Could Caitlyn Clark compete with D1 men?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

You are either an elite athlete or not. These NBA players are all pretty small and if you just saw their height and weight, I'm not sure you'd think they were destined for the NBA either:

Terquavion Smith: 6'4 160 pounds
Jacob Gilyard: 5'9 160 pounds
Isaiah Joe: 6'3 165 pounds

This is not to suggest Caitlin Clark is, just that she's really not that much smaller than players in the NBA right now.

Again, women are different from men. They just are. It's not height or weight.

[packs]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Again, women are different from men. They just are. It's not height or weight.

Yeah, but people are still people too and people tend to be individuals, which is my point. It would very easy to say Jacob Gilyard is 5'9 and 160 pounds. He's not big enough to play in the NBA.

Except Jacob Gilyard is an individual person with exceptional talent.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

Yeah, but people are still people too and people tend to be individuals, which is my point. It would very easy to say Jacob Gilyard is 5'9 and 160 pounds. He's not big enough to play in the NBA.

Except Jacob Gilyard is an individual person with exceptional talent.

Agreed but that's not relevant to the topic. At all. We are not comparing people in the same category we are comparing people in completely different categories -- women players and men. It so reminds me of MacGregor and Mayweather, we had guys here making the same absurd arguments.

[packs]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Agreed but that's not relevant to the topic. At all.

It is because many people might say WOMEN aren't strong enough to compete with men in the NBA. But really we're just talking about one person. I'm just looking to keep the conversation focused is all.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

It is because many people might say WOMEN aren't strong enough to compete with men in the NBA. But really we're just talking about one person. I'm just looking to keep the conversation focused is all.

I don't follow the logic. The fact that she is a woman is the source of the characteristics which make her unable to compete with men.

My tiny baby brother, who's never read a book,
Knows one sex from the other,
All he had to do was look,

[packs]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I don't follow the logic. The fact that she is a woman is the source of the characteristics which make her unable to compete with men.

I don't follow your logic. This whole time you've said two things: she isn't physically capable of competing on a men's team and she can't defend. I don't think either of those things are dependent on her gender. I'm a man and I can't compete on a men's team either.

The point is this: there is no absolute. If you follow your logic, then you'd have to accept there will never be a woman physically gifted enough to play with men. I don't think that's anymore true than there will never be an NBA player who's 5'3. It will always come down to the individual. So, why not discuss people as individuals?

[Belfast1933]

By the way, seems like we may all be somewhat in the same "vintage" to recall players who were NOT the biggest, were NOT the fastest but WERE smarter, better decision makers, playmakers, etc.

Diff sports, I know, no one talks about physical gifts first when they discuss the greatness of Brady, Bird or Gretzky.

Never say never, boys.

[bk400]

Originally Posted by packs

I don't follow your logic. This whole time you've said two things: she isn't physically capable of competing on a men's team and she can't defend. I don't think either of those things are dependent on her gender. I'm a man and I can't compete on a men's team either.

The point is this: there is no absolute. If you follow your logic, then you'd have to accept there will never be a woman physically gifted enough to play with men. I don't think that's anymore true than there will never be an NBA player who's 5'3. It will always come down to the individual. So, why not discuss people as individuals?

I'm one of those people who would love to see a woman compete with men at the D1 level in any major sport.

Let's look at the data. Aside from the USWNT scrimmage against the Dallas U15 team and some other one off examples, females in contact sports tend to avoid mens and boys teams. This, in and of itself, is relevant evidence.

Anyway, I looked at the below, which is from Duke Law School, comparing athletic performance between men and women.

https://law.duke.edu/sports/sex-spor...ic-performance

Though the article is slightly dated (as it does not include the most recent men's world records by Usain Bolt, Wayne van Niekirk, and David Rudisha in the 100, 200, 400 and 800m), the points made are very clear.

To the extent that explosiveness and quickness are key athletic attributes in basketball, you can draw inferences from the comparisons between elite (Olympic level) women and BOYS (forget the men) in the 100m, long jump, and high jump. Basically, the world record holding women do not compare that favourably with U18 boys.

Further, it seems that it is really hard to make a D1 mens basketball program. See the below:

https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2015/3/2...athletics.aspx

To summarize, the NCAA estimates that only the top 1% of high school boys basketball players plays in D1.

When I read this and I look at Caitlyn Clark's game, I struggle to see her even making the starting line up on any top 10 boys high school team in any state in America.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

I don't follow your logic. This whole time you've said two things: she isn't physically capable of competing on a men's team and she can't defend. I don't think either of those things are dependent on her gender. I'm a man and I can't compete on a men's team either.

The point is this: there is no absolute. If you follow your logic, then you'd have to accept there will never be a woman physically gifted enough to play with men. I don't think that's anymore true than there will never be an NBA player who's 5'3. It will always come down to the individual. So, why not discuss people as individuals?

That there could be some fringe example does not negate the general proposition. Cheetahs are faster than squirrels. That there might be some extreme counterexample does not mean we should just consider every animal individually. I can't believe I have to explain this. Political correctness is fine but come on.