The Plainview Middle School basketball team has

8

players. If a player can play any position, in how many ways can

5

starting players be selected?

To solve a probability, you need to determine if the order is important or not. Since a player can play any position, that means the team doesn't need to specify the order. The possible way to make a team of 5 players out of 8 players would be:

8C5 = 8! / 5! (8-5) ! = 8C5 = 8*7*6 / 3*2=56 ways