my youngest brother is 6'3 with an 8'2 reach. all else being equal, if i was that tall i could dunk with two hands and hit the middle of my forearm on the rim.
fuck tall people.
OR, your taller younger brother that may be weak and skinny would be able to dunk awesomely if he had your superior squating leverages to build strength.
I always used to think, "Damn I wish I was maybe 1-2'' taller, that'd be 1-2'' less to gain". I'd also presumably have longer arms as well so maybe 1-2'' extra there as well. But after thinking about it, if I had longer leverages I might not have gained as many inches as I have through squatting, so I might be exactly where I am now anyway.
Hypothetical situation (because I know how much everyone here loves Athlete A vs Athlete B comparisons
). Would you rather be:
A) My reach (~7'6'', approximately 38-40'' to dunk clean depending on hand size), with shorter limbs, and (ostensibly) greater potential to make strength gains, or:
B) 8' standing reach, longer limbs, bigger hands, but might have a harder time gaining strength in the vert lifts.
I guess if your goal is to dunk a basketball into a regulation hoop, then taller is probably better. But if gaining vertical is your goal (with no desire to perform some physical feat that is confined by a certain parameter i.e. dunking at 10'), then maybe shorter limbs is more ideal.
I realise there are a million other factors to consider for strength gains (diet, genetics etc). As an Athlete A type, I think it's psychologically more challenging when you begin, and the journey is probably longer, but I think it'd be more rewarding in the end if you make it. Most of my team laughed at me when I said I was trying to dunk, so there's always that motivation as well, to do something people think you can't do.
