Positionless Basketball

[Jmsdawg]

Well, I must admit I did not understand what Positionless Basketball was until last night. The game I saw Marquette play against MSST was great and I believe Marquette was playing Positionless BBall and I loved it. I remember many years ago I saw a TV program about Pistol Pete. There was a line in the movie “you have seen the future of BBall tonight” which I believe describes what I saw last night. Takes a special team with special players to play that game but if that was Positionless BBall, BRING IT ON! Marquette is a team I plan to watch in the future and good luck to that team, unless you play my DAWGS!

 

[oldude]

Nice observation. It’s just about every team’s goal to have 5 long, athletic players who are basically interchangeable on offense & defense. Few teams can do this in practice. Obviously, when you have a dominant 6’7” post, she’s going to spend most of time very close to the basket at both ends.

UConn’s starting 5 is about as close as you get. Certainly, Lou, Pheesa, Megan & Christyn are relatively interchangeable. At 5’6”, Crystal has some limitations, particularly when a bigger player posts her up.

 

[Jmsdawg]

Nice observation. It’s just about every team’s goal to have 5 long, athletic players who are basically interchangeable on offense & defense. Few teams can do this in practice. Obviously, when you have a dominant 6’7” post, she’s going to spend most of time very close to the basket at both ends.

UConn’s starting 5 is about as close as you get. Certainly, Lou, Pheesa, Megan & Christyn are relatively interchangeable. At 5’6”, Crystal has some limitations, particularly when a bigger player posts her up.

Old dude, comparison to UCONN is appropriate, however I believe Geno does have set plays and positions but he does have the shooters and quickness to play this game. Hard to believe any team could be any hotter than Marquette was last night, wonder would they play this game if they did have a post player? That was one entertaining game to watch, strength against quickness.

 

[UConn82]

I hope we play MS in the tournament. I like their program.

 

[Pre-3]

I hope we play MS in the tournament. I like their program.

Well after these posts I'm really really sorry I missed the Marquette game. Excellence, wherever it is found, in wbb, is worth a watch to me.

 

[HoopsHoppy]

Well after these posts I'm really really sorry I missed the Marquette game. Excellence, wherever it is found, in wbb, is worth a watch to me.

Quick check - the game is listed as an available replay on watch ESPN. Caught the game - well worth viewing.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Well, I must admit I did not understand what Positionless Basketball was until last night. The game I saw Marquette play against MSST was great and I believe Marquette was playing Positionless BBall and I loved it. I remember many years ago I saw a TV program about Pistol Pete. There was a line in the movie “you have seen the future of BBall tonight” which I believe describes what I saw last night. Takes a special team with special players to play that game but if that was Positionless BBall, BRING IT ON! Marquette is a team I plan to watch in the future and good luck to that team, unless you play my DAWGS!

A fantastic game by both teams! Punch-counter punch to the wire. Marquette if this is how tough they play every game their 18th rank will be higher.

I guess if you have a team of Marcus Johnsons or Griners/ McGowan that can handle the ball ,pass, shoot , defend then positionless is the new game. I should have mentioned Katie Lou Samuelson the positionless player for Geno, that too could be ONO in a year or 2. (I said COULD BE)

 

[BroadwayVa]

Quick check - the game is listed as an available replay on watch ESPN. Caught the game - well worth viewing.

Certainly, any team that will play Miss St in the next month or so should view it. Any fan of WBB I think will love it. I did.

 

[Bama fan]

Well, I must admit I did not understand what Positionless Basketball was until last night. The game I saw Marquette play against MSST was great and I believe Marquette was playing Positionless BBall and I loved it. I remember many years ago I saw a TV program about Pistol Pete. There was a line in the movie “you have seen the future of BBall tonight” which I believe describes what I saw last night. Takes a special team with special players to play that game but if that was Positionless BBall, BRING IT ON! Marquette is a team I plan to watch in the future and good luck to that team, unless you play my DAWGS!

That was a great game , and your ladies fought back every time . Picking up Anriel Howard was a fortuitous move. Congrats! Marquette will scare more teams this year. Very entertaining.

 

[southofnorth]

I enjoy the trend towards positionledd basketball. Though many people attiribute it more to the players like Breanna Stewart, Candace Parker, and Elena Delle Donne who have the size of posts, but the skills to play like a guard or a post, I think guards posting up more often will be the next step. Once you have bigs that can step out and shoot from 15+ feet, that opens the lane for driving or for bigger and stronger guards to take advantage of smaller guards or guards that aren’t used to defending post moves. No matter your size, 2 feet from the basket will pretty much always be easier than 15+ feet away.

 

[UcMiami]

I think many good coaches adjust their system to the players they have available and if they don't have good post players but have lots of interchangeable mid-sized players they tend towards 'positionless' schemes.

One aspect for Uconn opponents of positionless play is a defense that switches on every screen - you see teams truly stunned when they first encounter it and discover their whole offense which has been predicated on coming open of a screen grinds to a halt when they remain blanketed by the screening player's defender. With Stewart and Tuck the two 'post players' and Jefferson and her pogo stick legs, Uconn's last two NCAAs were essentially positionless. Watching Jefferson front post players was pretty comical, but she quite often came away with a steal or forced an over-throw on the entry pass.

Other teams playing 5 out offenses - DePaul, Villanova, Princeton most years. Stanford sometimes. Princeton men used to scare the heck out of P5 teams they faced in the NCAAs because of that style of play.

 

[DallasBUFan]

I think many good coaches adjust their system to the players they have available and if they don't have good post players but have lots of interchangeable mid-sized players they tend towards 'positionless' schemes.

One aspect for Uconn opponents of positionless play is a defense that switches on every screen - you see teams truly stunned when they first encounter it and discover their whole offense which has been predicated on coming open of a screen grinds to a halt when they remain blanketed by the screening player's defender. With Stewart and Tuck the two 'post players' and Jefferson and her pogo stick legs, Uconn's last two NCAAs were essentially positionless. Watching Jefferson front post players was pretty comical, but she quite often came away with a steal or forced an over-throw on the entry pass.

Other teams playing 5 out offenses - DePaul, Villanova, Princeton most years. Stanford sometimes. Princeton men used to scare the heck out of P5 teams they faced in the NCAAs because of that style of play.

Stanford will be more effective running this against teams like Baylor and Miss State.

 

[SimpleDawg]

Excellent observation, JMSDawg. It looked to me like they were playing through and around everything we were coached to do. Mississippi State is such an overcoached team, and it's like Marquette was making a statement that sometimes the team that isn't as overcoached can sometimes be better.

I think above all they just have more offensive threats. We had Holmes and Scott.... they have their strengths and is integral to last night's win, but they don't create their own shots as well as Marquette. Marquette had 5 players who could do that... and that's just really difficult to hold down. They could beat you anywhere on the floor.

If Danberry is considered an offensive threat now... we're taking Danberry and Bibby (not a great night for her) against 5 players. Obviously, McCowan and Howard was the difference. But they could only do so much defending guards who try to play away from them..... and they were able to get some blocked shots in.

Only really 6 players used by Vic. I don't think that'll continue or anything, but just interesting he pulled a Geno this game - using only 5 or 6 players.


....

 

[Dillon77]

Marquette took Notre Dame to OT last year at South Bend. They just kept coming and coming. If memory holds that is a very upperclassman-constituted team (maybe all senior starters). Continuity definitely helps with these all-for-one, one-for-efforts. BTW, ND is celebrating Arike's homecoming in Milwaukee prior to Xmas with a nice game against these very same Marquette Warriors.

I have noticed that a big center can have an impact against them, as Ms. McCowan & Ms. Howard did for MSU and the tag team of Beatrice Mompremier (24 points, 21 rebounds!)/Emese Hof (10 points/10 rebounds) did when Miami beat them. Takes a lot of energy continually tilting a windmills., particularly two of them Hoping that will be the case when Bri Turner joins Jess Shepard this year against the Warriors.

 

[chuck.r]

Nice observation. It’s just about every team’s goal to have 5 long, athletic players who are basically interchangeable on offense & defense. Few teams can do this in practice. Obviously, when you have a dominant 6’7” post, she’s going to spend most of time very close to the basket at both ends.

UConn’s starting 5 is about as close as you get. Certainly, Lou, Pheesa, Megan & Christyn are relatively interchangeable. At 5’6”, Crystal has some limitations, particularly when a bigger player posts her up.

I think the perception of "interchangeability" or "positionless-ness" was even greater the two prior years, with Collier, Samuelson, Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams, and in particular 2016-17 with Saniya Chong.