DGS49
Diamond Member
If God wanted to create a "race" of people who were ideally suited to the game of basketball, he could do no better than the African American "race."
Basketball rewards quickness more than any other quality. Quickness of hands, quickness of feet. Quick hands can dribble better, get a shot off better, and steal a ball better than slow hands. American "Blacks" have an overabundance of so-called, "fast twitch" muscles in their arms and legs, making them much quicker than similarly-skilled "white" basketball players. Indeed this is the one failing that kills the best "white" high school basketball players when they are fortunate enough to play Division I in college. They are simply unable to deal with the quickness of their "Black" opponents.
This muscularity shows up prominently in not only "Blacks'" jumping ability, but even more so in their ability to make deceptive and evasive moves while suspended in mid-air. There are some white players who, because of superior technique (note the prominence of whites in high-jump competition) can jump quite high, but NONE OF THEM can perform the acrobatics of similarly-skilled "Blacks" while up in the air. The advantage of the jumping ability and the additional ability to make the moves while in the air is an almost insurmountable advantage for forwards and centers at the highest levels of basketball.
"Blacks" are also more naturally leaner than caucasians, as can be easily seen by body fat content measurements. Most top "Black" players in the NBA are in single digits, while the same is not true of the few "whites."
It goes without saying that foot speed goes hand in hand with quickness and jumping ability. Few "white" basketball players have any hope of covering a "Black" player of comparable skills without using serious physical pushing and shoving to slow down the much-quicker "Black."
Finally, American "Blacks" have proportionately much longer arms and legs than Caucasians. Michelangelo's famous drawing showing that a man's armspan is approximately equal to his height does not work for most African Americans, whose armspans are several inches longer than their height.
As a young man I worked for a time in a men's clothing store, and the difference in "inseam" measurements for "whites" and "Blacks" was very pronounced. A 6' white man would have an inseam of 31-33 inches, while a 6' "Black" man would have an "inseam" of 34-35 inches. Same for sleeve sizes.
Again, the longer arms and legs are a distinct advantage in basketball, where "wingspan" is a huge benefit on defense and in getting off shots in traffic.
It's not due to "playground basketball" that the starting lineups in the NBA are 90% "Black" when the U.S. population is 85% "white" or Asian. Whites at the top level can shoot just as well as "Blacks," but they can't get their shots off in high-level competition.
It is sometimes pointed out that "white" European players actually seem to fare better in the NBA than "white" American players. There are a couple reasons for this, mainly having to do with the development process for promising young athletes in Europe.
In Europe there are no scholastic sports and essentially no age-group sports. It is all on what we would call a "club" basis, where you play against players at your skill level, regardless of age. And a promising basketball (or soccer or tennis) player in Europe plays against players who are at his skill level, not his age or grade, which makes it possible for the top amateurs to develop more fully than in the U.S., where the top players are constantly playing against kids who are inferior, because they are on a school or an age-group team. Also - and this may seem peculiar - European top basketball players can develop without having to compete with "Black" kids until they have reached the top levels of their sports. Would Dirk Nowitzki be as good today if he had played American high school and NCAA basketball until he was 21 years old? No way.
The only way a "white" player can play at the top level in the NBA is if he is either a physical freak, or has developed unconventional shooting techniques that are hard to defend (think, Pete Maravich).
I challenge anyone who whines about "pervasive racism" in the U.S. to explain the huge popularity of the NBA - 99% of whose paying customers are "white."
Basketball rewards quickness more than any other quality. Quickness of hands, quickness of feet. Quick hands can dribble better, get a shot off better, and steal a ball better than slow hands. American "Blacks" have an overabundance of so-called, "fast twitch" muscles in their arms and legs, making them much quicker than similarly-skilled "white" basketball players. Indeed this is the one failing that kills the best "white" high school basketball players when they are fortunate enough to play Division I in college. They are simply unable to deal with the quickness of their "Black" opponents.
This muscularity shows up prominently in not only "Blacks'" jumping ability, but even more so in their ability to make deceptive and evasive moves while suspended in mid-air. There are some white players who, because of superior technique (note the prominence of whites in high-jump competition) can jump quite high, but NONE OF THEM can perform the acrobatics of similarly-skilled "Blacks" while up in the air. The advantage of the jumping ability and the additional ability to make the moves while in the air is an almost insurmountable advantage for forwards and centers at the highest levels of basketball.
"Blacks" are also more naturally leaner than caucasians, as can be easily seen by body fat content measurements. Most top "Black" players in the NBA are in single digits, while the same is not true of the few "whites."
It goes without saying that foot speed goes hand in hand with quickness and jumping ability. Few "white" basketball players have any hope of covering a "Black" player of comparable skills without using serious physical pushing and shoving to slow down the much-quicker "Black."
Finally, American "Blacks" have proportionately much longer arms and legs than Caucasians. Michelangelo's famous drawing showing that a man's armspan is approximately equal to his height does not work for most African Americans, whose armspans are several inches longer than their height.
As a young man I worked for a time in a men's clothing store, and the difference in "inseam" measurements for "whites" and "Blacks" was very pronounced. A 6' white man would have an inseam of 31-33 inches, while a 6' "Black" man would have an "inseam" of 34-35 inches. Same for sleeve sizes.
Again, the longer arms and legs are a distinct advantage in basketball, where "wingspan" is a huge benefit on defense and in getting off shots in traffic.
It's not due to "playground basketball" that the starting lineups in the NBA are 90% "Black" when the U.S. population is 85% "white" or Asian. Whites at the top level can shoot just as well as "Blacks," but they can't get their shots off in high-level competition.
It is sometimes pointed out that "white" European players actually seem to fare better in the NBA than "white" American players. There are a couple reasons for this, mainly having to do with the development process for promising young athletes in Europe.
In Europe there are no scholastic sports and essentially no age-group sports. It is all on what we would call a "club" basis, where you play against players at your skill level, regardless of age. And a promising basketball (or soccer or tennis) player in Europe plays against players who are at his skill level, not his age or grade, which makes it possible for the top amateurs to develop more fully than in the U.S., where the top players are constantly playing against kids who are inferior, because they are on a school or an age-group team. Also - and this may seem peculiar - European top basketball players can develop without having to compete with "Black" kids until they have reached the top levels of their sports. Would Dirk Nowitzki be as good today if he had played American high school and NCAA basketball until he was 21 years old? No way.
The only way a "white" player can play at the top level in the NBA is if he is either a physical freak, or has developed unconventional shooting techniques that are hard to defend (think, Pete Maravich).
I challenge anyone who whines about "pervasive racism" in the U.S. to explain the huge popularity of the NBA - 99% of whose paying customers are "white."
