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.