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Do you read box scores like a coach?

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Every coach looks at box scores after the game. What they read is another story.

Missouri’s Mike Anderson, Kansas’ Bill Self and Kansas State’s Frank Martin all spoke to the Kansas City Star’s J. Brady McCollough about their stat sheet readings. And, much to Ken Pomeory’s delight, they rarely, if at all, look at field goal percentage.

They’re looking at the stats that tell them how their team played, and if they did it the way the coaches wanted. Here’s the gist from the paper:

Anderson: Nothing that they keep track of at the scorers’ table. Anderson wants to know how many times his defense deflects the ball. That’s a reflection of defensive efficiency, and it’s the coach’s trademark.

Martin: He compares his team’s assists to the number of field goals made. It’s a measure of how much his team is sharing the ball and how well his offense is moving the ball against its opponent.

Self: He compares the number of the opponent’s missed shots to the number of offensive rebounds. If the Jayhawks are allowing a lot of offensive rebounds, that reflects poorly on the defense. He would prefer that his team give up only 20 percent of an opponent’s misses.


None of ‘em are Brad Stevens, scouring for tempo-free stats. But it’s an interesting view of how some coaches look at stuff the fans see every day. Maybe that’s everyone cue to start reading those box scores a little differently as well.

Now. Where is the rebound margin

Want more? I’m also on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller.