What does it take to become a pro athlete? (Split)

[vitaminC]

Star, first I just want to acknowledge how great your confidence is.  I hope you have this same mindset towards the other areas of your life (meaning not sports).  But I must say, the more I read of this thread, the more I begin to believe your just having some fun.  You can't be serious. I bet you will let the thread fill up just to say just kidding and laugh at everyone who took this seriously.

5'11'' 200 pounds?? Add a couple more pounds and you could "physically" resemble a running back..but an NBA player??? There's a reason most NBA point gaurds who are 5'11'' do not weigh 200 pounds, the bulk doesn't help them. They have some of the best strength trainers in the business, you think they can't bulk up if it would help?

"Level the playing field" by giving you a jersey and putting you in front of thousands of screaming fans and the media along with the pressure?  I don't think that's leveling anything...you might just excrete feces in your pants and play horribly. You've never played any organized sport at a high level, the pressure wouldnt help you, trust that.  

im glad to hear that at 32 you finally filled your 5'11'' frame, but that doesn't qualify you to go pro in anything. But i'm sure the ladies approve  

[Roy Hobbs]

You just believe what the media tells you to believe in.  You don't think for yourselves. 

There's no need to start resorting to insults; I think most of the responses in this thread have been very measured, and perhaps even subdued.

While it's very well possible that you have a lot of innate basketball talent, don't you think people are going to be a little skeptical when you start comparing yourself to Rajon Rondo, despite never having played organized basketball?

Being a professional athlete takes a lot of things.  One of them is elite talent.  Not very good talent:  elite.  Additionally, you need to have extreme dedication to the sport.  You also, of course, need certain physical attributes: i.e., it doesn't matter how good of a shooter you are if you're 5'3".  Lastly, you need coaching and opportunity.  However, while in your view some people may be underestimating the "opportunity" aspect, many others think you're greatly underselling the type of talent it takes to be a pro. 

So many extraordinary athletes already flame out of the pro leagues that it's difficult to take seriously any argument that a 30+ year old guy off the street with no organized experience would have a good chance at success in the pros.

[star18]

I don't play.  I live in the tri-state area.   I have played about 200 pick up games in my life.  I've shot around many times before.  I practiced hard when I was younger thinking I may try out for a team.  I know I can play, I'm not saying I'm Jordan/Tiger.  What I do know is that if I wore a Celtics Jersey, and they tipped the ball up in TD Banknorth, my ahtleticism and passion for the game and the team I played for would shine through and it would be much better than people's lowest expectations.  

[Steve Weinman]

It just goes to show you that many Americans are caught up in media hype and what the newspapers and tv stations tell you.  All any of you go by is what famous people say and do, and what announcers and experts say happens.  You don't believe in anything for yourself.  You just believe what everybody else tells you will happen. 

I'm not saying I am the greatest player of all-time.   What I am saying is that if Paul passed me the ball it wouldn't bounce off my elbow and go out of bounds.  And if I threw it down low to Rasheed I wouldn't miss my target by 20 feet and have the ball go into the 4th row.  But that is how some of you are making it out to be.  You don't believe in yourselves.  I am an optimist, not a pessimest.   I dont' get caught up in media hype, I believe in what I believe in.

These guys aren't 8'3 and weigh 370 pounds of muscle, they are atheltic human beings like many other people are.

You think all the best rappers have record deals, all the best singers win Grammy's, all the best actors/actresses are in Hollywood, and all the best models work for Victoria Secret.  That is not the case.  You just believe what the media tells you to believe in.  You don't think for yourselves. 

I'll preface the following by admitting out front that a general lack of patience for certain sorts of debate, so to speak, makes me reticent to get involved here, though I've been observing the thread with bemusement. But I'll take a brief shot...

However, given the point BigDanz makes about personal experience followed by star's generalizing accusation that we all just listen to what the media tells us and the resulting intimation that we don't know for ourselves, I'll submit a link back to a personal anecdote along the lines of what BigDanz references: http://www.celticsblog.com/2008/9/30/645258/running-against-athletes-o

(And of course, I can't resist the chance to be a bit self-aggrandizing and post my own link. Sorry, folks.   )

No doubt, star, you and I are not necessarily the same, and I can't profess to know your level of athleticism.  So I can't say I know anything for sure, and perhaps you're just on another plane yourself, but from both a myriad of other people I've spoken to and, yes, my own personal experience, there's something to be said for certain athletes simply being on 'another level.'  You don't have to be in awe of your competition - and trust me, you can say a lot of bad things about my game, but being 'in awe' of people I compete with isn't one of them - to come to that understanding after experiencing it up close.

-sw

[Redz]

A couple of these posts are exactly proving my point.  Some of you are sitting there telling me I can't do this, I can't do that, I can't make a shot, I can't make a pass etc.   When none of you even know what I look like!!! You have never even seen a basketball in my hands!!!!  You are the exact examples I am talking about with athletes in younger age groups trying to make teams.  They say you can't play, you can't do this or that, because you are not the coaches son and not buddy buddy with the manager and the coaches son, that's why!! 

Again, until I step on the court anything I say carries just as much weight as anything you say because nothing is proven until the game is played. 

Any chance you film yourself playing so we could be a little more objective in our opinions?  Honestly, based on the basketball resume you've created for yourself on here, what the hell else do you expect us believe sight unseen?

[dark_lord]

me thinks star is being sarcastic and every1 is falling for his bait.

I don't play.    I have played about 200 pick up games in my life.  I've shot around many times before.  

so many emotions reading this thread......humor, dumbfounded, surprised, annoyed, and overall makes me feel better about myself, lol

[star18]

Roy, someone is saying they are laughing at my post, that doesn't seem correct either. I'm not trying to insult anyone.

[cdif911]

If maximizing the poontang  really WAS your objective, you'd have become a profession athlete

Honestly, it's not even worth debating this, other than to wonder why if all one needs to become a professional athlete is hard work and adrenaline, why thousands and thousands of kids who've busted their tail for their whole lives have their dreams broken each year.  If you (or any one of us) was on the court with the C's, every shot we took would be blocked (maybe we could get off a half-court shot), the guy we were defending would score EVERY time they had the ball, and we'd look the fool.  Adrenaline or not, the concept of "talent" - even if nothing more than balance, co-ordination, and quick-twitch muscle response - does come into play.

Not really.   Every shot we took would be blocked, even when I passed it down low to KG or Sheed? Don't think so.  I don't think whoever I was guarding would score every time. Does every NBA player make every open shot? Of course not, so shots would be missed.

watch an NBA player shoot around, they make 9 out of 10 shots easily, from every spot on the court - I was watching Scalabrine shoot around and he was around 85-90%, it was ridiculous...

and yes, you would get scored on often and have trouble getting your shot off, very few NBAers are 5'10 and those who are, are athletic physical freaks...

That is not true, they don't all shoot 90% from every spot on the court at all times.   Yes they are great shooters.   When I was 19, me and my friend were shooting around and he made 16 long jumpers in a row, so what does that mean?

no, they really do, again watch a pro practice, it is insane how accurate most guys are. defense and in game fatigue really changes shots (and no I'm not talking Kendrick Perkins here, we're talking guys whose job it is to shoot)

[star18]

I'm not being sarcastic.   I believe I am a great basketball player.  I am in great shape and am athletic.    Again I'm not saying I'm Michael Jordan, so please understand that.   What I am saying is that if you look around the NBA, guys like Bobby Jackson, Jose Barea, Earl Boykins, they are in the NBA too.  And I'm not saying they aren't great players, because they are amazing players.  I'm just saying I don't think there is a difference between night and day with some of these guys and me.   And I'm not saying I would make an NBA team, I'm just saying that talent wise I am at least somewhat competitive, and if I had all the other things around me that NBA players have I would have a much better and possibly realistic chance to be an NBA player for one year.

[dark_lord]

star, have an idea for a tattoo if ur ever interested 

[star18]

If maximizing the poontang  really WAS your objective, you'd have become a profession athlete

Honestly, it's not even worth debating this, other than to wonder why if all one needs to become a professional athlete is hard work and adrenaline, why thousands and thousands of kids who've busted their tail for their whole lives have their dreams broken each year.  If you (or any one of us) was on the court with the C's, every shot we took would be blocked (maybe we could get off a half-court shot), the guy we were defending would score EVERY time they had the ball, and we'd look the fool.  Adrenaline or not, the concept of "talent" - even if nothing more than balance, co-ordination, and quick-twitch muscle response - does come into play.

Not really.   Every shot we took would be blocked, even when I passed it down low to KG or Sheed? Don't think so.  I don't think whoever I was guarding would score every time. Does every NBA player make every open shot? Of course not, so shots would be missed.

watch an NBA player shoot around, they make 9 out of 10 shots easily, from every spot on the court - I was watching Scalabrine shoot around and he was around 85-90%, it was ridiculous...

and yes, you would get scored on often and have trouble getting your shot off, very few NBAers are 5'10 and those who are, are athletic physical freaks...

That is not true, they don't all shoot 90% from every spot on the court at all times.   Yes they are great shooters.   When I was 19, me and my friend were shooting around and he made 16 long jumpers in a row, so what does that mean?

no, they really do, again watch a pro practice, it is insane how accurate most guys are. defense and in game fatigue really changes shots (and no I'm not talking Kendrick Perkins here, we're talking guys whose job it is to shoot)

They don't I've watched warmups plenty of times before also.  Every player doesn't hit 90% from anywhere on the court.   I've seen plenty of shots missed in warmups.  Actually at the NJ/BOS game I went to it was the opposite.  I was surprised at how many shots were missed.  And how can you say that anyway when there are so many players in the NBA who don't even shoot 70% from the free throw line.  

[star18]

star, have an idea for a tattoo if ur ever interested 

Sorry, I have no tattoos and will never get one.   

[cdif911]

If maximizing the poontang  really WAS your objective, you'd have become a profession athlete

Honestly, it's not even worth debating this, other than to wonder why if all one needs to become a professional athlete is hard work and adrenaline, why thousands and thousands of kids who've busted their tail for their whole lives have their dreams broken each year.  If you (or any one of us) was on the court with the C's, every shot we took would be blocked (maybe we could get off a half-court shot), the guy we were defending would score EVERY time they had the ball, and we'd look the fool.  Adrenaline or not, the concept of "talent" - even if nothing more than balance, co-ordination, and quick-twitch muscle response - does come into play.

Not really.   Every shot we took would be blocked, even when I passed it down low to KG or Sheed? Don't think so.  I don't think whoever I was guarding would score every time. Does every NBA player make every open shot? Of course not, so shots would be missed.

watch an NBA player shoot around, they make 9 out of 10 shots easily, from every spot on the court - I was watching Scalabrine shoot around and he was around 85-90%, it was ridiculous...

and yes, you would get scored on often and have trouble getting your shot off, very few NBAers are 5'10 and those who are, are athletic physical freaks...

That is not true, they don't all shoot 90% from every spot on the court at all times.   Yes they are great shooters.   When I was 19, me and my friend were shooting around and he made 16 long jumpers in a row, so what does that mean?

no, they really do, again watch a pro practice, it is insane how accurate most guys are. defense and in game fatigue really changes shots (and no I'm not talking Kendrick Perkins here, we're talking guys whose job it is to shoot)

They don't I've watched warmups plenty of times before also.  Every player doesn't hit 90% from anywhere on the court.   I've seen plenty of shots missed in warmups.  Actually at the NJ/BOS game I went to it was the opposite.  I was surprised at how many shots were missed.  And how can you say that anyway when there are so many players in the NBA who don't even shoot 70% from the free throw line.  

practice, not before game shootarounds, I was seriously shocked and surprised myself...we went to a practice 2 years ago, in the championship season - Ray Ray didn't miss a 3, he took about 30, Scal missed 2 or 3 shots, Eddie House was lights out, etc. etc. etc.  You'll have to take my word for it, or go check one out yourself

[star18]

Here is Rondo's career FT % .634 and here is Perkins career FT % .600.  So no NBA players don't hit 90% of their shots, that is ridiculous.

[Redz]

star, have an idea for a tattoo if ur ever interested 

that's some ugly backne