Basketball Balanced Scorecard
introducing deeper analytics for dribbling drills
When we want to dissect dribbling in the offseason we needed to come up with deeper analysis around not just the ball but the effort put into the drills. There are several interesting measures that we can put into place to measure, or at a minimum, get a better understanding if there is progress.
It is important to separate out dribbling into three core areas;
stationary drills, speed and agility and balance.
Not all drills are created equally and not all drills will move a player forward within edge and flow. This is what we are primarily concerned with; creating drills, putting in work in the offseason - that will pay dividends during game situations and playoff runs. Otherwise why are we doing it.
There are some interesting situations that occur during the offseason. Inevitably, the athletes that are afforded the opportunity to play against better competition in the offseason seem to allows progress better than their counterparts(see our position on what Basketball Canada needs to continue investment in). A summer competitive team has to devote some time to team dynamics in order to be successful or at a minimum be competitive. We at Edge Flow Analytics see that it is still the players that devote themselves to offseason workouts whilst competing at high levels have the highest opportunity for success - they get closer to Edge and Flow more often.
Here are more ways to measure the effectiveness of off season dribbling;
Control: This measures how well a player maintains control of the ball while dribbling. It can be evaluated based on the number of times the player loses the ball during a dribbling drill or game.
Speed: This measures how fast a player can dribble while maintaining control of the ball. It can be evaluated based on the time it takes a player to complete a set dribbling course or drill.
Balance: Measures how well a player maintains their balance while dribbling. It can be evaluated based on the number of times a player loses their balance or has to stop and regain their balance during a dribbling drill or game.
Agility: Measures how well a player can change direction while dribbling. It can be evaluated based on the number of times a player successfully completes a dribbling drill that involves changing direction quickly.
For each of these measures we can use complex analysis that would require either sensors or camera’s or a combination of both. Granted , there are much easier ways to measure improvement in the above, nevertheless here are the more detailed statistical viewpoints;
Control:
Dribble speed variability: This measures the consistency of the player's dribble speed. It can be calculated as the standard deviation of the time it takes the player to complete a dribbling drill or course.
Dribble path variability: This measures how straight the player's dribbling path is. It can be calculated as the average deviation of the player's dribbling path from a straight line.
Speed:
Acceleration: This measures how quickly the player can increase their dribble speed. It can be calculated as the change in speed over time, using calculus.
Deceleration: This measures how quickly the player can decrease their dribble speed. It can be calculated in a similar way to acceleration.
Balance:
Center of pressure: This measures the location of the player's center of pressure while dribbling. It can be measured using pressure sensors in the player's shoes or by analyzing video footage.
Joint angles: This measures the angles of the player's joints while dribbling. It can be measured using motion capture technology or by analyzing video footage.
Agility:
Reaction time: This measures how quickly the player can react to changes in the dribbling course or game situation. It can be measured using reaction time tests or by analyzing video footage.
Turning radius: This measures the minimum turning radius the player can achieve while dribbling at a certain speed. It can be calculated using trigonometry based on the player's speed and turn angle.