Basketball's 13 Postions

If you thought there were only 5 standard positions in basketball, you may be wrong.  Changing the way basketball positions will be forever viewed, Stanford Senior Muthu Alagappan, is an intern for a data visulationzation company, Ayasdi.  He combined Ayvasdi’s proprietary data analysis engine and tons of computational topology research at Standford to categorize basketball players into 13 new positions. 

According to Wired.com, “Ayasdi takes huge amounts of info like tumor samples and displays it in interactive shapes that highlight patterns like genetic markers that indicate a likelihood of ovarian cancer. It’s called topological data analysis, and it can be applied to sports, too.”  Which is exactly what Alagappan did.  His findings resulted in the following 13 positions: (positions quoted from wired.com)

1. Offensive Ball-Handler. This guy handles the ball and specializes in points, free throws and shots attempted, but is below average in steals and blocks. Examples include Jason Terry and Tony Parker.
2. Defensive Ball-Handler. This is a defense-minded player who handles the ball and specializes in assists and steals, but is only so-so when it comes to points, free throws and shots. See also: Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry.
3. Combo Ball-Handler. These players are adept at both offense and defense but don’t stand out in either category. Examples include Jameer Nelson and John Wall.
4. Shooting Ball-Handler. Someone with a knack for scoring, characterized by above-average field goal attempts and points. Stephen Curry and Manu Ginobili are examples.
5. Role-Playing Ball-Handler. These guys play fewer minutes and don’t have as big a statistical impact on the game. Hello, Arron Afflalo and Rudy Fernandez.
6. 3-Point Rebounder. Such a player is a ball-handler and big man above average in rebounds and three-pointers, both attempted and made, compared to ball-handlers. Luol Deng and Chase Budinger fit the bill.
7. Scoring Rebounder. He grabs the ball frequently and demands attention when on offense. Dirk Nowitzki and LaMarcus Aldridge play this position.
8. Paint Protector. A big man like Marcus Camby and Tyson Chandler known for blocking shots and getting rebounds, but also for racking up more fouls than points.
9. Scoring Paint Protector. These players stand out on offense and defense, scoring, rebounding and blocking shots at a very high rate. Examples include Kevin Love and Blake Griffin.
10. NBA 1st-Team. This is a select group of players so far above average in every statistical category that the software simply groups them together regardless of their height or weight. Kevin Durant and LeBron James fall in this category.
11. NBA 2nd-Team. Not quite as good, but still really, really good. Rudy Gay and Caron Butler are examples.
12. Role Player. Slightly less skilled than the 2nd-team guys, and they don’t play many minutes. Guys like Shane Battier and Ronnie Brewer fall under this position.
13. One-of-a-Kind. These guys are so good they are off the charts — literally. The software could not connect them to any other player. Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard are examples, but you already knew that.

The MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference this past spring awarded Alagappan’s findings best Evolution of Sport.  However this technology and analytics was actually created to possibly re-categorize rookie and college players playing styles and maybe uncover undervalued/unrecognized talent. Ref. sloansportsconference.com, wired.com Pic. Ref. wired.com

Hockey's Latest Way to Recruit

Hockey has a new way to recruit. There is a now a site that allows hockey players the chance to put themselves in front of recruiters, virtually. The site is called puckprospect.com and is similar to a LinkedIn for hockey players. Athletes update an online profile with information like height, weight, which way they shoot and position. Recruiters will virtually access the players profiles from the comfort of their home. The site already has over 700 coaches and recruits from the NCAA, CHL, USHL, ECHL, CIS, Women's Hockey, U.S. High School Hockey, Junior A, Junior B, Midget AAA, Prep/Boarding Schools, and International Hockey. Monthly membership fees are billed at $5.95/month for players and $7.95 for scouts and recruits. Ref. puckprospect.com, sportstmcnet.com

Unicycle Football

Hatched in Texas, unicycle football is one interesting sport. Created by Marcus Garland, the sport is a hybrid of flag football and tackle football. The rules are pretty similar to regular flag football but allowing, according to Wired.com, "the least amount of force required to cause the ball handler to dismount their unicycle” as a means of tackling. Oh, and of course the addition of every player riding atop a unicycle.

Other deviations from classic football are that there are 5 players per team and you must make all plays atop your unicycle. Falling off or getting down from your unicycle while you have the ball is an automatic down. Also, in the spirit of safety first, all players must wear helmets. This sport is pretty whacky and the lighthearted spirit of the rules (i.e. instead of a coin toss there is a “joust on unicycles”) illustrates that the game doesn’t take itself too seriously. Like all emerging sports, it will be interesting if it can catch-on like Kronum or Quidditch. Either way, it looks like a goofy good time that requires an incredible level of athleticism and sense of humor. Ref. wired.com, Pic Ref. Sol Neelman/Wired.com

Watson & Motorola Both Winners This Weekend

Bubba Watson won the Masters this past weekend in dramatic playoff fashion. This win not only landed him a nice green jacket and prize money, it did wonders for his sponsorship opportunities. However as I mentioned in a previous post, Motorola scooped him up before he won the Tournament. Last month I wrote about Motorola’s MOTOACVTV Golf Edition which recently landed Watson as their spokesperson. Though Watson did not wear his MOTOACTV during his historic win, he did don the device last Wednesday as he played 9 holes at Augusta. You can check out the specs on his practice round HERE. Ref. Forbes.com, Pic Ref. motoactv.com

Getting a Handle on Women’s Soccer in England

In an effort to increase buzz and ticket sales at Women’s Super League games in England, the Football Association has turned to Twitter. The Football Association has named eight “digit ambassadors” who will wear their Twitter handle on their jerseys. The hope is that emphasizing the social aspect of the players will increase excitement about the sports, which will hopefully translate to larger crowds at games.

This idea was hatched out of the wild Twitter response to the USA V Japan women’s World Cup soccer game last year. However this is not the first time we have seen handles and hashtags creep their way onto the pitch/field/court and even players. Last year the Jaguares de Chiapas soccer team of the Mexican Primera Division actually replaced player’s names on their jerseys with the player’s twitter handle. Also, last November the University of Mississippi painted the hashtag #HAILSTATE in their end zone. Ref. guardian.co.uk

April Fools Shenanigans

Yesterday was April 1st (April Fool's Day) and one prankster chose to use Twitter as his channel for tricking friends and fans. On Sunday, Michigan linebacker Kenny Demens dabbled into some monkey business by Tweeting that he had a season-ending hand injury. He went so far as to Tweet a picture of a hand in a cast. Demons did come clean after a few tense late night hours for Michigan fans. At ~2am ET he tweeted, "Ok...April Fools everyone. I'm not out for the season...only in a cast for a couple of weeks!!" Demons will likely only miss a practice or two. Ref. espn.com