OTL: White Americans in the NBA

No, they should use their best, but the style of play the American players have adopted might not be the best way to play the game.

 

I was also intrigued by the assertion that the issue is not that "white men can't jump," but that they can't/don't play defense.

 

If I recall correctly, I think Bill James had a study about this in baseball in one of his annals. Basically, that you were more likely to become a professional baseball player if you were 1) poor or 2) if your dad played professional baseball. However, I have no idea when I read this, so I could be talking completely out of my ass.

 

Pretty much. As a coach put it to me once when explaining the difference between two of his colleagues:

"They both want to win, but Coach X has never gone to bed hungry.

 

I never said Brazil was the only poor country ... just used it as an example.
Take a look at the world's best soccer players, and the overwhelming majority of them have come from lower income backgrounds.

 

I remember reading - I think in "Cinderella Man" - that the best boxers have generally been the poor and hungriest kids, and usually come from the minority classes - black, Jewish, Italian, Irish. It made sense to me.

 

I can't understand why anyone would go into boxing, yeah the money is decent, but the risk is so high.

 

Back in the old days, it was one of the few ways to make a lot of money in sports, particularly if you were a minority. But no longer, obviously. If the young Cassius Clay comes along nowadays, he's probably playing outside linebacker at Ohio State.

 

It has always been defense.

A kid like the one profiled drills nine triples against Carolina, but once they see him get beat off the dribble a couple times, he is done.

Did they ever mention Steve Nash in that report (I know, Canadian)? I know Mark Price was a very good example, though.

 

There have been many stories high school football coaches in PA, Ohio and WV walking their players over to the steel and coal mines during shift change, just to remind them of one possible destination when they become adults.

 

Not wanting to work at the mill was what helped get this guy out of Ampipe, Pa.

 

Double J mentioned boxing as an example.

The rich kid can afford the trainer, 1-on-1 instruction, the best uniforms and the best stadium. But will he or she appreciate it after getting the "special treatment" for so long?

I grew up in a town that had decent facilities, decent coaching, but not enough $$$ to get extra shit like a nutritionist, like a few schools did in the suburbs in Des Moines (West Des Moines, Waukee, Johnston, etc). Most of my friends and classmates lived okay, and what I mean is that, they didn't go hungry everyday or had no clothes. Their parents, or mom/grandma, had enough to get by and care for the kid.

Nevertheless, those kids worked harder, IMO, than me. I knew I was going to college. They knew that if they didn't work hard enough and get a few breaks, they would end up on E. 4th, peddling drugs, hustling, and doing nothing. The most encouraging thing to me is that most of them were able to get to college, or at least JUCO, and has done well despite their circumstances.

To answer the question, yes poor kids work harder. They have to survive in this world. Those who has had everything and never experienced hardship, don't know how to deal with it when it happens to them.