i'm sure the lebron video GOT to the good stuff. it's just funny to me that despite his uniqueness as a player the thing they chose to lead with -- and therefore emphasize -- was the thing that least separated him from every other powerful 6'8" 18-year-old overwhelming his competition with sheer physical advantage.
Physical size is an advantage in basketball though. Athleticism is an advantage. Basketball requires skill but people with size have much greater potential in basketball.
Basketball is the sport that I've dedicated the most time in my life to even though I haven't played organised basketball since high school. I started playing in organised games when I was 8 and from the age of 10 to 16 if I wasn't at training for high school or club then I would be out at the local hoop shooting for hours until it was dark. I played at least 2 organised games a week each week. In the USA high school is where everyone plays and gets recruited. In Australia I was in Year 10 (Sophmore for USA) and playing as the starting Point Guard for my high school against Year 12's (Seniors). Australia is a lot different to the USA though. In Australia nobody plays competitive sports at school. Sport is played at school but if you want to play at a high level you play at a club and then if you're a standout player at the club, you get selected to represent your state, which often leads to opportunities to play D1 college in the USA or professionally in Australia.
It varies state to state but where I live in South Australia our clubs were called Districts. At district level there's 5 divisions. Division 1 is the best and Division 5 is the worst. District basketball goes from U10, U12, U14, U16, U18, youth league, and than open league. In open league there's still 5 divisions except Division 1 is called ABL, which is semi-professional and the league right under the NBL (National Basketball League).
http://www.nbl.com.au/Despite dedicating hundreds of hours to basketball I played from U12-U18 at district level in Division 2 and Division 3 usually as a starter. I was never naturally a great shooter but dedicating a lot of time to practice led me to being a decent shooter. My skills were my handles, speed, ability to get to the rim and create opportunities for team mates. Defensively I would stick to my opposition like glue and follow all the team structures and traps. My aim was to make it as uncomfortable as possible for the opposition and I loved getting steals. I played point guard and offensively I used my speed and handles to drive and penetrate to the rim. If I had space, I’d shoot but I was always a player looking to pass more than shoot. When I played in Div 3 I used to average around 25 points a game from U12s to U16s. After my junior season in U16s I never played Div 3 again. In Div 2 my average went down to 15 points a game from U12s to U18s. However, in Div 1 I was just a bench player.
Division 1 and 2 used to train with each other 2x a week so i knew all the Div 1 coaches and players. In my senior U16 and senior U18 I finally made Div 1 but I would get 2 minutes of court time at best junk minute when the game was already decided. Those two seasons I sat through just sitting on the bench watching were terrible. That actually killed my desire to play and took the joy away from basketball. The two Point Guards I was behind were both junior U18 when I was a senior U18 and they both went on to play professionally- Tom Daly & Corey Maynard. Corey Maynard also played D1 at Bryant Bulldogs in the USA.
"As a senior in 2013–14, Maynard earned third-team All-NEC honours. In 31 games, he averaged 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 35.2 minutes per game.[5]".
What was frustrating to watch was that a lot of guys that did play in Div 1 I personally thought I was better then. If I’d switched to a weaker club, I could’ve started Div 1 but I liked winning and playing for a strong team. A lot of the guys that did get picked in Div 1 were just tall and getting selected based off potential rather then their actual skills. At the time I thought it was unfair but now I’m older I can realise why the coaches did that. These players had a higher potential ceiling then guys like me who relied on hard work instead of talent and being naturally physically gifted. Hard work beats talent…when talent doesn’t work hard!!! The point of this long post is that IF those powerful 6'8 players overwhelming their competition with sheer physical advantage dominating in high school (they are fairly rare!) dedicated themselves to basketball, they would have a very strong chance of playing professional.
