With a bulk of Filipinos lacking elite height to make it to the league, former NBA player Rodney Stuckey stressed that height is not always might.
Stuckey, a former Detroit Piston and Indiana Pacer, cited the case of 5-foot-9 Nate Robinson as one of the undersized basketball players that made it to the NBA.
‘I know a lot of people probably know who Nate Robinson is. He was kind of a smaller guard to us as well. He had that heart,’ Stuckey told reporters Thursday.
‘He’s always been saying, heart over height. I’m a big believer in that. If you’ve got heart, if you’re a scrappy player, you’re going to be fine,’ he added.
For now, no homegrown Filipino is in the NBA.
However, there are a number of NBA players with Filipino descent, such as NBA champion Jordan Clarkson, No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper, Jared McCain and Jalen Green.
Stuckey is in the Philippines as an ambassador of Shoot 360, a technology-powered basketball training facility that opened at Robinson’s Galleria in Ortigas.
Here, hoopers could work on their skills and in real-time, through the use of technology, could fix what is wrong with their jumpers.
And with the basketball-crazy nation of the Philippines, Stuckey said it is going to be ‘awesome.’
‘Absolutely, it’s super big. This is like a fundamental basketball so if you want to work on your fundamental skills, this is the perfect gym for you. From ball handling to shooting, it starts from the beginning all the way to the end,’ he said.
‘So I think the gym has its capabilities of helping each and every athlete out there, from starters to the most advanced kids. So super excited for the people in the Philippines to get the experience of Shoot 360, it’s going to be a lot of fun.’