well, 43'' is pretty impressive on its own... anybody know how they measure these anyway? i mean, the way they did it during those slam dunk contests was to measure them from the ground up, but this isn't very accurate since it doesn't count for bending in the knees. the way it should be done is to measure overhead reach and then have the guys leap and hit sticks attached to a really tall ruler. i've seen it done at my school's gym. do scouts measure verticals when rookie prospects work out for teams?
Both Francis and Carter measure a 43" vert. The reasons that Carter won the slam dunk championship was because Carter is 6'6" and he was able to palm the ball (something Francis can not do). Slight edge to Carter. But not much... In my opinion, a shorter player like Francis looks more impressive dunking than a tall player like McGrady,Kobe, or Carter. Jordan had the best of three worlds... He was tall (6'6"), could palm the ball, and had a 48" vert!!!
no, Francis got a 45 vert at least read this interview http://www.maximonline.com/sports/articles/article_3863.html
At least? So, he can just choose to get a 45, 46, 47? Yeah right...Listen, I've come to the conclusion that most numbers are embellished. The numbers I got were from the All Star slam-dunk contest in front of thousands of fans. Maybe he had a bad "jump" day, but he had more than one time to prove it. The numbers you got are from a conversation... Who's more willing to embellish? Good thing you didn't find a Slam! article. Just be aware that a 43" inch vert is incredible, and probably his norm/mean.
The VJ is one of the most misqutoed/mis-measured stat in all sports. The standing jump and reach method of measurement is VERY flawed. For example, stand against a wall and reach as high as you can - mark it. Now, stand on your left foot (if right handed), tilt your hips so that you right hip is higher then the left, and push your arm up as high as possible. You will see about a 6 inch difference if you are doing this correctly. This is what happens when you jump. People often measure their standing reach standing flat footed shoulders parallel to the ground. The most accurate method of measuring VJ is to measure hip height. They sell a very simple device that has a belt with a measuring tape attached to a pad. This measures hip height displacement. I promise if measured this way, you would see VJ numbers alot lower than those thrown around all the time. BTW, if Francis had a 47" VJ, he probably would be able to touch the top of the backboard. He is 6'3" and he doesn't look to have abnormally long arms which would put his reach about 8' give or take. From what I have seen watching him play, I don't think he can do this, although he does jump extremely well.
