Gerald Henderson's Wrist

[dukediv2013]

Did G hurt his wrist in the first half last night or was he anticipating a monster jam on Green and tape it up for protection?


Is it just me or does G get up higher than any Duke player ever?

[Indoor66]

Did G hurt his wrist in the first half last night or was he anticipating a monster jam on Green and tape it up for protection?


Is it just me or does G get up higher than any Duke player ever?

Not sure on that. Gene Banks had some S-E-R-I-O-U-S hops and he was 6'7".

[BlueintheFace]

I think it would come down to G and Dahntay Jones (see- Jones jumping over a player for a dunk). Either way, that'd be a great dunk contest.

[CDu]

Corey Maggette had some ridiculous hops. Duke's had a few guys who could really get off the floor. Henderson's not shabby, but I wouldn't necessarily say he has the best hops.

[ugadevil]

Can Henderson jump higher than Dahntay Jones?

[tux]

Can Henderson jump higher than Dahntay Jones?

I think yes. Surely the team measures verticals? (Anyone with a connection...)

[greybeard]

On TV, it looks as if Henderson's head is an inch or so from the rim on occasion. He's only 6'4". I don't recall any of the other guys mentioned getting up like that.

But, this game, he had some Monster leaps in traffic and at risk on defense, among some real trees. After a while, and I'm not kidding, he seemed even to look taller than usual standing among them. They had to think so.

[3rd Dukie]

On TV, it looks as if Henderson's head is an inch or so from the rim on occasion. He's only 6'4". I don't recall any of the other guys mentioned getting up like that.

But, this game, he had some Monster leaps in traffic and at risk on defense, among some real trees. After a while, and I'm not kidding, he seemed even to look taller than usual standing among them. They had to think so.

Those are really good points. There are times when I would swear he was about to hit his head on the rim! I just can't quite think of him as 6'4".

[MulletMan]

I think yes. Surely the team measures verticals? (Anyone with a connection...)

G - 50 (Or so I was told @ the last game)
DMark - 44
Tay - ???

[Jarhead]

I believe David Thompson was 45.

[Saratoga2]

I believe David Thompson was 45.

I heard he had the highest vertical ever at 48 so 50 for Gerald seems out of line. Very few guys jump over 40 but Gerald may be in that group. My guess is between 40 and 44 inches.

[BD80]

I heard he had the highest vertical ever at 48 so 50 for Gerald seems out of line. Very few guys jump over 40 but Gerald may be in that group. My guess is between 40 and 44 inches.

DY's 45 was a standing jump. Are the current measures with a stride or perhaps a running start? That could explain the difference.

[blueprofessor]

DY's 45 was a standing jump. Are the current measures with a stride or perhaps a running start? That could explain the difference.

************************************************** *********
...of a backboard taking only ONE step before he jumped (witnessed by 3 fellow players,including a future Kansas AD and also a 76er trainer ).

One link to the 50" :

http://www.nbdlalbuquerque.com/warri...amberlain.html
The vertical has been reported by several sources.This one is by the NBA beat reporter for USA Today.It appears on the Golden State Warriors Official Website.

Best regards.

[Indoor66]

************************************************** *********
...of a backboard taking only ONE step before he jumped (witnessed by 3 fellow players,including a future Kansas AD and also a 76er trainer ).

One link to the 50" :

http://www.nbdlalbuquerque.com/warri...amberlain.html
The vertical has been reported by several sources.This one is by the NBA beat reporter for USA Today.It appears on the Golden State Warriors Official Website.

Best regards.

That link leads to a page that has been removed. Any additional link or info?

[Indoor66]

I Googled Wilt Chamberlain + 50" vertical and found a number of sites. These two were the best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OugQ16KaR50
http://www.nba.com/history/chamberlain_50.html

From the history site Q & A session with Wilt:


"Q: How did that feel to know that you were basically unstoppable? A: That is something that I really loved. I loved the fact that no one could really block my shot. I jumped so high that there was nothing that they could do. When you have no fear, it's just going to make you much better at what you're doing. My ability to jump so high gave me such an advantage. People say "OK, he's 7-foot tall, he should be able to do whatever he wants," but I'm also getting 50 inches off the ground on a vertical! (laughs) This puts me so far above people. So, while they were reaching for the ball this way, I was going on top of them and just taking it out of their hands. It gave me a sense of superiority. What hurt me was that I wanted to be a consummate basketball player, and I wanted to be able to shoot the ball instead of just taking it to the basket and dunk it like I should have. I was shooting fadeaway shots, hook shots, finger-rolls... whatever came to my mind that I thought would be pleasing. A lot of times that was a negative more than a positive. If I just went out and took it to the basket every time I'd have averaged 70 or 80 points a game."

[blueprofessor]

I Googled Wilt Chamberlain + 50" vertical and found a number of sites. These two were the best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OugQ16KaR50
http://www.nba.com/history/chamberlain_50.html

From the history site Q & A session with Wilt:


"Q: How did that feel to know that you were basically unstoppable? A: That is something that I really loved. I loved the fact that no one could really Rblock my shot. I jumped so high that there was nothing that they could do. When you have no fear, it's just going to make you much better at what you're doing. My ability to jump so high gave me such an advantage. People say "OK, he's 7-foot tall, he should be able to do whatever he wants," but I'm also getting 50 inches off the ground on a vertical! (laughs) This puts me so far above people. So, while they were reaching for the ball this way, I was going on top of them and just taking it out of their hands. It gave me a sense of superiority. What hurt me was that I wanted to be a consummate basketball player, and I wanted to be able to shoot the ball instead of just taking it to the basket and dunk it like I should have. I was shooting fadeaway shots, hook shots, finger-rolls... whatever came to my mind that I thought would be pleasing. A lot of times that was a negative more than a positive. If I just went out and took it to the basket every time I'd have averaged 70 or 80 points a game."

************************************************** ***
for the one step and touch the top of the backboard: page 47 of "Wilt", by Robert Cherry,foreword by Jerry West,called by the late Dick Schapp "the definitive biography..."

Re Wilt's 50" vertical:Other source,besides the Golden State site and story by the NBA beat writer that was still up a month ago---good article,sorry it is down--maybe in archives) and your sources,Indoor :
Oxford U's "American National Biography", in the Chamberlain section page 106.

Apparently, Wilt,according to the Cherry bio,high jumped 6'9",as well.

The videos you provided reminded me of the photo of Wilt I mentioned earlier on DBR that appeared in the early '60s of Wilt's dunking a ball off a Guy Rodgers pass on a fast break.I have never seen anyone with a bball so high above the rim!

I always got the impression that Wilt jumped as high as he needed---if he had wanted 55" or more,given that he could put his hand on top of the backboard with a 1 step start, he could ,and probably did, do it on a running start!

Best regards.

[CDu]

I Googled Wilt Chamberlain + 50" vertical and found a number of sites. These two were the best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OugQ16KaR50
http://www.nba.com/history/chamberlain_50.html

From the history site Q & A session with Wilt:


"Q: How did that feel to know that you were basically unstoppable? A: That is something that I really loved. I loved the fact that no one could really block my shot. I jumped so high that there was nothing that they could do. When you have no fear, it's just going to make you much better at what you're doing. My ability to jump so high gave me such an advantage. People say "OK, he's 7-foot tall, he should be able to do whatever he wants," but I'm also getting 50 inches off the ground on a vertical! (laughs) This puts me so far above people. So, while they were reaching for the ball this way, I was going on top of them and just taking it out of their hands. It gave me a sense of superiority. What hurt me was that I wanted to be a consummate basketball player, and I wanted to be able to shoot the ball instead of just taking it to the basket and dunk it like I should have. I was shooting fadeaway shots, hook shots, finger-rolls... whatever came to my mind that I thought would be pleasing. A lot of times that was a negative more than a positive. If I just went out and took it to the basket every time I'd have averaged 70 or 80 points a game."

A personal statement of a 50-inch vertical doesn't sound like valid scientific evidence. If Wilt could jump 50 inches, his head would be more than a foot above the rim. I'll be honest - that's just unrealistic. Not saying he's not a freakish athlete, but having his head more than a foot above the rim? And that's not to mention the absurdity of the idea that he could jump nearly that high from a standstill.

That's not meant to be a slap at Wilt. I think these "estimated" verticals are either miscalculated or just made up for a lot of players.

[blueprofessor]

A personal statement of a 50-inch vertical doesn't sound like valid scientific evidence. If Wilt could jump 50 inches, his head would be more than a foot above the rim. I'll be honest - that's just unrealistic. Not saying he's not a freakish athlete, but having his head more than a foot above the rim? And that's not to mention the absurdity of the idea that he could jump nearly that high from a standstill.

That's not meant to be a slap at Wilt. I think these "estimated" verticals are either miscalculated or just made up for a lot of players.

************************************************** ********
...1. could touch the top of the backboard with a 1-step start(there are witnesses to that in the cited bio,above);2.could high jump 6'9"? David Thompson needed a running start to touch the top of the backboard and,as fine a triple-jumper as he was, could not high jump 6'9".Could a man who did not need a running start to touch the top of the backboard jump 6" higher with a running start than Thompson's 44" max?
The beat writer for the Golden State Warriors and other sources (see Oxford's American biography mentioned above) attested to the 50".I don't think there is much doubt that Wilt could do 50" or higher--with no disrespect to your always facile mind and posts,CDu.

Others, much shorter and not as strong and perhaps lacking Wilt's 4.4 40 yard explosiveness, have had 44" verticals.Wilt was one of the very greatest,strongest, and most explosive running and jumping machines of the 20th c.He was the greatest rebounder in basketball history.

Personal memories,if you will permit:

I saw a photo in Sport magazine circa 1963(mentioned in an earlier post) that looked like Wilt's head was very high above the rim (that is why I taped that photo to my wall at school).He had been sprinting on the fast break and dunked on a Guy Rodgers pass.

In the game Wilt scored 100 vs. the Knicks (March 2,1962,Hershey,PA), I recall reading an account ,as the Knicks kept fouling to prevent Wilt from scoring baskets, of Wilt dunking the ball with 2 Knicks players holding on to him.That is a ton,no pun intended, of thrust!



Best regards.

[yancem]

************************************************** ********
...1. could touch the top of the backboard with a 1-step start(there are witnesses to that in the cited bio,above);2.could high jump 6'9"? David Thompson needed a running start to touch the top of the backboard and,as fine a triple-jumper as he was, could not high jump 6'9".Could a man who did not need a running start to touch the top of the backboard jump 6" higher with a running start than Thompson's 44" max?
The beat writer for the Golden State Warriors and other sources (see Oxford's American biography mentioned above) attested to the 50".I don't think there is much doubt that Wilt could do 50" or higher--with no disrespect to your always facile mind and posts,CDu.

Others, much shorter and not as strong and perhaps lacking Wilt's 4.4 40 yard explosiveness, have had 44" verticals.Wilt was one of the very greatest,strongest, and most explosive running and jumping machines of the 20th c.He was the greatest rebounder in basketball history.

Personal memories,if you will permit:

I saw a photo in Sport magazine circa 1963(mentioned in an earlier post) that looked like Wilt's head was very high above the rim (that is why I taped that photo to my wall at school).He had been sprinting on the fast break and dunked on a Guy Rodgers pass.

In the game Wilt scored 100 vs. the Knicks (March 2,1962,Hershey,PA), I recall reading an account ,as the Knicks kept fouling to prevent Wilt from scoring baskets, of Wilt dunking the ball with 2 Knicks players holding on to him.That is a ton,no pun intended, of thrust!



Best regards.

Your argument makes no sense. It completely ignores the fact that Wilt was 9" taller than Thompson and that doesn't factor in Wilts longer arms and therefore higher reach. If Thompson needed a 44" vertical to reach the top of the backboard at 6'4", Wilt would need at least 9" few inches to accomplish the same thing. Don't get me wrong, Wilt was an amazing athlete and I have know idea what his actual vertical leap was, but I highly doubt that it a guy who was 7'1" would need a 50" vertical leap to reach the top of the backboard.

[dukerev]

That dude Grant Hill could jump as I recall.