Athleticism Does Not Equal 'Jumping High'

The only player that I think of as unathletic on this team is Woodbury, and maybe Meyer. I haven't seen enough of Meyer to comment on his athleticism. Woody has feet of clay and couldn't jump over the Iowa City phone book if they are still publishing one.
 
See, I disagree. I think Woody has good feet and will have great feet as a senior. I think he's agile and runs well. He just can't jump. I think he's one of he more athletic big men we've had.
 
Woody is unathletic when compared to Marble, but not when compared to other 7 foot centers. sure he isn't a lottery pick (yet?) but the dude can actually run the floor. you might have an argument that he's not "strong" however.
 
MeatMan said:
Woody is unathletic when compared to Marble, but not when compared to other 7 foot centers. sure he isn't a lottery pick (yet?) but the dude can actually run the floor. you might have an argument that he's not "strong" however.
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He has an athlete's build. 27 year-old Adam Woodbury is going to be an altogether different beast than 20 year-old Adam Woodbury.
 
wundergrape said:
It's like how people always compare Aaron White and Jarrod Uthoff to Larry Bird.

Just a horrible comparison.

Aaron White has Lamar Odom's game...Uthoff has Kevin Garnett's.
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Was that a reference to Lamar's on-the-court game or home-court game?:)
 
wundergrape said:
He has an athlete's build. 27 year-old Adam Woodbury is going to be an altogether different beast than 20 year-old Adam Woodbury.
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i agree. it can take quite awhile to grow into a body like that. especially since he's really only been playing against dudes his size for a couple years.
 
wundergrape said:
It's like how people always compare Aaron White and Jarrod Uthoff to Larry Bird.

Just a horrible comparison.

Aaron White has Lamar Odom's game...Uthoff has Kevin Garnett's.
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I don't get the Odom comparison at all. Odom was known for his passing and ball handling at 6'10". I have never seen that as part of the scouting report on white.
 
BryceC said:
I don't get the Odom comparison at all. Odom was known for his passing and ball handling at 6'10". I have never seen that as part of the scouting report on white.
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Odom, in his prime, was also known as one of, if not the most versatile player in the NBA, capable of playing all 5 positions because of his ball handling, great post up game, and good defense.

White has a similar body style to Odom, lanky and tall, but Odom is a highly talented player that honestly only scratched his potential.

White is maxing out his talent and potential but simply doesn't have near the physical tools that Odom has.
 
Xerxes said:
Odom, in his prime, was also known as one of, if not the most versatile player in the NBA, capable of playing all 5 positions because of his ball handling, great post up game, and good defense.

White has a similar body style to Odom, lanky and tall, but Odom is a highly talented player that honestly only scratched his potential.

White is maxing out his talent and potential but simply doesn't have near the physical tools that Odom has.
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I would say Uthoff is much more Odom like than White. Neither is a great comparison. Aaron White is much more Ryan Bowen than Lamar Odom. When I think Odom I think silky smooth, almost Balletic. When I think Aaron White I think twitchy, sudden, a lot more robotic.
 
wundergrape said:
He has an athlete's build. 27 year-old Adam Woodbury is going to be an altogether different beast than 20 year-old Adam Woodbury.
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Are his arms magically going to grow 8 inches longer? If not much of what you see is what you are going to get. Woodbury is already fairly coordinated for a 7 footer, but I don't think he's going to be Dirk Nowitzki when he's 27.
 
Woodbury does a good job at running the floor, however I think where the lack of athleticism complaint comes in is his inability to play above the rim like a 7 footer should. I don't have an opinion one way or another, but he has no hops and if he played with the energy and aggressiveness that Gabe plays with his defensive numbers (ie. blocked shots and rebounds) would increase dramatically. By no means am I saying that Woodbury is unathletic but if you compare him to Gabe or many other "athletic" big men then he has a long ways to go to be what many would consider athletic. At this point Woodbury plays like a developing 7 footer should, but i definitely understand the unathletic opinions. Whether fair to judge him on his hops, or not, the guy simply has no ups and lacks the explosiveness that many associate with athleticism.
 
" I don't have an opinion one way or another, but he has no hops and if he played with the energy and aggressiveness that Gabe plays with his defensive numbers (ie. blocked shots and rebounds) would increase dramatically"


I can't believe people actually watch the games and miss that Woodbury is one of the most active 7-footers in the country. The guy plays the perimeter as well as any big guy I've seen this year. Heck, he plays it better than almost any NBA center I've seen, and all they run in the NBA are high ball screens.

In the Drake game he was reading the rotations and closing out on guards to prevent catch and shoot 3s.

True, the guy can't jump; but, he shuffles those feet as well as any center we could ever hope to have. It might not be as exciting as a block shot, but it is probably more important in today's stretch game where most teams generate all of their offense through drive and kick action.
 
what exactly defines athleticism is a near impossible argument.. I'd say being coordinated is part of athleticism but its easy to argue the other way... where do you draw the line and now.

Someone with good hand-eye coordination may be good at xbox... does that make them an athlete?
 
IowaTeddy said:
Indeed, I think Adam Woodbury is unathletic. Doesn't mean he's bad or that he is lacking a role. But he is not athletic
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Did you see him run the floor, catch the pass from White and take it to the rim in one fluid motion? Yes, fluid. That was an athletic play.

Furthermore, I doubt you can contribute at a d1 level without being athletic. If you want to argue he is not AS athletic as others, I'll buy in. But to say he is not athletic is ludicrous.
 
Bigtenchamp said:
what exactly defines athleticism is a near impossible argument.. I'd say being coordinated is part of athleticism but its easy to argue the other way... where do you draw the line and now.

Someone with good hand-eye coordination may be good at xbox... does that make them an athlete?
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Not really. At it's core, it's those attributes which contribute to one being successful at athletics. There are a limited amount of human traits available here.
 
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