BASKETBALL TERMS

BASKETBALL TERMS

How about the word 'post'? When I first started playing basketball, the center on the team was not considered a scorer as much as the forwards were. The guards weren't relied on to score much either. The typical offense was run around the center. He took a position at the center of the foul line. The center was the tallest player and was taught to stand straight up like a post. He usually wasn't allowed to dribble by his coach. Taller players weren't nimble enough. The other four players ran around him like they would a post. He held the ball up and passed it to the others. He was just a post.

Eventually, some centers were moved to a position under the basket at the side of the foul lane. They then began refering to this position as the 'low post' and the one at the foul line as the 'high post'. The word has now become a verb in some usages. To 'post' a player, is to take your defender into the 'low post ' position so that you can score over him. It all started with those stand-up-straight tall men acting like a post.