for basketball fans

[FRITZ JUENGLING]

>More recently, NBA references by players, coaches, and media, are
>often to the positions as designated by numbers:  1= point guard, 2 =
>shooting guard, 3 = "small" forward, 4 = power forward, 5 = center.
>This allows for evaluations of the form "He's not a true 1 because he
>likes to shoot, he's more of a 1 and a half" or "he's a 2.5".
>larry
I think this renaming has gone a step further.  A lot of my students don't even use the same terms that I do.  They say 'point, post, and wing.'  I'm not really sure what a 'wing' in b-ball is, but I think it's a small forward.  Post is a center. For me, being of a different generation, 'post' refers to HOW a center plays, not the position itself. When a center plays post, he would be near the basket often with his back to the basket, so that he could either screen or do some fancy hook or turn-around jumper, or maybe pass the ball back out. The idea is that he would be immovable, like a post.  American basketball lends itself perfectly to this style of play.  There is nothing more frustrating than playing church league with a 7' European center.  In international ball, the key is not a key, but a fan, so centers cannot play near the basket.  Therefore, you get centers shooting 3 pointers and they typically cannot play post.
Fritz