[QUOTE=benny73]
I still say that the objective of basketball is to put the ball through the hoop. Nothing more. Therefore, a person 7’8" being fed a ball two steps away from the basket is going to be of much value to a team, as he merely has to lean towards the hoop and then drop it in. Simple.
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No.
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton]
I think tall women usually hook up with tall men anyway. (The reverse is not necessarily true.)
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Yeah. Thing is, all the short women try to hook up with the tall men too.
…could you have guessed that I am shorter than 5’ 10" ? 
[QUOTE=benny73]
I still say that the objective of basketball is to put the ball through the hoop. Nothing more. Therefore, a person 7’8" being fed a ball two steps away from the basket is going to be of much value to a team, as he merely has to lean towards the hoop and then drop it in. Simple.
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You do realize that’s against the rules?
A player cannot simply stand near the basket waiting for the ball. Standing in “the lane” for more than three seconds is a technical foul.
This may come as a source of amazement to you, but the folks who run basketball thought of this a long time before you did. I would suggest that if you think an endeavour that’s been going on for a century or more looks “easy,” you don’t understand it.
[QUOTE=Leviosaurus]
In my experience, a lot of tall people are sick of:
- Being asked about playing basketball
- The automatic expectation that they’re automatically good at basketball
- The automatic assumption that they love basketball.
Guess what? A lot of us hate basketball. We don’t want to be asked about it, we don’t want to play it. Please stop perpetuating the sterotype.
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Shoot (heh), I’m only 5’10" and I still remember one of my mom’s friends who would sigh and shake her head sadly when she would see me and confirm that no, I wasn’t interested in basketball. :rolleyes: Um, I’m pretty sure basketball requires some level of coordination and physical fitness, neither being my strong suit.
[QUOTE=benny73]
My game plan would be to not have him get involved with defense, just hangout near the basket.
I hope my question didn’t offend anyone, it was as much of a way to let off some steam about pro athletes getting Fort Knox type of money for their rather lame contributions to the Human Condition, as it was to legitimately explore the ethics of people pursuing that sort of ambition in the way I described. Though I certainly don’t begrudge people for accepting what others will pay them.
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The folks who give “Fort Knox type of money” to basketball stars are fans who do so voluntarily. Hard to begrudge that.
As for deliberately breeding for tall genes, wouldn’t breeding for other qualities such as intelligence, looks, and personality traits be more likely to result in successful offspring since there is a broader market for those characteristics? One of the reasons pro-basketball pays so well is that there are only a handful of folks among six billion who are good enough to make the grade.
Nah. That’s length. 
Being tall is a huge advantage in basketball. Some players have made careers of their height. Most, however, are tall + talented.
Manute Bol didn’t even know how to play basketball until he was an adult. His height just gave him such an advantage that he couldn’t be overlooked. He never was a skilled player, but he did hang on in the NBA for number of seasons really only because of his height.
I swear Sawn Bradley was no more talented than me, but again his height paid off with a pro hoops career.
These guys were not 6’8" though. They were almost a foot taller than that and neither of them is a threat for the hall of fame. So extreme height can be enough to get you into basketball, but it isn’t everything. In fact, 6’8" is a little small for a center in the NBA. You would be five inches shorter than Shaq and ten inches shorter than Yao Ming.
[QUOTE=AskNott]
Indiana’s high school Mr. Basketball and Miss Basketball will meet for the award dinner and photo shoot, but I’ve never heard of them pairing off afterward.
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That’s because it’s impolite to talk with a mouthful.
I think we’re being baited here by our dear Guest OP’er. For sound genetic reasons, it would be almost impossible to guarantee that every tall man and woman would have tall offspring. Why, that would take manipulation of the gene pool not seen since about 1941.
Cartooniverse
In case it hasn’t been said yet (I know, it has) being tall isn’t enough.