Swingman

Swingman is a basketball term denoting a player who can play both the small forward and shooting guard positions; and, in essence, "swing" between the shooting guard and small forward positions.

The "swingman" concept first came into vogue in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when star players such as George "The Iceman" Gervin defied traditional pigeonholing into the 2 or 3 position. Fact|date=March 2007 The best swingmen use their "in-between" height and athleticism to exploit defensive mismatches: they will use speed and quickness to run past bigger players, and they can post up using power and length against smaller players, or they can shoot over the top of smaller players with their jump shots.

Some swingmen have been known to play both the small forward and shooting guard position equally effectively, having the size and strength to play the small forward position, as well as the outside jump shot and quickness to play the shooting guard position. These swingmen prove to cause match-up problems and to be very difficult to guard due to their versatility.

Today, several prominent players in the NBA switch between small forward and shooting guard. Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Michael Finley, Paul Pierce, Andre Iguodala, Caron Butler, Stephen Jackson, Rudy Gay, Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Childress and Morris Peterson (among several others) have spent considerable time at both positions. A good example of a player from the Euroleague is Ramunas Siskauskas. The swingmen are also the most likely to be the sixth man on a basketball team.

The term "swingman" is also used in baseball, defining a pitcher who moves between the bullpen and starting rotation multiple times during the season. It is also occasionally used in Ice Hockey to define atypical defenders, such as Mark Streit [" [ [http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=379943 "Canadiens bid for repeat division title"] "] able to play both sides of the ice, and across the blue-line on power play.

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External links

* [http://www.nba.com/canada/bu_swingmen.html NBA.com - Basketball University]