This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
How much does height matter in the NBA? Rookie Jazz center Enes Kanter is about to find out.
According to Utah's training camp roster, Kanter measures 6-foot-11 and weighs 259 pounds.
The latter isn't up for debate. Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin praised Kanter's muscular build and fearless inside presence, while starting center Al Jefferson said Kanter is already a beast on the offensive glass.
However, questions about Kanter's height drew a variety of responses from Utah coaches and players.
The issue came to light when seeing the No. 3 overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft stand next to everyone, from 6-foot-6 Alec Burks to 6-foot-11 Mehmet Okur.
Kanter appeared to only be about two to three inches taller than Burks, two inches shorter than Okur and about an inch beneath 6-foot-10 Jefferson.
Kanter measured 6-9.75 without shoes and 6-11.25 with shoes during the draft combine.
"He's more of a wider body that's proportioned, so his height is distorted a little bit," Corbin said.
Jazz manager of player development Michael Sanders estimated Kanter to be 6-foot-9. But Sanders said Kanter should be able to use his strength and width to neutralize an opponent's height advantage in the paint.
"You tell me he's 6-9, but he play like 7-5 to me," Okur said.
Big Al acknowledged he might have an "inch or half inch" on Kanter, but said any height difference is nullified by the rookie's inside force.
"He don't look undersized to me, and he damn sure don't play undersized," Jefferson said. "Nah, it don't matter. It's just all about doing it. The game done changed anyway. You don't have the two 7-footers at the 4 and 5 like they used to."
As for the man himself?
"I'm 6-11, yeah," Kanter said.
New focus
Starting point guard Devin Harris is fit, motivated and focused. He's also been an early riser.
Harris has sometimes been the first Jazz player to arrive for morning practice. Asked about the trend, Harris attributed his arrival time to dealing with a newborn child.
"When you have a kid you get used to waking up early. Sometimes you can't get back to sleep," Harris said.
Lack of shut-eye aside, Harris' increased leadership has drawn notice from Corbin.
"He understands the importance of him getting better," Corbin said. "If he get[s] better, then we'll be better. Those two work together and then we'll have a chance of being successful."
Position war
Raja Bell, C.J. Miles, Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks, among others, are battling for time at shooting guard and small forward. But with Corbin often running three-team sets featuring five players during practice, Bell said it's too early to get a feel for who'll start at the wing positions. As of Wednesday, the veteran guard said he'd been on a different team with different people every day since training camp began.
"[Corbin's] just trying to find chemistry and see who looks good together," Bell said. "I'm sure they're charting which teams win the most and what combinations cause that."
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