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Some #’s from the Pre-Draft camp

by Ryan Pravato on June 4th, 2008

If you like studying the NFL combine numbers and all, you’ll get a kick out of the NBA Pre-Draft numbers gathered in Orlando last week.

Thanks to rushthecourt.wordpress.com for bringing these numbers to my attention. And much thanks to draftexpress.com for their up close and personal work from Orlando last week.

You can see all of the numbers aka player heights, wingspans, body fats, verticals, etc here

Now on to some musings that may or may not completely correlate to the numbers

The no shoes height number is interesting to look at and all, but basically I wouldn’t worry about whether a guy is only 6’7.5 without shoes, because he’ll likely be 6’9 in shoes and after all, NBA basketball players do wear shoes when in competition. And even if the NBA adopted a no shoe policy, the difference would still be essentially the same.

I think many analysts, and even fans especially, just look at the no shoes (and to an extent, in shoes) stat to further rip on and prove why so and so will not make it in the league. Petty. Sometimes a guy can just flat out play and an inch here or there in height means nothing.

Brook Lopez, now this is a legit 7 footer with some athleticism (30.5 vertical) to go along with his nice frame. I’d bet a lot of coin that Jason and Jarron didn’t have half the athleticism Brook and Robin have. Something tells me both Lopez’s will have better statistical rookie campaigns than any of the campaigns Jason and Jarron have put up in the league. And by looking at the numbers, it shouldn’t be too difficult to pull off, well, at least for Brook anyway.

This Othello Hunter guy will probably prove me to be a chump after it’s all said and done. Othello has a 7’3’’ wingspan, and a 34.5 vertical leap while being 6’7.5’’. Now all he needs to do to become Ben Wallace is to just work on his strength (just 7 reps of 185 lbs, Ben can do about 150 reps of 185 lbs). Although I’m sure Othello would like to pass on the “undrafted” part of Big Ben’s resume.

Staying on the Big Ten front here, I’m mildly shocked at the wingspan of Michigan State’s Drew Neitzel. When you’re just a hair under 6’1 and don’t possess a ton of athleticism, it would be nice to have at least some long arms or something. But Drew, unfortunately, only has a 6’2.5” wingspan. Compare that to 6’2.25’’ DeMarcus Nelson’s 6’10 wingspan and you’ll understand where I’m coming from. But Drew Neitzel indeed had a good showing at the camp and as far as I’m concerned will eventually make a roster because of his ability to handle the ball like a point guard and shoot like a 2 guard. And the fact that Chris Quinn and Travis Deiner are still in the league bodes well for Neitzel too.

The recently updated/renovated Spartans Weblog will surely keep you up to date on the goings on of Neitzel and not to mention the 08/09 season outlook for the Michigan St. Spartans as well, a team that should produce at least 3 or 4 more NBA caliber players in the near future.

Any comments, questions and beefs are always appreciated.

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POSTED IN: College Basketball News, NBA Draft, Projections and Predictions, Stats and Analysis