RE: add this guy to the top ten

[Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:
I guess this is a good time for me to mention my pet peeve
about the draft -- the absolutely irrational, pointless worship
of height measurements.  People really seem to believe, NBA
GMs no less, that one inch of height makes a difference between
success and failure at a given position.  The fact is, real or listed
height doesn't matter at all.  You shoot and block shots with your
hands, not your scalp, at least the last time I looked.  The only 
height that should be measured is that of the arms fully extended
straight up at the peak of a jump.  That's the only height that matters.
Kevin McHale was 6'10, but played at 7'2" because of his arms.
Kevin Willis is 7', but plays 6'9" because of his short arms and tiny
hands.  How can this not be common knowledge in basketball circles?
--- end of quote ---

Couldn't agree more. Height is an imperfect correlate of the variable of
interest, which is vertical reach. Moreover, a 6-7 player is probably more
valuable than a 6-10 player with an identical vertical reach (let's say 9'),
all other things being equal, because it means the shorter player has a longer
wingspan.  
Of course, partly based on this reasoning, we selected Jerome "the crouching
poodle" Moiso with his 7-2 wingspan  :)) Let's hope there's a "hidden
rottweiler" in there behind those abused puppy eyes...