Dude has all the physical talent in the world, and it would've been interesting to see how he played with a coach that had a knack (or at least a reputation) for developing players.
Physical talent, maybe. Mental talent, not so much.
He doesn't seem to have the highest basketball IQ that I've ever seen. I'll refrain from commenting on his actual IQ because that's a tricky thing to judge, particularly in regards to those in the public eye.
No underlying implications here re: McGee, I ask b/c I'm generally interested in the answer:
How strong do you think the relation is between IQ and bball IQ?
Hard to say. I would probably say it's a fairly loose relation.
You see a guy like Sullinger for example - he's well known for his sky high basketball IQ, but when you hear him talk in an interview he doesn't sound like the most intelligent guy around. I don't mean anything insulting by this at all, but that's just the impression I get when I hear him talk - he sounds kinda slow to respond, like he has to stop and think about everything before he speaks.
On the other hand you have a guy like Marcus Smart - also high basketball IQ. When I hear him in an interview he doesn't sound like the most educated guy (he sounds quite street in his pronunciations, etc) but he sounds extremely intelligent to me - very sharp, quick thinking, quick to respond/react, etc. Street smart, if you will.
I think basketball IQ is based more on the history of the player and the game. Guys who are sons of coaches for example (Sully, Pressey, etc) often have very high basketball IQ, even in cases where they might not be especially intelligent in general. Being around the game all your life, I think you just gain that natural and second-nature understanding of concepts, fundamentals, how everything works, etc.
I do believe guys who learn the game quickly (i.e. guys who have high BBIQ despite not playing the game for very long) are typically going to be guys with high general IQ.
