When I was a child, I was given a gift of great athleticism. I was heads and tails above my peers, athletically. You name it; I was the best on my team. Football, baseball, basketball, and eventually, at a later age, hockey! When I was a young kid of twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen, I was among the tallest on my basketball team, and in basketball, height is an amazing thing. I didn't have good endurance (because I was too lazy to put in the pain of wind-sprints), nor did I put out anywhere near 100% a lot of the time, but I was always the leader in rebounds and always scoring under the rim. I had a not-so-great jump shot, and to be honest, I really didn't practice any drill that much, besides just having natural talent. Eventually, people starting becoming taller than I was, and by the time I got into tenth grade or so, I wasn't among the tallest kids for my age anymore. Basketball, at least for a living, I thought, was out of the question. For those brief few years though, when I was taller than most, I experienced success that told me I could have been great. My height and speed is all I needed to win all of the 1 on 1 tournaments held throughout the county. I sent kids, whose dads were coaching them like maniacs from the sidelines (you know, the parents that demand success)? home in tears, after they realized they may not achieve their dream, because I had beat them so handily. Some of them were the best, until they played me. I wasn't ever over 6'0, but it was enough to shine, without really putting any hard practice in.
You literally have a "heads up" on the competitionWithout a doubt, the easiest job in all of sport is if you are over 7'0 and are good enough to make a pro team, you will have a luxurious life, and the honor of having to not worry about getting injured either, for the most part. I was able to get a taste of how easy it was, when I was slightly taller than most other kids in my county basketball league. I would have had an easy time of it --- had I had the sense to keep playing, instead of dropping out. I was easily the fastest, and I could throw my weight around also. Once everyone else caught up to me, in my middle teens, I became easily intimidated, in large part, because of my insecurities of everything else (another story). Even if I didn't turn out to be very insecure as a teen, I still would have been intimidated (height is an awesome weapon). I would have had to put more practice in if I wanted to make it to the pros, but I wouldn't have had to do anything drastic in order to have made it. I'm sure I could have coasted by with the minimum work.
Dude, don't waste it!If you are over 6'10" tall, and gifted athletically, I envy you sir! If you are, don't hesitate to bust your butt by practicing. You have a very good chance of making it to the pros, because there are so few "trees" out there that have decent coordination. Don't become intimidated by other big men! If you are caucasian, do not be intimidated. I call it like it is; some of my best friends when I was playing basketball regularly, were of a different race than I was. Moreso in basketball than any other sport. Shorter people really have to practice their jumping, if they want to play in the pros, but as I said, being a center in the pros is a pure creampuff, high paying, and fun job. Enjoy it while you're young!