Thursday, August 21, 2008

Advance scouts "obsess over basketball minutiae"

Great article in the NY Times about Team USA's scouts. Bill Branch, Todd Quinter, and Tony Ronzone have impeccable reputations and are highly respected within NBA circles.

According to the NYT story:

"Quinter and Branch have compiled a 37-page report on the Australians. They obsess over basketball minutiae like how often a player goes to his left, who a team’s defensive weak links are and what are the different options on a set play.

They also give a detailed report on each player. For example, Quinter said that Russia’s Andrei Kirilenko has a penchant for slipping screens and sealing his man in international play. Quinter also said Kirilenko is more aggressive at the Olympics than he is in the N.B.A."