interesting article...

A Scout's-Eye View of the Game: Part I
by David Friedman

http://www.probasketballnews.com/friedman_0623.html

had the opportunity to spend some time with Indiana Pacers scout Kevin Mackey and learn how a professional basketball talent evaluator watches a game. First, we went to a Division I college basketball game; later, I took notes as Mackey evaluated a videotape of a Division I college basketball game featuring a prospect.

For obvious reasons, I promised not to mention the names of
any of the players or teams. In any case, the point is not so much
what Mackey thinks of a given player but how he thinks about
basketball in general and player evaluation in particular. Mackey
is perhaps best known for coaching the Cleveland State Vikings
to a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1986, including an upset over
the third-seeded Indiana Hoosiers.

Mackey also has head coaching experience in various pro
basketball minor leagues, where he coached many future
NBA players, including Darrell Armstrong, Mark Blount, Michael
Curry and Adrian Griffin. Mackey led the Atlantic City Seagulls to
three consecutive USBL championships.

"SEASONS BEGIN AND END, BUT PLAYER PERSONNEL IS YEAR-ROUND."

The above quote is one of the first things that Mackey tells me and it is well worth remembering. Mackey must be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the players currently on the Pacers’ roster so that he can properly evaluate whether or not a prospect can help the team. The first thing that a scout must consider is talent: Can this player play at the NBA level and contribute in a meaningful way? Physically, a scout is looking for players who have an NBA body and NBA athleticism. Next, a scout evaluates if the player can do these things at the NBA level: (1) shoot; (2) get open; (3) rebound; (4) pass.

However, just because a player has NBA-level talent does not mean that he will be an effective NBA player. This is something that a lot of fans -- and players -- do not understand. Putting up big numbers and filling highlight reels with slam dunks do not prove a player’s NBA worthiness. It is vital to observe the action off of the ball: (1) does the player understand what he is supposed to be doing? (such as setting a screen, cutting, double-teaming, playing help defense); (2) is the player unselfish or is he just trying to pad his own statistics?

As Mackey puts it, some players “suck their thumbs” when they don’t have the ball; their body language clearly communicates that their main interest is scoring and that they are unwilling to do anything else to help the team.

Other important characteristics to observe include the player’s attitude toward his coach, his interactions with his teammates and his response to adversity, which could come in the form of missed shots, physical play, a blown call or a mistake by a teammate. These kinds of things are difficult to pick up during a television broadcast; only in person can a scout gauge a player’s presence/dominance.

Mackey says that most players are not equipped to play both ends of the floor and sometimes it is difficult to project how a player’s skills will translate from college to the pros. For instance, will a great college shooter be able to get his shot off in the pros? A scout must determine if the player’s positives at one end of the court outweigh his negatives at the other end. Mackey notes, “Toughness translates from one level to the next. You look for toughness.”

Mackey became a scout after a long coaching career, so part of his mindset is to evaluate a player based on what it would be like to coach him; other talent evaluators are ex-players and their experiences on the court shape their perspectives of how a player should move, look and perform.

One former player turned NBA talent evaluator insists, “Players tell you if they can play by how they move.” He always arrives at games early so that he can observe how fluidly players move during pre-game warmups. I couldn’t help but bring up a football example: Bernie Kosar, who quarterbacked the Cleveland Browns to three AFC Championship games but moved so awkwardly that it looked like he could not chew gum and walk at the same time. Of course, there are always exceptions, this talent evaluator concedes, but in general great athletes have a presence and move with a certain grace and fluidity.

SCOUTING A DIVISION I COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME IN PERSON

When Mackey and I arrive at our seats, he explains that he is focusing on four players in this game, two from each team. Mackey builds a “book” on each player -- a combination of their statistics and observations about their strengths, weaknesses and tendencies. He says, “Players have DNA” -- unique traits that form their identities as athletes.

What if a player who is lightly regarded plays extremely well? Then Mackey has to determine if the player just got hot for one game, had a favorable matchup or has in fact improved his skills. He will make a note to follow this player’s performance for the rest of the season. If the player was completely off of the radar, the likelihood is that he just had one good game and will soon revert back to his normal level.

During the game, Mackey fires off comments in a staccato style. After a careless turnover, he says that you “throw a football but you pass a basketball.” He waits until stoppages of play to jot down notes so that he doesn’t miss any game action, observing that this part of his job is similar to what a beat writer does while covering a game.

Mackey says of one player that he is small, but, pointing to a stat sheet showing his team-leading scoring average, that he must be doing something right to score this much. Mackey nods approvingly when this player makes a two-dribble move and nails a three-pointer. Still, it doesn’t take long for Mackey to identify the player's weaknesses: He must get tougher and learn how to drive to his left.

When a different player drops some passes and fumbles the ball a couple times, Mackey exclaims, “He has hands like feet.” A minute later, Mackey says, “You can find guys like that under a bridge. I bring in guys like that (to training camp), I won’t have a job.”

After watching the game for about 10 minutes, Mackey says that the four guys he is looking at are limited and that his highest projection for players in this game would be the CBA or the NBDL.

The best of the bunch, relatively speaking, is a player who has NBA size and is a good open shooter. The problem is that he is not tough -- he doesn’t fight through screens on defense. Still, after he makes a few shots, Mackey says that he “shoots the deep ball. That’s an NBA talent.” Because of his build and his ability to shoot, there is a slight possibility that he could develop into a useful NBA player.

Mackey dismisses the most athletic player of this quartet with the acronym “JAG” -- just another guy. Playing the devil’s advocate, I point out that his team runs no plays for him. Mackey agrees, but says that how well a player rebounds tells you a lot because that is based solely on the player’s effort, drive and toughness.

“You don’t need your mother or your coach or your teammates” to help you get rebounds, Mackey says. This player has obvious physical gifts but he is not doing much and is having little impact on the game. Later, when we look at a halftime box score, Mackey circles the number of rebounds by this player’s name and shakes his head. If a reasonably athletic player is not dominating the boards against college players, what chance does he have to succeed in the NBA?

The ability to catch the ball, hold on to it and make a play is rare but very important. Players who have great hands are few and far between. Mackey says that hands “are a talent. Good players hang on to the ball.”

The small guard with the decent scoring average drives to the hoop but has the ball stripped away. He may have been fouled but nothing was called. I ask Mackey about that. When he was coaching, what would he say if he was chewing out a player for losing the ball and the player responds by saying that he was fouled? Mackey replies simply that coaches don’t want to hear excuses. If the referee did not blow his whistle then there was not a foul and the player must be tough enough to retain possession.

If a player has any trouble dealing with the level of contact in college basketball then no scout is going to even consider recommending him as an NBA prospect. Players must be able to accept a lot of contact and still finish at the basket in order to play at the NBA level.

Most of the early action involves perimeter players until a reserve big man checks into the game and receives some touches in the post. To be a legitimate NBA prospect, a post player must be able to catch, turn and shoot in traffic. Not long after he enters the game, this post player drops a poorly thrown pass. I ask Mackey if he holds that against the post player or against the guard who threw the pass. Mackey answers that it was the guard’s fault but notes that a great receiver -- an upper echelon post player like Tim Duncan -- would have batted the ball to the floor and then controlled it.

Mackey says that Moses Malone had small hands, so he would sometimes bat the ball until he could grab it. If a skilled player can get a hand on the ball then he will usually find some way to catch it, so this poorly thrown entry pass tells Mackey two things: the guard is not a good feeder of the post and the player he passed to does not have superb hands.

A few possessions later, the post player receives an entry pass that he can handle. His moves around the hoop are so mechanical and plodding that I thought that I was watching an old Godzilla movie made with stop-action photography.

Mackey puts it a different way -- the player has no “stuff” around the basket and is “not clever” with his low-post moves. A good post player moves crisply and decisively and if the defense cuts off his primary move then he immediately goes to a counter move. Stop his baseline hook shot and he spins to the middle for a short jumper. Instead, this player tries to use his size to muscle up a shot. When he is stopped short he has no counter move.

After the game, Mackey says that he does not need to see any of these players again this season. If they are smart, they will stay in school, develop their skills -- and earn a degree, because none is a serious NBA prospect at this point. Next year, Mackey will probably watch them play again to see if any of them have substantially improved.

A Scout’s-Eye View of the Game, Part II takes you inside a film session with Kevin Mackey and discuss how teams prepare for the draft.

thanks for posting that, was an interesting read

this was a great read. I think I could do this for a living, with some training.