What was the name of Tonto's horse? (Ok, ok. Who's Tonto?)
Some coaches believe in scouting, while others do not. I was kind of in the middle. Because of distance, time, and energy, I limited my time scouting. Now, John Wooden said he did not scout. Of course, if you have the talent he had, maybe you don't need to. I have seen many forms of scouting and you can go on the internet and find forms that are available. I received scouting reports on game programs with notes written everywhere. Not the best way to do it in my opinion. It is much easier to scout not being the Lone Ranger. A second pair of hands and eyes are very beneficial when scouting. It also is
ideal to scout a team more than once before you play them if possible.
Three Significant Areas to Scout:
Player Tendencies: Did the player have a favorite spot(s) on the floor that they shot from? You can learn some tendencies even when they warm up. Were they right or left handed? Could they dribble penetrate equally well with either hand? Did they prefer catching and shooting or did they more often shoot off the dribble? Did they move well without the ball? Do they crash the boards? A really important scouting point for me was were they poised? How did they react after a turnover or a missed shot? If they were a leading scorer for their team, did they play hard on the defensive end of the floor? What did they do in transition? How did they react to coaching and to being substituted for? Are they patient offensively? Can you NOT guard them? Should you double them or double off them?
Team Tendencies: The obvious things you want are base offense and defense. How do they guard the post? If they are man, is it a pack or a push type? Do they trap? Do they extend the defense? What do they play in blob
situations defensively man or zone? Do they run continuity type man offense? Do they run set plays and how are they communicated? Do they press? Can they be pressed? How deep is their bench? Who are their best
and worst 3 point shooters and free throw shooters?
Coach Tendencies: Yes we got them! Is the coach quiet or emotional. Does he call frequent time outs or allow his team to play through runs? Does he change offense or defense after a time out? What does he go to when
he needs a score? Will he adjust at half time? Will he try to take away your best player(s)? Will he use "junk" defenses (Box & 1, Triangle & 2, etc.)? If he is over matched, will he try to slow the game down? Is he predictable or unpredictable? Does he seem to have a substitution pattern? How does he
relate to the officials?
If possible, it it always best to scout a team more than once. Much easier to
determine if what you saw the first time was an anomaly or is it a pattern?
If you can find a fan to visit with, you can also sometimes find out worthwhile information about injuries or team health. Once you have a
scouting report, it becomes your responsibility as to how it is used. Do you
give some or all of the information to your players? Do you share only with
the members of the coaching staff?
Now according to some sources John Wooden never scouted an opponent.
Truth be known, he was to have believed in focusing his attention on his own
team's execution rather than on making adjustments based on a scouting report. Don't know if that is completely true or not and I am NOT going to ask
Bill Walton. (He talks to much for my taste.). Now the cynic in me would say
when you have or had the talent level that Coach Wooden had at UCLA you
don't need to scout. I doubt if any of us have the same advantage so I believe if you are a high school coach you will want to do at least some scouting. Even looking online or in newspaper box scores can sometimes give you some helpful information. (I liked to see who the poorest free throw
shooters were.). Also, if your conference provides team and individual stats
during the season they can be beneficial in your game preparation. For example, who's their best three point percentage shooters?
Because of the unusual circumstances we are living in, the real key question
to ask about scouting is ....... "Can we get in the gym with or without a mask?"
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