pivotmen

Noun

pivotman (plural pivotmen)

1. A pivot; the soldier around whom a body of troops wheels.
2. A player in a central position.
   • An injury had sidelined our 6-10 senior pivotman, Connie Dierking, so we were still adjusting at both ends of the court.2008 March 9, Oscar Robertson, “When the Big O First Played the Garden: 56 in ’58”, in New York Times
3. (figuratively) A central or key person; someone around whom a particular project etc. rotates.
   • George Stephanopoulos was the campaign's floppy-banged pivot man for communications.2017, David Friend, The Naughty Nineties, Twelve Books