This should give any tweener, basketball player some hope about making the decision to give football and the NFL a try.
Even At 6-8, Jimmy Graham was a slightly undersized power forward, who put up okay numbers for the Miami Hurricanes, but had no real professional aspirations.
That same player, became a matchup nightmare for linebackers and safeties on the football field, because of some of the natural ability he brought along from the basketball court.
Graham believes guys like himself, Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, transitioned well to the NFL because of the natural footwork that had as basketball players.
“A lot of the guys who transitioned from basketball to football were undersized big men, for the most part,” Graham said. “You get used to going against guys who are 6-11 or taller. You either have to be real strong or real tough or both.”
Gonzalez played both basketball and football at Cal, and was decent on the hardwood, while Gates was a pretty good basketball player who averaged 21 points and eight rebounds for a Kent State team that made an Elite Eight run.
“We have really good body control and foot work,” Graham said on John Clayton’s 710 ESPN Seattle radio show. “When the ball’s in the air, it doesn’t matter where it is, we can adjust to it. And now when you come down, you don’t have to worry about a hardwood floor. You have some nice grass to land on.”
I think you’ll continue to see guys who were pretty good athletes decide to take a swing on football, if only for the financial security it can bring.
Julius Peppers was another guy who benefited from playing hoops as well.