The Eight Foot Two Schlub

[David Sklansky]

[ QUOTE ]
Is this the kind of stuff a brilliant math mind ponders?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure if that was a serious question. But the answer is yes. Not talking about about me either.

[Nate tha\\\' Great]

I think you guys are neglecting the importance of conditioning and training as opposed to the more abstract concept of athletic aptitude.

Playing even 25-30 minutes a game for 82 games per season in the NBA is going to be quite difficult for our schlub at first. Even Manute Bol spent a huge fraction of his adult life in a gym.

I think the schlub would be a bench player if he joined the NBA tomorrow. Maybe he could be a fairly valuable player off the bench. But to actualize his value, he's going to need an offense built around him, and it's asking a lot to rearrange your offense for a guy that's probably limited to 15-20 minutes a game initially until improves his fitness.

By 2-3 years into the experiment, he could be anywhere from about Mark Eaton to Wilt Chamberlain depending on his coaching and work ethic.

As an aside, if the schlub were 20 years old instead of 30, he'd be an odds-on favorite to be one of the greatest players in NBA history. Maybe the greatest player. But at 30, there's a decent chance that the adjustment/learning curve doesn't come around quickly enough to overcome his inherent physical decline.

[nineinchal]

Is he smarter than a fifth grader?

[rakemeplz]

aejones how much longer do you think it takes this guy to go from paint to paint compared to mutumbo? How long can he last running up and down the court?

I think a lot of people are underestimating the speed skill strategy involved in this game...how does he handle the double team...defensively does this guy know how to block shots? He's never done it before. NBA guys will figure out how to pick up fouls driving right at him. IMO other stuff like how he shoots/dribbles is much less important.