Opponent scouting checklist

What to find out about an opponent, where to look, and how to turn it into a one-page plan: identity, offense, defense, transition, special situations, tendencies and players.

Turn it into a plan

Scout for the few things that will change what your team does: how the opponent scores, how they defend, who has the ball late, and what they run out of timeouts and out of bounds. Write down only what you would act on, then boil it down to three things every player can remember.

Where to look

Game film, ideally two games: one recent, and one against a team that plays like yours.
Box scores for the season: who takes the shots, who gets to the line, and who turns it over.
A live game if you can get to one: timeouts, substitutions, and the bench's calls are easier to catch in person.
What your own staff and players already know from last season or summer play; check it against this season before you rely on it.

Team identity

Start with the big picture, so every later note has a place to go.

Pace: do they push after makes and misses, or walk it up and run offense?
Where their points come from: at the rim, from three, at the free throw line, or off turnovers.
Their base defense, and whether they pressure the ball full court, half court or not at all.

Their offense

Know the actions you'll see most, not every set they've ever run.

Their main set or motion, and the two or three actions it keeps coming back to.
Who handles the ball in ball screens, and what the screener does after: roll, pop or slip.
What they run out of a timeout, and who it is for.
How they attack a zone, if you might play one.

Their defense

Your offense should know what it will see before the first possession.

Man, zone or switching, and whether it changes by quarter or after timeouts.
How they guard ball screens: hedge, drop, switch or trap.
Where they help from, and which of your players they are likely to leave open.
When they press, what it looks like, and where it traps.

Transition

Easy baskets decide close games; find where theirs come from.

When they run: after misses, after makes, or only after turnovers.
How many they send to the offensive glass, and how many get back.
Who stops the ball in their transition defense.

Special situations

Out-of-bounds plays and late-game sets repeat; one clip can be worth a possession.

Their baseline and sideline out-of-bounds plays, and who the first look is for.
How they break pressure.
What they run with the clock running down, at the end of a quarter and at the end of the game.

Tendencies

Habits are what you can take away.

The habit you most want to take away, and the one you want to invite.
How they do on the three things that swing most games: turnovers, offensive rebounds and free throws.
Anything that changes when their leading scorer sits.

Players

A card per player you have to prepare for, not a biography.

Number, position and role: scorer, shooter, driver, screener or defender.
Strong hand and favorite move, and whether they shoot off the catch or off the dribble.
One way to guard them, in a few words your players will remember.

Turn it into a plan

Pick the three things every player must know walking in, and say them the same way every time.
Write each priority as "when they do this, we do that", and add what you'll do if they adjust.
Choose what you will take away on defense and what you will attack on offense, and practice both before the game.
Keep the players' version to one page; the staff can keep the rest.

Put it on paper

Print a scouting report template with these sections, free and without an account.

Scouting in Ball Coach? See how to prepare for an opponent in the app.