Basic Skills Test

#1
R

reno tony

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Messages
231
Likes
167
#1
Do you think there should be some type of basic skills test for high school players to give coaches an idea of their abilities? Some standardized passing, dribbling, foul shooting, 3 pt shooting, defensive posture, pull up jumper, setting screens and catching type of testing that could be posted on youtube or somewhere to give coaches an insight into the basic skills of the player. I have seen many recruiting videos of players on youtube but those are normally highlights during games. Others are a type of skills test but only what they want to show you.

I believe coaches run into problems when they get recruits that can't pass, dribble or even set a simple screen and might not have the time or the additional help to fix these problems so they manifest themselves into bigger problems during games.

Instead of fine tuning a players skills the coaches have to teach them the basics and build on that... takes a lot of time and help. Maybe a skills test would let the coaches know what they are in for with a particular player. Just a thought.
 
#2
#2
reno tony said:
Do you think there should be some type of basic skills test for high school players to give coaches an idea of their abilities? Some standardized passing, dribbling, foul shooting, 3 pt shooting, defensive posture, pull up jumper, setting screens and catching type of testing that could be posted on youtube or somewhere to give coaches an insight into the basic skills of the player. I have seen many recruiting videos of players on youtube but those are normally highlights during games. Others are a type of skills test but only what they want to show you.

I believe coaches run into problems when they get recruits that can't pass, dribble or even set a simple screen and might not have the time or the additional help to fix these problems so they manifest themselves into bigger problems during games.

Instead of fine tuning a players skills the coaches have to teach them the basics and build on that... takes a lot of time and help. Maybe a skills test would let the coaches know what they are in for with a particular player. Just a thought.
Click to expand...
Why would they do that? They go watch their high school and AAU games. I think they should be able to find that stuff out there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#3
#3
Phew!
I thought this was going to be a test for VolNation posters.
I didn't even study last night.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 9 people
#4
#4
If all a coach does is watch a HUDL vid before offering a scholly, then he/she should prob find another line of work. That's one reason that they go watch games live to get as much info as possible concerning their recruiting profile.

Probably, you are wondering why so many P5 bball players have rotten basic skills that "surely coaches missed in recruiting". I'm sure they didn't miss most of that. It's more the fact that EVERY player that a coach is capable of getting is a "project" in some fashion. The basic skill levels would probably skyrocket if coaches would decide to get quality skills 6-3 power forwards and 6-2 wings that are so-so athletically. The problem is that the 6-8 power forwards and 6-6 wings (with less basic skills) faced game after game would destroy them with their length and athleticism, even though they can't make a free throw or an accurate 2-hand chest pass.

Then that coach would be called the "Dooley" of hoops, and would be summarily fired soon thereafter. Coaches often take size / athleticism in hopes that basic skills can be developed with coaching, hard work, a RS year, and time to develop. By the time a Jr/Sr 6-9 / 220# power forward is dunking, blocking shots, and rebounding in the paint ... he is probably come "light years" in his development as a BBall player from his Sr year in HS.

It's why college recruiters often go for "potential" over "ability" when evaluating HS talent.
 
#8
#8
Actually, you would find out quite a bit more about players with a skills test, as video highlights and watching a couple of games in person can be misleading. Is it possible to work out players during visits? Is that done? That would be a way to assess prospects, but I don't think that is really done on visits. Some prospects, in all sports, are seen in our camps--and that is an excellent way to gauge a player's abilities--but most of the recruits we chase (in basketball and football) are from other states and do not attend our camps. A few do, but not many.

A lot of prospects put up gaudy numbers in high school, but sometimes they are just physically bigger and more athletic than the competition, and that is not the case in college, and so if their skills are not great they will struggle to excel in college. Jones and Graves are examples, IMO. Some kids come from areas where the high school competition is not great--but then if they're good they can play AAU and compete against better players. You get some kids that shoot great but are not athletic--and then the get to college, against bigger, quicker defenders, and they can't get their shots off. Sharp talent evaluation is crucial.

I think UT had a definite record under PS of sucking the offensive talent out of players because of her obsession with defense. I saw a lot of Vols completely lose their offensive confidence over the course of their UT career. Ace Clement and Semeka Randall pop to mind. We won a national title Randall's freshman year but her offensive game deteriorated steadily thereafter. Clement averaged something like 40 points a game in high school and could barely draw iron as a senior. Bjorklund, whom I liked, never really improved. There are many examples. Players do well offensively when they are part of a well-drilled, cohesive system in which players know their roles and there is chemistry, which in turn builds team and individual confidence. We rarely seem to have either. There are periods where we'll play well offensively for a stretch--but in every game we have multiple stretches in which we are terrible, and that's a problem. And here's another problem: We seem to have very little on-court leadership. Traditionally, if you've got a good point guard whom everyone respects, she can be your leader, get everybody on the same page, run the offense and encourage those who are screwing up. We do not have that person. You're certainly not going to get it from a true freshman, and I don't really see any of our vets filling the role either. They can't if they are only playing sporadically. Burdick and Harrison were good players and good leaders for us last year--though not ideal because they were not guards.
 
Last edited:
#9
#9
On most players visits to schools they will work out/play pick-up with the team, and they usually watch a practice, though I don't think I have ever heard of a player actually doing on court work with a coach - not sure what the NCAA rules would be on that, nor what a school's liability would be if an injury occurred while under supervision of a coach.

Most coaches ask for specific feedback from their players after a visit and i know some coaches have stopped recruiting a player based on that feedback.

I assume you are talking about sort of NFL combine test - but every year we see how worthless a lot of those results are. With women's basketball which is one of them most team oriented games i think that kind of a test would be pretty worthless. Watching a player in their team environment and how they work with their teammates and how their teammates relate to them is the best evaluation a discerning coach can get.

On of the complaints current among college coaches is that players spend too much time working with personal trainers and not enough time being well coached in a team environment - a skills test would just emphasize that individualism coaches are complaining about.
 
#11
#11
What I have witnessed is a decline in skills from almost every player we get. Over the last few years we have signed some great shooters in HS only to watch em not be able to hit a lake with a rock at UT.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top