In 'Honor' of Shaq Retiring: Who is all time best center?

[Liq]

Comparing Russell and Wilt is like comparing Montana and Marino.

 

[NewMexHawk]

Sorry...I had Walton wrong. So with good feet and good knees Walton could be considered on the best...IMO.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Thread drift:

Decline of the center?

I had a senior this year who I'd coached when he was a frosh (then I stopped coaching). Six nine, six five as a frosh, and I'd worked with him on post moves and understanding how to play with his back to the basket. He never really picked that stuff up, ended up as a jump-shooter who would block some shots in a zone -- during AAU season he'd try to be KG or Dirk, but he didn't have the skills to be any kind of face-up player, so he ended up as a big kid who just wasn't very good. I mentioned watching some McHale video on You Tube to him, and said "you know, kids just don't learn that anymore...a guy who really worked that would be very recruitable." His response: "it's not a big man's game anymore."

WTF?

Down here at least, every tall kid wants to be a face-up player, a huge 3 or face up 4 than developing a post game. So open question -- chicken or egg time.

Why? Because a generation of tall kids skipped college or came out as freshmen and never really developed, so now we have no classic big men in the NBA, so kids who want to be like their heroes want to play like Dirk or KG instead of Jabbar or McHale? AAU coaches (who sometimes become more important than HS ones) trying to groom every big kid into a face-up 4?

Discuss.

It's very true, everyone wants to shoot threes and play the point. It's become extremely rare to see a kid like Jared Sullinger come along any more. Sullinger came in to the B10 as a freshman with a great back to the basket games, tons of polished post moves and great footwork.

I don't think coaches try to develop everyone into face up players, I think it's more of a problem of that's how kids want to play.

 

[IATrainMaster101]

Thread drift:

Decline of the center?

I had a senior this year who I'd coached when he was a frosh (then I stopped coaching). Six nine, six five as a frosh, and I'd worked with him on post moves and understanding how to play with his back to the basket. He never really picked that stuff up, ended up as a jump-shooter who would block some shots in a zone -- during AAU season he'd try to be KG or Dirk, but he didn't have the skills to be any kind of face-up player, so he ended up as a big kid who just wasn't very good. I mentioned watching some McHale video on You Tube to him, and said "you know, kids just don't learn that anymore...a guy who really worked that would be very recruitable." His response: "it's not a big man's game anymore."

WTF?

Down here at least, every tall kid wants to be a face-up player, a huge 3 or face up 4 than developing a post game. So open question -- chicken or egg time.

Why? Because a generation of tall kids skipped college or came out as freshmen and never really developed, so now we have no classic big men in the NBA, so kids who want to be like their heroes want to play like Dirk or KG instead of Jabbar or McHale? AAU coaches (who sometimes become more important than HS ones) trying to groom every big kid into a face-up 4?

Discuss.

I'm taking what you said in a slightly different direction here, but my youngest son played freshmen ball this past year and a 6'1 he played the post. He was the second smallest 5 in the league as most ranged in the 6'3-6'5 range with the tallest at 6'8ish". My son played back to the basket "old school" and has a text book drop step in either direction. He was constantly in foul trouble but scored at will when on the floor. Flat out, if he got the ball down low and failed to score it was because he A. passed it or B. missed a wide open bunny.

It was comical watching coaches trying to teach on the sidelines how to defend a drop step. You could tell in many cases it was their first time even talking about how to prevent a post player from sealing yuu in that fashion.

To answer your question, I think that kids these days want the flash, like we did at that age. But coaches want the kids so they let the tail wag the dog more than the coaches did a few years back.

 

[EddyP]

It's very true, everyone wants to shoot threes and play the point. It's become extremely rare to see a kid like Jared Sullinger come along any more. Sullinger came in to the B10 as a freshman with a great back to the basket games, tons of polished post moves and great footwork.

I don't think coaches try to develop everyone into face up players, I think it's more of a problem of that's how kids want to play.

And his Dad is a coach.

 

[Clark]

If you are going to fairly compare layers from different eras I think you have to physically enhance the players from earlier eras and give them the benifit of modern day diet, strength and conditioning. It was a different game in the 70's.

Doing that My list would go

Kareem
Wilt/Shaq
Walton
Hakeem/Malone/Russell
Robinson/Ewing/Dawkins/Parrish

I know i'm forgetting some but that's how I see it.

Going a step further, without giving any points for to older era players.

College/rookie Lew Alcindor vs Shaquille O'neil despite the physical mismatch of 100 plus pounds, neither one would have a great answer for the other defensively. I think that would have boiled down to who got who into foul trouble. That Sky hook was friggin unstopable.

I agree with you. I think Russell would be a very similar player to Dwight Howard in almost every way.

Wilt would have been amazing but there wouldn't be any 100 point games.

I'm not sure Kareem could have put on a ton of weight but I don't think he would need to, at least offensively. Kareem vs Shaq would be a never ending battle. I think both players would shoot about 95%.