I'm not trying to take anything away from Griner in all of this at all either. I think she is a great athlete at what she does. I hope she does not try to come to the mens game but for reasons other than what I have stated, or think that women do not belong. I want her to stay in the women's game because I believe that she could help push the WNBA into bigger and better things. The majority of people know who she is, and she could help draw a crowd to come watch. So if she were to stay in the WNBA setting, she could succeed there and help change the women's game, for better.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Brittney Griner, could she play against men?-Zane Langdon
When I first heard about Griner, I was in high school and had to look and see what all of the buzz was about. What I saw was a lean 6-8 women, with Chris Bosh-esque dreads, and someone who was dunking the ball with ease. The first thing that came out of my mouth was, "she has to be a man." Now my opinion on her has obviously changed some as I don't call her a man, but my thoughts are could she play with the men, and succeed. If you look at Griner, she dominates because she is a full 4 inches taller than anyone else, and knows how to use her size and has developed nice complimentary skills to go along with her body, but I don't think she could translate that into the mens game. If you look at the majority of 6-8 players playing Division-I basketball or higher, they are all built a lot bigger than she is so for starters, we know that she does not have the strength to play in the post at that level because she would get pushed around too much. Then you have to look at her skill set as a player. While she is good against the girls, its because she can play the Center position and be fine. If she were to play against the men, based off of height, she would need to slide up to the Power Forward (4) or the Small Forward (3) position. Griner's ball handling abilities are hardly refined enough to play either of these positions, so she would not be able to succeed there as well. Now that isn't saying she couldn't play in Division-III or Division-II because I think she could at some level and contribute, but not the same way someone like Candace Parker could against men at a higher level.
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Although I agree that I don’t think Griner could make it in a men's league as well as she does in the women's league, I think she could play at smaller school in Division 1. She definitely would not be as dominate as she is now but I think she could probably go to a school like, Valpo for instance, and make an impact. Would she score and rebound like she does against other women? Definitely not, but I think she could still average 10 and 5. Maybe even a couple blocks a game as she is very lengthy. Do I think she should try to get in a men's league? Definitely not, but I think she compete in a smaller Division 1 conference.
ReplyDelete-Aaron Snyder
Zane,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that Griner should not try to play in the men’s leagues. The two main reasons are because of her strength and her skill level. After watching some of her games, I still believe she can improve tremendously when it comes to skills of the game. Also, Division I and II I believe would be too physical for her body build. She just does not have the physical strength to play. The one way I could see Griner play in a men’s league is at the Division III level. This is the one league I believe she could make an impact on the game. I do believe she could help the WNBA grow in popularity because all basketball fans know of her, and when she travels to the different cities, everyone is going to want and go see her play, and possibly do what hardly any women can do, and that is dunk. She is a great player, and has the potential to become the greatest female basketball player of all time.
-Tyler Jester
Zane,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and think that Griner couldn't play in a men's league. I think that she might be able to complete with some men basketball teams but I don't think that she would be as dominate as she is where she is at right now. If she went up against a 6-8 guy center she would get pushed around and wouldn't be able to do anything. Even though I think that Griner is very talented and is a very good athlete, she still wouldn't be able to play with the guys because they are faster and stronger than she is.
Zane,
ReplyDeleteI like your reasons for and against Griner playing with players in the NBA. My thought process is the fact that her height dominates other women in college basketball is because there are a very small number of players that play her position at the same height or even near it. Since players in the NBA that are 6'8 are power forwards, Griner at her height is a center. I think it would be interesting to watch her compete at a Division I level and see how she would do.
- Jeff Kravetz
Zane,
ReplyDeleteI believe that Griner could play basketball with men to a certain extent. I think the highest level that she could compete with men at would be the collegiate level. I would like to say that she could compete with men at the division 1 level but I am hesitant on that idea. The reason is because although she is very tall, I think that the strength of the men would counteract her height. I do not think that she could bring enough physical strength to the table to compete with the men at the division 1 level. Some men she could compete with maybe, but I do not believe she could compete with the majority at the division 1 level. Also, in no way do I believe that Griner could compete in the NBA. I am totally convinced that her competing in the NBA would not turn out well for her. In saying that, I would like to see her try and maybe prove me wrong.
-Logan Walker
The issue with Griner is that so much of her success has been because of her sheer height. Her vertical jump is almost non-existent compared to her male counterparts, and as you said, her ball handling skills are hardly superior. The fact that 6'8" in the women's game is towering gives her an incredible advantage, and allows her to rely on her height to dominate the game. If you watch, most of her rebounds are retrieved with minimal effort, and her post moves capitalize on her height. If she was playing in the men's leagues were 6'7" and 6'8" are the norm, she wouldn't be nearly as effective. In fact, I feel that she would be dominated by the change of style and pace. Brittney Griner is an amazing basketball player, but it is fairly obvious that most of her success can be attributed to her height advantage.
ReplyDelete-Andrew Hayes
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Britney Griner is a great talent when it comes to women's basketball, but she wouldn't make it in the men's game for a second due to the position she plays and body type. She plays the center position at a height of 6 foot 8 inches. In the women's game, this height in remarkable and gives her an extreme advantage over other smaller centers. In the men's college basketball and the average heigh for a center is 6 foot 11 and same with the NBA. The are bigger, faster, taller, and more athletic than griner. She will be a great addition to the WNBA and she may be one of the only girls I would enjoy watching and attending a game to watch in person. I hope she make the game better for women of the present and future.
ReplyDelete-Joshua Kovacs-
Zane,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that in a general sense, she could not compete with men on a regular basis. I applaud her for all of her accomplishments and hard work, however, I feel with her size she could do more. After watching her play, I agree with you that her skills are not refined, and she scores more off of physical effort plays. A lot of her baskets are either off of rebounds in which she has such a height advantage, or when she has an open dunk. I mean no disrespect and think she is a great athlete, however I feel she has nowhere near the physical ability of the average 6'8 male basketball player. If given the chance I think we would see men get the better of her due to superior quickness and athleticism.Great topic here, it has drawn a lot of discussion!
-Hunter Haas
Zane,
ReplyDeleteI think that Griner could go down as the best Wome's basketball player of all time. With that being said, I do not think she could compete at any college level. She has a very good skill set for the Women's game becuase she is much taller than everyone else. In the men's game, she wouild be considered small or averaged size for her position. Since she does not have acceptional ball skills, I do not think she could play with the men. I used to go to a Division 3 school and the level of basketball is pretty high and their are players at her size who have bigger builds and are stronger. This is why I do not think she could play at any level with the men. I think that players like Diana Taurasi or Cheryl Swoops would have a better chance to compete with the Men due to their tremendous raw basketball skills.
-Tad Margolies
Zane,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on saying that Griner wouldn’t be able to compete in the NBA. I personally don’t think she has the talent that the men do in the NBA. I personally think that she should move onto the WNBA to make the program more known. She has the talent to move forward to go pro and draw more attention to the WNBA. I think she is an excellent ball player and would like to actually see her play in person and I regret not going to see her when she played at the Stroh. I think what I am most interested in seeing her play in person is dunking the basketball. It just blows my mind! I do think though that she could compete against some men at the collegiate level but when it comes to the pros I think the men in the pros due to the fact that they are faster and stronger. I do believe that one day she can and will become one of the greatest women basketball players of all time if she keeps up what she is doing now. Great topic and post!
--Lindsey Landversicht
Zane,
ReplyDeleteI agree that one thing that helps her dominate against other women is her body build. If you take that away, you take away the advantage that she has learned to play with. It would be interesting to see how she would do against women who are all about the same height as her.
I agree that she should not compete against men. Even people who don't really follow women's basketball, or basketball in general, still know who Brittney Griner is. This could be extremely beneficial for the WNBA by attracting some interest. Brittney Griner can be very dominant in the WNBA, if she decided to play in the NBA, that dominance would disappear.
-Erin
Zane,
ReplyDeleteI agree that Griner should not try and compete with Men. She has made a strong statement for womens sports and should continue to do so. She is a very good basketball player and dominates her sport because of physical attribuates that she was gited with. However, if Griner were try to play in the NBA most likley she would become a target and would be played against differently. Not one person in the NBA would want to be dunked on or "showed" up by her. She would be treated like a Jeremy Lin where NBA players would try and make a point and use her as an example. If Griner continues to play in the WNBA she could have a huge impact on the sport as well as women's sports.
John Ruppert
Zane,
ReplyDeleteI agree that Brittney Griner should not pursue trying to play basketball with men. The reason being is that there are so many other factors to playing with men than a great skill set. In many cases men are stronger, meaner, and more primal on the court. They foul hard, they talk about each other in between plays, and they occasionally fight. I believe that putting a woman in a sport where men play so rough wouldn’t be a good idea. I really believe that there should be mixed gender leagues when both men and women play so that both sexes get to show what they have against the top men and women in that sport.
Darion Delaney
Zane,
ReplyDeleteThere is not much to disagree with you at all here. I think one thing we must do is not compare Griner to men. She is truly in a league of her own and deserves to be acknowledged for that. While at the same time she may not be able to compete with men that should not be a factor of her greatness. I know that you were not taking away from her ability and success, but at the same time we have to remember we cannot compare genders. It is not fair, if it was we would not see gender seperated sports. Griner although may be able to compete with some men if you think of it as she started playing with them from the eigth grade on I have to think she may could make it at the mid major Division 1 men's level. But nonetheless Griner is in a league of her own and destined to be one of the Greats of Basketball without focusing on sex. I agree that she can potentially change the face of the WNBA but same time with people like her, Skylar Diggins, and Crystal bradford (Central Michigan sophomre guard/forward) all going to professional levels soon I think their identity will be changing sooner then we think.
-Greg Gantt