Interesting Article On Players Potential And Their Brain

LAfadeaway33 · Jun 30, 2002

I found this article on another message board and thought it was pretty interesting.

MIND GAMES

By MARK HALE

NY POST

June 30, 2002 -- Before the 1997 NBA Draft, he said that Tracy McGrady had the ideal brain type to be an NBA superstar. Two days ago he said that Yao Ming did not.
This is what Jonathan Niednagel does.

"A lot of athletes are 6-7 with a 35-inch vertical jump. But one guy could be a top player and the other could be a bust," says Niednagel, a.k.a. the brain doctor. "Through watching [players'] motor skills, I can see how their brain works."

It's called brain typing. And it's the latest sports technology phenomenon, one that is revolutionizing talent evaluation and earning Niednagel (pronounced "Need-noggle") a reputation as one of the brightest innovators in sports.

His staggering accuracy and early predictions of stardom for athletes like McGrady and Mike Bibby have led to a flood of offers from teams looking for unique insight into potential draft picks or free agents. Timberwolves V.P. of Operations Kevin McHale and former Suns coach Danny Ainge are just two sports honchos who swear by the brain doctor. Orlando Magic GM John Gabriel adds simply, "I believe in what he does."

Having studied brain types for more than 30 years (he's the founder of Brain Type Institute in Notting Hill, Mo.) Niednagel has created a unique method of breaking down an athlete's brain to determine his future prospects for success. How precise is he?

Let's put it this way - he could speak to you for five minutes and tell you what you had for breakfast.

"He's phenomenally accurate," says Denver Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe, who hired Niednagel to help with last Wednesday's NBA Draft. "When you're risking millions of dollars on athletes, you want all the information you can get. And his information is extremely accurate."

Skeptical? Niednagel is the first to admit he's no psychic, but then, as Georgia coach Jim Harrick says, "I've never known Jon to be wrong about a person yet."

Still skeptical? OK, then flash back to the 1998 NFL Draft when teams were scrambling for a chance to snatch one of the two golden quarterbacks - Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. Both, it was universally agreed at the time, had unlimited potential and were surefire stars.

At the time, Niednagel was working as a consultant for the Chargers, who owned the second pick and were salivating over the prospect of either signal-caller. But the way Niednagel saw it, the decision here was black-and-white. Manning had the ideal brain type to be a franchise QB, the same one, in fact, that Joe Montana and Brett Favre had. But even after the Chargers declared that Leaf had scored off the charts on a vision exam, Niednagel issued a warning.

"I don't care what the test shows," Niednagel told the Chargers, urging them to pass on the bazooka-armed QB, stressing that Leaf would fold under pressure. The team didn't listen and four years later, Leaf is perhaps the biggest bust in NFL history.

So how does the magic process work? Without getting too technical, brain typing is based on a combination of evaluating everything from a player's motor skills to the way he answers questions. And it's not so much test results (20/20 vision, for example) that Niednagel values as much as it is the conclusions he draws (a natural ability for peripheral awareness). Sometimes all Niednagel requires, in fact, is a few minutes of videotape or some give-and-take on the phone.

From there, Niednagel classifies players as having one of 16 different brain types, with various ones specific to a sport's or even a position's success.

For example, while type ISTP (Introvert Sensing Thinking Perceiving) is tops for basketball players (see graphic), ESTP (Extrovert) is ideal for specifically NFL quarterbacks. Still, others are perfect for everything from football kickers to Olympic divers.

Of course, there are no bad brain types and type alone doesn't guarantee success (Abraham Lincoln and the Unabomber shared the same type). But it's a pretty good start.

While doubters scoff at the notion that such an untapped field could produce such pinpoint accuracy in athletics, Niednagel calmly refers to another comparison. He acutely reasons, for example, that someone trained in botany could enter a greenhouse and easily identify each type of plant due to his training. If that's true, why can't Niednagel do the same for brain types?

"If you have an eye for it, which I do," he begins, "you can determine which type. These brain types transcend sports."

And Niednagel does the rest.
Click to expand...

lpbman · Jun 30, 2002

Fighter Pilots and race car drivers are prime examples

you can't fake being one or the other, you MUST have the right brain type to do either

Vengeance · Jun 30, 2002

I read an article about this a while ago -- not the same article though. It was a transcript of the info on NPR. The thing is, it seems he makes a few correct predictions and it's assumed he is all the sudden some genius about people's sports futures. It never mentions all the ones he's gotten wrong, which I'm sure he has

Interesting article though. I wish they'd say more about Yao Ming than just throwing that blanket statement out there.

Nutcracker · Jun 30, 2002

I am sure there are ample examples of NBA superstars who do not share the same brain type. This article is implying that every single superstar in their respective sport shares the same brain type that it requires to dominate that sport. There is no way I can see that as being possible.

DaDakota · Jun 30, 2002

Since when was Charles Barkley an introvert? This guy is just guessing based on personality.

DaDakota

Major · Jun 30, 2002

I am sure there are ample examples of NBA superstars who do not share the same brain type. This article is implying that every single superstar in their respective sport shares the same brain type that it requires to dominate that sport. There is no way I can see that as being possible.

I don't think it's implying that at all. It's implying that certain brain types are much, much more successful than others at certain sports. A 5'5" guy CAN succeed in the NBA, but they are far less likely to than a 7'0" guy. That (height) is one piece of information used in analyzing a player's potential. Similarly, maybe certain brain types are far less or more likely to succeed than others and that information can also be included in the analysis.

carlit0 · Jun 30, 2002

I bet Shaq is not even close to the good brain type, but is kicking ass due to his domination of the game.
This is what I hope with Ming, but of course his brain type is much better that Shaq's.

The brain type he is looking for is probably 1 in 25 top notch pro players.

From the Rockets, I only ee Stevie with a fairly good brain type and surprisingly Moochie also, that's it. Next one could be Nachbar.

With Ming we still have to see.

It is more of a cordination/perfectionist personality.

The best sign is how fast a player corrects their mistakes.
Or changes their view about something they do.

Major · Jun 30, 2002

I bet that Shaq is not even close to the good brain type, but is kicking ass due to domination of the game.
That is what I see in Ming, but of course his brain type is much better that Shaq's.

The brain type he is looking for is probably 1 in 25 top notch pro players.

The brain-type he's referring to isn't based on intelligence though -- they should have clarified this. It's based more on how the mind works. For example, are you more of a Thinker or a Feeler. Or more Introverted vs. Extroverted. There are 16 "types" of brains, and I think they vary across the board in terms of intelligence.

One thing the article really wasn't clear on was that this already assumed you're phsyically skilled and gifted -- so this is just another factor differentiating the best of the best.

carlit0 · Jun 30, 2002

Flat out they all are not that bright, that is understood.

But Shaq is more of feeler than a thinker.

Thinking is his problem for sure and can't adjust very well. he can do it but it is after a bunch of repetitions.

What I see this guy looking at, is the over analytical thinking part of the brain.(Introvert in this way)(extremest)

carlit0 · Jun 30, 2002

These players I see as having good brains plus skills in the league now.

Kobe(classic case)
Jordan
Duncan, Ray Allen and Brand (these guys surpises me how humble they can be, normally these people are very hard to deal with)
Kidd(without to much overall skill)
Malone
Payton

These just flat out have skills brain type yet to be seen
K.G.
Mcgrady
Pierce
Carter(still learning to share, still ahead of Iverson)
Iverson(still learning to share)

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