Which is more difficult to accomplish? Being a great NFL RB or a being a great NBA center

[its....JOHN B]

To be a great NBA Center you have to be Seven feet tall.

To be a great NFL running back you have to be anywhere from 5'7" to 6' (there's not too many tall running backs).

Now the number of people who are 7 feet tall of basketball playing age (20-35) is probably in the hundreds. I'd estimate there are less than 1,000 7 footers of basketball playing age.

But there's literally millions of people between 5'7" and 6'.

So if you want to be a great NFL running back you have to compete with millions of people.

If you want to be a great NBA center you have to compete with hundreds of people.

I'd say its easier to be a great NBA center because there's less competition.

Mark Eaton - 7'4"

Greg Ostertag - 7'2"

Shawn Bradley - 7'6"

Manute Bol - 7' 7"

These guys were all tall but they weren't that good. But they were good enough to play in the NBA.

I don't think there's a comparable list of NFL running backs who weren't that good but made the NFL anyway.

If there are literally millions of people between 5'7 and 6' then there are literally millions of more chances for people to be great

Nope. Because there's only 32 teams in the NFL and 30 teams in the NBA.

So assuming every NFL team has 3 running backs

And assuming every NBA team has two 7 footers

The odds of being a NFL running back is (3x32=96) 96 in a million

The odds of being a NBA Center is (3x30=60) 60 in a thousand

Bottom line, if you're 7 feet, you have a better chance of making the NBA than a person who's between 5'7 and 6' making the NFL as a running back.

all your numbers tell us is its more likely for a 7 footer to make it to the NBA than its is for a 5'7 to 6' to make it to the NFL, but it's not explaining why there are plenty of great running backs and hardly any great centers

What's your definition of a "great running back".

There have been 7 running backs to get 2,000 years in a season (OJ Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, Jamal Lewis, Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson)

And there's probably about 7 "great" centers to play basketball (Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwan, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Shaquille O Neal)

But the thing about being a great center is that you have to be 7 feet tall, which eliminates 99.9% of people.

Considering the size requirements, when a baby is born, his chances of being a great running back are greater than his chances of being a great center because the odds of that baby growing to 7 feet tall are astronomical.

Why even post the bolded? Are you implying there's only 7 great rb's in the history of the sport? you know the greatest running back was t even mentioned in there right? And there's more than 7 great centers, yea those were most of the all time greats but there were other great ones as well, and all those numbers you brought up thinking your a mathematician in here helps my argument not yours

Are you asking is it more difficult to be a starting Center and a starting Running back, or are you asking if its more difficult to be an elite, all-time great?

I didn't make the thread, the thread says a great one, and there are more great running backs in the game today and in the history of the game than there are centers in the NBA, now close the thread

 

[its....JOHN B]

Center easy, great running backs pop up every year, who was the last great center? Dwight in his prime maybe, right now the closest one to being great is who Cousins? And he can't get a team to the playoffs, Towns will be great, but there are hardly any great centers in the league anymore

Dont confuse flash in the pans with great. Most of them fizzle out in a year or two. Maybe 3.

Freeman was premature, those other players all great or at the tail end of a great career

 

[804]

A center having to be 7 feet tall is silly. Ewing is like 6-9, Shaq is 6-11 I believe. The size is irrelevant. The label of being a Center has a specific skill set to me, such as protecting the rim and rebounding. If you can't do those things your not a big man to me. Center and Power Forward are pretty much interchangeable, but I'll save that for another conversation.

@"its....JOHN B" just throwing the word great around all willy nilly. Your a great back if they can't consistently stop you with 8 in the box. Gurley(hasn't done enough), Bell(isn't on the field enoug), Freeman(not consistent), ain't great, and McCoy straddles the fence between good and great.

All that said, I'll go with running back because there are so many factors out of your control. There are so many ways a center can make an impact on the floor without shooting.

Stopped reading after this

You enjoy being wrong in life I see.

 

[its....JOHN B]

A center having to be 7 feet tall is silly. Ewing is like 6-9, Shaq is 6-11 I believe. The size is irrelevant. The label of being a Center has a specific skill set to me, such as protecting the rim and rebounding. If you can't do those things your not a big man to me. Center and Power Forward are pretty much interchangeable, but I'll save that for another conversation.

@"its....JOHN B" just throwing the word great around all willy nilly. Your a great back if they can't consistently stop you with 8 in the box. Gurley(hasn't done enough), Bell(isn't on the field enoug), Freeman(not consistent), ain't great, and McCoy straddles the fence between good and great.

All that said, I'll go with running back because there are so many factors out of your control. There are so many ways a center can make an impact on the floor without shooting.

Stopped reading after this

You enjoy being wrong in life I see.

The irony

 

[804]

A center having to be 7 feet tall is silly. Ewing is like 6-9, Shaq is 6-11 I believe. The size is irrelevant. The label of being a Center has a specific skill set to me, such as protecting the rim and rebounding. If you can't do those things your not a big man to me. Center and Power Forward are pretty much interchangeable, but I'll save that for another conversation.

@"its....JOHN B" just throwing the word great around all willy nilly. Your a great back if they can't consistently stop you with 8 in the box. Gurley(hasn't done enough), Bell(isn't on the field enoug), Freeman(not consistent), ain't great, and McCoy straddles the fence between good and great.

All that said, I'll go with running back because there are so many factors out of your control. There are so many ways a center can make an impact on the floor without shooting.

Stopped reading after this

You enjoy being wrong in life I see.

The irony

Much of life is sifting through misinformation and finding what is factual. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to turn your life around. Take advantage of this John

 

[its....JOHN B]

This dude is talking about misinformation but says Patrick Ewing is 6'9

 

[804]

This dude is talking about misinformation but says Patrick Ewing is 6'9

So what you're saying is there is no way that Patrick Ewing isn't 7 feet tall?

 

[its....JOHN B]

This dude is talking about misinformation but says Patrick Ewing is 6'9

So what you're saying is there is no way that Patrick Ewing isn't 7 feet tall?

No what I'm saying is you're wrong and your attempt to be funny failed miserably

 

[804]

This dude is talking about misinformation but says Patrick Ewing is 6'9

So what you're saying is there is no way that Patrick Ewing isn't 7 feet tall?

No what I'm saying is you're wrong and your attempt to be funny failed miserably

You're judge, jury, and executioner huh? I'm still figuring out how to meet your specific standards. I'll continue to try and meet the level of quality that you display in all of your posts.

 

[5 Grand]

He looks 7 feet to me

 

[bow to royalty]

Center easy, great running backs pop up every year, who was the last great center? Dwight in his prime maybe, right now the closest one to being great is who Cousins? And he can't get a team to the playoffs, Towns will be great, but there are hardly any great centers in the league anymore

Can't agree with this. How does less competition make it harder for you to be great? The presence of greatness makes it harder for another player to be great.

Dwight Howard is a good example. He wouldn't be looked at the same if he came along in the 80's/90's era because of the competition.

 

[aneed123]

Man Ewing is 7'1 and shaq is 7'2...

 

[bow to royalty]

A center having to be 7 feet tall is silly. Ewing is like 6-9, Shaq is 6-11 I believe. The size is irrelevant. The label of being a Center has a specific skill set to me, such as protecting the rim and rebounding. If you can't do those things your not a big man to me. Center and Power Forward are pretty much interchangeable, but I'll save that for another conversation.

@"its....JOHN B" just throwing the word great around all willy nilly. Your a great back if they can't consistently stop you with 8 in the box. Gurley(hasn't done enough), Bell(isn't on the field enoug), Freeman(not consistent), ain't great, and McCoy straddles the fence between good and great.

All that said, I'll go with running back because there are so many factors out of your control. There are so many ways a center can make an impact on the floor without shooting.

You only have to have a good first half of a season to be great now. You ain't know?

 

[its....JOHN B]

Sooooooooo Dwight wouldn't be considered great if he played in the 80's/90's....but that doesn't help my point?

 

[bow to royalty]

Sooooooooo Dwight wouldn't be considered great if he played in the 80's/90's....but that doesn't help my point?

No, because you said he may be considered a great for the time he did play (a time with less talent at Center). That's showing you don't need to be as good now, as you did before, to be considered great

Since the role of dominant big man is there for the taking right now in the NBA, it's easier to come in and be a great center because who's stopping you, or setting that high bar you have to meet?

If you want to be a great NFL RB Peterson, McCoy, and Charles, are there setting a high ass bar for you.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

NBA Center

You can probably go 20 deep naming great NFL RB's.

There's maybe 10 great NBA Centers.

 

[mrtdb]

Running Back because:

1.) Being a great center just requires height...that's natural, takes no effort...and this is proven by the fact that most centers can't shoot...because they didn't put the work in to learn how to shoot, they've always naturally been able to play because they're tall. (Being a great NBA point guard/shooting guard would have been a better argument to have)

2.) A running back is only as good as his linemen...he could be a complete beast but unless he's some unreal Adrian Peterson type player...he can't break 4-5 tackles. Today's defensive players are too big, fast, and eager to fuck someone up for that to happen. Therefore the running back position is dependent on other people...the more other people suck the more effort you have to put in to be considered great

3.) It's a passing league in the NFL now. Which means pretty soon running backs are going to be graded by the same criteria as receivers (receptions, passing tds, ect) Which means a great running back can't just be good at blocking and doing the thing in name of it's position (running), they have to be extremely versatile.

4.) Media hype...Hasaan Whiteside blocks 2 shots "amazing...one of the best centers in the league today, revival of the center position. Very little is expected of a center today...so when they do anything it's considered amazing. 12 POINTS! 11 REBOUNDS...OMG THE TALLEST MAN ON THE BASKETBALL COURT IS GETTING REBOUNDS!!!!! THE CENTER POSITION HAS BEEN REVIVED

 

[its....JOHN B]

Running Back because:

1.) Being a great center just requires height...that's natural, takes no effort...and this is proven by the fact that most centers can't shoot...because they didn't put the work in to learn how to shoot, they've always naturally been able to play because they're tall. (Being a great NBA point guard/shooting guard would have been a better argument to have)

2.) A running back is only as good as his linemen...he could be a complete beast but unless he's some unreal Adrian Peterson type player...he can't break 4-5 tackles. Today's defensive players are too big, fast, and eager to fuck someone up for that to happen. Therefore the running back position is dependent on other people...the more other people suck the more effort you have to put in to be considered great

3.) It's a passing league in the NFL now. Which means pretty soon running backs are going to be graded by the same criteria as receivers (receptions, passing tds, ect) Which means a great running back can't just be good at blocking and doing the thing in name of it's position (running), they have to be extremely versatile.

4.) Media hype...Hasaan Whiteside blocks 2 shots "amazing...one of the best centers in the league today, revival of the center position. Very little is expected of a center today...so when they do anything it's considered amazing. 12 POINTS! 11 REBOUNDS...OMG THE TALLEST MAN ON THE BASKETBALL COURT IS GETTING REBOUNDS!!!!! THE CENTER POSITION HAS BEEN REVIVED

Oh that's it? I had no idea

 

[The Lonious Monk]

Well one thing to point out is there is basically a physical restriction that limits who can play center. You can be a 5'8 RB and be decent depending on your other qualities. You can't be a 5'8 center. So I don't know if I'd say that means being a great center is harder, but the pool of people that even have a reasonable chance of being a center at all, let alone a great one is much smaller.

 

[5 Grand]

Running Back because:

1.) Being a great center just requires height...that's natural, takes no effort...and this is proven by the fact that most centers can't shoot...because they didn't put the work in to learn how to shoot, they've always naturally been able to play because they're tall. (Being a great NBA point guard/shooting guard would have been a better argument to have)

2.) A running back is only as good as his linemen...he could be a complete beast but unless he's some unreal Adrian Peterson type player...he can't break 4-5 tackles. Today's defensive players are too big, fast, and eager to fuck someone up for that to happen. Therefore the running back position is dependent on other people...the more other people suck the more effort you have to put in to be considered great

3.) It's a passing league in the NFL now. Which means pretty soon running backs are going to be graded by the same criteria as receivers (receptions, passing tds, ect) Which means a great running back can't just be good at blocking and doing the thing in name of it's position (running), they have to be extremely versatile.

4.) Media hype...Hasaan Whiteside blocks 2 shots "amazing...one of the best centers in the league today, revival of the center position. Very little is expected of a center today...so when they do anything it's considered amazing. 12 POINTS! 11 REBOUNDS...OMG THE TALLEST MAN ON THE BASKETBALL COURT IS GETTING REBOUNDS!!!!! THE CENTER POSITION HAS BEEN REVIVED

@ the bolded. Nosign

If you gathered everybody who was 6' tall and put them on the basketball court, some of them would be naturally athletic while some of them would be uncoordinated and not good at sports. Just think back in high school, or elementary school. Some people just aren't good at sports. Some people are naturally gifted and some aren't.

You can't just assume that just because somebody is 7' tall that he's naturally good at sports.

Its possible that somebody could be tall enough to be center, but doesn't have the natural ability to play center, just like somebody who is 6' tall and doesn't have the natural ability to play running back.

2800 7 footers in the world currently,
http://www.naturalheightgrowth.com/2012/08/11/how-many-7-feet-tall-people-are-in-the-world/

Though there is no exact number for how many people are at least 7 feet tall, a detailed estimate from 2012 concluded that there are approximately 2,800 7-footers in the world.
http://www.ask.com/world-view/many-people-7-feet-tall-cb4f9973908981f1

There are several theories of how many 7-footers roam the earth, based more on projections than actual facts. Trying to track down every seven-foot tall human in a world with 7.25 billion people has its difficulties.

However, here are a couple of numbers to chew on.

One internet study indicates that out of those 7.25 billion people in the world, 2,800 are seven feet tall or better. That’s one in every 1.6 million people.

Those numbers are little too large to digest, so let’s bring them down a bit. High school sports website MaxPreps.com received 15,000 high school basketball rosters this winter. Of the 185,421 players listed, 40 were seven feet or taller. That’s one in every 4,635 high school players.

The tallest documented high school player on those winter roster is 7-foot-6 Tacko “Taco” Fall of Tavares, Fla. He has committed to play college basketball at Central Florida next fall.

Currently, there are 36 seven-footers in the NBA, out of 390 on active rosters. That’s about 11 percent.

Finally, a study in 2011 claimed that the probability of a U.S. citizen at least seven feet tall to play in the NBA was 17 percent. The same study indicates that a person between 6-6 and 6-8 has a .007 percent chance of playing in the NBA.
http://www.heraldextra.com/sports/h...cle_bec5365f-73c5-5dea-bb4d-32df14758f64.html

According to the latest research, there are 2,800 people who are 7 feet tall. Just like high school, think of how many people went to your school and how many of them were good at basketball. Then think how many people on your high school basketball team were good enough to get a college scholarship. Probably very few.

My point is that its harder to be a great center because one of the prerequisites is that you have to be 7 feet tall and only 1 in every 1.6 million people is that height.

When a baby is born, he has a greater chance of being a NFL running back than a NBA center.