POCATELLO — To understand the philosophies of Clint Arave, all one needs to do is look at his feet. He ditched the loafers and whatever other dress shoes took up space in his closet and went for the kicks that parents yell at their kids for spending too much money on.

They are green Jordan 1s and they are magnificent. The green and white leather pop under the cuff of his slacks, shining as if he just doused them in oil. More importantly, they match his Blackfoot Broncos polo — both with the green hue and Jumpman logo. The look was so slick that when he first donned the Js last year, other Blackfoot assistants were so jealous they all bought the exact same pair.

A year later, Arave wears his vintage shoes as the Blackfoot boys basketball head coach, stepping in when his predecessor, Cody Shelley, became athletic director at the school.

And the youthful swagger of his shoes translates to the court, where Arave has ditched the old-school thought process on size in basketball. Instead, he’s attempting to mimic the positionless schemes that have taken over the NBA.

Granted, this isn’t an endeavor many high school basketball coaches go after because, well, they can’t pull it off. You need size to play positionless basketball, length that allows a guard to drive on a much smaller defender and ability for a tall forward to knock down 3-pointers. Players like that don’t grow on trees … except, somehow, in Blackfoot, Idaho.

In the Broncos’ victory at Highland on Tuesday, Blackfoot didn’t have the biggest player on the court. No, those honors went to Mason Mickelson, who scored a game-high 20 points for the Rams. But they had the length advantage at seemingly every other position.

Led by 6-foot-5 senior Candon Dahle, sophomore Ja’Vonte King, junior Dylan Peterson and seniors Jaxon Ball, Jace Grimmett and Carter Layton could all switch positions one possession and no one would have a clue. Heck, both Grimmett and Layton are about 6-foot-2. The former is Blackfoot’s point guard. The latter plays in the low post.

“We’re awkward but we’re good with it,” Arave said. “We’re just trying to utilize our length and our athleticism. Sometimes you have that and sometimes you don’t — and thank goodness we do.

“We have some big, long players who shoot the ball, can get to the hoop and can still move the ball well.”

Highland out-rebounded Blackfoot because they had the biggest player. Blackfoot scored more points, though, because they had the longest team. That’s the model Arave is attempting to live or die by.

For example, Dahle was a 5-foot-7 freshman on the Blackfoot freshman team three years ago that was, coincidentally, coached by Arave. At that size, he was a short point guard. He was focused on ball-handling and shooting and all the little intricacies small guards need to excel to succeed.

Then he grew — six inches his sophomore season and a few more each year since. Now, he’s one of Blackfoot’s tallest players.

“You pick up some of those guard skills when you’re a little guy,” Dahle said. “But then you get hit that growth spurt and you’re able to shoot and play in the post.”

Old school teaching would say that the biggest player should play center because they need to rebound and defend the other team’s tallest player. Arave thought that would be a waste.

He saw Dahle as a tall guard, one who could play inside-out, finishing at the rim against forwards and wreaking havoc shooting 3s over short guards. Like on Tuesday, when he buried five of his six triples and scored 19 points.

“He’s just such a threat,” Arave said. “A little guard can’t guard him and pick him … Ja’Vonte is the exact same way.”

As a sophomore, King is that good. His shot is pure. He understands spacing and always moves without the ball. He has the strength to double-clutch mid-range jumpers. He can attack the rim with an unmatched velocity. And he’s 6-foot-5. Good luck guarding him.

There are some coaches who, if King was in their program, would have him at center or maybe the 4-spot. Arave, on the other hand, yelled at him for going up against the much-bigger Mickelson. He wants him to play in the backcourt, where space is vast and creativity is rewarded.

“I think sometimes we fall into the category of, ‘Oh, they’re big, they’re going to play down on the block,’” Arave said. “Everyone should be able to handle the ball. If you have a big, big kid, he shouldn’t be confined to just standing on the block. It does him no justice.”

That mentality is why King, who notched 11 first-half points against Highland, was out on the arc being guarded by guys who were six inches shorter than him.

“He’s a stretch-3 at best,” Arave said of King. “Shoot, we play some 5A teams. He’s not big enough.”

In other words, Arave isn’t fooling himself. There’s always going to be someone bigger. Blackfoot can’t match up, size-wise, with most of its competition this season. So why even try? Why not just throw positions out the window and play guys at the position that best suits their skillset?

“That’s kind of our thought process with it and our mindset,” he said.

Like his shoes, it’s against the norm — and it’s working.