My Flaw

As I mentioned in my last blog, I'm not a very good jumper, which ends up hindering my ability to get rebounds. Most basketball stars are easily able to jump high, including someone who went to my school. Pat Connaughton led my school in scoring in his senior year in 2011. He then went on to Notre Dame and then the NBA for the Portland Trail Blazers. At the NBA Draft Combine, he jumped 44" on the vertical jump test, which is only 1.5 inches less than the record set in 2001. If I had the ability to jump even half of this height, I could improve my game exponentially.

Pat Connaughton Jump

Basketball Then vs. Now

It's quite obvious that basketball for children is completely different from high school basketball. Back in middle school, being tall meant you were practically a god on the court. In high school, however, people catch up with you in height and are able to jump higher. This means that you actually need to be at a more advanced skill level. When I reached high school last year, this realization hit me, yet I was still able to make the team at a Division 1 high school. My 6'8" coach chose me because he knew the importance of having tall players and I was the tallest one at tryouts. Even though I'm tall, I do have a major flaw: my inability to jump high.

Me Getting Into the Sport Itself

Usually when I meet somebody new, one of the first questions I'm asked is "how tall are you?" or
"do you play basketball?" Since I'm 6'5", I'm rarely surprised by this question and I end up saying
that I do play basketball. Ever since I was younger, I was that tall kid in the class that some people
stared at, but I didn't care. When I entered 3rd grade, my mom signed me up for an intramural
basketball program every Saturday morning. Being as tall as I was, it shouldn't have been difficult to
beat other children, but I was extremely unskilled at the time. It wasn't actually until 5th grade when
I became decent at the sport.

Basketball Basics