Cornerman (basketball)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cornerman is a term used in basketball, as opposed to a swingman, to denote a player who can play both the small forward and power forward basketball positions. "Cornerman" is sometimes interchangeably used with the term "forward"[1], but generally refers to players that can play both forward positions. Good and versatile small forwards could either be a swingman or a cornerman. Most players categorized as such are those versatile, natural small forwards who are strong enough to play power forward for a slight change in role or rotation, often for defensive purposes, but they are not as effective in playing the shooting guard position. This can also be a power forward who sometimes switches to the small forward position and still play well.
While a swingman is a player who uses his "in-between" height and athleticism to flex his skills, a cornerman is one who uses extra strength, size, and leaping ability (to grab rebounds or turn away shots in the frontcourt) to slide into the "four" (power forward) position. A power forward who is agile enough to defend smaller players and stretch his offense farther in the perimeter is also one who can slide into the "three" (small forward) position, hence a cornerman.
Elgin Baylor, who is probably the greatest cornerman in the history of basketball[2], and James Worthy are some of the historic basketball figures that fit this description. Kevin Garnett, Andrei Kirilenko (can be a point forward or swingman), Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, are among the notable cornermen in the NBA today.
