BYU’s Journey to NBA-Level Analytics, Powered by SkillCorner

BYU Basketball, one of the most storied and well-supported programs in the NCAA, has selected SkillCorner as its data and analytics partner in college basketball.

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Akash Sebastian, BYU Director of Analytics and Strategy commented; “The decision to choose SkillCorner was heavily influenced by positive feedback from a number of NBA teams. We specifically asked these analytics practitioners if they would be confident relying on SkillCorner data in key decision-making, and all responded positively. 

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SkillCorner co-founder, Hugo Bordigoni added, “We are very excited to partner with BYU, marking our first venture into college basketball. We’re impressed by their ambitious vision to implement NBA-level analytics at the collegiate level and look forward to seeing the innovative ways they will use our data to inform various aspects of decision-making across the organization.”

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Akash took some time to talk us through his vision for analytics at BYU and why he believes SkillCorner is the right partner to make it a reality…

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Q: Why is BYU investing in data?

Akash: “Our goal is really to establish an NBA-level analytics function at BYU.  We want to set a high standard for data so we can objectively answer the most important questions that feed into our decisions on and off the court.  The goal is to get super-specific, analyzing specific scenarios like I’ve done in the NBA in the past - player and team tendencies against specific coverages, and things like that.”

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Q: Why wasn’t that possible without SkillCorner data?

Akash: “Before we had access to SkillCorner data, we just lacked the depth and nuance needed for precise decision-making.  We didn’t have the breadth or sophistication of data to do that kind of analysis in a meaningful way. 

We’re confident SkillCorner is going to provide that for us, and the early signs are that it will.”

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Q: How, and why did you choose SkillCorner?

Akash: "The decision to choose SkillCorner was heavily influenced by positive feedback from a number of NBA teams. We specifically asked these analytics practitioners if they would be confident relying on SkillCorner data in key decision-making, and all responded positively. 

We’ve been super impressed with the onboarding - it only took a day or two to get the data from the API and start working with it, and there’s been very high-quality tech support on hand through the process."

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Q: How is SkillCorner data going to be used at BYU?

Akash: “SkillCorner data will provide us with much more objective insights into player tendencies and decision-making, aiding in both player development and scouting.

It’s going to be central to our pre-game and post-game reporting, while enhancing our offensive and defensive game-planning significantly by giving us an objective measure of opponent weaknesses - without having to sift through hours of tape.  

We’ll be able objectively evaluate players across the NCAA to a level not previously possible given the high turnover of players and limited scouting resources in college basketball.  We’re looking at NBA-level player profiling based on NBA-relevant metrics like contested rim field goal percentage, efficiency in closeouts and pick and roll - moving beyond intuitive assessments to more data-driven analysis

With the salary cap being introduced, we see this as a major asset in identifying undervalued players, and actually how we define what’s valuable in a player.

Finally we’re excited to get into some broader analyses, for example the transferability of specific skills like shooting, rim protection, and rebounding across conferences and levels within college basketball, which again, wouldn’t have been possible without SkillCorner data.”

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Q: What impact is BYU hoping for in the long-term/moving forward?

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Akash: "SkillCorner is a crucial component in achieving an NBA-level analytics function at BYU, aligning with our head coach's vision of making BYU the go-to college program for young players aspiring to reach the NBA. 

The data complements the NBA-level coaching provided by Coach Young, and will provide the high-quality insights required for strategic decision-making and player evaluation. 

We’re really fortunate to have a head coach that’s completely bought-in to the use of advanced analytics, seeks out and uses analytical insights for coaching decisions, but as an analytics team, we need to ensure we trust the data that we’re using to provide those insights.

Our experience of working with the data so far, coupled with the endorsements of SkillCorner data by the NBA teams we’ve spoken with, gives us the confidence as an analytics department to bring those insights to Coach Young, and to bring SkillCorner data into every aspect of our decision-making.”

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