Interesting yet 'short' note on spencer hawes

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I was reading an article on draft express this morning about the importance of pre draft camps/ mesurements ect.. when i came across this ...

However, that is clearly flawed logic, because with the “in shoes” measurements, players can show up with shoes much larger than the ones they actually play in in games. An example of this is 6’10 ½” Spencer Hawes, who showed up at the 2007 pre-draft camp with shoes that made him 7’0 ¾”.
http://www.draftexpress.com/article/A-Historical-Look-at-the-NBA-Pre-Draft-Measurements-2912/


take it for what its worth .. like i said its not really a big deal, i just think its intersting that spencer prob isnt 7ft tall when he plays .. although he is still young and could grow...

 

[VF21]

I thought I read somewhere that Hawes is, in fact, a legitimate 7 footer but then you can question the term "legitimate," too. Overstating player heights has been going on for a very long time.

 

[Bricklayer]

The measuring with shoes on thing has always been very very silly. Maybe if they had a standardized pair of shoes, or just added a flat inch or something to represent their height on court, but as is everybody gets to pick and manipulate their shoes, and NONE of them are as tall as is claimed. Tyson Chandler might be a true 7-footer in his socks, but vitrually everybody any shorter is in fact 6'11", sometimes 6'10" 1/2. And hey, its all relative, so it doesn't really matter. But of course that is when the ludicrous wear your own shoes thing comes into play. Then you really can't tell.

 

[dmj]

Measuring players in their shoes is just silly for any number of reasons. Yes, players do play the game in shoes and not barefoot, but more often than not they don't play in shoes that are practically high heels either. The point behind these measurements is to get an objective sense of how tall a player is, and adding in-shoe measurements into the mix only confuses that.

Of course, height itself is not that important anyway. A player's wingspan and standing reach are more important. As the article in the OP mentions, these traits allow players like Elton Brand and Carlos Boozer to play taller than there height would suggest, to the point where there height is almost irrelevant.

82 games had a similar article and, I believe, ended concluding that Tyrus Thomas, who is only about 6'8" tall, can effectively play as if he were 7' on account of his absurdly long arms. On the other hand, our own Shelden Williams, while he measures out at around 6'9" and has a ridiculous 7'4" inch wingspan, has a very long neck and head giving him only a 8'8" standing reach. This more or less means that he plays much shorter than his actual height. In fact, I'm pretty sure that he has the worst standing reach of any PF in the league today, but I'd have to check that.

Luckily for us, though, Spencer actually has a good standing reach at 9'2" which puts him on par with guys like Okafor, Tyson Chandler, Lamarcus Alridge, and Chris Kaman.

 

[=LarryLegend=]

His forehead has to give him atleast an extra 3 inches.

 

[CruzDude]

Next time you'all can, look at height equalness of Spencer and Brad when they stand together, both 7 footers from what I see. But I only care about their functional height, ie., their reach, their vertical and wingspan. That's all that matters.

I once had a room mate in college who was the starting guard on the team, who was really 5-10 but had a wingspan of 6-3 and wore size 13 shoes. He was in top 5 in scoring in conference and top 5 in assists and steals and took team to their best record ever that year. Nobody cared that he was only 5-11. But way back then it really didn't matter.

But now its different. A 5-10 guy in NBA, if not named AI, is at a big disadvantage. Power forwards like Sir Charles or Elton Brand, undersized to an extreme (Sir Charles was 6-5 at best and Elton is 6-7), are very rare and come along only once every 10-15 years IMHO.

 

[LoungeLizard]

Isn't Spencer still growing? Maybe this year he will measure at 7' 1"

 

[ZZE916]

I believe there's a psychological effect that results from finding out you are not as tall as you thought. My 81 year old father has been stating he's 5'9" all his life. He may have been 5'9" 50 years ago when he was measured in his dress military shoes, but now he's 5'6" (we measured). It had a profound effect on him. Not only is he shorter than he thought, but he is now considered obese instead of overweight (BMI). Could it be possible athletes may feel the same way? "When I thought I was 7'0" I played like a seven footer. Now I'm only 6'11". How can I compete?"

In the end, it really doesn't matter (unless there is a huge disparity).

 

[Gary]

I thought I read somewhere that Hawes is, in fact, a legitimate 7 footer but then you can question the term "legitimate," too. Overstating player heights has been going on for a very long time.

Heck.. If I was being drafted I would be a cool 6'0 insitead of my 5'9-5'10

Maybe even 6'2 with my cool John Travolta "Sat Night Fever" shoes!

 

[RunNGun]

Personally I am partial to looking at wingspan more than height. From personal experience I can say that long arms make all the difference. In shoes I measure about 6'2-6'3, but I have long skinny monkey arms that allow me to play as though I was at least an inch or two taller than I am. Though I am not quite as tall as some of the other "big" men I play in pick up games, more often than not I easily match up just because my arms make up for my lack of size.

 

[VF21]

Heck.. If I was being drafted I would be a cool 6'0 insitead of my 5'9-5'10

Maybe even 6'2 with my cool John Travolta "Sat Night Fever" shoes!

Speaking of shoes, the latest issue of STAR magazine (I think it was) had a report about Tom Cruise getting custom made Nikes so he'll look a little taller standing next to Katie Holmes.

 

[bajaden]

Julius Ceasar, Hannibal, Alexander the great, Napolean, Robert E. Lee. All reported to be 5'2" or under. Just shows you don't have to be tall to be great. I don't know how long their arms were though.

 

[Bricklayer]

Julius Ceasar, Hannibal, Alexander the great, Napolean, Robert E. Lee. All reported to be 5'2" or under. Just shows you don't have to be tall to be great. I don't know how long their arms were though.

I'm thinking they probably were not great basketball players however.

 

[RunNGun]

I'm thinking they probably were not great basketball players however.

Probably would have been great coaches though.