Rakim Lubin Prospect Evaluation

[WhereistheDove?]

I completely agree with 3for3.

In case someone needs an explanation, consider that bench pressing is moving a load from your chest to the extended length of your arms. That means that the longer your arms are the more length you have to move the load in each repetition from at rest on your chest to extension. The big wing span valued in basketball actually diminishes the efficiency of your benching and requires you to consume more energy per repetition than someone with shorter arms because you are doing more work.

If you are tall and strong, it is possible to generate a more powerful move, for example when swinging a golf club. Assuming two players have the same flexibility/range of motion, the taller player moves the club head over a longer arc which generates more club head speed. But, in the up down move of a bench press, the tall person just does more work per repetition.

If he is that strong and fast enough for Ollie's system, he won't be a 4* for long.

100% right. This is something that comes in to play a lot around NFL combine time with a bunch of the OTs. If you look at the tackles with really long wingspans (which the teams love), they generally don't post very big numbers for the bench press compared to some of the guards and tackles with shorter arms. It's not a matter of overall strength, it's just that it takes more effort to bench the same amount.