JAN
09
About "Making Change" off the Top of the Backboard
Posted January 9th ago via True Hoop
The following is a portion of the full post
Images and full post at True Hoop

Author Todd Gallagher's assertion (if you haven't read that, you really should -- it's a party) that essentially nobody can make change off the top of the backboard scared up a lot of talk.

In my inbox and the comments, there were countless claims of those who could allegedly do this feat -- including an assertion that a fair chunk of the Cuban national volleyball team was up to it.

Many suggest LeBron James could do it, even though in the story, Gallagher specifically asks James about it. (There is no reading skills requirement to comment on TrueHoop.)

Some pointed to video of people like the Arizona Cardinals' Adrian Wilson and other people jumping over 66" hurdles. But watch. There's a lot of leg-lifting to clear that height. Those guys aren't even getting their (literal) butts six feet in the air. They would have to have unbelievably long torsoes and arms to even reach the 12-and-a-half feet that Dwight Howard touched in the dunk contest, let alone the top of the backboard.

David Thorpe had a funny story. He had heard that Guillermo Diaz (rejoined the Clippers a couple of days ago) could do it, and he asked Guillermo about it. A smile spread across Diaz's face. Like a lot of players Gallagher has talked to claim to have done it. However, Thorpe saw Diaz get his hand within a couple of inches of the top of the backboard when Diaz was not in peak shape. Thorpe thinks it could be possible.

Almost every claim was second hand. In a rare exception, TrueHoop reader CM writes, as many of you have, about former Globetrotter Michael Wilson:...

Read the full post at True Hoop




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