A Whirlwind of Recruiting

My first post on HoopVision was going to be an analysis on the impact of a top-15 recruiting class (according to Rivals.com) in both college basketball and football. In a year when Kentucky wins the national championship after its third consecutive #1 ranked recruiting class, the impact of the one-and-done rule seemed to have manifested itself into one of the best college basketball teams in the last two decades. In the analysis versus football, we should have seen that a top recruiting class in basketball has a bigger impact in the first year than it does in football, where players stay in school much longer.

However, the correlation between winning percentage and X number of years after a top-15 recruiting class was low. Very little change from year one down the road. So, we decided to keep the analysis to basketball only and look at what a top recruiting class does to a team.

A Video Charter’s Guide To The Final Four | Stat Geek Idol

The following is the third (Final Four) post I wrote for TeamRankings' Stat Geek Idol. For more information on the competition click here.

Last week, I attempted to quantify Wisconsin’s Swing Offense through the use of video charting. With the Final Four, I set out on a similar goal for Louisville, Ohio State, Kentucky, and Kansas.

To analyze each offense I watched each offensive possession from the Elite Eight of the Final Four teams in slow motion and charted categories such as: number of passes, shot location, defender proximity, number of dribbles the shooter takes, time of possession, number of players crashing the boards, and more. When it was all said and done, I was about 3% closer to becoming a video charting expert.

Video Charting The Swing Offense Of The Wisconsin Badgers | Stat Geek Idol

The following is the second (Sweet 16) post I wrote for TeamRankings' Stat Geek Idol. For more information on the competition click here.

The Wisconsin Badgers, led by Coach Bo Ryan, are a familiar topic of discussion for stat geeks.

The foundation of advanced statistics in basketball is tempo free. That is, numbers that are not influenced by the pace a team plays at. The Badgers are of course known for their slow pace. Without looking at Wisconsin on a per possession basis, you cannot compare them to teams that play faster.

To analyze Bo Ryan’s Swing Offense I watched each Wisconsin possession versus Vanderbilt in the Round of 32 in slow motion and charted categories such as: number of passes, shot location, defender proximity, number of dribbles the shooter takes, time of possession, and more.

Quantity Over Quality: Getting More Whacks At The Pinata | Stat Geek Idol

The following is a post I wrote for TeamRankings' Stat Geek Idol. For more information on the competition click here.

Earth shattering revelation: you have to make shots to win basketball games. This is an undeniable truth inherent in the great game Dr. Naismith created.

More controversial statement: you DON’T have to shoot well to win basketball games.

These two statements may seem inconsistent on the surface, but in fact are both true. Not every possession consists of one shot. Empty possessions are ones that end in a turnover before a shot is put up. On the contrary, other possessions consist of several shots via the offensive rebound.

Simply put, the quantity of shots you take is just as important as the quality.

Bleeding Orange and Worst Nightmares

I would like to take this time to talk about the recent events at my dad's alma mater, Syracuse University.  Each Syracuse basketball game was like a holiday for the two of us, as we made sure we would always be able to not only watch, but watch the games together.  My dad raised me to be a basketball junkie and to love Syracuse basketball, hence "Bleeding Orange."  The accusations that have come about against Bernie Fine the past week or so, and especially two days ago, have been shocking and humbling.  This has hit me on a personal level, as an avid supporter of the program, I never could have imagined a scandal like this occurring to my favorite program.  Two days ago, ESPN released a recording of a conversation in 2002 between Bernie's wife, Laurie and the main accuser, Bobby Davis, that all but sealed Fine's fate.  The University did the obvious when the recording came public, firing Fine effective immediately.  This circumstance is different than the Penn State scandal for now.  Jim Boeheim adamantly came to Fine's defense last week and has since apologized.  If it comes out that Boeheim and others in the University knew about this problem, Syracuse is looking at an eerily similar predicament to Penn State.

Weekend Watch

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving, had some family time, watched football and of course some college basketball.
This is our first Weekend Watch post of the year. We are excited to bring you the fan some interesting and engaging content throughout the course of the year.
This past week featured some of the most entertaining games of the non-conference portion of the schedule. This weekend is a relatively light weekend.

Marathon Madness

Ladies and gentleman, college basketball is officially back.

Take a deep breath, relax, and get comfortable because the craziness is just beginning.  The 24 hours College Hoops Marathon is set to start at the completion of Monday Night Football tonight and go straight thru midnight tomorrow night.  This is usually where we would write about the "Weekend That Was" but with the rare Tip-Off Madness approaching, we decided to discuss the 4 games that intrigued us most during the madness.