Excerpt from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
When evaluating basketball talent, ESPN National Director of Recruiting Paul Biancardi looks at a multitude of things other than scoring and rebounding.
There's not one particular setting Biancardi relies on when taking a look at a prospect.
"There's high school, game and practice," Biancardi said. "There's summer grassroots games and practice and there's camps and then there's individual workouts. I try to see kids on different platforms because you see different things and once you get them in the evaluation settings "
Biancardi was a college coach for more than 20 years prior to joining ESPN, including being named the Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2004 while at Wright State.
He's very thorough when it comes to judging the physical ability of a prospect.
"I'm looking for physical measurables, athleticism, speed, quickness,vertical, wingspan, body type, strength, percentage of body fat," Biancardi said. "Do you need to gain weight or lose weight? Where is he deficient from a muscular standpoint?"
Scoring, the knack to score, shooting ability, passing, ball handling and basketball IQ highlight the skills evaluation.
"I look at the basketball IQ and can he read the game?"Biancardi said. "Read the possession or is he just a guy that plays the game and doesn't really think the game. Can he slow himself down to figure things out and still play with intensity? To me that's huge."
"That's the sticking point with a lot of guys. A lot of guys have that athleticism and other guys have skills and some guys have both, but they can't process the game and play the game at the same time."
Energy level, body language and being a good teammate are important things Biancardi looks at.
"Are they an enthusiastic player?," Biancardi said. "Or do they just play hard with a poker face? They don't have any emotion, but they're playing hard Can they keep their emotions intact while still playing with emotion? Can they not become emotional when they lose their mind? I'm looking for them keep their mind into the game or do they in a moments notice just lose and they're out to lunch?"
Being able to impact the game without scoring is another part of Biancardi's evaluation.
"Can they play defense the entire game?," Biancardi said."Cover their man help their teammates and get a defensive rebound? Can they rebound on both ends? How about making assists to their teammates?"
Versatility isn't just about having the ability to score in different ways.
"It's versatility playing the game," Biancardi said."I put that under the category of skills because all those things I just mentioned, they're still skills. It's not just ball skills. It's defensive skills, it's passing skills, it's rebounding skills. I look on and off the ball."
The lack of a strong work ethic and not being coachable also impact Biancardi's evaluation along with also not being a good teammate.
"These things can prevent talent from expanding, and thus you have the guy we look at and say, 'Boy, he's really talented, but he didn't make it or he didn't play up to his potential'," he said. "I think that phrase is so important for the kids to read and that's how I evaluate.The person can stop the player from reaching their potential."
Biancardi likes to see a highly competitive player that hates to lose regardless of his performance.
"If the guy has a great game, but his team loses how happy is he?," Biancardi said."If his team wins and he had a sub-par game. How happy is he? I want him to be happy after the win with the sub-par game, but I don't want him to be happy after the great game he lost because that's telling me he's playing for his numbers versus his team."
