We want to make all the data you don’t use useful

This is something I have been thinking.

I have seen that most of the data that is looked at as useless is what we use. It is that data that tells where a player went on the court and how often he went there.

Not just to be nosy, but to learn more about that player’s habits. Most of the time, it has nothing to do with plays but pattern recognition for tendencies and repetition.

The more times a player does a certain thing, the more you can plan for when that thing comes. We do it all the time while playing basketball, but I do not think we do

it as much with analytics.

The analytics insights are often looking for a conclusion for the coach or scouting report, but often that is not not the best approach.

I think the best approach is to give a coach something that is open-ended that makes sense and get them to think about it in new ways. It is more theatrical than practical.

Once that coach gains your trust of helping him think in new ways, then you have an opening to give him more insights and even be riskier in your approach.