# Is measured "wingspan" really that important in drafting college basketball players? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-measured-wingspan-really-that-important-in-drafting-college-basketball-players/372187 "2006-09-10T18:17:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-measured-wingspan-really-that-important-in-drafting-college-basketball-players/372187/1 "2006-09-10T18:17:59Z")
[This guy seems to think it’s practically make or break for some players.](http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1349) Why are these minor differences that big a deal? ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-measured-wingspan-really-that-important-in-drafting-college-basketball-players/372187/2 "2006-09-11T04:01:09Z")
Becuase they aren’t minor difference. For obvious reasons your standing reach is very important. Height is a big part of that, but wingspan is also important and can be the make or break number for a lot of guys. For example, Shelden Williams and Elton Brand are both 6’8 1/2". Brand has ridiculously long arms, while Williams is a T-rex. As a result Brand can reach 9’1 1/2" while Williams can only reach 8’8". Those 5 1/2" is going to be the difference between Brand being a great player, and Williams being a flop. For comparison’s sake the reaches for the positions are generally as follows: C: 9’2"+ PF: 8’11"-9’1" SF: 8’8"-8’11" SG: 8’5"-8’8" PG:8’5" and below