I just don't buy it. The myth, the legend the *whatever*.... Basketball isn't that similar to tennis and the type of movement tennis players absolutely must be good at starts diminishing from about 6'2''.
In addition to the fact that team sports athletes may or may not have the mentality to succeed at an individual sport.
Height of the winners hasn't changed much, but there has been an increase in Tall Men in the top 100 and top 10.
Probably because other tall people take note of the success of the tall players and figure they can win with just a serve.
I knew someone would go there.
Spoken like someone who hasn't played basketball since elementary school. It takes more than a single trait to play basketball, especially now. Kevin Durant is 7 Ft tall and play point guard. And basketball player are not taking 30 seconds to towel off after every point.
That's not a valid point to make. Points in tennis are anaerobic, like sprinting (over and over and over). Basketball is akin to jogging (with anaerobic mixed in) .
Both involve a lot of running. Tennis probably requires more stamina, because a match is much longer than a basketball game.
Wow. I didn't realize how many non-athletes are tennis fans. Have you ever played competitive basketball?
You can't assume Schwartzman and Karlovic are equally talented. For starters I assume that the population of kids that picks up a racket and grows to Schwartzman's size is larger (pun intended) than the population of kids that grows to be Karlovic size. Also, height keeps giving more serving advantage, whereas being short basically has no benefit under 175.
It's not that they're non-athletes. It's that they're ill informed.
I'd need to see a more reliable source. What level was this timed at? How many matches were timed?http://www.vidamind.com.au/actual-playing-time-in-tennis/
When numbers speak …
Most people have the impression that a tennis match takes a long time. That idea in your mind greatly affects the way you practice, train and condition. And it also affects your attitude when you go out to play a match.
But here’s the surprising information: In the 90s, Vic Braden, a great tennis pro from the US, simply timed the actual playing time of some professional players. For a 2 sets match, let’s say 6/4 6/3, the actual total amount of time that both players spent hitting the ball in the match was only about 5 min. From the time the ball was served until the point was over, it was only 5 min for 2 sets! That broke down about 2.5 minutes for each set …
Another amazing result was that the average hits per person per point was about 1.5 shots – less than 2 shots by each person on each point!
With this in mind, you can follow Vic’s old advice: try to return the ball just one more time each point. If you re able to do that, you’re going to start winning a lot more points.
Knowing that in professional tennis, points are ended more quickly than in the average club match, let’s say your present average is 3 hits per point, if you could get your average up one – to 4 hits – you would improve 33 percent. So don’t worry to be able to hit ten more shot on a point. Just one more return than your opponent on a point will make an enormous difference in your game!
Google Vic Braden.
I don't agree that Isner has the right body for basketball. He's tall, and that will help in HS competing against kids a foot shorter, but he doesn't have the physique. Look at the top NBA players, they aren't just tall, they are big guys.
Varsity basketball and tennis through high school.
This is the general population's idea of "athletic." Which is why this thread is so laughable.
This.
Have you seen Monfils play matches vs Nadal. He is absolutely gassed after 2 sets. Monfils doesn't have the aerobic engine to be a top player.http://www.vidamind.com.au/actual-playing-time-in-tennis/
When numbers speak …
Most people have the impression that a tennis match takes a long time. That idea in your mind greatly affects the way you practice, train and condition. And it also affects your attitude when you go out to play a match.
But here’s the surprising information: In the 90s, Vic Braden, a great tennis pro from the US, simply timed the actual playing time of some professional players. For a 2 sets match, let’s say 6/4 6/3, the actual total amount of time that both players spent hitting the ball in the match was only about 5 min. From the time the ball was served until the point was over, it was only 5 min for 2 sets! That broke down about 2.5 minutes for each set …
Another amazing result was that the average hits per person per point was about 1.5 shots – less than 2 shots by each person on each point!
With this in mind, you can follow Vic’s old advice: try to return the ball just one more time each point. If you re able to do that, you’re going to start winning a lot more points.
Knowing that in professional tennis, points are ended more quickly than in the average club match, let’s say your present average is 3 hits per point, if you could get your average up one – to 4 hits – you would improve 33 percent. So don’t worry to be able to hit ten more shot on a point. Just one more return than your opponent on a point will make an enormous difference in your game!
Then you know how hard basketball is.
Could see him as a pitcher tho.
Imagine his body language when he gets a strike out
Volleyball? Seriously?
Being a 6'10" decent pitcher is close to impossible besides 1 major outlier and 1-2 smaller ones. Isner is definitely more coordinated than most of that size so maybe he'd have a shot, but he still doesn't blow you away with body control so unlikely.
Yeah, LeBron is pretty much the only 6'8" or above guy I can see moving at a high level on a tennis court.
Querrey's the one who would have made a good pitcher. HIs father was drafted by the Tigers (but he didn't turn pro) and he has a very powerful arm and is not lacking in the height department.
I wouldn't rule out Isner being able to play D1. He's more coordinated/agile than most college bigs, at least the ones that don't go pro, and seems to have a nice shooting stroke too. Also has a pretty big 6'10" frame that he could easily fill out to 260 ish if he wasn't playing tennis considering he weighs 245 now.
I'll give you that Isner could make a mid-major D1 team. But I sure he could not make the team at University of Georgia and that school has not be a major power in basketball for a long time.
