Conference hbahba::cam_sports

    
    
      'Nique Wilkins ex Hawk/overthehillCeltic could in his prime.

>    This is a question that I have been getting a lot of different answers
>    to. Okay here it comes: Can any basketball player current or past jump
>    from the floor and grab a quarter or any other type of money from the
>    top of the backboard? I think that it is possible but, I cannot prove
>    it. So if anybody has any proof let me know.
>    
    
I remember from Geometry class that if you couldn't prove a theorem directly,
then try to prove the converse of the theorem.

Here goes:

	Take me.

	Put me in a pair of Air "Nathan Detroit" Jordans.

	Put a phone book on the floor (say, the Hartford white pages).

	Have me jump and clear the book.

	Make sure you have an EMT there, because 99.9% of the time
	   I'm not gonna clear that book and I'm gonna take a 
	   header.


Ergo, if I can't clear the phone book, there has to be at least ONE person
out there in the world who can get a quarter off the top of a backboard.

But that only begs the question:  why jump that high for a quarter?  Now,
if you had a $1000 bill sitting up there, why, hey, I'd even try.


But if you want HARD proof, watch that Michael "Nathan Detroit" Jordan
commerical that he does in the airplane hanger with the 50' hoop.
If he can hang on the rim on that 50' hoop, then he can grab your quarter...

I saw it on TV, ergo, it must be true.....


'Saw    
    
    
    

  Well maybe someone can jump up and get that quarter and maybe not, but the guy
that impresses me is the guy who can jump up and place that quarter on the top
of the backboard in the 1st place.

  George 

    
    	I jump as high as my wife tells me to!
    
    Claybone

David Thompson did it while at NC State, didn't he ?

    
    	Does anybody know the height/width of the backboard? Ex. Is the
    backboard 4ft by 4 ft. Or precisely how many inches above the rim is
    the top of the backboard? You see players get there head above the
    rim all of the time, making there shoulders even with the rim. If
    they have an arm span of 36", theoretically they should be able to
    touch 36" above the rim.
    	Just last night on the news they were talking about one of Keven
    Garnetts former teammates. He is waiting for his SAT/ACT scores to
    come in, if can't get into college he might try to go right to the
    pro's. The kid has a 40" vertical leap and he is something like 6'6".
    So if he is standing under the basket, with his vertical leap his
    head is even with the rim. Give him a running start and he should
    have no problems touching the top of the backboard.
    
    Ron

Seems to me I remember that touting Ralph Sampson as
doing the quarter thing. I believe the top of the back-
board is supposed to be 13 feet above the ground. That's
the number I remember from when I was a kid and we hung
a hoop up...

mike

For some reason, I always thought the top of the backboard was at
12' or 12'6".  But, like most things in ::SPROTS, this is not at
all based on fact... :-)

>David Thompson did it while at NC State, didn't he ?

Right you are and he also did what George suggested by placing a coin up
there. In fack, this was one of his routines.

Lore has it that ol' David actually tried to make change once wherein he
tried to exchange coins but never could get that feat down.

In terms of leaping ability, it seems like the cutoff is 40". I looks
like if'n you can get you soles 40" off the floor you're soaring. That
kid that played with Kevin Garnett but was injured the other day, Fields
or something, he has a major elevator. ESPN showed clips of him taking a
bounced ball and doing a windmill. As Dickie V would say, "Awesome
Baby!~"

TTom

    Based on the Official Rules taken out of the Official NBA Guide ...
    
    The backboard shall be a rectangle measuring 6 feet horizontally and 3�
    feet vertically.

    I heard that when Michael Cooper was with the Lakers in warmup he would
    grab change of the top of the backboard. He called it the Cooper Scoop.

    Now don't laugh, But, I saw Rumeal Robinson in high school Come 
    damn near close to touching the top of the backboard. 

    
    	I thought that Wilt could do it in his prime...
    

>    Okay, I probably shouldn't admit this but all the while I'm reading
>    this note string I'm seeing blackboard instead of backboard and I'm
>    thinking that I could probably grab a quarter of the top of a
>    blackboard so what's the big deal.
    
Get more rest.

Drink plenty of fluids.

Maybe think about getting that eyeglass prescription updated 8^)

    If ever I needed humble pie it was in my assessment of Rumeal as a
    future nba great.  He stumbled about pretty good although he's finally
    back with Portland with Strickland suspended and had a pretty good
    night earlier this week - 16 assists , 20+ points?
    
    Speaking of Michigan I watched the game last night with my wife a state
    alum - quelle agony.  Finally at the end of the 75-46 fiasco a state
    kid heaves one from mid court at the buzzer, it spins around the rim
    and espn shifts the camera to the celebration, leaving the point(3 to
    be exact) to be wondered over.  She says "That's the story of my life".
    
    Horrific officiating - not just Ann Arbor biased but just poor from a
    competence point of view, missed goal tending,offensive interference
    and the allowing of an incredible amount of hacking.

         There is a kid playing for Memphis this season by the name of
    Michael Wilson, a 6'6" forward, who at their "Midnight Madness"
    festivities in early November, tried to break the Guiness record for 
    dunking on the highest rim.  I belive the record is 11'6-1/2" and is 
    held by DJ's younger brother, Joey Johnson, who stands 6'4".  Wilson took
    three attempts at 11'7" and missed all three.
    
         It would seem necessary to be able to touch at least 12' or 12'3",
    in order to be able to dunk at 11'7".
    
    Russ
                                                        

Some record....HA!

I dunk 12 any Saturday morning....


Oh, wait a minute,  you're talking about dunking a basketball.  I thought
you meant dunking DONUTS!


Sorry bout that....

    'saw did you see where they're now up to about 1.25 for the medium
    coffee and in nh with the .07 tax they've broken 1.60 for the large.
    
    Since that increase I've switched to herbal tea.

>    'saw did you see where they're now up to about 1.25 for the medium
>    coffee and in nh with the .07 tax they've broken 1.60 for the large.
>    
>    Since that increase I've switched to herbal tea.

Actually, Bill, I couldn't tell you what they get down here -- Kim always
buys at DD.

Normally, I'm a black coffee guy.  Unless it's a DD, in which case I like
the huge French Vanilla kind, with some of the stuff in the pink packet and
some milk.


We don't have a meals tax down here....


'saw

    Julius Erving allegedly was rumored according to hearsay to have
    performed the feat of reaching the top of the backboard to deposit a
    dime and a nickel, while retrieving a quarter.  This occured when he
    was a sophmore at UMass, just prior to his joining the old ABA with the
    then ABA NJ Nets [?]. 
    
    You can believe it or not...just passing along old data.
    
    	Ted

>    'saw did you see where they're now up to about 1.25 for the medium
>    coffee and in nh with the .07 tax they've broken 1.60 for the large.
    
    Where's that?  It's still $1.40 in Wilton, $1.30 in our beloved 
    caf...
    
> Normally, I'm a black coffee guy.  Unless it's a DD, in which case I like
> the huge French Vanilla kind, with some of the stuff in the pink packet and
> some milk.

    That's unmainly, ungainly, even un-American and most decidedly 
    un-Scot-like (_French_ Vanilla with the pink packet?! ;-).

    For amusement purposes only, Breen doesn't take his coffee like a
    main either... ;-)
    
    glenn
    

Glenn,

I was gonna let that girly mon ice cream in good ol' black coffee thing
slide but you're right. One only hopes that he's come clean on this with
Kim.

Maybe he started doing this to develop more of his feminine side, or some
psychobabble of that ilk.

In any case, I'm trying to compose a note about what Saw might think
about that Marine who ratted us out to the commies and just got outta
jail.

I think I'll wait awhile.

TTom

Now hold on there a minute, fellas.


When it comes to coffee, 99.9% of the time, I drink mine black, no freakin'
flavors or nothing, and I don't mind if it's strong enough for a spoon to stand
up in....

Every once in a while I get a hankering for some of that there gourmet stuff,
and I like the DD "french vanilla" kind.  Now, IMO, gourmet coffee is not made
with the black coffee drinker in mind, cause that flavor doesn't really come
out unless you use some of that Sweet 'n Lo stuff (couldn't think of the name
of it before) and a little milk.  Then, that there flavor comes out.


So, don't you be givin me it's none of this "un-American" crap....


That Marine that gave away secrets?  Well, it depends on when he went through
boot camp.  My guess he's what REAL Marines, Marines of the Bill Breen and
earlier vintage, would call a P***y Marine.  That's a Marine that went through
after 1976, when the DIs could no longer physically touch a recruit, nor could
they call them names.  REAL Marines, I've noticed, tend to think of the newer
vintage Marines as just a little bit less Marine than they are, but still much
better than regular pukes like you and me.

Now, this guy was clearly a newer vintage Marine, who hadn't been taught that
his little head should be thinking Marine Green and NOT Marina ___ina, you
know.  That was his problem, if'n I remember right.

Course, if it was up to me, he'd still be rottin' in jail....


'Saw

>Course, if it was up to me, he'd still be rottin' in jail....

And none of that ice cream in that black coffee for him, neither, too...

    'Saw, let me clarify.  All marines of all eras always talked about the
    "old corps" and they were doing it in 1968 and 1948 and I'm sure when
    Dan Daly was a recruit he heard about O'Bannon and the march on Tunis
    and those real marines.
    
    But in these eyes young men and women not only in the marines but the
    rest of the service are superbly trained and motivated.  The techniques
    are surely different and the chances of getting punched in the mouth by
    the DI (as I was) is probably less today (not to speak of getting
    kicked in the ankle - intent to cripple).
    
    Now if you want to talk baseball players of 30,40,50,60 years ago vs today
    ....

Well, I was just statin' what I've heard from the Marines I know....

Actually, I take my hat off to all of them, cause it ain't an easy life all the
time, that's for sure...

Hell, Bill, if the guy whopped you in the mouth, he probably didn't like that
tie you was wearin' on the first day.  8^)



And who said anything about ice cream in coffee.  What a waste of good ice
cream....


'saw

    Now lads, you're getting of the subject. This note is only about how
    high someone can jump. If you want talk about coffee make a note about
    it. 

	Eh, yo!

	We do that in SPORTS.


	SPORTS is kind of like stream of consciousness noting.  The manner
	in which we note liberates our minds for other things...


	Coffee is cool, and if I drink too much then I have to JUMP
	up and run to the bathroom quick.

	But if you don't like coffee that's okay with me.  If you like
	tea, I can live with that -- I like Earl Grey myself.

	On the other hand, if you're one of those folks that has a 
	Pepsi or Coke in the morning, why, that's just plain sick.  8^)

	
	If you like beer for breakfast, welcome aboard, eh.


'Saw

>    Okay, I probably shouldn't admit this but all the while I'm reading
>    this note string I'm seeing blackboard instead of backboard and I'm
>    thinking that I could probably grab a quarter of the top of a
>    blackboard so what's the big deal.

I probably couldn't... :-)

    
    	Guess I'm sick then.  Hate coffee.  Love Coke.  
    
    	I do have a cup of coffee every fall at elk/deer camp.  Reminds
    	me of why I don't drink the stuff......
    
    Claybone

>    	Guess I'm sick then.  Hate coffee.  Love Coke.  

Well, for you, my friend, I'll make an exception.


On a serious note, I just can't stand the carbonation in the morning (unless
it's in beer).  Makes me fart all day long (carbonation, not beer).

    
>    	I do have a cup of coffee every fall at elk/deer camp.  Reminds
>    	me of why I don't drink the stuff......
    
You DO at least have it black, right?  8^)

Love Coffee. Black.

I also love tea, also straight up. Maybe a little Absolut in it.

Hate Coke, Pepsi, and all them other brands of carbonated natural,
unnatural and semi sweet type beverages. 

The onliest carbonated stuff I drink is beer and tonic, to go with the
Tanquerray.

TTom

    
    	Definitely black.  Gotta get the enamel off the ole teef
    	donchaknow.
    
    Claybone

We had a guy who used to work in this group that would drink mega-cups of
coffee a day.

He had like this 20 oz commuter mug thang and he'd fill it and drink it, fill
it and drink it fill it and drink it all day long.  Talk about wired.  I'm sure
his adrenal glands were shot.


Me, I have two cups in the morning, and that's that.


'Saw

  I drink Coke Classic in the afternoons.

  I love the ~ rattle ~ rattle ** CLUNK ** it makes when it slides down the
shoot.

  George

      Serve the coffee & tea straight up for me!
    
      A moose piss, also known as Mt. Dew, in the afternoon.
    
      re: coffee all day,
    
      I don't know if I have ever seen my boss without his big cup o'
    coffee!  And he seems relaxed!
    
      Tim 

    Come on guys, I have a bet about the backboard thing now, can you get
    back on the subject? I know a lot of people like to drink coffee but
    can you forget about it for now, I'm trying to win a bet.

>    Come on guys, I have a bet about the backboard thing now, can you get
>    back on the subject? I know a lot of people like to drink coffee but
>    can you forget about it for now, I'm trying to win a bet.


WE TOLD YOU already.

Grab all the replies that have said it can be done, package them up, print them
out, and show the person who bet you.  If that don't convince them,
nothing will.


Now, if you'll excuse me, my coffee is getting cold....


'Saw

I think by now you've gotten most any input that you'll be getting.  I'd vouch
for the Joey Johnson (brother of DJ) story - he was quite a leaper.  But I
don't know what you'd need for proof.

Digression from the topic is a trademark of ::SPORTS...

And don't be so snitty.  If it's that important to you, you can do the
research.

-Roland

>And don't be so snitty.  If it's that important to you, you can do the
>research.

WHOOOOOAAAA.....TIME TO TAKE A T-O BAAAABBBBBBEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!


Yeah.  Actually, through no fault of your own, you probably got in the
wrong conference.  You probabaly wanted the anal retentive version of SPORTS.
That one's on node BUTT::SPORTS


[all of this being said in fun, of course 8^)]


'saw

    I was watching the highlights of last nights Magic/Nuggets game and in
    one of the rebound shots they had a picture of Antonio McDyess well
    above the square on the backboard. I'd have to say that he would be
    another one who can do this feat.
    
    
    					Tim

      I suppose he couldn't get up quite that high, but perhaps my
      all time favorite *college* basketball player was William
      Herndon from UMass.  I think he was only 6'3" and he played
      forward while Harper Williams played center.  As an example,
      he jumped against Conrad McRae of Syracuse in the tournament
      (I think ~6'10") and it wasn't even close.  Herndon was way
      above him.
    
      What a peculiar player!  Only 6'3", but playing power forward.
      Doing the jump balls.  Taking the ball up against Kentucky so
      as to defeat the full court press.  The only problem was he
      couldn't shoot!
    
    						Tony

    Sounds a lot like Michael Wilson from Memphis. He's a 6'5" forward, but
    does the jump balls (even though they have 6'11" Lorenzen Wright). This
    kid can really get up there, although he can't shoot to save his life.
    
    
    
    
    

    But unlike WIlson, Hernden supplied that extra edge for UMass in that
    he could break a press with his ballhandling.  SO there you have it - a
    6-3 power forward who couldn't shoot, but did everything else well,
    including wearing a pair of ridiculously long shorts!!!
    
    NAZZ