Basketball Analytics Course

Understanding basketball analytics is a prerequisite for professional and collegiate basketball jobs.

Teams in professional and collegiate basketball are looking for trained data analysts to join their staff. In our 8-week online Basketball Analytics course, Washington Wizards Asst. Coach and Basketball Analytics pioneer, Dean Oliver will teach you the skills that are now required in professional and collegiate basketball. NBA Analytics jobs start here! 

NEXT START DATE: March 21
Weekly Live Interactive Zoom Chats with Ben Alamar

NEXT START DATE:
March 21

Weekly Live Interactive Zoom Chats with Ben Alamar

TUESDAYS  6 pm PT 9 pm ET WEDNESDAYS  2 am GMT
8-week online course
Access to SMWW network
Resume enhancement
Ongoing career advice
Class size limited to 30 students

Mentors

 

What You Can Expect From Our Basketball Analytics Course

Analytics helps make front office decision making more efficient. Rather than relying on gut feelings or past traditions to decide which players to draft, how to coach them, how to train them and what system to run, analytics helps guide those decisions by analyzing data. In our Basketball Analytics Course, you will learn how to use data and statistics for scouting and talent discovery, to measure performance and guide front office decisions whether you are a coach, owner, or manager. The ultimate goal is to teach you to create a competitive advantage on behalf of either an individual basketball player or a team.

Basketball analytics is a powerful tool and we're going to teach you how to become an expert: 

Week 1: Roles of Analytics in Basketball
Week 2: Basic Basketball Analytics Framework
Week 3: Data, Databases, Statistics, and Programming
Week 4: Player Metrics
Week 5: Similarity Scores
Week 6: Predictions and the NBA Draft
Week 7: Tactics and Advance Scouting
Week 8: SportVu and related analytic companies

If you are looking for positions within basketball leagues, associations, or teams, or with third-party vendors and consultants, or you are just a basketball fan who wants to better understand the tools the pros use to evaluate players, this course is for you. 

As part of the course, you will speak with Dean Oliver and fellow basketball students weekly via live zoom video chats. Prior to the course start date, you will receive analytic books handpicked by Dean, and access to our online classroom to assist you in engaging with your fellow classmates. Dean will share concepts, data, and cutting edge techniques currently used in the NBA.

Basketball Jobs This Course Will Prepare You for:

  • Basketball Scout
  • Basketball Analyst
  • Basketball Coach
  • Basketball Operations
  • Basketball Advance Scout
  • Basketball Research and Development
  • Sports Journalist/Basketball Blogger
  • Basketball Information Systems
  • Data Scientist
  • Research Analyst
  • GM
  • Fantasy Basketball jobs
  • Baseketball Player Development and Basketball Trainer
  • Basketball Analytic Companies
  • Sports Betting jobs
  • NBA Front Office

 

Meet Your Basketball Analytics Course Mentors

Dean Oliver

Dean is currently an Assistant Coach of the Washington Wizards. Dean is well known as the pioneer of NBA Basketball Analytics. His book, Basketball on Paper, was written at the same time as Moneyball and helped him to enter the NBA in 2004 as the first statistical consultant, working for the Seattle Supersonics. He has since worked with several other NBA teams' front offices and has been part of several successful basketball organizations. Dean went to ESPN during the 2011 NBA lockout, where he headed up the development of their sports analytics group, working on both basketball and football with on-air talent, producers, and executives at the company. Prior to joining Wizards, Dean wasTruMedia Networks Vice President of Data Science.

He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering at Caltech while playing on the basketball team. While serving as an Advanced Scout in college basketball, Oliver received his Ph.D. in environmental engineering at North Carolina and Stanford. Dean's work has been published in numerous places, is in regular use on television and radio, and he is often asked to give talks to business and educational groups. His book has been lauded by legendary basketball coach Dean Smith, and by sabermetrics pioneer, Bill James. Recently, ESPN refered to Dean as the godfather of the basketball analytics movement. You will love Dean and how he simplifies and gets you comfortable with the sabermetrics and moneyball of basketball!

Ben Alamar

​Ben is the Head of Business Analytics at StubHub. Previously, he was the Director of Analytics at ESPN Inc. He has also worked as a Professor of Sport Management at Menlo College, sports analytics consultant, and researcher, and is the author of Sports Analytics: A Guide for Coaches, Managers, and Other Decision Makers. He has consulted with a variety of teams in the NFL and NBA, including five seasons with the OKC Thunder as well as with a variety of companies in sports analytics such as Krossover Intelligence Inc and StatDNA. He has published numerous research studies in sports analytics and has written for outlets such as AllthingsD, Analytics Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. Additionally, he founded the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, the first peer-reviewed academic journal for research in sports analytics.

 
 

NBA Analytics starts here.

Every NBA team, from the analytics worshipping Dallas Mavericks straight through the defiant Los Angeles Lakers, uses analytics as part of their decision-making process. The entire field of sports analytics is being embraced by teams, leagues, and organizations across all sports and it's being led in part by our Basketball Analytics course mentor, Dean Oliver.

"Sports analytics is one of the fastest-growing job types in the market, according to our research. This is a new career path with vast employment potential. To be taught by Dean Oliver, analytics guru, is just an unbelievable opportunity for our students," says Dr. Lynn Lashbrook, President of SMWW.

Basketball analytics is changing the game – we're going to teach you the skills teams need!

Unlike most online classes, our 8-week course focuses on interactive zoom video chats directly with your course mentor, Dean Oliver, allowing you the opportunity to build a personal relationship with the leader in the world of basketball analytics. After completing our Basketball Analytics course, we will help you redesign your resume to highlight your new skills and include that you have been taught first-hand by Dean Oliver.

Sports analytics is just now scratching the surface of its true potential, new formulas and statistical approaches are emerging daily, the longer you wait to learn, the further behind you fall. Now is the time to begin developing your foundation in basketball analytics. Whether you are a coach, scout, or GM, you need a basic understanding of basketball analytics.

Why You Should Take Our Basketball Analytics Course

Under Gregg Popovich, the Spurs rely on analytics as much, if not more, than any other team in the NBA. They were one of the first teams to use SportVU player tracking, are leaders in health analytics, and have adjusted their offense and defense to follow statistical evidence of what works best.

Popovich's coaching instincts weren't being overruled by analytics, they were being enhanced. And that is when analytics is at its very best when organizations, scouts and coaches, marry data with instincts to form an efficient system that is replicated, trained, and ingrained within a team and organizational philosophy. 

 As part of our Basketball Analytics course Dean will teach you:

  • Basketball player and team metrics
  • What data is available and needed
  • Using data and analytics in communicating with decision makers
  • Typical analytical questions in player personnel issues
  • Typical analytical questions in coaching issues
  • Predicting success at the professional basketball level
  • Opportunites at basketball analytic companies
  • NBA Analytics vs. NCAA Analytics
  • Roles and opportunities of analytics in NBA & collegiate basketball
  • Coaching and analytics
  • Standard and advanced basketball statistics
  • Data-driven scouting and in-game preparation
  • How to capture & analyze data 
  • Various basketball analytics software options

Simply put, you will learn to make insightful decisions to outplay, and outsmart opponents.

 
 

Course start dates

Due to the nature of this course, class size is limited to only 30 students and this course will only be offered twice a year.

"Dean-O Lytics" Certificate & Resume Reference

Successful graduates of the SMWW Basketball Analytics Course will be sent an SMWW Certificate of Accomplishment. This Certificate represents not only your achievements in the course but also demonstrates your personal commitment to self-improvement and the ability to "self-train" yourself for higher positions within the basketball industry. We love to call this our "Dean-O Lytics" Certificate! @DeanO_Lytics

In addition to your certificate, you will be given the stamp of approval by SMWW. This approval includes a personal reference you may add to your resume with contact information for Dr. Lynn Lashbrook and Dean Oliver.

Resume Redesign Service

Acquiring the skills necessary for your dream sports career is only one part of the employment journey. Even with the required skill set, you still have to market yourself properly to attract the attention of sports industry employers.

At SMWW, we’ll teach you the skills you need to thrive AND help you redesign your resume for optimal impact in the sports industry. We’ll help you craft a resume to include your new skills in Basketball Analytics, include a reference from Dean Oliver, and optimize it to reach hiring managers searching online.

We want you to become the next SMWW success story and will go to great lengths to help you get there!

Why Basketball Analytics is the Future

Basketball analytics hasn't reached its peak, the study continues to develop and change. The smartest teams in the NBA, WNBA, International Leagues, and College are increasing their reliance on statistical analysis to improve their winning percentage.

"Analytics has been an important component of who we are since I walked in the door 15 years ago," Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told ESPN.com. "What's changed is that all teams now use all the data available to them to make personnel decisions, so the market has become more efficient. We have strived to introduce new and exclusive sources of data so that we can improve the performance of our players."

The key takeaway from Cuban: everyone is doing it, so we have to do it better and differently.

Talk about the opportunity!

 

Course Details

Weekly Interactive Zoom Video Chats: A unique aspect of each 8-week course is the opportunity for students to participate in weekly, live interactive zoom video chats with world-renowned statistician Dean Oliverfellow students, Dr. Lynn Lashbrook, and renowned guest speakers. This is a tremendous opportunity to network within professional baseball via the internet. This is available via any online computer. Live interactive zoom video chats are recorded and archived so students can listen live or at their convenience.

Online Education: This innovative academic course is facilitated through a web-based educational delivery system. You will enjoy the online discussion boards, weekly readings, weekly quizzes, course projects, and interaction amongst fellow baseball business-minded students and faculty. All course materials and textbooks are included in the course fee.

Global Participation: SMWW students participate from over 162 countries. Courses have an international influence and instructors will cater assignments to specific countries or leagues. Countries with economic challenges are eligible for economic discounts.

Military Discount: For those individuals who represent their country in military service, (active, reserve, or retired) we offer a discount. Thank you for serving your country! For more information on the Military Discount please Click Here.

Tax Write Off: (For USA Citizens) SMWW course tuition, books and supplies can be used for education tax credits. Save your receipts and consult with your tax advisor on how this applies to you.

Basketball Career Conferences: All SMWW students are encouraged to attend the yearly SMWW Basketball Career Conference. Vegas Summer League Games in July every year. All SMWW Students receive a huge discount to attend. This is an incredible opportunity to network with fellow students, basketball executives, and SMWW faculty. 

Advanced Certificates: Want to take your career to the next level? Our Advanced Certificates have been hand-selected by our team of sports industry experts to put you on a path to success. These bundles allow you to take advantage of our biggest discount available, by bundling multiple courses and becoming an expert in that field. Learn more about our Advanced Certificates here.

THREE MONTHLY PAYMENTS OF $650

Or a single payment of $1,950

Includes all course textbooks and access to a web-based classroom. Shipping is additional.

PRICE IN  
APPROXIMATELY $1950

If we offer an economic discount in your country, it is included in the estimate above. Exact pricing including the discount is shown before you complete checkout. Payment plan options are provided during checkout.

PAYMENT METHODS:
Prerequisites: Must be 18 or older to participate and have a passion for sports.
CALL TODAY: 1-877-SMWW-NOW
(In the UK: 087 12884799)

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