Point Guard Research Articles

Basket Case: Framing the Intersection of “Linsanity” and Blackness

In early 2012, sports columnists and opinion writers explicitly discussed the racial significance of “Linsanity,” when Jeremy Lin, an undrafted Taiwanese-American point guard, became an overnight sensation in the overwhelmingly Black National Basketball Association. This textual analysis found that commentary used four frames to describe Lin in the context of Black America: (a) an oddity and underdog; (b) a reminder of racism; (c) a pioneer and agent of change; and (d) an antidote to Blackness. The race of the commentator was a factor in frame use and counter-framing. Overall, though, the frames highlighted the differences between Asian Americans and Blacks, not their shared struggle as underrepresented groups. In doing so, the frames illustrate hegemony's grip over Asian Americans and Blacks in their struggle for cultural acceptance —on and off the sports field.

A Comparison of Linear Speed, Closed-Skill Agility, and Open-Skill Agility Qualities Between Backcourt and Frontcourt Adult Semiprofessional Male Basketball Players

The measurement of fitness qualities relevant to playing position is necessary to inform basketball coaching and conditioning staff of role-related differences in playing groups. To date, sprinting and agility performance have not been compared between playing positions in adult male basketball players. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe and compare linear speed, closed-skill agility, and open-skill agility qualities between backcourt (point guard and shooting guard positions) and frontcourt (small forward, power forward, and center positions) semiprofessional basketball players. Six backcourt (mean ± SD: age, 24.3 ± 7.9 years; stature, 183.4 ± 4.0 cm; body mass, 85.5 ± 12.3 kg; VO2max, 51.9 ± 4.8 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1)) and 6 frontcourt (mean ± SD: age, 27.5 ± 5.5 years; stature, 194.4 ± 7.1 cm; body mass, 109.4 ± 8.8 kg; VO2max, 47.1 ± 5.0 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1)) adult male basketball players completed 20-m sprint, closed-skill agility, and open-skill agility performance tests. Magnitude-based inferences revealed that backcourt players (5 m, 1.048 ± 0.027 seconds; 10 m, 1.778 ± 0.048 seconds; 20 m, 3.075 ± 0.121 seconds) possessed likely quicker linear sprint times than frontcourt players (5 m, 1.095 ± 0.085 seconds; 10 m, 1.872 ± 0.127 seconds; 20 m, 3.242 ± 0.221 seconds). Conversely, frontcourt players (1.665 ± 0.096 seconds) held possible superior closed-skill agility performance than backcourt players (1.613 ± 0.111 seconds). In addition, unclear positional differences were apparent for open-skill agility qualities. These findings indicate that linear speed and change of direction speed might be differently developed across playing positions. Furthermore, position-related functions might similarly depend on the aspects of open-skill agility performance across backcourt and frontcourt players. Basketball coaching and conditioning staff should consider the development of position-targeted training drills to improve speed, agility, and cognitive qualities in players.

Differences in intensity of game load between senior and U19 female basketball players

The aim of this study is to compare the intensity of game load in individual playing positions between female basketball players in U19 (1 st division) and senior (2 nd division) categories. Eight female basketball players of U19 category and 9 female basketball players of senior category participated in this research. Individual intensity zones of the physical activity intensity were determined on the basis of the maximum heart rate (HRmax). HRmax was set in the endurance shuttle run test. The classification of the physical activity intensity: 1. 0.05), forward (p>0.05) and center (p>0.05). Moreover, no significant differences were detected, when the two categories were compared, in % of HRmax (p>0.05) between point guards (86±2.5 vs. 87.4±4.2), forwards (89.7±2.1 vs. 84.7±3.6) and centers (87.5±2.7 vs. 88.7±2.9). The results indicate high physiological demands on individual players’ positions in both categories. Information of this character can be useful for basketball coaches and conditioning specialists. It is suggested that to increase the number of examined subjects and games ould benefit similar future researches.

A note on the ‘Linsanity’ of measuring the relative efficiency of National Basketball Association guards

This note examines the productive efficiency of 62 starting guards during the 2011/12 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. This period coincides with the phenomenal and largely unanticipated performance of New York Knicks’ starting point guard Jeremy Lin and the attendant public and media hype known as Linsanity. We employ a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach that includes allowance for an undesirable output, here turnovers per game, with the desirable outputs of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game and an input of minutes per game. The results indicate that depending upon the specification, between 29% and 42% of NBA guards are fully efficient, including Jeremy Lin, with a mean inefficiency of 3.7% and 19.2%. However, while Jeremy Lin is technically efficient, he seldom serves as a benchmark for inefficient players, at least when compared with established players such as Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade. This suggests the uniqueness of Jeremy Lin's productive solution and may explain why his unique style of play, encompassing individual brilliance, unselfish play and team leadership, is of such broad public appeal.

A tight bound for point guards in piecewise convex art galleries

We consider the problem of guarding curvilinear art galleries. A Jordan arc a joining two points, p and q, in the plane is called a convex arc if the closed curve obtained by joining a with the line segment pq encloses a convex set. A piecewise convex art gallery A with n vertices is a simply connected region in the plane whose boundary consists of n convex arcs where A lies on the convex side of each arc. We show that ⌈n2⌉ point guards are always sufficient and sometimes necessary to guard a piecewise convex art gallery with n vertices. We also give a shorter proof for the sufficiency of ⌊2n3⌋ vertex guards, for n⩾2, which was first derived by Karavelas et al.

Morphological and Physiological Profile of Elite Basketball Players in Belgium

The current study aimed to gain insight into the physiological profile of elite basketball players in Belgium in relation to their position on the field. The group consisted of 144 players, divided into 5 groups according to position (point guards [PGs], shooting guards [SGs], small forwards [SFs], power forwards [PFs], and centers [Cs]). The anthropometrics were measured and the subjects underwent fitness tests (incremental running test, 10-m sprint, 5 ×-10 m, squat and countermovement jump, isokinetic test) to obtain insight into endurance, speed, agility, and power. The parameters of these tests were compared among the different positions by means of 1-way variance analysis (MANOVA). Tukey post hoc tests were performed in case of a significant MANOVA. It was observed that Cs were taller and heavier and had a higher percentage body fat than PGs and SGs. For the anaerobic sprint test Cs were slower than the other positions. For the 5 × 10-m the PGs and SGs were faster than SFs and PFs. For the jump test Cs displayed a significantly lower absolute performance than the other positions. PGs and SGs had a higher VO(2peak) and speed at the anaerobic threshold than PFs and Cs. The isokinetic strength test showed that the quadriceps muscle group of Cs could exert a higher torque during knee extension than the other positions. The current study showed that the physiological profile of elite players in the Belgian first division differs by player position. More specifically, guards were characterized by high endurance, speed, and agility, whereas centers and power forwards had higher muscle strength than the other positions.

Sports injuries among adolescent basketball players according to position on the court

BackgroundThe participation of children and adolescents in sports, including basketball, is becoming increasingly common, and this increased involvement raises concerns about the potential risk of sports injuries.ObjectiveTo analyze the occurrence of sports injuries among young basketball players according to their position on the court and to associate these injuries with risk factors.MethodA retrospective, epidemiological study. A sample consisting of 204 basketball players with a mean age of 14.33 ± 1.19 years participated in the study. The players were interviewed using a reported condition questionnaire containing anthropometric and training data as well as information on injuries during the previous 12 months.ResultsThe frequency of injury was highest among the shooting guards (47.8%), followed by the centers (34.8%) and point guards (17.4%). Among the 204 participants, 40 players reported a total of 46 injuries, representing 0.22 injuries per participant and 1.15 injuries per injured participant. For the shooting guards and centers, statistically significant differences between injured and non-injured players were found related to age, weight, height, length of time in training and number of weekly practice hours (p < 0.05). For point guards, a statistically significant difference between injured and non-injured players was found based on weight alone (p < 0.05).ConclusionThe occurrence of injuries among basketball players was low. Injuries were associated with both intrinsic and extrinsic factors among shooting guards and centers, whereas injuries were only associated with weight among point guards.

Basketball Teams as Strategic Networks

We asked how team dynamics can be captured in relation to function by considering games in the first round of the NBA 2010 play-offs as networks. Defining players as nodes and ball movements as links, we analyzed the network properties of degree centrality, clustering, entropy and flow centrality across teams and positions, to characterize the game from a network perspective and to determine whether we can assess differences in team offensive strategy by their network properties. The compiled network structure across teams reflected a fundamental attribute of basketball strategy. They primarily showed a centralized ball distribution pattern with the point guard in a leadership role. However, individual play-off teams showed variation in their relative involvement of other players/positions in ball distribution, reflected quantitatively by differences in clustering and degree centrality. We also characterized two potential alternate offensive strategies by associated variation in network structure: (1) whether teams consistently moved the ball towards their shooting specialists, measured as “uphill/downhill” flux, and (2) whether they distributed the ball in a way that reduced predictability, measured as team entropy. These network metrics quantified different aspects of team strategy, with no single metric wholly predictive of success. However, in the context of the 2010 play-offs, the values of clustering (connectedness across players) and network entropy (unpredictability of ball movement) had the most consistent association with team advancement. Our analyses demonstrate the utility of network approaches in quantifying team strategy and show that testable hypotheses can be evaluated using this approach. These analyses also highlight the richness of basketball networks as a dataset for exploring the relationships between network structure and dynamics with team organization and effectiveness.

SEARCHING POLYHEDRA BY ROTATING HALF-PLANES

THE SEARCHLIGHT SCHEDULING PROBLEM was first studied in 2-dimensional polygons, where the goal is for point guards in fixed positions to rotate searchlights to catch an evasive intruder. Here the problem is extended to 3-dimensional polyhedra, with the guards now boundary segments who rotate half-planes of illumination. After carefully detailing the 3-dimensional model, several results are established. The first is a nearly direct extension of the planar one-way sweep strategy using what filling guards, a generalization that succeeds despite there being no well-defined we call notion in 3-dimensional space of planar "clockwise rotation." Next follow two results: every polyhedron with r &gt; 0 reflex edges can be searched by at most r2 suitably placed boundary guards, whereas just r edguards suffice if the polyhedron is orthogonal. (Mini-mizing the number of guards to search a given polyhedron is easily seen to be NP-hard.) Finally we show that deciding whether a given set of boundary guards has a successful search schedule is strongly NP-hard. A number of peripheral results are proved en route to these central theorems, and several open problems remain for future work.

The Art Gallery Theorem for Polyominoes

We explore the art gallery problem for the special case that the domain (gallery) P is an m-polyomino, a polyform whose cells are m unit squares. We study the combinatorics of guarding polyominoes in terms of the parameter m, in contrast with the traditional parameter n, the number of vertices of P. In particular, we show that $\lfloor\frac{m+1}{3} \rfloor$ point guards are always sufficient and sometimes necessary to cover an m-polyomino, possibly with holes. When $m \leq\frac{3n}{4} - 4$, the sufficiency condition yields a strictly lower guard number than $\lfloor\frac{n}{4}\rfloor$, given by the art gallery theorem for orthogonal polygons.

Frequência de instabilidade lateral crônica do tornozelo de atletas de basquetebol: análise com o questionário FAOS

Objetivo: Avaliar a frequência de instabilidade do tornozelo em atletas de basquetebol e sua relação com dor, outros sintomas, atividades de vida diária (AVD), função relacionada ao esporte e qualidade de vida. Método: Entrevistaram-se 88 atletas de basquetebol, gênero masculino, idade 22,15 (DP=5,02), participantes em competição esportiva, aplicando-se o questionário FAOS. Dividiu-se a amostra, considerando o score da variável “função relacionada ao esporte”, em grupo 1 (entre zero e 79 pontos) e grupo 2 (de 80 a 100 pontos), e, posteriormente, pela idade e pela posição de jogo. Resultados: Identificaram-se 69 (78,4%) jogadores com queixas referentes ao tornozelo relacionadas ao esporte. Todos os parâmetros avaliados pelo FAOS apresentaram diferença entre os grupos 1 e 2. A avaliação pela idade não evidenciou diferença significativa. Armadores apresentaram maiores sintomas que alas; e ala-pivôs informaram maiores queixas de AVDs que alas. Conclusão: Observaram-se elevada frequência de queixas relacionadas ao tornozelo dos atletas entrevistados e diferenças no resultados em relação à suas posições de jogo.

Editor’s Preface

Editor’s Preface Howard Schlossberg, Editor/JSM This is officially my first edition of Journal of Sports Media and I can’t tell you how excited I am. This issue is full of enriching and groundbreaking stuff for which the journal has become noted under founding Editor Brad Schultz. There’s not enough room here for me to do an adequate job thanking Brad sufficiently enough for stewarding this thing through from birth. He was kind enough to make me a part of the founding Editorial Advisory Board and to allow me to handle coordinating book reviews. All that said, I have no intention of taking the journal anywhere that Brad would not have. The informational value will remain the same, the goals the same, the output the same. I’m a career sportswriter-turned-professor and I still practice both so I maintain a keen interest in advances and trends in the ways sports are reported and the research that evaluates and tracks it while also identifying where it’s going and maybe just how long it may take to get there. (Yes, I believe “sportswriter” is one word, with all credit due to the great Frank Deford.) I’m not looking for the next great groundbreaking piece on sportswriting trends though. That’s what you’re looking for. I’m just the conduit to get it out there. Like me, you are not only sports fans but “fans” of how it’s reported and why it went in that direction. It drives you. Fuels you. Makes you hoard information, save everything relative and clip holes in newspaper sports sections. It makes you ask questions. So I’m asking a question now, and that’s for you to keep asking about sports coverage, how it got where it is and where it’s going. And why. What technologies are driving it and what people are driving those technologies. Who’s the next Roone Arledge and who’s the next, dare I say it, Keith Olbermann, Jim Gray and/or (Deadspin’s) A. J. Daulerio? I’m not the only inquiring mind out there that wants to know. So let’s [End Page vii] go find ’em. Well, you do that. I’ll help and I’ll distribute too. You guys play power forward and shooting guard and I’ll play point guard, OK? One last thing: I could’ve written this in the last edition, in which Brad sort of transitioned over to me. But because of the great work he’s done and will continue to do, I couldn’t bring myself to write an initial preface as editor in an edition for which he solicited, edited and supervised all that appears. I would not rain on his parade. So, enjoy reading about the World Wide Web and the spider web that’s swallowing up traditional newspaper sports coverage in this issue. Enjoy discovering how Tiger Woods did himself in (did he ever) when he initially came back and even more about how new media is driving all of us in traditional media to be more adaptive, insightful and critical in our reporting. I know I am. Reach me directly with any questions or concerns. I’m at 312-369-8904 at the Journalism Department at Columbia College or am reachable by email at hbssports@gmail.com or hschlossberg@colum.edu. And no cheering in the press box. [End Page viii] Howard Schlossberg, Editor/JSM Columbia College Chicago Copyright © 2012 University of Nebraska Press

Position-Related Differences in Cardiorespiratory Functional Capacity of Elite Basketball Players

The purpose of this study was to examine possible differences in cardio respiratory functional capacity between perimeter and post elite basketball players. The subjects included 42 highly trained basketball players subdivided into groups of perimeter and post players. Point guards, shooting guards and small forwards were involved in the group of perimeter players, while power forwards and centers represented the group of post players. All players performed a standardized exercise test to evaluate maximal oxygen uptake using a cycle ergometer and automated breath-by-breath system VMAX229C. Collected data of power, heart rate, pulmonary ventilation and gas exchange were compared between the groups of perimeter and post players. Significant differences in anthropometric features between the investigated subgroups were observed. Post players were heavier and taller. Therefore, the perimeter players had significantly higher values of VO2max and relative power. VO2max was related to relative power. Relations between those variables can be described by linear regression. Given regressions can be used as a source of typical values for male basketball players. The results indicate that the empirical repartition of basketball players into perimeter and post players has not only a morphological but a physiological basis as well.

Determining differences between junior players in particular positions in the basketball game and based on indicators of situational efficacy

The basic goal of this research was to determine the differences between junior players playing particular positions in the basketball game based on the indicators of situational efficacy. The sample of examinees consisted of 108 top-level junior basketball players who in average played a minimum of 8 minutes per game and in more than 3 games, and were chosen from 11 teams that played 46 games in the Junior European Championship in Zadar in year 2000. The results show discrepancies in the space of situational efficacy amongst 5 player positions, as follows: players who play the point guard and the shooting guard are dominant in variables SHOT3-SU, SHOT3-UN, ASSIST, ST and TO. The players who play the position of forward are dominant in variables SHOT2-SU and SHOT2-UN, especially in relation to the power forward and point guard and the shooting guard. Furthermore, the players who play centers can best be distinguished from those playing other positions in variables: DR, OR, BL, SHOT2- SU i PF. We suggest that further research also includes nonstandard parameters of situational efficacy when analyzing differences between elite junior and senior players who play different positions in the game.

LOCATING GUARDS FOR VISIBILITY COVERAGE OF POLYGONS

We propose heuristics for visibility coverage of a polygon with the fewest point guards. This optimal coverage problem, often called the "art gallery problem", is known to be NP-hard, so most recent research has focused on heuristics and approximation methods. We evaluate our heuristics through experimentation, comparing the upper bounds on the optimal guard number given by our methods with computed lower bounds based on heuristics for placing a large number of visibility-independent "witness points". We give experimental evidence that our heuristics perform well in practice, on a large suite of input data; often the heuristics give a provably optimal result, while in other cases there is only a small gap between the computed upper and lower bounds on the optimal guard number.

Positional Role and Competitive-Level Differences in Elite-Level Men's Basketball Players

The purpose of the present study was to compare the physical attributes of elite men's basketball players according to age and specific individual positional roles. Forty-five players from 3 national basketball teams (Under-18 years, Under-20 years, and Senior) were measured for anthropometry (height, body mass, percentage body fat), explosive power (5 jumps and vertical jump), speed (5-m, 10-m, and 30-m sprint), agility (T-test), strength (bench press and squat 1 repetition maximum [1RM]), and intermittent high-intensity endurance performance (Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test [Yo-Yo IR1]). Data on match frequency, training routines, and playing experience were also collected. Under-18 players were significantly (p < 0.05) shorter and lighter than both Senior and Under-20 players but showed higher (p < 0.05) percentage body fat. Under-20 and Senior players were faster and had better explosive-power and agility (p < 0.05) performances than Under-18 players. Bench press and squat 1RMs were higher in Senior players (p < 0.05) compared with the other groups. There were significant difference in the Yo-Yo IR1 performance among groups (Senior > Under-20 > Under-18, p < 0.05). Centers and power forwards were the tallest and the heaviest (p < 0.05). The Yo-Yo IR1 performance was higher (p < 0.01) in point guards than in centers. Point guards showed also better agility and 5- and 10-m performances. Power forwards and centers were stronger than the rest of players' positions in the bench press 1RM (p < 0.01). These results showed the existence of age and positional role differences in fitness performance in men's basketball. Differences were particularly evident in intermittent high-intensity endurance and agility performance. Sprint training possibly should be individualized when dealing with positional roles in elite men's basketball. Strength and conditioning coaches should use Yo-Yo IR1 to assess specific endurance in players of different age and positional role.

Outside the limelight: basketball in the Ivy League

The Ivy League is a place where basketball is neither a pastime nor a profession. Instead, it is a true passion among players, coaches, and committed sports enthusiasts who share in its every success and setback. Outside the Limelight is the first book to look inside Ivy League basketball and at the boundless enthusiasm that defines it. With painstaking reportage, Kathy Orton vividly captures the internal fervor of the personalities who champion their game - all the triumphs and disappointments of an Ivy hoop season. Scholarships for student athletes? None, and this is the only Division I conference that does not offer them. The TV spotlight? It barely shines, despite the passion, talent, and commitment of the players. Megadollar contracts from the NBA? Rarely does a player receive an offer. These age-old institutions are better known for turning out presidents, not point guards, and CEOs and captains of industry, not centers on the court. Orton weaves together the stories of coaches and players as they move from fall practice through an entire season and ahead to the NCAA tournament. From Harvard to Penn, Princeton to Cornell and beyond, players - perhaps more accustomed to pomp and circumstance - face leaky gyms, endure long bus rides, rigorous courseloads, and unbearable exam schedules. Why? Just to prove they can hang with the big boys despite juggling multiple non-athletic responsibilities? Maybe. But more importantly, for the sincere love of the game. Outside the Limelight provides frontcourt vision for college basketball fans everywhere to achieve an appreciation of this captivating conference and for diehard enthusiasts to gain greater insight into what brings Ivy League basketball to center circle.

Extradition: International Law and Domestic Law: Gary McKinnon v. Natwest Three

Extradition law is an amalgamation of international and domestic law with an obligation on states to extradite due to treaty obligations that work in tandem with a state‟s domestic extradition law. It involves a complex admixture of levels and forms of regulation, i.e., incorporating various levels of international and domestic laws. Here, international law refers to public international law. The recent extradition cases of Gary McKinnon and the NatWest Three which have brought forth so much controversy on the international scene also serves as a point guard to the literature underlying Extradition, particularly the United Kingdom (UK)-United States (US) Extradition, which is the main focus of this research. An interplay of international law and domestic law is a consequence of Extradition. While so much controversy surrounds the practical aspect of the concept, it is worthy to mention that Membership of the European Union and the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 have incorporated two bodies of substantive international law into English domestic law. International relations is obviously a wonderful concept and if it could bring fraudsters like the NatWest Three to book and discover the acts of McKinnon who, if he was not traced, would have brought havoc to the US and indeed, the entire world, the war against terror would not be an effort in futility.

Guarding curvilinear art galleries with vertex or point guards

We study a variant of the classical art gallery problem, where an art gallery is modeled by a polygon with curvilinear sides. We focus on piecewise-convex and piecewise-concave polygons, which are polygons whose sides are convex and concave arcs, respectively. It is shown that for monitoring a piecewise-convex polygon with n ⩾ 2 vertices, ⌊ 2 n 3 ⌋ vertex guards are always sufficient and sometimes necessary. We also present an algorithm for computing at most ⌊ 2 n 3 ⌋ vertex guards in O ( n log n ) time and O ( n ) space. For the number of point guards that can be stationed at any point in the polygon, our upper bound ⌊ 2 n 3 ⌋ carries over and we prove a lower bound of ⌈ n 2 ⌉ . For monitoring a piecewise-concave polygon with n ⩾ 3 vertices, 2 n − 4 point guards are always sufficient and sometimes necessary, whereas there are piecewise-concave polygons where some points in the interior are hidden from all vertices, hence they cannot be monitored by vertex guards. We conclude with bounds for some special types of curvilinear polygons.

Heart rate response to game-play in professional basketball players

Introduction. The effectiveness of using the heart rate (HR) as an indicator of exercise intensity to monitor basketball training has been the subject of intense investigation. However, recent new regulations and a trend towards a more conditional game have prompted a need to revise field study procedures and demanded the increased specialization of game positions. Objectives. Five preseason matches played by a Profesional men’s Spanish league team LEB (Club Baloncesto Leon) were analyzed in terms of the HR response recorded in the four game quarters. Materials and Methods. Heart rates were recorded using Polar Team® monitors in a group of 8 players, whose playing positions were point guard (n=2), forward (n=3) or center (n=3). We recorded maxima (HRmax) and means (HRmean) for each player and also expressed rates as percentages of the individual maximum HR recorded in the 5 games (%HRmax and %HRmean). Results. For the point guards, forwards and centers, respectively, HRmax (in beats·min) were 186±11.7, 176±8.3 and 177±7.7; and HRmean (beats·min -1 ) were 163±14.3, 151±10.3 and 155±9.4. While similar HRmax were observed in each quarter, significant differences were detected between the %HRmax values for the point guards versus the forwards or centers (P<0.0001 and P<0.05, respectively). Conclusion. Our findings indicate that point guards show the highest HR and forwards the lowest. HRmax and %HRmax values were high during the first quarter and continued to increase during the game, peaking in the final quarter. Key words: Basketball, Heart rate, Game positions, Preseason.