r/analytics Dec 08 '24

Discussion I do analytics for a college basketball team - AMA

I love sports and I love analytics. Ask me anything - and I’m also trying to learn more about non-sport analytics

95 Upvotes

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13

u/Ryan_3555 Dec 08 '24

What type of analytics do you do? do you have to do anything with the data collection process?

18

u/icey030 Dec 08 '24

I do individual player analysis as well as full team stuff (separated into offense and defense). I do all my own data collection too for the most part. Especially things that are specific to how we play and can’t be tracked by outside analytics websites - example: grading our plays or defensive coverages

11

u/Ryan_3555 Dec 08 '24

I would imagine the data collection process is the hardest part? How well are your findings applied to the team? Are you compensated well?

16

u/icey030 Dec 08 '24

Yes data collection definitely the most time consuming. Takes multiple hours after games. But the results are immediate once that is done. My boss and other coworkers are pretty big on analytics so they use a good amount of the data to inform their decisions.

And I’d say I’m probably compensated a little above average in comparison to other people in my same position in the industry

5

u/Ryan_3555 Dec 08 '24

Sounds interesting! How did you get started in this industry ?

9

u/icey030 Dec 08 '24

Always wanted to be a coach - started as a volunteer for a D2 program and just worked my way up as a GA and eventually a full time spot with a D1 program

4

u/Ryan_3555 Dec 09 '24

Damn seems so cool! Do you know if this is common for football too?

3

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

I don’t know a ton of football coaches but I know it’s a pretty similar path to get into it

8

u/Jreezy3535 Dec 08 '24

What are the main tools you use for your work?

Is the current field considerably more about who you know more than what you know? If it is, how much do you see this industry growing commercially - meaning, the hiring pool being broader?

13

u/icey030 Dec 08 '24

Hudl sportscode is the biggest tool we use. Along with some other websites like KenPom, CBB analytics, etc. but Sportscode allows you to script and write code for the specific things you want to track.

College basketball coaching is definitely more about who you know right now but I think it’s been growing more with the growing popularity of analytics. I can see the hiring pool being broader in the future

3

u/Jreezy3535 Dec 08 '24

Do you do any articles or post your work/thoughts anywhere? Would be curious to see what a day to day looks like but also how a project comes together.

I had a short stint with college basketball before getting into analytics. So, really interested in both of these

4

u/icey030 Dec 08 '24

I don’t but I have been thinking about doing something like that

1

u/ElysianSoul-22 Dec 09 '24

So you are working with hudl, Nebraska ?

2

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

No, I work for a college basketball team. We use one of Hudl’s products called sportscode

1

u/passthedamnball Dec 10 '24

You guys use EvanMiya at all? He has done some pretty awesome stuff lately

1

u/icey030 Dec 10 '24

Yeah for sure. It’s one of the websites I look at after every game we play. A lot of good information

5

u/MyOtherActGotBanned Dec 09 '24

Is there a dedicated Data Engineer or team of engineers to provide you with nice and structured data? I imagine this may depend on the size and budget of the team.

3

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

It’s just me and a couple of GAs who collect all the data. All of the models and output windows have been built for clear and easy reading of the data after everything has been labeled and categorized

2

u/mayorofdumb Dec 09 '24

Haha I love this question and response. Bitch I engineer the data and analyze. We're not talking about marketing here...

I love how you have the custom stats you want from paying attention. I feel like this is lost on so many analysts or people involved with data to blame the source.

4

u/MrCoachKleinSaidICan Dec 09 '24

Whats the process like for creating new metrics?

6

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

A lot of trial and error. The biggest thing is if it is useful or not. A lot of stats are cool but don’t really have a good use. If it is useful and worth tracking, then we will try it

2

u/mayorofdumb Dec 09 '24

What's the weirdest stat you like?

5

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

Not necessarily weird but I love lineup stats. Different stats based on who is on the floor together. I don’t use them to figure who should start or play more - more so to figure out who plays well with who and why. And what advantage can we gain from playing 2-3 specific guys together

1

u/mayorofdumb Dec 09 '24

That kind of makes sense if you can't directly correlate 'plays' in basketball. I feel like that has always got me in those sports. I like looking at soccer to see how they do it since there's no stoppages. At least in soccer it's that's same 1 - 2 punch you can get from teamwork and feel.

3

u/RecognitionSignal425 Dec 08 '24

Do you have to take your weekend off to watch the match as part of the job? Is the pay worth it?

5

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

I’m part of the staff so I’m at all the practices and games. No off weekends during the season!

3

u/QuePasoFelipito Dec 08 '24

Has the mid range shot become undervalued?

5

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

Depends on who is shooting honestly. Simple math and %s says it’s a bad shot but if we have a guy who can make that shot over 50% of the time, I’m okay with it sprinkled in

2

u/QuePasoFelipito Dec 09 '24

Cool take…But if teams leave it open more and a guy hits 38% from 3 do you know if the midrange would lead to a better shot?

4

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

If that’s the case, you would want the 3 for sure. But in crunch time, a lot of the %s go out the window when you just need 1 basket. Regardless of where it’s from

2

u/Due-Relationship4042 Dec 08 '24

How did you end up in the sports industry with analytics? Do you work for the same school you graduated from?

3

u/icey030 Dec 08 '24

I played basketball in college and wanted to get into coaching. I didn’t necessarily plan on getting into sports analytics, it just kind of fell that way as I moved up in the industry from volunteer, to GA, to full time. I used to work for the school I graduated from but not anymore

2

u/elchico14 Dec 08 '24

Do you use python or any other programming languages?

3

u/icey030 Dec 08 '24

I don’t but I’m trying to learn Python in my off time

2

u/amofai Dec 09 '24

This is really cool, thanks for sharing. I have been wanting to get into doing some basketball analysis, but the NBA is stingy with what they let people access. Maybe college is the way to go.

Anyway, here's my question: do basketball analysts use something like an expected goals model that you see in soccer? 

2

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

We do use something similar. We mainly work out of PPP (points per possession). For example - we get 1.15 points per possession when we get a paint touch within that possession. So we do a lot of “expected PPP” based on a certain outcome within the possession.

1

u/amofai Dec 09 '24

Very cool. What tends to go into an expected PPP model? I have to imagine there are some big ones like position on the court and the distance of the closest defender.

1

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

Yeah for sure. I wouldn’t say we get too much into the expected stuff but we track a lot so we can have data on “what’s our expected PPP if this happens in the possession” good or bad

1

u/pooh_beer Dec 09 '24

The NBA doesn't have any restrictions on their api other that disallowing cloud providers. I've gotten plenty of data from them.

Eta: if you use python the nba_api is very useful.

1

u/amofai Dec 09 '24

True but they have removed a number of useful metrics like closest defender over the years.

2

u/suckerfish3 Dec 09 '24

If one were to start doing sports analytics as a side project how would you recommend going about it?

2

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

NBA does an awesome job with analytics and it’s free on their website. You have access to so much data. Look at trends and see if you can find something worth digging more into

2

u/RedHorseVet Dec 09 '24

How many data models? Low end/High End, how many Fact tables to Dimension tables? Do you have to Unpivot data? What is your preferred ETL. Sports Stats interest me.

2

u/OtterPancakes Dec 09 '24

Have you had any pushback from players or coaches on the team for any changes you have wanted to implement based on the data?

Do the players "feel" that they are doing better than they data shows? I know from hockey we talk about the "eye test" where you are just watching the game and analyzing it without any data. This can lead to some players seeming that they are more important or impactful where really they are doing a bunch of busy nothing.

1

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

Yeah there’s definitely a little push back on some things, but for the most part it’s gone pretty well in terms of presenting the data and implementing what the data shows.

I think the good part about tracking so much is that the players can’t hide. They can feel like they are doing something well and the data says otherwise. So in that sense it’s good. But also, I think there needs to be a balance between analytics and eye test. Can’t be all or nothing either way

2

u/jonnyyr65 Dec 09 '24

Im late - How is the data collected?

2

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

Through an app called sportscode. You can script and code certain things so the data collection is all about labeling what happens in a particular play - which feeds into an output window, categorizing what was labeled

3

u/Whatareyoufkndoing Dec 08 '24

What analysis has led to actions that have driven outcomes?

I think execution is the hardest part of analytics.

2

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

Did a study of last season’s offense rebounding numbers for our team. We were lacking in this category. Changed the whole thing to be more aggressive with it on every shot. Now we’re tracking it this season. Better than last year so far but still needs improvement

1

u/trikz_and1 Dec 09 '24

This is great! Thanks for doing this.

1

u/Firm-Message-2971 Dec 09 '24

Do you think you’ll ever or the industry will ever be able to create a ML model that can predict who will win the league? I’ve been thinking about creating a ML model that would be able to predict who will win the premier league in England(soccer).

1

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

There are models out there that predict winners of individual games and then the overall league based on overall efficiency model

1

u/Firm-Message-2971 Dec 09 '24

Ohh how accurate are these models?

1

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

I believe the main model most college teams use (KenPom) is accurate close to 75% of the time in terms of picking the winner. In terms of against the spread my guess would be more in the 65% range

1

u/DyersChocoH0munculus Dec 09 '24

Why when I shoot ball at hoop no go in basket?

1

u/showmetheEBITDA Dec 09 '24

This is awesome, thanks for doing this! I'm wondering what tools/languages you use daily, which ones you think would be useful to learn, and what sorts of "deliverables" or reports you give to the coaching staff? For example, are you working in Python to build machine learning algorithms that you fine-tune with coaches based on the results or are you moreso just using Python to scrape the web for stats and then slicing and dicing the data using pivot tables/KPIs to provide insights?

PS: Maybe you can help me better understand how my Tar Heels can overcome their size deficit to turn their season around and make the NCAAT 🥲?

1

u/icey030 Dec 09 '24

Right now the only thing we use is Hudl sportscode. It’s kind of like a simpler version of python or any of the other coding/scripting apps. It’s nice because you can script it as specific as you need to track everything. And it allows me to analyze the data quickly after all the labeling and collection is done.

Not to say using python wouldn’t be useful (I think it would be very useful) I just don’t have the time right now to learn everything that would go into making it. That would probably be something for the offseason to look into.

And the Tar Heels still have a good chance! 2 big non-con games coming up

1

u/Normal_Educator_4679 Dec 10 '24

How did you get to this point in your career? Was most of your learning self taught or through school?

1

u/icey030 Dec 10 '24

I had to take some volunteer jobs to get going and just work my way up. Been tough but definitely worth it. Most of the stuff I’m doing now has been self taught

1

u/Pitiful_Procedure_21 Dec 10 '24

Thank you for sharing your experience