quote:
In 35 years of watching basketball I've never once heard anyone call the 4 spot a small forward.
In college ball? The wing (#3) is considered by every current source I've seen is defined as a combination of a shooting guard and a small forward.
Someone quoted Wikipedia saying the small forward is the wing, and that simply isn't the case in today's basketball. The wing is usually more of a guard than a forward.
The traditional center position at the college level is becoming extinct. Yes, if you look at an old manual it will show a center position, power forward, small forward, shooting guard, and point guard. But in reality, there are two forwards or posts...one a wide body physical presence that usually stays close to the basket like Tyler Davis and one that is usually thinner and more athletic that occasionally will step out and stretch the position like Tonny Trocha but spends most of his time in the paint. House was a #3 for A&M and he was not a small forward. He was a wing that strictly played on the perimeter. Then you had Gilder/Caruso at the #2(shooting guard) and Collins/Caruso at the point (#1).
In the future I'll be clearer by using the numbers of each position which isn't a gray area.
To the original point, Williams is a No. 4 this year, and not a No. 5...although hearing he's up to 237 lbs. tells me he could definitely grow into a No. 5 by his sophomore season although he has the athleticism to always play the No. 4.