Scouting

[Sonny44]

Just wondering. How does Geno et. al. go about scouting the opposition? Is there a full time scout or don't they bother until tournament time?

 

[rford53]

Just wondering. How does Geno et. al. go about scouting the opposition? Is there a full time scout or don't they bother until tournament time?

Each of the assistant coaches(Marissa and Shea) takes on the scouting chores for the next two opponents. They are always well prepared with strengths of the other team highlighted, with the goal of taking away that strength and making the other team do what they are not as good doing.( ie. shutting down their top scorer.) That being said Geno always stresses that if UConn plays it's game the way it wants to, what the other team wants to do or can do is irrelevant. They play to a standard of excellence, not necessarily an opponent.

 

[Fiftyish]

Just wondering. How does Geno et. al. go about scouting the opposition? Is there a full time scout or don't they bother until tournament time?

He checks the Boneyard.

 

[JoePgh]

I've never heard that UConn (or any college team) relies to any degree on live advance scouting. They rely on video of previous games -- often what the opponent makes available. I believe the unwritten rules are that a team can ask for any single previous game it wants for an upcoming opponent, and will respond to a similar request from the opponent. I'm not sure how that works if not every game of an opponent was captured on video.

I've heard that Marisa, Shea, and CD take turns scouting video for each upcoming opponent. That preparation is more significant than you might think -- I recall that after the Elite 8 game in 2014, Coach Blair of Texas A&M, as well as the A&M players in their postgame comments, noted that UConn was well prepared to make them do what was not their strength -- outside jump shooting.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I've never heard that UConn (or any college team) relies to any degree on live advance scouting. They rely on video of previous games -- often what the opponent makes available. I believe the unwritten rules are that a team can ask for any single previous game it wants for an upcoming opponent, and will respond to a similar request from the opponent. I'm not sure how that works if not every game of an opponent was captured on video.

I've heard that Marisa, Shea, and CD take turns scouting video for each upcoming opponent. That preparation is more significant than you might think -- I recall that after the Elite 8 game in 2014, Coach Blair of Texas A&M, as well as the A&M players in their postgame comments, noted that UConn was well prepared to make them do what was not their strength -- outside jump shooting.

College teams are forbidden from in-person scouting, except within a tournament where they can scout the other team (s) that they might play in that tournament. For example, the Kay Yow Fund was promoted at a Rutgers / Maryland Jimmy V game some years ago. Kay was present and addressed a group before the game with CVS, Jim Valvano's brother and some ESPN folks. She then had to be closeted away where she could only watch the game on TV and not see any of it in person, before being brought out at half time, because Maryland was on her schedule in the future. One of those times I think the NCAA should have given a waiver.

Game tapes are now handled through an exchange (i.e. a company although it may be part of the NCAA) , we had an Assistant Coach (at Arizona) do a "chalk talk" presentation and he explained it. There is some sort of rule about tapes involving fellow conference teams, although I don't know if it is a real rule or an "unwritten" rule. In the old days, teams sometimes relied on TV games for scouting - back in the late '90's my wife and I provided tapes of several televised games to the WBB office at their request (someone knew we taped almost every game on TV - now of course it is just DVR and erase).

 

[UcMiami]

CD often talks about which of the three had the 'scout' for one of the games - usually in context of 'we scouted and player 'x' had only taken 7 threes this season making one, so of course she came out and went 4 of 6 against us on threes'. They do serious team break downs and points of emphasis on all the teams they face - obviously easier within the league since you have seen the same teams and players year after year. They I think usually have four or five game films on each opponent and they have a video staff that organizes and creates highlights.

 

[Sonny44]

Very informative guys, thanks.