BuckScore will be a way to evaluate players throughout high school and into college. The basic story is that we wanted a way to grade high school players and Loyola recruits after watching tape on them. One of the most difficult things that we’ve come across while evaluating prospects is how to compare the players when they play at such varying levels of competitiveness in high school and AAU ball. This scale will hopefully give readers and fans a way to compare both recruits and underclassmen’s current and future values of 6 skills in basketball. The six categories we will evaluate are: shooting, offensive play making, rebounding, on ball defense, defensive play making, and athleticism.
Shooting: The Shooting skill includes shot form, body control, release point, and efficiency. It takes into account three point, mid range, close range, and post shooting.
Offensive Play Making: This skill is a catch all to document offensive skills that don’t show up in the scoring section. It includes ball handling, passing and driving. Players who excel at this skill often have increased assist numbers or are thought of as leading, initiating, and creating offense.
Rebounding: This skill includes both offensive and defensive rebounding. Players who excel at this skill often box out effectively, aggressively attack the ball in the air, and have good timing to collect rebounds.
On Ball Defense: This skill includes everything that goes into being a “lockdown defender”. This includes body control, limited fouling, closing out on shooters, and staying in front of their matchup in order to limit penetration.
Defensive Play Making: Someone who is a defensive playmaker often will create turnovers for themself or their team. They may use their height and length to their advantage to create steals and blocked shots. They also may take charges and cause bad passes and bad shots better than the average player.
Athleticism: This skill includes speed,…