Scouting

Scouting reports are the blue-print to success if they are used properly. To go into a ball game without having your opponent thoroughly scouted is inviting disaster.

The best information that can be gathered on an opponent can usually be obtained when the coach himself scouts. If this is not feasible, your scout must be someone who knows your system and knows exactly what you desire in the way of scouting information. Personally, I like to do my own scouting, but when I cannot go, one of my assistant coaches, who knows what pertinent information I seek, will go for me.

The first thing I want to know is the individual shooting habits of each player.

What type of shot does he shoot? Can he be hurried? Does he have to be set when he shoots? Can he shoot while moving both ways? How was he defensed when he shot? Can he shoot over a zone? Can he drive against a man-for-man? Almost all of this information can be recorded on the shot chart that I include in the scouting kit.

Now I want to know about the individual size and speed of each opponent.

Can we floor five men who compare favorably with them in size and speed? How is their speed and size affected when they substitute? Will the use of the substitutes weaken their team? Do they appear to be in good physical condition, or do they begin slowing down late in the game?

If we cannot stay with them in a man-for-man situation, then what type of zone would be best to use? Should we use a set zone defense, or should we vary it? Why?

Our opponent's style of offense is the next thing in which we are interested. Do they fast break? If so, how do they get the fast break started? Is it organized, or do they "race horse"? Do they pass to the middle, side, or use the long pass? Do they have any "half court Charley's"? Do they use single-pivot, double-pivot, or flash pivot? Do they run a continuity pattern or free-lance? Chart out-of-bounds plays. Chart jump ball situations to see where the tip goes. Do they foul a lot; especially, do key men foul a lot. Are there any poor free-throw shooters? Are there any out standing free-throw shooters?
These are the key things that I, as a coach, want answered by my scouts. I then ask him to match our team with theirs man-for-man, and explain the reasons for the match-ups. After the match-ups are made, our team members are assigned an opponent, and we make every attempt to impress upon them the individual characteristics of the opponent they will be defensing.

I will set up situations in practice using the individual patterns of the opponent and stress to the boys the things they are to look for.

There will be occasions when your team will probably get to see a future opponent play. This happens quite often in tournaments and can be very good or very bad, depending on the circumstances. If your future opponent looks very bad on that particular night, then your team might get over-confident and tend to take them lightly. If your future opponent has an outstanding night and looks unbeatable then your team might react that way too. During tournament play I often -will let our players "scout" our next opponent with us. I will give every boy an idea of which member of the opposition he is likely to defense and have him keep notes of the boys individual maneuvers. This has worked very well for us on most occasions, but it worked to our disadvantage on one occasion.

Several years ago we went into the latter stages of the season with a 17-1 record and had what I felt was a tough ball game coming up the next week. Our future opponent was playing on a Saturday night before we were to meet, and I felt it might be a good idea to let the team go to the game so they could see what we would be up against the following week. Our opponents picked this night to look mediocre, especially their All-State candidate, who had been scoring fantastic totals up to this game. The boys went home that night with reams of information but secure in the belief they would have very little trouble with this team the next week. Of course, during the next week I stressed that one game is not an indication of the true calibre of an opponent, but the boys were not convinced. They had watched the team perform and were supremely confident they could handle the situation without too much difficulty. They were asking for trouble, and they got it. Our opponents shot us right off the floor with a sizzling 61% shooting performance and their All State candidate poured in a cool 56 points against us. The team walked off the floor on the short end of a 91-79 score, a much wiser group of young men. This crushing lesson did cause them to re-evaluate themselves, and we finished the season with a very respectable 26-3 record.

On several other occasions the scouting done by the boys has paid rich dividends. Last year, in a Holiday Tournament, we observed one of our future opponents on three different occasions. Although we never met in the tournament, we did meet during the regular season, and the scouting information we gathered enabled us to defeat our tough opponent rather easily.

The following report is an actual scouting report done by one of my assistant coaches during this past year. As you will notice the individual remarks about each opponent are very clear and concise, and their general over-all pattern of offense and defense is outlined. The opponent's out-of-bounds plays and tip-plays are mentioned, and the shot chart for each half is complete, showing from where each shot was taken and the results. From observing this chart, and looking at the individual characteristics of each player, I decided to play a tight man-to-man defense.

SCOUTING REPORT—COLLEGE HIGH

Individual Personnel

#24 Jones—G-5' 11"—Ball handler against the Marquette zone. Will shoot the long jumper from far out. Must be hurried, or he will shoot you off the floor. Good ball handler, and hustles hard. Led the scoring with 7-4=18 pts.

#22 Adams—G-5'9"—Good ball handler, and excellent jump-shooter from far out. Excellent jumper for his size. Likes to fly, and will go for the fake, so get him in the air on the fake. Will really trigger from out. Played as point man against the zone the second half. Didn't hit well at all, but potentially could hurt you if he isn't hurried. Fakes jumper, and moves under you looking for a foul. 1-0=2 pts.

#44 Cole—C-6'4"—Excellent rebounder. Really works the boards. Must keep him screened off boards, or he will hurt. Doesn't move too well, and can be easily faked. Can't stay with a driver. Did most of his scoring on offensive rebounding. 3-3=9 pts.

#14 Dickman—F-6'l 1/2"—Good jump-shooter if left alone. Will shoot one hand set from the hip. Doesn't drive. Slow reactions because of age and experience . . . only a freshman. Will trigger from far out. Poor on defense, he can be driven, and he will foul because of poor defensive position. Plays middle man on 2-3 zone, and he will play the offensive post man from behind, and foul him as he starts to wheel. Fouled out with 6:10 left in the game. 5-0=10 pts.

#12 Albeck—F-6'—Very good hustler. Fights the boards hard. Will play the high post, when they are in their 1-3-1 offense. Hit two turn around jumpers from the free throw line. 4-2 = 10 pts.   

Only substitute used in game—played only briefly.

#20 Harp—G-6'—Left handed. Good ball handler. Came in when Dickman fouled out. Played point on offense, while in game. Good passer. 0-5=5 pts.

Box Score

College High     10        12        9          14 = 45
Marquette        12        13        13        16 = 54
 
COLLEGE HIGH'S OFFENSIVE ALIGNMENT AGAINST MARQUETTE2-1-2 ZONE

College High seemed content to hit the wing man from the point, and then fire from the wing. #22 and #14 will both gun. #12 got ball in center several times second half, and hit on two turn around jumpers. #44 will run both sides, but seldom got the ball. We can screen him off boards, when he is in corner, and #14 or #22 shoot.

College High will make a lot of quick return passes to the weak side against the zone. The weakside wing will move into a good shooting position, and take a quick jumper.

OUT OF BOUNDS PLAY

This is the same as one of our out-of-bounds plays!
22

Always try to tip straight ahead, then flip ball to wing, for quick basket.
 
College High Defense 2-3 Zone. The zone can be hurt, by either working ball to center, or making quick return pass to weakside guard. These moves are diagrammed. Once we make pass to center man he must turn quickly to face basket. Dickman will come up to defense the center, and will stand behind the center man. Both the guards will sag the center too. I think our 1-3-1 offense will hurt them, as both guards outside can be picked. WE CAN FAST BREAK THEM. Let's beat the zone down the floor.

COLLEGE HIGH  SHOT CHART

2nd Half                                              1st Half

Here is how I plotted our strategy for this game, and the results:

#24—We played him very tight, and attempted to hurry him on every shot. He started forcing his shots and hit on only four field goal attempts and one of three free throw attempts. He scored nine points.

 #22—We got him in foul trouble early by taking advantage of his weakness of going for the fake and leaving his feet trying to block the shot. He scored five points.         

#44—We attempted to screen him off the boards but didn't get the job done as well as I would have liked. He scored eighteen points with four of his baskets coming on rebound follow shots.

#14—We got him in foul trouble early because of his inability to react quickly. We played him close on defense and wouldn't let him set on shots. He fouled out and scored only two points.

#12—We put a very fast defensive man on him with instructions to "fight the boards" with him. We did a very good job on him, and he scored only eight points.

#20—This is the only sub they had used in the preceding game, and he had played only briefly. We didn't know too much about him. This lack of knowledge almost proved our un-doing and pointed out the value of scouting an opponent as often as possible. This boy came in when #14 fouled out and proceeded to hit from all over the court. He ended with 18 points and almost pulled the game out for our opponents. However, we hung on to win 64-60.

I use movies of past games to scout many of our opponents. If you play a similar schedule year after year, it would be wise for you to take movies of some of your games so that you might refer back to these games before you meet the opponent again. It has been said "that one picture is worth a thousand words," and, of course, this is the value I feel the boys get from watching themselves and their opponents perform on film.

I edit our film from past years and keep film strips to show the younger players coming up, the respective strength and weakness of future opponents. This also shows them the proper techniques that we employ in our offense and defense. I have found over the years that the financial outlay for film has been a very worthwhile investment.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here….