PCBL Versatility Index
This index was created by NBA Basketball Analyst, John Hollinger from www.cnnsi.com, along with other Sports Illustrated Analysts. It gives analysts and coaches a way to measure a players "versatility." It is intentionally designed to reward players who excel in all three categories, as opposed to players who dominate in one or two (Ex: Allen Iverson or Ben Wallace as compared to say, Oscar Robertson or Kevin Garnett).
There's a fairly easy way to do this. To
compute it, you take the player's points, rebounds and assists per game
averages and multiply
them together. Then take the cube root of that number. (No, no, please, don't click away just because we
said "cube root", we're done with the math. I swear.)
The average player will end up with a Versatility Index
between 5-6. A few above average players will mingle around 6-7, but the cream of the crop, about four or five
players a
season, will be between 7.5 - 8.5.
According to Analyst, John Hollinger, a rating of 10+ would be considered "off the charts." Just to give you an idea how the greatest NBA/PCBL players rank in regards to Versatility, here are the top
7 Versatility Index marks of all-time. (These numbers are just sick...I mean come on)
| Player | PPG | RPG | APG | Index Rating |
| Wilt Chamberlin | 30.1 | 22.9 | 4.4 | 14.4 |
| G. Murph | 20.3 | 13.6 | 8.7 | 13.4 |
| Oscar Robertson | 25.7 | 7.5 | 9.5 | 12.5 |
| Magic Johnson | 19.5 | 7.2 | 11.2 | 11.6 |
| Larry Bird | 24.3 | 10.0 | 6.3 | 11.5 |
| Bill Russell | 15.1 | 22.5 | 4.3 | 11.3 |
| J.J. Bowden | 30.2 | 9.6 | 3.3 | 9.8 |
You can calculate this in your noggin', or
you can use this handy dandy calculator, provided by csgnetwork.com. This calculator is designed to give the cube and
cube root of any number. In certain cases, as is the case with mainframes and
minicomputers, the calculation of the cube root is a
very close approximation. Enter the target number and click on Calculate. Both
the cube and cube root values are calculated. You may click on
the Clear Values button to
do another. The Cube Root becomes the "Index Rating"
for any given player in the chart below.