Motoric Abilities of Basketball Players According to Different Ranks of Competition and Playing Positions.

Basketball is a complex sports game, interrupted by the constant change of defense and offense, and it is a combination of cyclic and most often acyclic movements. Since basketball involves sudden and intense changes in the movement direction, high frequencies of initiating dribbling and movement in posture, stoppings, and physical contact allowed by game rules, there is a link between the abilities needed for successful basketball playing and playing positions. This research aimed to determine the differences in motoric abilities, i.e. the change of direction speed, explosive strength, and running speed of basketball players who compete in different ranks of the competition in relation to the playing positions. The sample of 25 basketball players was divided into two subsamples in relation to the rank of the competition (elite and sub-elite). Eleven motoric ability tests were used in the study (change of direction speed - four tests, explosive strength - four tests, and running speed - three tests). Applying the analysis of variance (ANOVA and MANOVA), differences in motoric abilities were determined between basketball players of different ranks of a competition in relation to the playing positions in the team. Based on the results, a conclusion was reached that the players differ in favor of a higher rank of a competition in the tested abilities, namely those ones who play in the forward position. It can be inferred that a higher rank of a competition requires better quality preparation and players who differ in tactical thinking and better performance of measured abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]