A point guard dribbles the ball up the court and generally directs the team. A good one takes care of the ball and a REALLY good one can generate offense on his own, despite slight in stature. Good example would be Steve Nash.
A shooting guard is generally somebody who's quick and capable of scoring, whether it's slashing to the hoop or shooting threes. He generally has more size than a point, ranging from 6 foot to 6'5. In many cases, it's the most athletic player on the team. Example: Kobe Bryant.
A small forward is generally somebody between 6'6 and 6'9 that's not quick enough to be a shooting guard, but much faster than a power forward. Kevin Durant is a beautiful example of that.
A power forward is generally between 6'7 and 6'10 and has muscle to bang inside for rebounds, and really good ones have good offensive skills to create buckets. Perfect examples would be Carlos Boozer or Marcus Fizer.
A center inhabits a general area around the basket, and is ideally taller than 6'10. It's important for the center to have length to bother or block shots. It's TOUGH to find skilled true centers that combine ideal size, defensive skills, and offensive skills. Usually, at least in college, a team has a couple guys that have one or two of the skills mentioned above. Good example would be Greg Oden.
Hope this helps! Become my prized basketball pupil :yes4lo:
