A Tall Order

It is a little difficult to grow on your own will. Yet, this is what basketball coaches and managers are asking players to do if they want even the slightest chance to perform in basketball’s highest caliber. It’s a little unfair I agree, but the thought of natural born players is becoming a true concept around the league. Players are much bigger in size than they were ten or twenty years ago, and it can only get higher. Players such as Yao Ming and Greg Oden are what NBA teams are looking for. A powerhouse that is too big or tall to handle for any ordinary 6’11” center to handle. And even the forward position ranges from 6’8” to 7 feet tall. Players such as seven footer Dirk Nowitzki show incredibly unique skill when they can throw up a three pointer with ease while still able to post-up in the paint. These remarkable traits are the epitome of an impenetrable all-star, and even the college all-stars that are felt to be “too small” or “not quick enough” are getting left in the dust.

But it’s time those players took a stand. Guys like Allen Iverson and former all-star Mugsy Bogues portray characteristics that are even more impressive than just being 7 feet tall. They reveal the greatest amount of skill, coerced to compensate for their lack of height. Iverson, the 2004-2005 leading scorer is a clear cut future hall of famer, mastering the crossover move and working it to perfection. Now who says you have to be tall to be good? Mugsy Bogues is known as one of the greatest and purest dribblers in NBA history, using his quickness and awareness to speed right by defenders. However, the desire for height remains the number one priority. Why? Well it is because height reveals a player with the most potential. A coach’s objective is to teach his players, aiding them in skills they lack. With a point guard under six feet tall, it is very difficult to teach him how to beat experienced defenders when he lacks speed or quickness. But when you have a 7 foot center that weighs over 300 pounds, you have a step on other teams that contain smaller big men, and you’re already ahead of every team in the game. The only problem is another Yao Ming is extremely hard to come by. Teams are in search of bigger, faster players, which is why the average small forward today is about 2 inches taller than the average small forward 15 years ago.

But that dilemma is about to change. This year’s NBA draft could just be the turn of the century. Critics are already praising these players in college, and they could be part of the greatest draft class in history. The top ten teams all contain future all-stars, and the best part about it is that almost each one is above 6’6”. Guys like 7’1” Greg Oden on #1 Ohio State, or player of the year candidate Kevin Durant, who measures at 6’11”, already have scouts eyeing them every day of the week. And it’s not just the height this time. These guys possess insurmountable skill, swishing three pointers and slamming down two handed jams. Conversely, life gets a little harder when you don’t have the capability to slam dunk because you’re just too short, even if you do score 18.1 points per game and dish out 5.4 assists per game. Yes, I am talking about All-American Acie Law IV. Law, who is 6’3”, has led Texas A&M to the top of the rankings, putting his team at #7 and turning the 2007 Aggies into a March Madness contender. Yet, he is felt to have a smaller chance as a top ten NBA draft pick. Why is it that the forward who averages about 18 points per game is thought to be on the short end of the NBA draft class? Two words: too short. Law, a phenomenal and complete basketball athlete, is already being criticized as a result of his height, even when he has carried the Aggies on his back throughout the entire season. But he still has the opportunity to prove these critics wrong. Although he is a few inches short of what the NBA desires in a scoring guard, which is about 6’6”, Acie, if picked late in the draft, will get the opportunity to drive down the court with other all-stars on his team, and set an example for other players challenged with height issues and disadvantages.

After all, it has happened before. Gilbert Arenas, the 6'4" point guard for the Washington Wizards, was an extraordinary player for the Arizona Wildcats, that is, until the sports analysts stepped in. Arenas was a top scorer among others that tried to step in his way. The critics and draft projectors, thought otherwise. They said he was too short, and influenced his pick as he dropped to the second round where he was acquired by the Washington Wizards. But Arenas didn’t give up. He wore the number zero, symbolizing the amount of people that believed in him during his transition from college basketball to the NBA. And that’s how many people were right about Arenas’s career. Gilbert did not stop playing just because someone said he wouldn’t do well. Instead, he went out and dominated other teams, and now is putting up almost 30 points per game, a task that would have been thought impossible for Gilbert to do 5 years ago in college. Arenas hadn’t stopped there though. He is still playing for revenge, threatening to bring a golden trophy to Washington and still proving to every team that they should have picked him when they had the chance. Arenas posted 60 points on December 17, a statistic that centers and power forwards seem to have trouble doing. So why is it that the big man is the most praised position today when one would rarely see a 7 foot player put up 40 or 50 points on a single night? Why is it that teams continue to reach for big men when guards, such as Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade, are truly the most talented and complete players on the court. It could be because of the lack of big men today. Or maybe there is a new secret that coaches are beginning to realize that involve a monster in the middle. The question can only be solved by those that truly understand the game. All that is known is that the rarified secret is out there, and maybe, just maybe, a player such as the deeply interested Sun Ming Ming, who stands at 7’9”, will pass over a lucky team and take them down to the finals. That is, if they can handle the quickness and variety of today’s true threats: The Guards.