The Intricacies of Scouting in the NCAA
by Ray Floriani
NEW YORK – A great deal of scouting today is done by exchanging tapes. Teams will get a few game tapes of upcoming opponents to try to read or get a breakdown of team and individual tendencies from more than one game. In tournament play, the NCAA allows live scouting.
At the Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, the luck of the courtside seating draw had yours truly next to Texas Tech assistants Stew Robinson and Chris Beard. Wake Forest was facing Florida in the 7:00 matchup. Tech would line up against Syracuse at approximately 9:30. Whether Tech won or lost, Beard knew this would be a late night for the Red Raider staff.
“After we play we will go back to the hotel,” Beard set, “then settle in and watch game tapes.” The ones of Wake Forest – Florida or his game against Syracuse Beard was asked. “Both,” he said. “We always would watch some of our game as well as tomorrow’s opponent.”
Beard went on to say he already broke down two or three tapes on Wake Forest and Florida. The Tech staff wanted to get a look at a tape from last season. Unless there is a coaching change, styles do not drastically change. Still, it is essential to get, if you can in early season, a tape from the current campaign. That is especially true in Wake’s case as Chris Paul’s departure necessitated Justin Gray shifting from two guard to the point.
Beard has a yellow legal pad on the press table, while Robinson is using a pad with court half court diagrams. Beard will make notes on individual tendencies (only goes right) or team tendencies (screen to free guard on the inbounds vs. full court pressure).
“You get that extra advantage with live scouting,” Beard says. “Tape can give you a lot but watching live you can pick up something that can give you an edge. Any slight edge you get could be just what you need to win.”
Robinson diagrams the offensive and defensive sets of both Wake Forest and Florida on his pad. He played for Bobby Knight in the Eighties and remembers coming to the Garden in the 1985 NIT.
“We played UCLA,” Robinson recalled. “We had a tough game, but Reggie Miller (of UCLA) went off the second half and broke it open.” Robinson was asked if two decades has seen any change in his Knight’s offense. “Not at all,” Robinson says. “It’s basically the same passing game principles we ran, only now it’s more (commonly called) motion.”
During the game both Beard and Robinson will verbally point something out. One will talk, the other will jot a note down. Both have “Texas Tech things to do” lists on the top of their note sheets. During the game both answer any questions regarding their team, conference, whatever. Beard is asked if the usually good Texas Tech turnout will be there for the second game. “Not really,” he observes, “our football team is hosting Oklahoma Saturday so everybody is in Lubbock.”
Understood.
About eight minutes remain, and Wake switches to a 2-3 for a few possessions. I ask if that is because Florida is running a high screen and roll with favorable results.
“Florida does have mobile big men,” Beard answers, “but I think Wake went zone because of foul trouble.” Sometimes we try to overcomplicate this game.
The game goes down to the final minute. Robinson and Beard both stay to the buzzer hoping to get another hint how each team handles late game situations. At the buzzer, we wish the Tech assistants well and they leave business cards. They will now focus on the semifinal matchup with Syracuse. Then sometime after midnight, while many of us settle down to call it a night, they will just start going over the report on tomorrow’s opponent with coach Knight.
Players of note during Coaches vs. Cancer
Taurean Green – A no-brainer on this one. The explosive Florida guard put on a show both nights and walked off with MVP honors. In the finals, Green led Florida with 23 points, hitting 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Eric Williams – Listed at 6-9, the more-like 6-7 post player for Wake is a wide body who simply works extremely hard for 40 minutes. Against Texas Tech in the consolation, it was 45, of a possible 50 minutes, that Williams battled a Red Raider double- or triple-team all night long.
Eric Devendorf – We know about Gerry McNamara and Terrence Roberts, to name a few of Jim Boeheim’s tested talents. You may not know Devendorf but soon will. He comes off the bench and provides hustle and an offensive spark at the guard spot.
Martin Zeno and Jarrius Jackson – The Texas Tech pair struggled (as did all the Red Raiders) against Syracuse. They bounced back to score 23 and 27, respectively, against Wake. They had to: no one else on T-Tech hit double figures.
Kyle Visser – The 6-11 junior had a subpar outing against Florida, but came back with a nice 16-point, 16-board outing against Texas Tech. More nights like that on the part of Visser could take some inside pressure off Williams.
Demetris Nichols – The 6-8 Syracuse forward had solid scoring nights with 11 against T-Tech and a game-high 24 against Florida. Nichols can rebound and did show a nice (5 of 10) touch beyond the arc against the Gators.
Al Horford – The Florida forward put up numbers that, while not spectacular, were very solid and crucial on both nights.
Joakim Noah – The Gator soph was hit by foul trouble against Wake, but bounced back with a strong effort inside against Syracuse. Noah attacks the glass with energy and can do dame in the paint.
Justin Gray – Struggling a bit with his transition to the point, he did put those issues aside to hit the big three-pointer that tied up the consolation game that Wake captured in OT.
Also of note: strong inside play especially down the stretch and balance helped Florida to the team title, 75-70 over Syracuse. Gator coach Billy Donovan noted following the semifinal win over Wake Forest: “We probably don’t have a guy who can average 20 (points) per game, but we have several who can get that on a given night.” The Gators are simply a young team that shares the ball, defends, has good chemistry and is a pleasure to watch – providing you’re not on the opposing bench.
