By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Lionel Chalmers may never actually decide for sure which position he plays. And that may be what makes him all the more dangerous.

He is starting at point guard this season for Xavier University, but there's no guarantee that's where he'll end up in March. In fact, he could be playing shooting guard five minutes into Xavier's season-opener Saturday against Coppin State. That is essentially what the last four years have been like for Chalmers, who came out of high school a shooting guard, but has played both positions at Xavier.

Chalmers initially struggled with the playmaking concept of point guard, but as he enters his senior season, he feels he's got it right.

"When I'm at the one, I understand and know what the team needs," Chalmers said. "When I'm at the two, I'm a little more aggressive in my approach."

In other words, Chalmers reverts back to his shooting guard form and looks to score more often when sophomore point guard Dedrick Finn enters the game.

"I've been playing a lot of both," Chalmers said. "Obviously, I've been starting at the one. I am a one, but I can also score. I think coach (Thad Matta) is giving me the opportunity to use my talents to their fullest."

He's been making his shots so far. Chalmers was 6-of-9 on 3-pointers in the first two exhibition games. He scored 25 points Sunday, leading all scorers in Xavier's rout of the Upstate Basketball All-Stars.

Even while he's starting at point guard this season, Chalmers may be ready (and healthy enough) to make his biggest impact as a shooting guard. He missed most of January because of a broken foot. He scoring average dropped almost two points to 12.0 after returning from the injury.

Now, Matta says he's fine with Chalmers playing creatively from either position.

"I'm hoping that when he and Dedrick are in the game at the same time, I don't know who's what," Matta said. "I'm looking for Lionel to do the same at both positions, quite honestly. And Dedrick has shown he can score as well. So I'm hoping, literally the ball goes to one or the other, and the other one fills the (shooting guard) spot and away we go."

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com