No Raptors on this slideshow – and we’re happy!
By Brian Boake
“You are what you eat” may be a tired expression, but there’s truth in it. An NBA variant: “You aren’t a player if you eat too much”.
Our friends at Hoops Hype have once again given us a slideshow of value, and on a topic which screams for more attention. They have listed the players (none of whom are or were Toronto Raptors) with the highest percentage of body fat at the draft combine since 2000. My guess is these fellows didn’t know or didn’t care about nutrition (there’s much anecdotal evidence to that effect) until it was too late.
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Not surprisingly, most of the names on this list are well-known to their immediate families, fans of their college teams, and no one else. For instance, Arthur Johnson out of Missouri was measured at 16.3% in the 2004 combine. Like so many, he never played a minute in the NBA.
Demarcus Cousins makes the list with 16.4%; he’s by far the most successful of the bunch. Eddy Curry was the #4 selection of the 2001 draft, but ate (too much Curry?) his way out of the NBA after 527 games. This was a bad draft for NBA scouts. The #1 pick was Kwame Brown – yes, that Kwame Brown. #8 was DeSagana Diop, whom I only mention because he checked in at 21%.
Diop
played
sat on the bench during 621 games with four teams, all of whom were disappointed.
Topping(?) the list of well-rounded players is Chris Marcus, who came to the 2003 combine with 23.1% body fat and never played a game in the big league.
There are certain physical requirements of an NBA player. He needs the proper proportion of legs and abdomen. A player with stumpy legs might be an excellent NFL offensive lineman, but he won’t last in the NBA.
I’ve never been a fan of players with barrel chests. The game at the professional level is taxing almost beyond comprehension to one’s joints. Carrying around the extra bulk of a huge chest doesn’t augur well for a player’s long-term health. That’s one of the reasons I worry about Anthony Bennett. Can his knees and ankles take the beating when he’s got such a massive upper body? I’d like to see our Canadian power forward in the NBA somewhere, but I’m not optimistic.
Players of extraordinary height frequently suffer from injuries few of us mere mortals ever encounter. If you Google “Jones fracture” and “NBA players”, the results are revealing. According to one site, there have been 26 of these reported between the 1994-95 and 2012-13 seasons. Twenty-six?
There are many other foot fractures which beset the giants. Here’s another depressing list. If they are carrying around excess bulk, they only increase their likelihood of problems.
Perhaps the NBA is gravitating towards small ball because only average-sized (well, not really, but 6’6″ is closer to most of us than 7’1″) players can actually avoid debilitating injuries.
I’m interested to see Raptors #27 selection Pascal Siakam in action, even in the D-League. Standing 6’9″, he’s tall enough to play power forward, but at 227 lbs., he’s not bulky. If he’s as full of energy as his college career suggests, he may be a useful man immediately.
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Jakob Poeltl is also lanky, with 248 lbs. stretched over his nearly 7-foot frame. He will certainly need to hit the weight room, as will Pascal, but not to bulk up.
Kyle Lowry got the message last off-season. He changed his diet, dropped some poundage, and made the All-Star team.