[Nimreitz]

Originally Posted by Shaq_Diesel

Kevin Durant couldn't put up 185 lbs. ONE TIME??? Come on man, ever visited the weight room?

The Wright "Brothers" only put it up twice each, so not much better there.

Al Thornton with the best vert, 41"....Conley Jr. with 40.5" is NASTY though too.

DX ranked the best scores: DJ Strawberry, Russell Carter, Dominic James, Conley Jr., and Carl Landry

Really long, lanky arms make it very hard to do the bench press. Al Jefferson put up something like 2, but he's definitely a powerful guy. It's not a major concern.

[mysterio]

Some of these players must be wearing lifts. Normal shoes don't give you 2 inches of height.

[lw32]

Originally Posted by Nimreitz

Really long, lanky arms make it very hard to do the bench press. Al Jefferson put up something like 2, but he's definitely a powerful guy. It's not a major concern.

Nimreitz, while I agree long arms make it harder to bench press they don't make it impossible. These guys, if they've been in the gym lifting at all, should be able to get a few more reps up. They all weight more than 185lbs. I'm always surprised at the amount some of these pro athletes can lift. I know they're not weightlifters, however 185lbs shouldn't be a struggle for them. From playing ball I do understand you don't necessarily need these muscles to succeed, I couldn't do 185lbs sets until after I stopped playing.

The biggest reason they can't lift is because they don't have the strength. The Wright's and Durant are not physically strong in the upper body, they don't have big triceps to help with the push you need on the bench press. I also understand we've got different levels of knowledge on how to lift as well. Jefferson coming out of HS probably hadn't lifted weights a whole lot, he's naturally a big guy. 2 reps is shocking for him, but I'm positive he could do far more now.

All in all, how much you can bench really doesn't do a ton for your game. Just means you probably have bigger pecs and triceps.

[HKF]

To me the biggest difference I see is that when guys are in college, the strength and conditioning part of it is still very underwhelming. I remember hearing the stories about how Durant was living in the weightroom, but I never believed them because how the heck could he be in the weightroom all that time, still attend practice, class and mandatory study halls during the season.

I am sure he and Wright worked out but the truth is, college takes away how much lifting these guys can do. To me, even after that one year of college Durant, Wright, Oden, Crittenton, Thad Young and Hawes look absolutely no different. No strong, no bigger, no nothing. They look exactly as they did a year ago in HS to me, at least from a physical standpoint.

Now, I would bet that after a full year in the NBA (starting with next year's offseason), that when you see each of these players for their 2nd NBA seasons, they will look vastly different.

I honestly kind of feel for many of these college coaches, they knew this year was the "one and done group," because of how strong the HS class was, so they didn't bother doing much other than throwing them out there to the wolves because they knew they would jump anyway, so why have them get much stronger and such, because heck if they have a lackluster year, maybe they will stay.

Heck, if you watched the way Ohio State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Texas used their super frosh, do any of those kids look like they really received a lot of coaching. Heck Georgia Tech and Texas were the most egregious examples of that IMO. Thad Young would have been better off declaring out of HS (and I really believe that).

[fjkdsi]

of course he would have
he was considered a top 5 pick and even ahead of Durant by some

[TucsonClip]

Look at LeBron James now compared to his rookie year. He was still big then, but he is LARGE now. These guys need a few years in the NBA with professional trainers on a full workout schedule. They will add some meat to their bones soon ehough.

[cpawfan]

Durant wasn't 215 in HS. He certainly improved his body.

Hawes lost almost 20 pounds during the season because of a virus

[MikeDC]

I wonder how Hawes would have measured out with another 20lbs on him? I don't mind him being 245-250 at all. As it stood, he got outjumped by Aaron Gray

[rainman]

Originally Posted by MikeDC

I wonder how Hawes would have measured out with another 20lbs on him? I don't mind him being 245-250 at all. As it stood, he got outjumped by Aaron Gray

Then good for Aaron Gray, Hawes had a 29 in. vertical and a 9-2 standing reach, those aren't bad numbers for a 7fter.

[Aussie Baller]

Thornton, Al:
Standing reach of 8'8"
Maximum Vertical Jump at 41"
Puts him at 12'1"

That's ****ed up