Data Is King. Does Duke Have Alexander the Great?

As most sentient fans know, data and analytics have transformed sports. You can focus in on seemingly minute things. For instance, it might turn out that if, say, a Virginia starter tends to hit 65 percent of his shots when he goes right, but only 35 percent when he goes left, and if you can force him left X percent more than your odds of winning go up by Y percent.

We do think that some coaches are overly reliant on analytics, but it’s an unavoidable revolution, because knowledge is power. Analytics can give you incredible insights into your opponent.

One other hypothetical: your opponent’s big man becomes 40 percent less effective if he draws two fouls in the first 10 minutes.

Basically, data and analytics can be a cheat sheet, not least of all for your own team.

And as we’ve also seen, Duke coach Jon Scheyer really has his finger on the pulse of the game, and has adapted Duke’s approach.

He was the first coach to hire a GM, and Rachel Baker has had a huge impact on the game. He cut a deal with Amazon Prime to broadcast three games there this season. And he hired rising star Alexander Powell.

Powell, who played D-III ball, is the subject of this article from the Duke Chronicle. He’s a huge asset to Duke Basketball, and yet another savvy hire by Scheyer.

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