidity etc... I grew up with Josh Heyvelt look at his Gonzaga Career he got injured a couple times and got into trouble but growing up he had a 40 inch vert and was 6 11 problem was his work ethic and after his injury he was never the same player. So for josh it wasnt his athletic ability purely off athletism (before injury) i have no doubt in my mind he was a nba star but thats not the whole picture.
There a quite a few black players that are not very athletic, you have a point Jammin Lebron, there's just soooo many more black players than whites that it's easy to pinpoint the most athletic black players...when there's only 25 (estimate, not accurate) white players in the league, it's a lot easier to criticize their lack of athleticism...
@spencer, i agree with 1 and 2 completley. Not sure about 3. Basketball is a game that can be played in many different ways. You cna be atheltic, non athletic, skilled, tall, short, have one dimension whatever. But in the end, being athletic is important and only increases all the other phases of your game. Its not really designed that way, it just is.
I think being athletic is overrated honestly besides Jordan and Kobe being extra athletic doesnt matter YOU HAVE TO HAVE SKILL to play basketball. Skill is the most important thing look at Josh Smith Super Athletic but cant shoot a jumper. Larry Bird Not a great athletic but Highly Skilled.
SpencerHawes but why is that quarterbacks are white? Hockey players are Candian, Soccer stars are South American or European? Have you read the earlier part of the thread? Yeah at this time those players are faster but what im saying is it doesnt have to be that way.
jammin-lemon, i actually pointed out earlier that im not basing it off just the nba. I am basing it off growing up and everything i saw first hand playing sports, what i see in college, what isee in the nba and what i see in either internatinoal competition or players form over seas that make it to the nba and represent their repsective countries Thats all together a hell of a lot bigger sample size then just 10 guys in the nba.
The NFL and the NBA comparisons are not legit, because they are completely different. Michael Vick is one of the most athletic QB's ever, but he doesn't fit what the NFL calls a quality QB. That's why you see Peyton, Brees, Brady, Romo, Favre. The QB position is not based on athleticism, it's based on totally different things, where as the NBA game of today is predominately based on athleticism...
I wanna bring up another point....
Anyone ever think that black players just care more about it than white players? Black players, in general, like to showboat, and stick out while white player are focused on scoring the 2 points and woring on thier fundamentals....
I think being athletic is just more important to blacks than whites...and this is evident.
But I dont thnk for one second that one race is naturally more athletic than another...
Ok dipt1982 but what im saying is why do those players have (it) but Vick and other black athletes do not. What im saying is A Black quarterback could be like those quarterbacks you named but for some reason its not happening just like white basketball players being athletic. What im saying is what steriod was saying earlier its because what kids are being told growing up.
Well, perez, here is my take on things:
I think we can both agree that people now a days are much more athletic than they were say 30-40 years ago, right?
Well if people are changing, getting more athletic... Then rules come into place that make it tougher to defend guys that will take you on the dribble (handcheck?). That makes it better for guys like Wade/'Reke/LeBron who use their strength and athleticism to get to the rim.
But, that's not the big picture.
If you agree with the statement that guys are more athletic now than before--there's one thing that has not changed that benefits the more athletic guys--The height of the rim. As guys get more athletic and can get up higher and easier--and the rim hasn't changed--that means athleticism becomes more important than shooting or team play. Combine that with rules that make it tougher to defend guys that like to drive, Athleticism wins out.
Has Vince Carter won anything besides a dunk contest
Nate Robinson
Gerald Green
Josh Smith
Dominique Being athletic is overrated i will take a slow white guy over a black guy who can jump out of the Gym
Im not that athletic but I have never had a problem guarding or scoring on guys that were just freak athletes,The most athletic guy in the GYM is prbly the least skilled.
Any kid has a better chance of playing college ball if they choose football or baseball over basketball based on the size of rosters. A football team can have over 100 players... baseball roster can have 40 guys on a college team... basketball typically 10-15 per squad. Those are the numbers that I was told by my boys coach.... and "statistics don't lie".