Has anyone ever heard a player dramatically improving their Vertical

[KG Living Legend]

 At P3 draft camp they said this about Stanley Johnson, they figured out his weakness and "he's pulling against himself jumping" and they think he can Improve six to seven inches in his vertical in a month and a half, Now we have heard about Myles Turner and his funny gait improving, But 6 inches in 6 weeks to your vertical for a guy that's already really athletic, not sure if I buy that.
 Anyone ever heard of such a thing?

[Ilikesports17]

 At P3 draft camp they said this about Stanley Johnson, they figured out his weakness and "he's"pulling against himself jumping" and they think he can Improve six to seven inches in his vertical in a month and a half, Now we have heard about Myles Turner and his funny gait improving, But 6 inches in 6 weeks to your vertical for a guy that's already really athletic, not sure if I buy that.
 Anyone ever heard of such a thing?

Ive been thinking the same thing. Johnson claimed he could add 6 inches and our own James Young has supposedly added 3.

I see no reason why its not entirely possible. You cant so much improve natural explosion but in the Stanley Johnson case Im sure you can iron out mechanical flaws in a jump. I played basketball and soccer all my life and when I joined the track team in high school my running form was very left-right and I took shorter choppy steps with my feet constantly angled. this was because in soccer and basketball you need to be able to cut quickly etc. When I straightened out my arm and leg movement I was able to significantly improve my times. Obviously this is different but I assume its the same idea.

Stanley is obviously a really good athlete so if they can get all his muscle and explosion to work in one direction rather than working against itself, I think he could see that type of jump in performance without having to add any muscle etc.

[35Lewis]

Are they talking game vertical or just for the vertical test?  If he can apply an extra 6 inches in game then that would be amazing.  If they are talking about the stupid test then that's a shame.  Agents and trainers actually show you how to jump higher for the tests.  I remember improving my vertical something like 4 inches in a few days working with a trainer but it wasn't like I became Amare  Stoudemire.

Would be amazing though. 

[guava_wrench]

For young guys who never took working out seriously or who never thought about footwork, I'm sure they can improve their vertical.

[knuckleballer]

I'm more likely to buy Johnson's improved vertical over Turner's improved running. 

[Celtics4ever]

It is possible but it takes a lot of knowledge and hard work and you have to have the right kind of fibers ratio within reason.  If it is related to strength issues, then I definitely think it is possible.

[Who]

Carl Landry as a rookie in Houston.

I can't remember the figures but the announcers in Houston used to talk about it during that rookie year. How much Landry had improved from the draft to about Christmas. And it was shocking just how much Landry had increased his vertical and explosive quickness. Apparently, he had never worked on his vertical or explosive quickness prior to getting to the NBA. So his trainers there so lots of potential from day one to improve his athletic abilities.

[guava_wrench]

Remember when Big Baby couldn't dunk? I remember being there for his first NBA dunk in his rookie season.

Of course, his lack of ups was for a different reason.

[littleteapot]

They are talking about improving their jumping mechanics to take advantage of their natural athleticism and do well on a vertical test. Actually taking honed athletes like Stanley Johnson (or almost any pro/major college basketball player) and improving their vertical substantially is very rare.

And while mechanics are important to actual games in addition to the combine/workouts (Brandon Bass's improvement is a great example) a lot of the time, in game you just have to be a natural leaper because you have to jump from awkward positions. The DraftExpress video of Aaron Gordon last year did a great job showing a player who doesn't just jump high, but can jump quickly from awkward positions.

[KG Living Legend]

Funny u say that cause you know one corner Celtic that could jump high from any position, Kedrick Brown, what a waste...

[Csfan1984]

Sure some guys never fully jump straight vertically so they aren't used to the motion. But if it's one step vert that is kind of tricky to expect a lot more. Max vert is done all the time in play so unless you train hard building more technic and explosive strength it's not going up. So regular vert yes you can improve that quickly. Max vert takes time.

[littleteapot]

Funny u say that cause you know one corner Celtic that could jump high from any position, Kedrick Brown, what a waste...

Not sure if this was a response to me, but I definitely think there's more to basketball than jumping. There are plenty of scrubs who can jump out of the gym and there's plenty of stars who are average or even bad at jumping.

However, I know it's a cliche, but you can't teach jumping ability. Someone like Doug McDermott will never be able to jump of one foot while running backwards like Aaron Gordon, if he wants to make it in the NBA he needs to use his other talents.

[Evantime34]

I gained about 5 inches on my vertical in highschool doing a jumping program called "air alert", so I am sure it is completely possible.

[manl_lui]

I gained about 5 inches on my vertical in highschool doing a jumping program called "air alert", so I am sure it is completely possible.

I remember that program actually. I think our coach and captain used it for our volleyball practice