“Positionless Basketball” | Page 2 | The Boneyard

“Positionless Basketball”

Maybe position less for Hurley is going to be point guard less but Samson and Reed will be thrown in because they can do good things, like in Reed’s case get 15 rebounds.
And if he needs more shooters he can go for periods without the centers. Both Liam and Alex are smart defenders even if they are giving up inches.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
Are you kidding? Reed and Johnson didn't get the ball against Creighton, but they have both had multiple big games.

And real position-less basketball doesn't mean you play 5 2-guards. It means you play your 5 best players more, which will always include Reed and/or Johnson.
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I was half kidding yes.

I think it depends on how you define “position-less basketball”. To me, that would mean all players are interchangeable and can play any role and have a versatile skillset.

By that definition, no lineup that has Johnson/Reed is “position-less”.

By your definition, I would agree that they would be part of the lineup.
 
kobebeanbryant said:
I was half kidding yes.

I think it depends on how you define “position-less basketball”. To me, that would mean all players are interchangeable and can play any role and have a versatile skillset.

By that definition, no lineup that has Johnson/Reed is “position-less”.

By your definition, I would agree that they would be part of the lineup.
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I mean, at this stage there are teams I’d love to see your 5 play against - having all 2-4 who can switch and shoot sounds fun.
 
GlastonTim said:
Eric Riebe fits the position less player profile going forward
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Not a lot of them to be had at the college level because if they’re any good they’re in the draft. Danny Wolf, but he’s playing more of a 5b in that system. Alabama will go with stretches of Grant Nelson at the 5, but he’s been pretty bad from 3. Ben Gold tries to be one, but he plays more like Beaker from the Muppets.
 
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I think Wolf would make this team a lot better. Going forward think that will be the kind of big man we get.
 
Everyone assumes that Hurley is going to hit the portal hard to bring in at least 1 PG. I wouldn't be surprised if he looks at what C's become available. With his ability to spread the floor, I wonder if Riebe could get a few minutes at PF against a not-so-athletic PF and Reed having foul issues himself at times.
 
Spaceman213J said:
Everyone assumes that Hurley is going to hit the portal hard to bring in at least 1 PG. I wouldn't be surprised if he looks at what C's become available. With his ability to spread the floor, I wonder if Riebe could get a few minutes at PF against a not-so-athletic PF and Reed having foul issues himself at times.
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We're not going to bring in a big time center with Tarris and Reibe on the team. We desperately need a proven portal point guard for next season.
 
AdamaNation said:
In regard to Alex. How many small forwards say they “neutralized” the best center in college. Twice? Not that he licked them down but he held his down vs a sucker Kalk and an exhausted Edey.
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He did too. I like him playing Center.
 
superjohn said:
We're not going to bring in a big time center with Tarris and Reibe on the team. We desperately need a proven portal point guard for next season.
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We need Bennett Stirtz! Make it happen Superjohn. Dip into those deep NIL pockets of yours and bring our baby home.
 
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RuffRuff said:
We need Bennett Stirtz! Make it happen Superjohn. Dip into those deep NIL pockets of yours and bring our baby home.
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Haha, I wish I had those deep NIL pockets.
 
Oh and BTW, Houston is nothing close to a position-less team. Like not.even.close. Kelvin Sampson has never run a position-less system, nor likely ever will.

Position-less is a “5 out” setup.

They have two power forwards who camp in the paint, a PG, and then two shooters.
 
This may work on teams like Creighton or Seton Hall but how would this work against pressure pressing / trapping defenses like St John’s or Marquette? Can’t imagine it would fare very well.
 
RuffRuff said:
Oh and BTW, Houston is nothing close to a position-less team. Like not.even.close. Kelvin Sampson has never run a position-less system, nor likely ever will.

Position-less is a “5 out” setup.

They have two power forwards who camp in the paint, a PG, and then two shooters.
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You keep describing small ball and calling it positionless basketball.
 
Interchangeable terms. Just more difficult to guard and game plan with five offensive weapons. The more confusing Hurley can make opposing coaches plan, the better were off. Our comeback against our last opponent was a good example of that.
 
RuffRuff said:
Oh and BTW, Houston is nothing close to a position-less team. Like not.even.close. Kelvin Sampson has never run a position-less system, nor likely ever will.

Position-less is a “5 out” setup.

They have two power forwards who camp in the paint, a PG, and then two shooters.
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Positionless basketball doesn't mean every player is a guard, it means no player's role can be limited to a single one of the traditional "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" roles. A guard can shift between being an initiator/distributor to being a scorer; a big can play facing the basket and back to the basket; etc. Players can swap roles on the court, helping to confuse the opponent.
 
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pj said:
Positionless basketball doesn't mean every player is a guard, it means no player's role can be limited to a single one of the traditional "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" roles. A guard can shift between being an initiator/distributor to being a scorer; a big can play facing the basket and back to the basket; etc. Players can swap roles on the court, helping to confuse the opponent.
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Yes! At no point are we that with our bigs in, and at no point is Houston that.
 
imno1 said:
I maybe crazy but why can‘t Samson take a couple shots from around the free throw line? He‘s shoot 78% from there on free throws.
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Not entirely crazy that we might hope for a center to take and hit the occasional 12-15 foot jump shot. It would really help the offense by preventing the opposing center from gumming up the driving lanes.

Now, the question is, can they do it? And if not, why not?
 
Jmark212 said:
This may work on teams like Creighton or Seton Hall but how would this work against pressure pressing / trapping defenses like St John’s or Marquette? Can’t imagine it would fare very well.
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You mean if the refs allow St. John’s to foul us on nearly every play? Holding our players as they make cuts? We get called for touch fouls, get mugged and no calls. Creighton game on 3 point shots taken by both teams and we got called but not them. Go ahead and rewatch it. We got called and they did not.
Pitino knows they won’t call everything or there would be no game to watch so the refs just let it go.
 
jibsey said:
You mean if the refs allow St. John’s to foul us on nearly every play? Holding our players as they make cuts? We get called for touch fouls, get mugged and no calls. Creighton game on 3 point shots taken by both teams and we got called but not them. Go ahead and rewatch it. We got called and they did not.
Pitino knows they won’t call everything or there would be no game to watch so the refs just let it go.
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How many teams in the top 30 employ that kind of pressure?
 
jibsey said:
You mean if the refs allow St. John’s to foul us on nearly every play? Holding our players as they make cuts? We get called for touch fouls, get mugged and no calls. Creighton game on 3 point shots taken by both teams and we got called but not them. Go ahead and rewatch it. We got called and they did not.
Pitino knows they won’t call everything or there would be no game to watch so the refs just let it go.
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I think St John's may run into the wrong set of refs in March and exit the tournament early.
 
"Positionless Basketball" is just an admission that you are very uneven on talent and have to find a way to get your two or three best players to do everything. It becomes more extreme when you have a superstar. Duke and UConn both have a player who can play every position better than anyone else on the team. What they want, ideally, is for that player to be on the ball at all times, to be both the initiator and the finisher of everything they do offensively. Anytime the ball is not in that person's hands, the team is not maximizing it potential, not fully exploiting its talent. Mid-majors have this problem all the time. They may have one star player to the opponent's five, but if they can keep the ball in the hands of their one star player, they have a chance.
 
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Our team by ability to cover aspects of each position...

Can handle PG/1 duties: Diarra, Nowell, Ball, Ross, Mahaney, McNeeley
Can handle SG/2 duties: Ball, Mahaney, McNeeley
Can handle SF/3 duties: McNeeley, Stewart, Ross, AK, Abraham, Johnson
Can handle PF/4 duties: AK, Singare, McNeeley, Stewart
Can handle C/5 duties: Reed, Jr., Johnson, AK, Singare

Multi-capable players (e.g., positionless): McNeeley, AK, Stewart, Mahaney, Johnson, Ross, Singare, Ball

I put Johnson in multi-capable because he can cover aspects of the C (blocking, some rebounding, dunking) but plays more like a 3 with guarding the 3pt line, playing out of 5 position, fleet of foot. I often feel like he's a 3 in 5's clothing.

Straight-up non-positionless guys: Diarra (PG), Nowell (PG), Reed, Jr. (C)

McNeeley can cover aspects of the 1, 2, 3, and 4
AK can cover aspects of the 3, 4, 5
Ball, Ross, Stewart, Johnson, Mahaney, Singare are 2 position coverages

Depending on both matchups and player health, we have a fairly flexible team that can go big or small as needed. Ideally you want the most "can cover 3+ positions" players out there for switching (e.g., McNeeley could be switched to cover the 2, 3, 4 capably, and AK can cover the 3, 4, 5 capably. Johnson thinks he can apparently cover the 1, 2, 5 but that's a different conversation.
 
Sibeerian said:
I think St John's may run into the wrong set of refs in March and exit the tournament early.
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I see their ceiling as the sweet sixteen this year. Not a whole lot of offense and they won't have BE refs
 
AdamaNation said:
In regard to Alex. How many small forwards say they “neutralized” the best center in college. Twice? Not that he licked them down but he held his down vs a sucker Kalk and an exhausted Edey.
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I dont Remember the chip game the same way and kalk was visibility sick he could barely get up and down the floor
 
As we argue about what position-less versus “small ball”, I haven’t seen a post yet about defense. Position-less in my mind is everyone guarding 1-5 as well as handling the ball. In my mind every lineup without Diarra and Mahaney at the 1 or Reed at the 5 is position- less.
 
BuffaloHusky said:
As we argue about what position-less versus “small ball”, I haven’t seen a post yet about defense. Position-less in my mind is everyone guarding 1-5 as well as handling the ball. In my mind every lineup without Diarra and Mahaney at the 1 or Reed at the 5 is position- less.
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Fair point. I like Johnson defending the perimeter more than some of our guards and wings.
 
I am a long time casual fan so I am not an expert on basketball. Yet I do have an opinion. To me positionless basketball is that you perform the function that is reasonable and appropriate that you are in at that moment within. your capabilities and in the situation at the moment. That is of course the philosophical side of my brain speaking. For practical side GO HUSKIES!
 
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