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