What would have happened if...

[Phil]

Mulkey had taken the New York Times advice, given in 2010, earlier.

She still has a ways to go before she dominates at both ends of the floor the way Charles has the past two seasons for UConn. For starters, Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey might want to sit Griner down and show her old films of Jabbar shooting the sky hook over overmatched N.B.A. centers, if not Charles flinging them over Griner.

 

[easttexastrash]

Some of you apparently did not watch many Baylor games. Griner has had a jump hook/baby hook for some time now. But it was hard to use it a lot when you have two or three players around you. Griner played Charles in single coverage when Griner was a freshman, so Charles had the opportunity to use the hook. Put a player in front of her like BG had basically every play and see how often she could have shot the hook shot.

BG actually shot a sweeping hook shot against UCONN when they played in Baylor two seasons ago. And I've seen her transfer that over to the WNBA already.

 

[doggydaddy]

Some of you apparently did not watch many Baylor games. Griner has had a jump hook/baby hook for some time now. But it was hard to use it a lot when you have two or three players around you. Griner played Charles in single coverage when Griner was a freshman, so Charles had the opportunity to use the hook. Put a player in front of her like BG had basically every play and see how often she could have shot the hook shot.

BG actually shot a sweeping hook shot against UCONN when they played in Baylor two seasons ago. And I've seen her transfer that over to the WNBA already.

The only hook shot mentioned in the post and the article was Jabbar's sky hook. Very different from a jump hook/baby hook. We've all watched Griner enough to know that she hasn't attempted a sky hook until she took that ugly effort in her first pro game.

 

[DobbsRover2]

The only hook shot mentioned in the post and the article was Jabbar's sky hook. Very different from a jump hook/baby hook. We've all watched Griner enough to know that she hasn't attempted a sky hook until she took that ugly effort in her first pro game.

Now, now, do not go putting down Magic Johnson's baby hook, which he used very effectively in a pivotal final moment of game 4 in 1987 finals. Thing of beauty to us Lakers' fans, and the master of the majestic hooks gave Magic the thumbs up there.

Griner should have a decent chance of becoming a baby hook maven, but the full sky hook takes untold hours of practice and patience. Those of us who are not 7 feet tall and decades ago spent way too many hours trying to imitate Kareem only to have the shot blocked off our heads in a game know that the real thing is hard to come by.

 

[Phil]

Some of you apparently did not watch many Baylor games. Griner has had a jump hook/baby hook for some time now. But it was hard to use it a lot when you have two or three players around you. Griner played Charles in single coverage when Griner was a freshman, so Charles had the opportunity to use the hook. Put a player in front of her like BG had basically every play and see how often she could have shot the hook shot.

BG actually shot a sweeping hook shot against UCONN when they played in Baylor two seasons ago. And I've seen her transfer that over to the WNBA already.

I've watched many Baylor game, although not as many as you.

Did you miss the point? Why would you think there was a recent session where Jabbar was teaching Griner the sky hook (as opposed to the baby hook) ?

 

[Phil]

Now, now, do not go putting down Magic Johnson's baby hook, which he used very effectively in a pivotal final moment of game 4 in 1987 finals. Thing of beauty to us Lakers' fans, and the master of the majestic hooks gave Magic the thumbs up there.

Nobody is putting down Magic's baby hook. Sorry to disagree with DD, but it was mentioned in the article by the NYT writer Harvey Araton, who compared Charles hook shot to a Magic baby hook.

 

[doggydaddy]

Now, now, do not go putting down Magic Johnson's baby hook, which he used very effectively in a pivotal final moment of game 4 in 1987 finals. Thing of beauty to us Lakers' fans, and the master of the majestic hooks gave Magic the thumbs up there.

Griner should have a decent chance of becoming a baby hook maven, but the full sky hook takes untold hours of practice and patience. Those of us who are not 7 feet tall and decades ago spent way too many hours trying to imitate Kareem only to have the shot blocked off our heads in a game know that the real thing is hard to come by.

I would never denigrate Magic's hook shot. As a Magic fan and a Celtic hater, I love that clip.

 

[doggydaddy]

Nobody is putting down Magic's baby hook. Sorry to disagree with DD, but it was mentioned in the article by the NYT writer Harvey Araton, who compared Charles hook shot to a Magic baby hook.

Just because I was wrong, doesn't mean you have to disagree with me.

Wow...some bad reading there.

My point still was correct bout Griner not taking many hook shots and certainly no Skyhooks.

I

 

[Phil]

Just because I was wrong, doesn't mean you have to disagree with me.

Wow...some bad reading there.

My point still was correct bout Griner not taking many hook shots and certainly no Skyhooks.

I

You're right. I'm still trying to shake off the image of orange, it just makes me want to hit something disagree. I'm trying to convince myself that it is the UT color - burnt orange, but I'm not there yet.

 

[VAUConnFan]

There is a very good reason why few have tried to master the sky hook. It is a very difficult shot to perfect or to even become mildly proficient. Abdul-Jabbar's extraordinary proficiency was uncanny. There are many who argue, myself included, that he may have gotten away with traveling on the majority of his sky hooks.

After, now, reading through the thread, I wholeheartedly agree with this DobbsRover2 assessment:
Griner should have a decent chance of becoming a baby hook maven, but the full sky hook takes untold hours of practice and patience. Those of us who are not 7 feet tall and decades ago spent way too many hours trying to imitate Kareem only to have the shot blocked off our heads in a game know that the real thing is hard to come by.

 

[easttexastrash]

Trying to teach BG the sky hook in college would have been a complete waste of time. There simply was not enough space for her to try to get off that shot. There were way too many other things for her to work on and that shot was at the very bottom of the list.

How many other players have ever perfected the sky hook, other than Jabbar?

 

[VAUConnFan]

Trying to teach BG the sky hook in college would have been a complete waste of time. There simply was not enough space for her to try to get off that shot. There were way too many other things for her to work on and that shot was at the very bottom of the list.

How many other players have ever perfected the sky hook, other than Jabbar?

Exactly.

 

[VAUConnFan]

I would never denigrate Magic's hook shot. As a Magic fan and a Celtic hater, I love that clip.

Even if Magic misses that shot, there were three Celtics contesting the shot with no one blocking out Kareem or Worthy. Does anyone remember Magic ever putting up a similar shot in his career?

 

[doggydaddy]

The ball went through the net with 2 seconds left. If it bounces off the rim, there will be no time for a rebound and putback.

 

[Scotter]

The sky hook is a largely antiquated shot because of the way the game has changed in how defense is taught and officiated. If the same lower body contact open players existed when Kareem played as exists now his sky hook would be a much rarer weapon or he never would have developed it at all. The brilliance of the sky hook is that it is a unblockable shot by a center, but the shot is rather easily disrupted by contact when shooting, particularly the lower body contact and subtle pushes when a player is shooting that all post defenders now use and is allowed by current officiating.

Kareem developed and played at a time when there was a premium placed on being able to shoot over defenders because every shot was worth two points so a player had to be shoot over defenders if they were going to get closer to the basket. This is why just about every player as recently the 1980's had a high release point on their jump shot, and many brought the ball behind their head. If a player tried to back down their defender physically he was going to be surrounded because there was no 3-point shot to guard against. The post player wanted to take his shot 10 feet from the basket, not kick out for 20 foot shot worth the same amount of points.

With the 3-point shot offensive post players began to physically back down their defenders as they now had space to work with as defenders now had to protect the 3=point line. You had people like Charles Barkley starting in the late 80's, but eventually you had Shaq who would run over people in the post while he was surrounded by 3-4 3-point shooters. As a response defenders had to body up much more with their lower body and officials let contact body contact go even while a player was in a shooting motion. Contact that would affect the sky hook, and why you really only see the jump hook now which is a quicker action from a much stronger base that minimizes the effect of body contact. If you go back and watch the film you never see even Wilt back people down and go through people, and you don't see the physical account by defenders once a post player catches the ball. Where now every post defender is taught to body up.

 

[willtalk]

Scotter- Need to remember that all of this was also before they legalized the zone in the NBA. Now the top players get double teamed earlier.

 

[reno tony]

How unstoppable would Stewie be with a baby hook?

 

[easttexastrash]

How unstoppable would Stewie be with a baby hook?

Now that BG has graduated Stewart IS unstoppable in the paint. Nobody in WCBB is going to stop her. Not even my girl Kristina Higgins. (-;

 

[Icebear]

Now that BG has graduated Stewart IS unstoppable in the paint. Nobody in WCBB is going to stop her. Not even my girl Kristina Higgins. (-;

Thing is that teams attempting to use gimmick defenses to deal with Breanna will only leave themselves vulnerable to Stef, Bria, and KML plus whoever replaces Kelly. The Huskies have legitimate scoring threats at every position and coming off the bench.

 

[Purduke]

Just because I was wrong, doesn't mean you have to disagree with me.

Ahha, I finally found who it was that started insisting that every kid who swings a bat in little league deserves to get a championship trophy at the end of the year!