If they cut their "fro."

[andgar923]

How much more athletic would players from the 70's be if they cut their fros?

Seriously....

I think that the fros took away some quickness, mobility and explosiveness when they jumped.

[Meticode]

Air drag eh?

[Sanity]

http://www.freehobo.com/m_pictures/thumbs/honest-hobo.jpg

What an NBA career he would have if he just shaved.

[shawbryant]

sorry,what is the 'fro'?

[iamgine]

How much more athletic would players from the 70's be if they cut their fros?

Seriously....

I think that the fros took away some quickness, mobility and explosiveness when they jumped.
but they had shorter pants to make up for the fro weight.

[TearDrop]

Air drag eh?

http://basketball.ballparks.com/NBA/Philadelphia76ers/pictures/julius.jpg
This guy did okay with his large fro... maybe the air drag coefficient (Cd) will be reduced for the head but overall, the head is small compared with the whole body... So perhaps not much effect. In addition, the speed of which he's going through the air isn't that great and air resistance have small effect. Unless you're moving at the speed of world class cyclist (almost all shave their leg) or moving through more viscous medium like in swimming pool, the surface resistance is probably not that great and cutting the fro would have minimal effect IMHO.

Wild animals try to make themselves look bigger and stronger. Think about peacock bird spreading up his tail... you can say the same with Ben Wallace, 6'7" without the fro and perhaps 7'1" with the fro... the extra confidence and motivation associated with having larger fro than your opponent might help release more adrenaline into your blood stream and this extra rush perhaps help Big Ben to jump like a pogo stick when he was the defensive player of the year a few years back. On the other hand, it doesnt help him with his jumpshot. Maybe the extra mass on his head introduced additional moment away from the center of gravity of his body, hence taking away his jumpshot alignment.:D

While we are at it, maybe having larger testicles than your opponents help create better lower body stability for your jumpshot especially in making game winning shot. You can ask the alien with big balls, Sam Cassell...
http://thehoopdoctors.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2009/cassell.jpg

[Sanity]

^^^^Sam Cassell is not of this earth :no:

[gts]

lol teardrop..
are you trying to say due to the low viscosity of air, the weight of the human body combined near flat frontal mass area of the torso that provides the aero of your average brick that the "fro" is the least of the athletes problems when performing aerial moves?
if so i agree

[TearDrop]

lol teardrop..
are you trying to say due to the low viscosity of air, the weight of the human body combined near flat frontal mass area of the torso that provides the aero of your average brick that the "fro" is the least of the athletes problems when performing aerial moves?
if so i agree

Exactly! The head area facing the air is small compared to the torso/body and your limbs. Also, aerodynamic resistance is not that great at lower speed (and low viscosity of air) and most of the work done is due to the mass of the body.

[gts]

Exactly! The head area facing the air is small compared to the torso/body and your limbs. Also, aerodynamic resistance is not that great at lower speed (and low viscosity of air) and most of the work done is due to the mass of the body. at higher speeds the fro may actually have a slight stabilizing effect, much like a vortex generator has by keeping the lamineer flow from detaching from the surface

[MrEncinas]

teardrop and gts saved the thread. Well done gentlemen.

[andgar923]

http://basketball.ballparks.com/NBA/Philadelphia76ers/pictures/julius.jpg
This guy did okay with his large fro... maybe the air drag coefficient (Cd) will be reduced for the head but overall, the head is small compared with the whole body... So perhaps not much effect. In addition, the speed of which he's going through the air isn't that great and air resistance have small effect. Unless you're moving at the speed of world class cyclist (almost all shave their leg) or moving through more viscous medium like in swimming pool, the surface resistance is probably not that great and cutting the fro would have minimal effect IMHO.

Wild animals try to make themselves look bigger and stronger. Think about peacock bird spreading up his tail... you can say the same with Ben Wallace, 6'7" without the fro and perhaps 7'1" with the fro... the extra confidence and motivation associated with having larger fro than your opponent might help release more adrenaline into your blood stream and this extra rush perhaps help Big Ben to jump like a pogo stick when he was the defensive player of the year a few years back. On the other hand, it doesnt help him with his jumpshot. Maybe the extra mass on his head introduced additional moment away from the center of gravity of his body, hence taking away his jumpshot alignment.:D

While we are at it, maybe having larger testicles than your opponents help create better lower body stability for your jumpshot especially in making game winning shot. You can ask the alien with big balls, Sam Cassell...
http://thehoopdoctors.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2009/cassell.jpg

Great post!

And I understand that Julius was a great athlete and I understand that the effect might've been minimal. But the thread of "unathletic" players made me think, that maybe they could've been a slight fraction more athletic.

But you did a great job answering that.

And I agree with you on the air resistance that it takes, something that I didn't think about as much as I should've. But do these explosive moves done by these athletes (in the move's highest peak) comparable to a cyclists' or even a sprinter when they leave their mark?

Just wondering to what effect that's all.

Thanks for a great post nonetheless.

[TearDrop]

at higher speeds the fro may actually have a slight stabilizing effect, much like a vortex generator has by keeping the lamineer flow from detaching from the surface

I believe it is highly dependent upon the shape of the fro... the additional drag induced from the fro perhaps will introduce additional stabilizing force away from the center of gravity and help keep the body upright as shown in Dr J's many dunks. Maybe, Iverson's braided hair with multiple channels will do a better job at preventing wake or separation from occuring.

[gts]

I believe it is highly dependent upon the shape of the fro... the additional drag induced from the fro perhaps will introduce additional stabilizing force away from the center of gravity and help keep the body upright as shown in Dr J's many dunks. Maybe, Iverson's braided hair with multiple channels will do a better job at preventing wake or separation from occuring.*gts e-mails americas cup skipper Dennis Conner a pic of iversons hair "have i got a hull texture for you!"

[andgar923]

Btw.... also thanks to GTS.

Next question.....

Did the shoes they wear curtail their athleticism a bit?

I'm sure the shoes they wore increased the chances of knee and back damages. But to what degree, if any did their shoes limit them or even help them (which I don't believe)?

Have you guys wore Chuck taylors before?

Most horrible shoes I've ever worn.

I understand today's shoes are made to increase performance. The shoe's construction helps to improve lateral movement, reaction time and jumping ability (2nd jump more than anything).

[TearDrop]

Btw.... also thanks to GTS.

Next question.....

Did the shoes they wear curtail their athleticism a bit?

I'm sure the shoes they wore increased the chances of knee and back damages. But to what degree, if any did their shoes limit them or even help them (which I don't believe)?

Have you guys wore Chuck taylors before?

Most horrible shoes I've ever worn.

I understand today's shoes are made to increase performance. The shoe's construction helps to improve lateral movement, reaction time and jumping ability (2nd jump more than anything).

I play both volleyball and basketball and in my opinion, most of the basketball shoes are heavier and bulkier than those shoes worn before the 80s, which are closer to volleyball shoes in weight and construction. With modern basketball shoes, perhaps you gain more in ankle protection and stability with small sacrifice in jumping height. As for me, I can jump higher and move much faster in my volleyball shoes but I wouldn't dare going up for rebounds, blocking shots in traffic or even driving to the hoop if it's too crowded (learnt my lesson in a bad way a few times).

[andgar923]

I play both volleyball and basketball and in my opinion, most of the basketball shoes are heavier and bulkier than those shoes worn in 1970s-80s, which are closer to volleyball shoes in weight and construction. With modern basketball shoes, perhaps you gain more in ankle protection and stability with small sacrifice in jumping height. As for me, I can jump higher and move much faster in my volleyball shoes but I wouldn't dare going for rebounds, blocking shots in traffic or even driving to the hoop if it's too crowded (learnt my lesson in a bad way a few times).

Good points, I did consider the weight of the shoe as a plus. But I didn't think they helped when making lateral moves or sharp cuts.

I do remember wearing some shoes and noticing my movement and quickness increase.

[BallPhunk]

I believe it is highly dependent upon the shape of the fro... the additional drag induced from the fro perhaps will introduce additional stabilizing force away from the center of gravity and help keep the body upright as shown in Dr J's many dunks. Maybe, Iverson's braided hair with multiple channels will do a better job at preventing wake or separation from occuring.

Yes - this has proven to be true for AI. Nearly as soon as he cut off his "multiple channels" this year, wake and separation occurred and he was injured. Proved positive for Detroit, but never the less...

As for the fro, there are other factors to consider.

Certain afros:
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2007/writers/andy_gray/01/25/NBA.hair/p1_childress.jpg
are more tightly packed and can slow a man down because the allow less air to pass through.


Others:
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/artis-gilmore-at-1.jpg
are more picked out, so although taller may actually give less resistance.


Some afros:
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2005/basketball/nba/11/01/bc.bkn.nuggets.spurs.ap/tx_1101_duncan2_ap.jpg
make you look so ridiculous that they make other players slow down from laughing, in essence, speeding you up (same principles).


To summarize, the solution is a simple one:
http://www.metalafropicks.com/fist_pick.jpg

****There is one type of afro that's benefits still escape science:
http://www.nostalgiaholic.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/whitefro1.jpg
The white-fro. We may never know, but luckily they may never dunk...

[YAWN]

How much more athletic would players from the 70's be if they cut their fros?

Seriously....

I think that the fros took away some quickness, mobility and explosiveness when they jumped.

afro kobe was the most athletic:
http://www.point-spreads.com/images/stories/kobe-bryant-slam-dunk-laker.jpg

but i guess it was just a mini fro

[TearDrop]

****There is one type of afro that's benefits still escape science:
http://www.nostalgiaholic.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/whitefro1.jpg
The white-fro. We may never know, but luckily they may never dunk...

http://www.huntfamous.com/images/heidi-klum-in-bikini-plays-basketball-against-will1.jpg
They may never dunk a basketball, but they get to 'dunk' somewhere else... perhaps for the sake/benefits of our species propagation and to increase the diversity of human species.

[BallPhunk]

http://www.huntfamous.com/images/heidi-klum-in-bikini-plays-basketball-against-will1.jpg
They may never dunk a basketball, but they get to 'dunk' somewhere else... perhaps for the sake/benefits of our species propagation and to increase the diversity of human species.

BINGO - nailed it.

Give this man some sort of prize!