17 October 2026
Ep 2045 Are You Scouting Your Opener, or Just Guarding Ghosts?
Basketball Coach Unplugged (A Basketball Coaching Podcast)
About
https://teachhoops.com/
Why the best game one scouting report fits on an index card, and what to do when last year's film lies to you.
The best scouting report Coach Steve Collins ever handed a team fit on an index card. The worst one was eleven pages long, stapled by hand, and built on film of three starters who were not even on the floor that night. His team spent the first quarter guarding ghosts and lost by nineteen.
That loss changed how he thought about game one. The opener is the hardest scout of the entire season. Rosters have turned over, your own rotation is still a guess, and last year's film is more rumor than report. In this three part deep dive, Steve walks through how to gather information that actually holds up in October, how to get it off the paper and into your players' bodies, and how to keep the scout from turning into a list of reasons to be nervous.
Part 1: Gathering the Scout
Why you scout yourself first, and the one hour of your own scrimmage film that is worth five hours of theirs
Scouting the coach instead of the roster, because players graduate but a coach's habits after a made basket, out of a timeout, and under two minutes almost never change
The ten minute phone call to a league coach who played them last February
Finding three things instead of thirty, and why a long scout usually protects the coach more than it prepares the team
Part 2: Getting It to Stick
Two scouting reports: the staff version with everything, and the index card version your players actually carry
The three lines that were on Steve's best card, and the fourteen point win that followed
Teaching the scout with bodies instead of a whiteboard, and why your scout team is the most important group in the gym during game week
The left handed sophomore who studied film on his own, became the opponent's best player for three days, and held the real one to seven
Preparing principles instead of predictions, so your team has an answer ready for a press, a zone, or a switch it never saw on film
How to split game week: Monday is about us, ten to fifteen minutes of them on Tuesday and Wednesday, a calm walkthrough Thursday
Why nothing new gets installed for game one: a new set on Wednesday is a turnover on Friday
Part 3: Game Night
Why the first four minutes of the game are the real scout, and the one job to give somebody on your bench
The senior manager with a spiral notebook who caught a timeout set in a sectional final and won a game without scoring a point
Halftime as your second scout: two minutes with your staff, then one or two adjustments, never five
Scouting yourself again on Saturday morning, because your next opponent is already watching that film
How an overbuilt scout sent a team out of the locker room tight, quiet, and playing scared
The ratio Steve landed on: for every thing you tell them about the opponent, tell them one thing about us
Why your last words before tip should be about who you are, not who they are
Chapters
00:00 Coach Unplugged intro
00:15 The eleven page scout and the index card
01:04 Pre-roll: TeachHoops.com scouting templates and game week plans
01:25 Guarding ghosts: why game one is the hardest scout of the year
02:20 Takeaway 1: Scout yourself first
03:09 Takeaway 2: Scout the coach, not the roster
04:22 Takeaway 3: Three things, not thirty
06:08 Takeaway 4: The staff knows everything, the players get the card
07:15 Takeaway 5: Teach it with bodies, and the left handed sophomore
09:08 Mid-roll: TeachHoops.com scout team drills and the coaching community
09:31 Takeaway 6: Principles, not predictions
11:35 Takeaway 7: The real scout starts at tip off, halftime, and Saturday film
13:41 Takeaway 8: Do not let the scout scare them
16:11 Scouting can sharpen a team. It cannot replace one.
16:17 The index card challenge and post-roll
This week's challenge: Write your game one scouting report on a single index card. Three lines. If it does not fit, it does not go. Hand the card to your players and keep the rest for yourself.
Format: Deep Dive, three parts.
Resources: Scouting templates, game week plans, scout team drills, practice plans, courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Why the best game one scouting report fits on an index card, and what to do when last year's film lies to you.
The best scouting report Coach Steve Collins ever handed a team fit on an index card. The worst one was eleven pages long, stapled by hand, and built on film of three starters who were not even on the floor that night. His team spent the first quarter guarding ghosts and lost by nineteen.
That loss changed how he thought about game one. The opener is the hardest scout of the entire season. Rosters have turned over, your own rotation is still a guess, and last year's film is more rumor than report. In this three part deep dive, Steve walks through how to gather information that actually holds up in October, how to get it off the paper and into your players' bodies, and how to keep the scout from turning into a list of reasons to be nervous.
Part 1: Gathering the Scout
Why you scout yourself first, and the one hour of your own scrimmage film that is worth five hours of theirs
Scouting the coach instead of the roster, because players graduate but a coach's habits after a made basket, out of a timeout, and under two minutes almost never change
The ten minute phone call to a league coach who played them last February
Finding three things instead of thirty, and why a long scout usually protects the coach more than it prepares the team
Part 2: Getting It to Stick
Two scouting reports: the staff version with everything, and the index card version your players actually carry
The three lines that were on Steve's best card, and the fourteen point win that followed
Teaching the scout with bodies instead of a whiteboard, and why your scout team is the most important group in the gym during game week
The left handed sophomore who studied film on his own, became the opponent's best player for three days, and held the real one to seven
Preparing principles instead of predictions, so your team has an answer ready for a press, a zone, or a switch it never saw on film
How to split game week: Monday is about us, ten to fifteen minutes of them on Tuesday and Wednesday, a calm walkthrough Thursday
Why nothing new gets installed for game one: a new set on Wednesday is a turnover on Friday
Part 3: Game Night
Why the first four minutes of the game are the real scout, and the one job to give somebody on your bench
The senior manager with a spiral notebook who caught a timeout set in a sectional final and won a game without scoring a point
Halftime as your second scout: two minutes with your staff, then one or two adjustments, never five
Scouting yourself again on Saturday morning, because your next opponent is already watching that film
How an overbuilt scout sent a team out of the locker room tight, quiet, and playing scared
The ratio Steve landed on: for every thing you tell them about the opponent, tell them one thing about us
Why your last words before tip should be about who you are, not who they are
Chapters
00:00 Coach Unplugged intro
00:15 The eleven page scout and the index card
01:04 Pre-roll: TeachHoops.com scouting templates and game week plans
01:25 Guarding ghosts: why game one is the hardest scout of the year
02:20 Takeaway 1: Scout yourself first
03:09 Takeaway 2: Scout the coach, not the roster
04:22 Takeaway 3: Three things, not thirty
06:08 Takeaway 4: The staff knows everything, the players get the card
07:15 Takeaway 5: Teach it with bodies, and the left handed sophomore
09:08 Mid-roll: TeachHoops.com scout team drills and the coaching community
09:31 Takeaway 6: Principles, not predictions
11:35 Takeaway 7: The real scout starts at tip off, halftime, and Saturday film
13:41 Takeaway 8: Do not let the scout scare them
16:11 Scouting can sharpen a team. It cannot replace one.
16:17 The index card challenge and post-roll
This week's challenge: Write your game one scouting report on a single index card. Three lines. If it does not fit, it does not go. Hand the card to your players and keep the rest for yourself.
Format: Deep Dive, three parts.
Resources: Scouting templates, game week plans, scout team drills, practice plans, courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices