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Analytics

  • Coaching Stats & Player Impact on Plays and Sets

    Posted on January 29, 2024

    As a coach, I’m always trying to determine which plays and sets are working, and how to place my players in sets and actions that are best suited for their skills. Many coaches rely on the “eye test”, or assumptions about a player’s ability, but having analytics to back up or challenge your perceptions of […]

  • Why You Can’t Always Trust Plus/Minus

    Posted on January 7, 2024

    Our team is now 15 games into the season, and with that many games played it is a great opportunity to evaluate playing time and lineup combos. As I was noodling around, I discovered some lineup combinations with a great plus/minus, and a mediocre net points-per-possession (Net PPP). Here’s the example: When we substitute, there’s […]

  • Visualizing Player Performance

    Posted on January 3, 2024

    A couple of years ago, I had a fairly talented team, with one player who was a really accurate three-point shooter in practice. Ryan even won a three-point shooting contest at a Christmas tournament. However, her main sport was golf, and I was concerned about her stamina. So over the course of the season, I […]

  • Joel Soriano Putting Up Player of the Year Numbers

    Posted on December 15, 2023

    St. John’s University Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall, @stjohnsbball) center Joel Soriano (@joelsoriano22) is off to a roaring start to the 2023-24 season, posting a team-high of 17.4 points in 27:23 minutes per game through the first nine games of the year. Soriano is an outstanding +67 for the season, and his Value Points System of 2.60 […]

  • basketball analytics for fouling frequency
    Minimizing Fouling in Bonus Situations with Analytics

    Posted on December 3, 2023

    It’s almost always a bad idea to foul in a basketball game, but now with the new foul shooting rules from NFHS for high schools in the USA, it’s even more important to minimize fouling at the end part of quarters. Specifically, teams will shoot two free throws after the fifth foul has been committed […]

  • Live vs Dead ball turnovers - NBA
    Live Ball Turnovers vs. Dead Ball Turnovers

    Posted on October 22, 2023

    As much as we basketball coaches hate giving up turnovers, and love forcing them, not all turnovers are created equal. Dead ball turnovers (like throwing the ball out-of-bounds) result in an inbounds play, while live ball turnovers (like a steal) keep action going. Defensively, a live ball turnover is more likely to end in a […]

  • ABA Stats
    Stats for ABA Basketball (and other unique leagues)

    Posted on October 1, 2023

    Basketball rules can vary from league to league, and some innovative leagues like the ABA have introduced new scoring incentives to increase the entertainment value of each game. In the ABA, when there is a turnover in the backcourt, and the opposing team scores, an extra bonus point is awarded to the scoring team. This […]

  • Why I Was Late to the Analytics Game

    Posted on September 1, 2023

    As a high school and college player in the 80’s, ESPN had just been invented. Basketball film study was limited and done with VHS tape and incredible amounts of snail mail from coach to coach. Player visibility and much of recruiting was largely limited to in-person visits. Not only that, in the late 70’s, the […]

  • Basketball game visualization
    Basketball Game Visualizations – Event Timelines

    Posted on July 24, 2023

    After every game, us coaches will have a period of self-reflection where we think about what went right, and what went wrong. Having a good visualization of key events tells a compelling story, and can help you make better-informed decisions for future games. The Game Summary tool in Hoopsalytics offers you some compelling ways to […]