College Basketball Coach Scott Spinelli on How to Develop Under the Radar Talent Into Top Performers
Coach Spinelli is known for finding players that other schools are not heavily recruiting and developing them into his team’s best players.
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, April 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In college basketball, recruiting is a huge part of the success of your program. The competition amongst schools to bring in top-tier talent is fierce. However, there are only so many blue-chip 5 star recruits to go around. For most schools, the more significant challenge is finding the diamonds in the rough, the kids that for whatever reason get overlooked and under-recruited but have tremendous upside. Then once they're in your program, develop them into top-level talent while maximizing their full potential. It's a skill that only the elite coaches in college basketball have mastered.
One such individual is veteran coach Scott Spinelli. Coach Spinelli has spent time as an assistant coach at universities like Maryland, Nebraska, and Texas A&M. He was most recently the interim head coach for Boston College in 2021.
He has earned a status as an outstanding game tactician and recruiter throughout his career, which has seen him enjoy success at every level of basketball, including the most successful four-year run in Texas A&M school history where he was an integral part of recruiting NBA champion and All-Star Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Coach Spinelli’s unique process of developing NBA talent has proven success with Khris Middleton, Jake Layman, Alex Len, Jerome Robinson, and Ky Bowman.
Coach Spinelli is known for his ability to find players that other schools are not heavily recruiting, bring them into his program, and develop them into NBA talent. He has done it many times throughout his coaching career.
The development process of a college basketball player starts with recruiting. When you recruit a player, you watch their game and have a vision of how their skill set could fit in your system and lead to success as that skill set improves under your direction. And remember, every high school player develops mentally and physically at different stages.
*What did Coach Spinelli see in Khris Middleton?*
When Coach Spinelli first saw Khris Middleton, he had a silky smooth shooting stroke (something he could see translating to the college level). In addition, he saw efficiency, meaning it didn't take Khris a high volume of shots to impact the game. He also saw someone soft-spoken and humble enough to take coaching and learn from others. These factors led Coach Spinelli to identify Khris as a recruit with exceptional potential to develop into a star.
*Skill Development - Developing the player on the court*
The next step in player development happens on the court. Consistently working on basketball skills leads to improvement over time. Whenever Coach Spinelli gets on the floor with a player, he addresses the three principal basketball skills: shooting, passing, and ball handling.
Shooting can be broken up into three levels:
1. Finishing at the rim (keep your eye on the rim and see the ball go in)
2. Mid-range shooting (including mid-range pull-ups and floaters off one or two feet)
3. 3 Point shooting (maybe the most essential skill in today's game. The three-point line is the great equalizer - Coach will develop the player's ability to shoot 3s both 'CATCH AND SHOOT’ and 'OFF THE DRIBBLE’)
*Developing the mental side of the game*
The next part of development is the mental side of the game. Building confidence is a long process. Young basketball players doubt their abilities at times, so it is essential to communicate in a positive and upbeat manner. This will encourage the player to believe in themselves.
The mental side of player development is essential. In the social media era, kids are judged and ranked at earlier ages. These early rankings are not always the best metric for predicting long-term success. Players that are overlooked because they are developing at a slower pace can lose confidence in themselves. Coach Spinelli always reminds young players to “run their own race.” Spinelli has helped countless ‘late bloomers’ become great players over the years.
*Watching film helps identify player growth areas*
The next component in the development process is the use of film. By sitting down with a coach watching individual workouts, practices, and game films, a player can see visually what they are doing well and what they need to improve.
It is also essential to show areas of potential growth on film where the player has room to improve.
The other way to use film is to watch a highly developed player such as an NBA all-star with a similar skill set to your player. This allows the player to see what their skill set could look like once fully developed.
This method motivates and teaches the player how they are supposed to play. For example, at Texas A&M, Coach Spinelli would show Khris Middleton film of NBA legendary sharpshooter Ray Allen.
*Use advanced analytics to create a blueprint for success *
One of the most essential tools Coach Spinelli uses for player development is using advanced analytics. Advanced analytics will show the player the specific areas and situations where they are successful and efficient. Doing so creates a blueprint for each player’s development.
Analytics is a helpful tool because they are unbiased metrics (the numbers don't lie), so analytical tools can act as evidence of the point you want to prove as a coach to help a player understand the steps he/she needs to take in order to get better and ultimately hit their development goals.
“I love seeing players who were under-rated, under-recruited, and under-appreciated in high school out-perform other players in college who were ranked way ahead of them in their recruiting class. I get passionate about these guys,” Spinelli said.
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