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[QUOTE="Cheriehoop, post: 1775859, member: 127"]
Personally, I don't think the players are more skilled - they are just much more athletic. It used to be that players were recruited based on their developed skills plus career stats and competition not on the athletic potential based on "measurables" like jumping ability, wing span, reach, stride length etc with the hope to develop the needed basketball skills/IQ in the future. The only time in the "golden oldie" days recruiting based on potential seemed to be restricted for exceptionally tall guys because "you can't teach height".(JB taking the gamble with Rony Seikaly) I knew of kids who didn't make their high school basketball team because they couldn't dribble down the court using both hands around cones then make off hand layups. Now I see college players who can't use both hands to dribble, shoot, pass, etc. Today an NBA team would probably take a chance on a Rony Seikaly immediately or at least after a year, just based on his athleticism.

The advances in S&C training etc seems to have changed the emphasis. Many high school kids spend time in strength and conditioning facilities with other sport's athletes just to increase jump height, speed, reaction time, stride, strength etc, thus the "measurables" they think they can improve and control. Sport's facilities to develop pure general athleticism apart from basketball skills weren't really around back then.
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