Bigs leading the way to positionless basketball

Friday, November 8, 2019 // TIPOFF 2019
3B 

F

or decades, basketball has 
been a mostly specialized 
sport, with specific, stan-
dardized roles 
drawn up for 
the different 
positions on 
the court. 
The smaller, 
more athletic 
guards captain 
the offense, take 
the ball up the 
floor, call plays, 
find open team-
mates on passes 
and hit medium to long-range shots. 
The taller, stronger forwards and 
centers work to out-muscle the 
other team, using their size to pick 
up easy buckets inside, set screens 
to free up guards in space, dominate 
in the post and clog up inside lanes 
on defense. Players’ roles are set to 
match their skill sets, and for almost 
all of basketball history, this has 
been the preferred system. 
But things have started to 
change. Accessibility to the game 
at a young age and more advanced 
training methods have allowed 
players at every position to develop 
more diverse skill sets. Guards that 
rely on their quickness and ballhan-
dling to get into space now have for-
wards that can help space the floor 
and move the ball, freeing up more 
passing and scoring opportunities 
for playmakers. 
For the Michigan women’s 
basketball team, the transition to 
“positionless basketball” appears to 
be well on its way, and the success 
of this system should be a major 
difference-maker this season.
In their exhibition match against 
Northwood last Friday, every player 
in the Wolverines’ starting lineup 
measured at least 6-feet tall. While 
basketball players being tall is noth-
ing new, Michigan’s combination of 
size and speed from the traditional 
guard spot can take pressure off 
the forwards on defense and cre-
ate a more diverse attack down 
low offensively — evidenced by the 
Wolverines’ 58 points in the paint 
against Northwood. 
Granted, Northwood is a Division 
II team, so putting up big numbers 
against them doesn’t mean much for 
Michigan’s success later in the year. 
But it at least indicates that the Wol-
verines are willing to fully commit 
to a positionless system. 
Adapting to the scheme will be 

especially crucial for Michigan’s 
bigs if they want this new offense to 
be effective. 
Positionless systems rely on the 
ability of forwards and centers to 
dribble and pass effectively, move 
quickly and establish themselves 
as threats on the perimeter. This 
draws defenders to the outside and 
opens up space for guards and other 
bigs to break inside 
for easy buckets. 
“We just 
watched the 
WNBA Champion-
ship … there are 
players on the court 
— pretty much 
every single one of 
them, 6-(foot)-2, 
6-(foot)-3, 6-(foot)-
4 — that can bring 
the basketball up, 
that can handle the ball, that can 
pass the ball, that can shoot the 
three, that can post you up inside,” 
said Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico. “And I think our (bigs) want 
to play at the next level and they see 
that. … They want to work on their 
handle every day in practice, and 
they want to be able to get a rebound 
and advance the ball with the ball in 

their hands without always having 
to find a point guard.”
Sophomore forward Naz Hillmon 
should be the most important key 
in the adjustment to positionless 
basketball. Coming off of a stellar 
freshman season where she led the 
team in points, rebounds and shoot-
ing percentage — all while coming 
off the bench — the 6-foot-2 Big 
Ten Freshman of 
the Year will need 
to adapt her game 
to fit the offense’s 
positionless style. 
While she spent 
most of last year 
generating offense 
in the post, she’ll 
have to find ways to 
score points from 
further away from 
the basket as oppo-
nents work to neutralize her post 
presence this year. 
“That’s a challenge that she’s 
really embraced and really worked 
hard on in the offseason,” Barnes 
Arico said. “And we gotta constantly 
remind her, ‘Hey Naz, that’s a good 
shot, you gotta take those shots 
instead of just looking to be a passer 
in those situations,’ and I think 

that’s something that she really 
wants to get better at in order to 
take those next steps.”
Positionless basketball also 
means that Hillmon will need to 
move the ball quickly in transi-
tion. Assuming she maintains her 
dominance in defensive rebound-
ing from last year, she’ll likely find 
herself in situations where she has 
to either find a team-
mate or dribble up the 
floor and score points 
herself. 
“I feel like I can play 
a role in that,” Hillmon 
said. “Just getting up 
and down the floor, 
running my lane, and 
trying to get some easy 
buckets in transition, 
to really try to get the 
ball out.”
Michigan should also be able to 
count on true freshman Izabel Vare-
jão’s diverse skill set to complement 
its positionless system. 
The 6-foot-4 center uses her 
quickness and outside shooting abil-
ity — two of the most sought-after 
traits in a positionless big — to coun-
ter her strong post presence. These 
skills are especially valuable in the 

pick-and-roll game, where a player 
traditionally sets a high screen 
for the ball carrier, then slips back 
toward the basket for the pass and 
an easy bucket. Varejão’s shooting 
means she can roll down low or pop 
back outside for an open jumpshot, 
adding yet another element that 
defenses have to worry about. 
With the transition to a position-
less system, the 
Wolverines have 
put themselves 
in a position to 
attack defenses 
in a new way 
this season. But 
their success 
will rely heavily 
on the ability 
and willingness 
of Michigan’s 
bigs to adapt. 
With a wealth of talent on the 
roster this year, this could be the 
difference between an ascending 
program taking the next step or fall-
ing back into the Big Ten’s forgotten 
middle tier.

Brendan Roose can be reached 

at rooseb@umich.edu or on 

Twitter @BrendanRoose.

BRENDAN
ROOSE

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico is changing her offensive system so as to emphasize a positionless style of basketball that requires diverse skill sets.

As Michigan switches systems to emphasize positionless basketball, its bigs will need to adjust their games

I think our 
(bigs) want to 
play at the next 
level.

Just getting up 
and down the 
floor, running 
my lane.

