Gators Gain Strength In Summer Workouts

I have to keep it 100... this makes me feel like he wasn't taking it seriously. That jump takes very little effort.

 

That's pathetic that a highly skilled college athlete can't bench more than 185. I think I hit that in HS.

 

Maybe he's got really long arms?

 

I'm sure he has longer arms than me, but he's a guard so its not like he is some freakishly tall and skinny dude.
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Yeah. The jump from 165 to 185 should only take a few weeks for a guy his size if he’s putting in work. The gains only become a little bit harder when you start getting above 200. He definitely should be able to max 2 plates at least one rep (225 lbs).

 

He added almost 50% to his front squat number. That's pretty impressive, and leg strength is more important than bench IMO
Ask how much Kevin Durant benches. He seems to be doing alright despite horrific bench press numbers

 

I'm not sure how a much higher bench press makes thd ball go in the hoop more or makes smarter passing. He looks good and hopefully spends more time with a ball in his hands practicing basketball skills.

 

Well it would make sense that legs are more important to Basketball skills, but overall strength is important in most any athletic endeavor except maybe long distance running. Kevin Durant is a bad example...he is freakishly tall and thin and almost looks like a Somali refugee.

 

I don't know if he really improved his front squat or he just started squatting closer to what he already should have been doing. You have to imagine that a 6' tall basketball player in decent shape could easily front or back squat 225 lbs. My wife is 5'4" and could do 225 lbs on the back squat pretty easily, and she's not some type of freak of nature. Legs are naturally strong.

Regardless, we aren't talking about whether it translates to making someone a better basketball player. We are talking specifically about the gains that were mentioned in the article that discussed their conditioning improvements. Now... as a basketball player, I can tell you that more strength and fitness always helps. Kevin Durant is a unicorn and dominates without a lot of muscle mass, but I believe he would be even greater if he filled out his frame like Lebron.

 

And bike racing.

 

Perhaps the focus is more on building reps and speed than strength, which serms more appropriate given the physical requirements to play hoops.

 

I agree. Becoming muscle-bound seems to hurt a lot of players' outside shooting (in the paint, they tend to get better at scoring because they can play through contact). However, there are other factors. Such as when a player is not the focal point of an offense, he doesn't get schemed against as much. When he becomes THE MAN, opposing coaches tend to make stopping him the focus of the game plan.

 

20 pounds in a bench below 200 is not getting muscle bound nor will it affect his shot. Being able to play through aggressive contact, finish at the rim, hold a defender at bay with off hand, rebound, etc… are all things that benefit from increased upper body strength.
Anyone putting in the time and effort should jump 29 pounds in a couple of weeks. Especially with a good diet professional trainers. Dies that mean Appleby will be a bust this year? Of course not. It may not hurt him at all or it may come back to bite him at the next level. But learning how to grind in the off-season helps prepare players for the NBA. ( and helps prepare high school kids for college.)

 

What are you basing this statement on? I have never seen any evidence of this, scientific or anecdotal. Gaining muscle had no negative impact on my shot, personally. It did however help in all aspects of my game.

 

I agree 100% with this post.

 

Like I said, "seems." I don't know it for a fact. Starting with his sophomore season, Kevaughn Allen's 3-point shooting percentage went down each season as his muscle mass went up. Are they connected? I don't know, it may have been that coaches schemed to stop him, but there's the anecdotal evidence you crave.

 

I'm not craving evidence. I'm asked what you based your statement on. From your response, it seems like it wasn't a strong set of evidence. I'm not trying to start an argument with you. Muscle mass itself does not degrade one's shot.

 

No one is “craving evidence”. In
fact more than one person comes from a background that offers some expertise in this area. Again, 20 pounds in a bench press is a blip. I doubt the casual observer. would ever notice any difference in the persons size. KA was a notorious streaky shooter when he came to UF. Increased muscle mass wouldn’t be in the top 10 reasons he struggled year to year.

 

Well, until someone does real research on it, we're just sharing opinions.