kobe talking about the reality of american basketball

[chocolatethunder]

I'm not a Kobe nor an LA fan but he has a lot of interesting things to say in this article.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/12114523/kobe-bryant-says-european-players-more-skilled-americans-blames-aau

[SpanishACB]

thing is, for most of this season, he's been everything that's wrong with american basketball (not that there is much, in comparison to other places), which is the acceptance of chucking hero ball

he does have a point though, specially about the cash cowing aspect of the NBA prospects. They teach them stuff for short term dominance and much more emphasis is put in teaching fundamentals, regardless of position, here in europe.

[chocolatethunder]

thing is, for most of this season, he's been everything that's wrong with american basketball (not that there is much, in comparison to other places), which is the acceptance of chucking hero ball
Agreed. This rookie class has also been a great example of what he's talking about. And look out for Mudiay because he's just worse. Dribble dribble dribble some more and then shoot.

[HOoopCityJones]

thing is, for most of this season, he's been everything that's wrong with american basketball (not that there is much, in comparison to other places), which is the acceptance of chucking hero ball

he does have a point though, specially about the cash cowing aspect of the NBA prospects. They teach them stuff for short term dominance and much more emphasis is put in teaching fundamentals, regardless of position, here in europe.


You sound like a baby back bitch. :facepalm

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

thing is, for most of this season, he's been everything that's wrong with american basketball (not that there is much, in comparison to other places), which is the acceptance of chucking hero ball

he does have a point though, specially about the cash cowing aspect of the NBA prospects. They teach them stuff for short term dominance and much more emphasis is put in teaching fundamentals, regardless of position, here in europe.

I think he's strictly talking about fundamentals, and skills here. How you apply them into a TEAM setting is another thing entirely. In Kobe's case, self indulgence.

[Rake2204]

I think he's strictly talking about fundamentals, and skills here. How you apply them into a TEAM setting is another thing entirely. In Kobe's case, self indulgence.Right on.

I have not been a fan of the AAU system since coming through it myself (more so after watching my brothers play as well). AAU is a weird and oftentimes creepy basketball outlet, where learning the game is very often secondary and "Where can I go?" and "What can this player do for me" become the primary concerns.

This line from Bryant was on point:


"AAU basketball," Bryant said. "Horrible, terrible AAU basketball. It's stupid. It doesn't teach our kids how to play the game at all so you wind up having players that are big and they bring it up and they do all this fancy crap and they don't know how to post. They don't know the fundamentals of the game. It's stupid."

[I<3NBA]

well, he's partly right. American kids grow up relying so much on athlethicism and they come out of college very raw. you would expect they would at least come out of college trained in the fundamentals.

[HOoopCityJones]

I think he's strictly talking about fundamentals, and skills here. How you apply them into a TEAM setting is another thing entirely. In Kobe's case, self indulgence.

:roll:

You guys are so full of shit dude, if Kobe even has half a decent Teammate he's a willing passer. You guys just can't help yourselves trying to paint everything he does in a negative light.

I'm no stan , I know he gets tunnel vision and alienate his Teammates on the court if he feels they aren't playing up to snuff, but thats only when they shy away from the challenge or make low IQ plays, like Lin not fouling last night when they needed to stop the clock.

Give him the Cavs current roster, HOU, Hornets or even The Hawks and I bet he'll take them further than they'll go this year.

[Im so nba'd out]

i agree european players > american born white players

[Hey Yo]

:roll:

You guys are so full of shit dude, if Kobe even has half a decent Teammate he's a willing passer. You guys just can't help yourselves trying to paint everything he does in a negative light.

I'm no stan , I know he gets tunnel vision and alienate his Teammates on the court if he feels they aren't playing up to snuff, but thats only when they shy away from the challenge or make low IQ plays, like Lin not fouling last night when they needed to stop the clock.

Give him the Cavs current roster, HOU, Hornets or even The Hawks and I bet he'll take them further than they'll go this year.
:roll:

Who you trying to kid besides yourself?

[HOoopCityJones]

:roll:

Who you trying to kid besides yourself?
Do you even know which Team you root for this week? I heard Lebald is gonna move on soon , so you better get your bandwagon ready, bitch. :applause:

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

:roll:

You guys are so full of shit dude, if Kobe even has half a decent Teammate he's a willing passer. You guys just can't help yourselves trying to paint everything he does in a negative light.

Kobe has played better of late. If you were following my posts, which seems to be the case, I have said as much, even giving him props for his willingness to adjust.

Thing is, how Kobe is playing right now, should have been the way from jumpstreet. I agree that if you build a great team around him, he would flourish. Never said otherwise.

[beastee]

Yet Durant, WB, Wall, Melo, Lebron and the list goes on of AAU players who dominate the league. Fundamentals are nice, but USA shits on euroleague tournaments strictly on pure athleticism. If I wanted to watch fundamentals I would watch ivy league college ball. Post play though should be preached, our bigs should just tear the league to pieces. So that is a good call on his part.

[dazzer87]

I'm no stan


http://replygif.net/i/130.gif

[chocolatethunder]

Yet Durant, WB, Wall, Melo, Lebron and the list goes on of AAU players who dominate the league. Fundamentals are nice, but USA shits on euroleague tournaments strictly on pure athleticism. If I wanted to watch fundamentals I would watch ivy league college ball. Post play though should be preached, our bigs should just tear the league to pieces. So that is a good call on his part.
Except for the fact that the USA lost WCs and Olympic medals fielding teams with Melo, Pierce etc to inferior and less athletic players.

i think that you're missing the point. Watch Melo or Westbrook play. They are exciting and fun to watch but that kind of basketball isn't going to win you a championship. It's great that all those players you name dominate the league and yet San Antonio who has probably the least athletic team in the league is always one of the best and just won last year against a much more athletic team.

[sportjames23]

You sound like a baby back bitch. :facepalm


:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

[rmt]

I think it's human nature that when one is athletically gifted, one can get away with (be lazy) just being faster, stronger, jumping higher than someone who's not so athletic. That person is forced to work on his skills in order to compete. Of course, if the more athletic person also worked on his basketball skills, his ceiling is much higher than the less athletic.

Not being racist here, but there is nothing quite like the black american athlete as a physical specimen and it is a result of being descendants of slaves (who I'm sure were picked for their strength, speed, physical superiority). Compare that to the "typical" African athlete who is usually small, light, middle/long distance-runners (not big, strong and fast).

Not only is there a physical difference, but IMO there is a mental/emotional difference that is typically American - that cocky, brash (and individualistic) American attitude. Non-americans are usually more family (and therefore), more team-oriented. Nothing is worse for young people than the adulation, early promise of material gain and general fawning that comes with the capitalistic/materialistic society of America. Note that I have nothing against capitalism (in fact I'm all for it - that's what makes America great - it's the land of opportunity), but the young are very susceptible to it and ill-prepared to deal with it.

I don't see a solution to the problem as long as the players are only required to play one year of college (where they should be developing skills if they stayed the full 4 years) with the inevitable big contract that follows. Very few are as fortunate as Kwahi Leonard, physically gifted, but raw and blessed to land up on a team like the Spurs with a shooting coach like Chip Engelland who re-did his shot, a coach like Pop to develop him and veterans to mentor him. But yet his athleticism and Green's (American born) are the big difference in the Spurs that most foreign players just don't have.

[chocolatethunder]

I think it's human nature that when one is athletically gifted, one can get away with (be lazy) just being faster, stronger, jumping higher than someone who's not so athletic. That person is forced to work on his skills in order to compete. Of course, if the more athletic person also worked on his basketball skills, his ceiling is much higher than the less athletic.

Not being racist here, but there is nothing quite like the black american athlete as a physical specimen and it is a result of being descendants of slaves (who I'm sure were picked for their strength, speed, physical superiority). Compare that to the "typical" African athlete who is usually small, light, middle/long distance-runners (not big, strong and fast).

Not only is there a physical difference, but IMO there is a mental/emotional difference that is typically American - that cocky, brash (and individualistic) American attitude. Non-americans are usually more family (and therefore), more team-oriented. Nothing is worse for young people than the adulation, early promise of material gain and general fawning that comes with the capitalistic/materialistic society of America. Note that I have nothing against capitalism (in fact I'm all for it - that's what makes America great - it's the land of opportunity), but the young are very susceptible to it and ill-prepared to deal with it.

I don't see a solution to the problem as long as the players are only required to play one year of college (where they should be developing skills if they stayed the full 4 years) with the inevitable big contract that follows. Very few are as fortunate as Kwahi Leonard, physically gifted, but raw and blessed to land up on a team like the Spurs with a shooting coach like Chip Engelland who re-did his shot, a coach like Pop to develop him and veterans to mentor him. But yet his athleticism and Green's (American born) are the big difference in the Spurs that most foreign players just don't have.

No you're not being racist you're being moronic. Africa is a very large continent with a variety of people populating it. The "runners" you mention are from east Africa and have very little in common with African Americans apart from having their roots in Africa. African Americans desecend from peoples of West Africa where you'll find people who look much like African Americans. If you can't tell the difference between someone from West Africa and someone from Kenya or Ethiopa or Somalia then I don't know how I can help you.

[3peated]

kobe realy isn't a "chucker" he just doesn't get open looks and hasnt for a decade. he is going to get covered, and doubled often, he has to take tough shots, or not take shots at all. he gets paid to take the tough shots.

[Euroleague]

Kobe confirmed what I and many others here said over and over....that he was formed and developed in ITALY, not USA.

But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO all the TROLLS here call you a liar when you simply state the truth about that.

Now Kobe himself confirms it again, just as he has several other times.

So all this RIDICULOUS racist bullshit people post here when they say things like "so and so is an American product", or so and so was not developed in whatever country", blah blah blah..........

As I have said here over and over, this INSANE BULLSHIT claim then means for example, that Kobe is Italian and not American.

But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, the level of hypocrisy, xenophobia, and idiocy from most people in this forum seems to be totally limitless.

[Euroleague]

Yet Durant, WB, Wall, Melo, Lebron and the list goes on of AAU players who dominate the league. Fundamentals are nice, but USA shits on euroleague tournaments strictly on pure athleticism. If I wanted to watch fundamentals I would watch ivy league college ball. Post play though should be preached, our bigs should just tear the league to pieces. So that is a good call on his part.

Another moron that does not know what the Euroleague is. Team USA has never played a Euroleague team one time in all of history.

[Euroleague]

I think it's human nature that when one is athletically gifted, one can get away with (be lazy) just being faster, stronger, jumping higher than someone who's not so athletic. That person is forced to work on his skills in order to compete. Of course, if the more athletic person also worked on his basketball skills, his ceiling is much higher than the less athletic.

Not being racist here, but there is nothing quite like the black american athlete as a physical specimen and it is a result of being descendants of slaves (who I'm sure were picked for their strength, speed, physical superiority). Compare that to the "typical" African athlete who is usually small, light, middle/long distance-runners (not big, strong and fast).

Not only is there a physical difference, but IMO there is a mental/emotional difference that is typically American - that cocky, brash (and individualistic) American attitude. Non-americans are usually more family (and therefore), more team-oriented. Nothing is worse for young people than the adulation, early promise of material gain and general fawning that comes with the capitalistic/materialistic society of America. Note that I have nothing against capitalism (in fact I'm all for it - that's what makes America great - it's the land of opportunity), but the young are very susceptible to it and ill-prepared to deal with it.

I don't see a solution to the problem as long as the players are only required to play one year of college (where they should be developing skills if they stayed the full 4 years) with the inevitable big contract that follows. Very few are as fortunate as Kwahi Leonard, physically gifted, but raw and blessed to land up on a team like the Spurs with a shooting coach like Chip Engelland who re-did his shot, a coach like Pop to develop him and veterans to mentor him. But yet his athleticism and Green's (American born) are the big difference in the Spurs that most foreign players just don't have.

Harvard did a DNA study of every black NBA American player and found that on average they had about 40% white DNA.

They were on average 40% white due to all of the mixing of the race from pre civil war times.

So all of this talk people like you keep bringing up in this forum is not only racist, but it is also extremely stupid and ridiculous as well.

Especially since it is always the "American black NBA players" that every such post specifies - the very ones that have about 40% white DNA on average.