Learning Basketball

Ep 69 Learning Basketball with Stephen Cameron @StephenMagicHQStephen Cameron covers the Orlando Magic with OMagicHQToday we learn about the Orlando Magic trading FIVE FIRST ROUND PICKS for Desmond Bane 

Timeline:0:00 Introduction - Father’s Day Blockbuster Trade Instant Reactions7:50 Desmond Bane’s on-court fit with the Orlando Magic core21:15 The Draft Picks Orlando Traded - The Magic’s Calculated Risk Bet on Themselves33:50 Orlando’s Future Roster Flexibility after adding Bane’s big deal and what that means for Team Option Free Agents

Ep. 68 Learning Basketball with Ben Pfeifer!  @bjpf_

Ben Pfeifer covers the NBA with Swish Theory, Sportskeeda, and Sportscasting

Today we learn about the Indiana Pacers taking a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals, how they held SGA in check in Game 3, Tyrese Haliburton’s legendary playoff run, the importance of perfectly fitting cast of characters, and end with a 2K Association Mode Draft of 2025 NBA Draft Prospects

Timeline

0:00 Introduction

1:55 Indiana Pacers take 2-1 lead in NBA Finals, Tyrese Haliburton’s Legendary Run
45:00 Building a team of 2025 NBA Draft Prospects, 2K Association Mode Style

Team RK:

Tre Johnson

Dylan Harper

VJ Edgecombe

Collin Murray-Boyles

Thomas Sorber

Noa Essengue

Walter Clayton Jr.

Asa Newell

Danny Wolf

Team Ben:

Kon Knueppel

Jeremiah Fears

Cooper Flagg

Derik Queen

Khaman Malauch

Nique Clifford

Ace Bailey

Jase Richardson

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Ep. 67 with Jacob Myers @League_Him

Jacob Myers owns the @League_Him account, covering the NBA draft and using his platform to showcase lesser known basketball talents who deserve more exposure.

Today we learn about Jacob’s scouting process, the basketball experiences and opportunities from building League Him, some names maybe not getting enough shine in the NBA Draft, and the official 2025 Guards Only Learning Basketball Swish Theory League Him Crossover Draft

Timeline:

00:00 Introduction & Background, Building League Him

10:00 NBA Draft Combine Insights

13:00 The 2025 Guards Only NBA Draft 

1 Dylan Harper

2 Tre Johnson
3 VJ Edgecombe
4 Kon Kneuppel5 Jeremiah Fears6 Walter Clayton7 Will Riley8 Jase Richardson9 Javon Small10 Kasparas Jakucionis
44:30 2025 NBA Draft Data Viz on Defense - Comparing Wingspan/Height Ratio to Stocks Per Foul, projecting impactful defenders - shout out Cedric Coward, Thomas Sorber, Rasheer Fleming, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Cooper Flagg, Johni Broom, Collin Murray-Boyles

Ep. 66 Learning Basketball with Ryan Miller

Ryan Miller is the head coach of Murray State’s basketball team, coming off four years as the assistant coach for Greg McDermott’s Creighton’s team, and two decades of college coaching experience.Today we learn about Ryan’s coaching philosophies, influences, experiences, and stories and breakdown two plays they utilized at Creighton.

Timeline:

00:00 Introduction & Background, South Dakota Basketball

02:30 Ryan Miller’s Coaching Philosophy and Team  Culture Goals at Murray State

06:00 Will Ja Morant be a part of the program?

08:30 Favorite Memories at Creighton

11:00 Development, Work Ethic of players like Ryan Kalkbrenner, Arthur Kaluma, Trey Alexander, Ryan Nembhard off the court

14:30 Coaching Lessons from Greg McDermott, John Calipari, and Film Breakdown of Creighton “Home Run” press break and Horns Touch Shallow 

25:00 Advice on Breaking into Basketball for Aspiring Coaches, Scouts, Media, Sports Management

Ep. 65 Learning Basketball with Will Rucker! @Will_Rucker3_AD

Will Rucker is a sports analyst, journalist, coach, and media personality. He is a writer and content contributor for Liberty Ballers who covers the Philadelphia 76ers, NBA, and NBA Draft.

Today we learn about Tre Johnson’s shooting versatility, and weigh all of Philadelphia’s options with the #3 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft

Timeline:

00:00 Introduction & Background

03:20 Tre Johnson’s Versatile Shooting Profile, Tight Handle, Promising Playmaking Reads

23:00 What will the Philadelphia 76ers do with the #3 Overall Pick? Derik Queen, Kon Knueppel, Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Asa Newell, Kasparas Jakacuionis, Collin Murray-Boyles, Noa Essengue, Carter Bryant

Ep. 64 Learning Basketball with Brandon Benson

Brandon Benson is a basketball coach at Flagler with experience at different levels including Northwestern and DME Academy.

Today we learn about the NBA Conference Finals, dive into the film for both matchups, see how the Thunder score at ease with crafty P&R creators, how the Knicks create a semblance of space for Jalen Brunson to operate, and how the Pacers create advantages in Double Drag sets and pushing the pace off everything - turnovers, missed shots, and made baskets

Timeline:

00:00 Introduction

1:00 Haliburton's Statement Game 4 + ECF Analysis: Pacers vs. Knicks

20:00 Indiana Pacers Film Breakdown - Pitch Aheads

30:00 Indiana Pacers Film Breakdown - Flow Offense

40:00 Indiana Pacers Film Breakdown - Double Drag

1:02:00 New York Knicks Film Breakdown - Jalen Brunson Playmaking vs Pressure

01:22:20 WCF Analysis: OKC Thunder vs. MIN Timberwolves

01:30:00 OKC Thunder Film Breakdown - Middle Ball Screen / Ghost

01:52:00 Adjustments, Strategies, Predictions

Ep. 63 Learning Basketball with Ricky O'Donnell @SBN_Ricky

Ricky covers NBA Scouting and the NBA Draft with SB Nation. Today we learn what each of us would do if we were acting GM of every NBA team with a first round pick this year.

Timeline
00:00 Introduction to the NBA Draft

02:30 NBA Draft Combine Insights

9:00 2025 NBA Mock Draft: Top-5 Picks31:00 2025 NBA Mock Draft: 6th-17th picks1:00:00 2025 NBA Mock Draft Speed Round: 18th-30th picks

Results

1 Cooper Flagg2 Dylan Harper 

3 Kon Knueppel
4 Khaman Maluach
5 VJ Edgecombe
6 Danny Wolf
7 Collin Murray Boyles
8 Tre Johnson
9 Noa Essengue
10 Ace Bailey
11 Jase Richardson
12 Derik Queen
13 Carter Bryant
14 Asa Newell
15 Noah Penda
16 Tahaad Pettiford17 Kasparas Jakucionis18 Jeremiah Fears19 Adou Theiro20 Miles Byrd21 Thomas Sorber22 Libaron Philon23 Ryan Kalkbrenner24 Nique Clifford25 Nolan Traore26 Ben Saraf

27 Rasheer Fleming28 Walter Clayton29 Cedric Coward30 Liam McNeeley

Ep. 62 Learning Basketball with Yash Kumar! @mathketball1

Yash Kumar covers the NBA & WNBA; is a Video & Analytics Coordinator for the Cal Poly Men’s Basketball team; and cohosts the Beyond the Arc pod.

Today we learn about Yash’s journey in basketball, how OKC contained Jokic to win GM 7 vs Nuggets, how the Cavs Wheel relocation concept created space for their scorers this season, how the Pacers defensive gameplan and offensive attack beat Cleveland, and a preview with predictions of the NBA Conference Finals in the East (Pacers-Knicks) and West (Thunder-Timberwolves)

Timeline

00:00

Introduction & Background with Cal Poly Basketball

08:00

How Thunder won Game 7 over Nuggets

14:00

How Pacers made Cavs look human

17:00

Film Breakdown: How Cavs Create Space for Scorers

20:00

Film Breakdown: Pacers' Defensive Gameplan to stop Cavs

23:00

Film Breakdown: Ty Jerome's Struggles

46:00

Western Conference Finals Preview: OKC Thunder vs MIN Timberwolves

57:00

Eastern Conference Finals Preview: IND Pacers vs. NY Knicks 

Ep. 61 Learning Basketball with Ryan Girardot! @rmgbuilds

Ryan Girardot is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cerebro Sports, a basketball scouting data company that is out to collect every box score on earth and put it in one place.

Today we learn about Ryan Girardot's journey to running a basketball data company, how he convinced Mark Cuban to invest, building analytic scouting tools to improve decision making, and the role of analytics in basketball scouting.

Timeline:
00:00

Introduction & Background: Ryan Girardot’s Journey to Cerebro

04:29

The Evolution of Player Data Tracking, Mark Cuban investing in Cerebro

09:02

Understanding C-RAM and 5MS - Cerebro’s Player Evaluation Metrics

13:13

Creating Player Archetypes through Cerebro with Data Visualizations 

23:14

Running a Basketball Data Company: The Cerebro Team’s Dynamics

25:56

Analytics as a Tool for Decision Making

26:34

Predictive Modeling in Basketball

28:07

Communicating Data to Players

30:59

How Cerebro can assist Players, Skill Development Coaches, College Scouts, Front Office Evaluators

37:41

Breaking News: The Global Scoreboard Initiative and Future Possible Partnerships

41:04

The Role of Data in Scouting: a tool that tells you the odds that can create advtange and improve decision making in the front office, in the practice gym, and in the middle of the game right on the court

45:00

Advice for Aspiring Basketball Analysts + Ryan’s Cerebro Data Viz Portfolio

Ep. 60 Learning Basketball with Ahmed Jama! @SlipTheScreen

Ahmed covers the NBA Draft and does Grassroots Scouting with Swish Theory and Next Up basketball.

Today we learn about the 2025 NBA Draft lottery, as we bounce around the best matches of player and team when it comes to the player's longterm development chances of success

Timeline:
0:00 Introduction & Background
4:30 Insane NBA Playoffs, Nuggets-Thunder thoughts
13:30 2025 NBA Draft Lottery - Best Prospect/Team Fits 

15:00 Cooper Flagg

22:00 Dylan Harper 

27:00 Ace Bailey

35:00 VJ Edgecombe

40:00 Tre Johnson
47:00 Kon Knueppel

53:00 Khaman Maluach
59:00 Derek Queen

01:02:00  Asa Newell

01:15:00 How would Jeremiah Fears look on the Toronto Raptors? How about Kasparas Jakucionis on the Dallas Mavericks or the San Antonio Spurs? What if Jase Richardson joins the Washington Wizards?

01:21:50 Collin Murray-Boyles

01:29:00 Liam McNeeley

01:33:00 Noa Essengue & Danny Wolf

01:38:00 The Results: Draft Stock Risers Post-March Madness

01:45:00 Sleeper names you might hear called on Draft Night in and around the NBA Lottery